A 2006 inductee into the Western Michigan Athletic Hall of Fame, women’s tennis head coach Betsy Kuhle has long since established the women’s tennis program as not only one of the top programs in the Mid-American Conference, but the region as well. The longest-tenured coach at WMU in any sport, the 2012-13 season will mark the 31st year that Kuhle will guide the Bronco tennis program. Kuhle also holds the MAC record with seven MAC Coach of the Year awards.

The Broncos have won eight of the last 15 MAC championships (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) and 11 total (1984, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) under Kuhle’s direction. Western Michigan also claimed the first two MAC automatic NCAA berths (1999, 2000) since the conference was granted that benefit in 1999.

Kuhle has compiled a 506-261 (.660) overall and 190-32 (.855) MAC dual-match record, and the Broncos have never finished lower than third in the conference under Kuhle’s guidance.  On March 23, 2012, Kuhle's Broncos defeated Northern Illinois to give the coach her 500th career victory, making her just the second coach of any sport in Western Michigan history to reach a total of 500 career wins.  Kuhle is among only three active coaches in the MAC to top the 500-win plateau at one institution, in any sport.

The most decorated coach in the MAC, Kuhle has won a conference-record seven-time MAC Coach of the Year (1990, 1995, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008). She was recognized as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association-Volvo Midwest Coach of the Year in 1990 after WMU finished eighth in Region IV. The WMU Alumni “W” Club honored Kuhle as its Woman of the Year in 1998.

The program’s academic success parallels the Broncos’ success on the court. Fifty-three of Kuhle’s players have been named to the MAC All-Academic team; eight have been named ITA/Volvo Scholar-Athletes; and three were GTE Academic All-District choices. Kuhle’s program has been honored as an ITA All-Academic team 16 years in a row, and there have been an amazing total of 51 Broncos named to the ITA All-Academic Team in that time.

Kuhle has done much for tennis in the Kalamazoo community as well, hosting the USTA Midwest Boys' and Girls' 14s Zone Championships at Sorensen Courts for a number of years. Active in the profession, Kuhle has served on the ITA Board of Directors and a member of the operating committee. She was also chair of the ITA Midwest Regional committee from 1992-95 and 2000-03.

The 2012 season saw Kuhle reach the 500-win milestone as a head coach, when the Broncos opened up conference play with a 7-0 drubbing of Northern Illinois at West Hills Athletic Club.  WMU would go 17-11 in 2012, the best wins total for the Broncos since they won 21 matches in the 2008-09 season, and the Broncos' third-place finish in 2012 would continue their 30-year streak of never finishing lower than third under Kuhle. 

The Broncos would win their final three regular season MAC matches of the season before entering the MAC Tournament, where they were afforded the opportunity to get revenge against Buffalo, who had defeated the Broncos earlier in the season.  Freshman Caroline Aleck scored the match-deciding victory, giving the Broncos a 4-3 win and sending them to the tournament semifinals against Akron.

Aleck would go on to be named the recipient of the team's first annual Unsung Hero Award, given to the player whose signficant contributions to the success of the team may otherwise go unrecognized.  Teammate Kathleen Hawkins was voted the Amy Yeast MVP, voted on by the team and given to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of hard work, dedication, and teamwork. 

Outgoing senior Rachel Denny earned her second career Academic All-MAC honor, while sophomore Nini Sujashvili received her first Academic All-MAC honor in her first year of eligibility for the award.  Three other Broncos were named as Academic All-MAC Honorable mentions; the five Broncos recognized ranked as the second-most for a single team in the conference, behind just Bowling Green's six honorees.

Kuhle guided a Broncos team with just one senior (Amanda Moccia) to a third-place finish in the MAC in 2011, closing the season on a four-match MAC win streak heading into the conference tournament.  For the second straight year, the Broncos knocked out in-state rival Eastern Michigan in the quarterfinal round, dropping the hosting Eagles 4-2 when Rachel Denny won the No. 6 singles match in three sets. 

Freshman Nini Sujashvili was named the 2011 MAC Freshman of the Year as well as a First-Team All-MAC selection, posting a 20-13 record for the Broncos in her rookie campaign.  Sujashvili represented the 21st First-Team selection for the Broncos since the conference moved to a First- and Second-Team system in 1994, an average of better than one a year.  In addition, Maggie Remynse was named Second-Team All-MAC. 

Junior Rachel Denny was voted the 2011 Amy Yeast Team Most Valuable Player by her teammates, as was also selected as the team's captain for the upcoming 2011-12 season.  Both Denny and graduating senior Amanda Moccia were named to the Academic All-MAC team, the third such honor for Denny and second for Moccia.

In 2010, Kuhle led a young team to the finals of the MAC Tournament for the sixth year in a row before bowing out to regular season champion Miami. Entering the tournament as the three-seed, the Broncos reached the finals by defeating nationally-ranked Akron 4-3 in the semis on senior Yumi Matsuto's last match victory. Senior Emily Dudzik earned Second Team All-MAC honors for the second season in a row, while Dudzik and Amanda Moccia were named Academic All-MAC

The 2009 Broncos were one of Kuhle's younger squads, with four freshmen seeing time on the court.  Despite this, the Broncos had the best overall record among MAC teams (21-8) and reached the finals of the MAC Tournament.  Senior Kerstin Pahl ended her outstanding career as arguably the best player in conference history with MAC records in singles wins (114) and overall wins (232) and the second-most doubles wins (118). She also earned the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award to become the first MAC women's tennis player to ever earn a national ITA award. Pahl was named First Team All-MAC, while Emily Dudzik earned Second Team All-MAC honors and Ashley Moccia was tabbed as the Leann Grimes Davidge Sportsmanship Award recipient. The Broncos also placed Pahl and Amanda Moccia, who were nationall-ranked in doubles throughout much of the season, on the Academic All-MAC Team.

Western Michigan continued its dominance of the Mid-American Conference in 2008 by claiming a fourth-straight undefeated MAC regular season championship (8-0). The Broncos haven’t lost a MAC regular season match since the end of the 2004 season, a streak of 34 consecutive victories. The Broncos advanced all the way to the MAC Tournament final before losing a hearbreaker to Buffalo, 4-3.

That loss didn’t prevent WMU from finishing the season as the No. 53 team in the country, the highest end-of-season Intercollegiate Tennis Association ranking in school history. The Broncos’ ranking earned them a spot in the 60-team field for the 2009 National Team Indoor. WMU will be a No. 3 seed in Gainesville, Fla., versus South Alabama.

The Broncos saw Pahl continue to remain undefeated in MAC singles on her way to only the third MAC Player of the Year award for WMU in school history. She was also named First Team All-MAC, while seniors Priyanka Parekh and Noriko Saruta were Second Team All-MAC. All three were also earned Academic All-MAC honors. Records continued to fall at WMU as Saruta set new marks for overall wins (212) and doubles wins in a career (114). Kuhle also added her MAC-leading seventh MAC Coach of the Year honor.

Western Michigan claimed its third-straight undefeated MAC regular season championship (8-0) in 2007 and went on to win its second straight MAC Tournament championship and advanced to the 2007 NCAA Tournament, the second consecutive appearance in the national tournament for WMU. Senior Carrie Jeanmaire and Pahl were named First Team All-MAC and Parekh was named Second Team All-MAC. All three were also Academic All-MAC selections as WMU was named an ITA All-Academic Team for the 12th straight season. Marks fell as Jeanmaire reached 204 overall wins and 112 doubles wins to set new school records.

WMU finished the year with 12 consecutive victories before falling in the NCAA Tournament to finish the year 22-7, the third straight 20-win season and tied for the second-most wins ever in school history. Kuhle was named MAC Coach of the Year for the sixth time.

Kuhle led WMU to one of its best seasons in school history in 2006. The Broncos won 20 matches for the second straight year and fifth time overall. The Broncos steamrolled through the MAC by dropping only three points all year on their way to winning both the regular season and tournament championship and earning the third NCAA Tournament berth in school history. The team was a success both on the court and in the classroom as it featured both the MAC Player of the Year (Malena Remynse) and MAC Freshman of the Year (Pahl), three All-MAC honorees (Remynse, Jeanmaire, Reedhina Parekh), the MAC Tournament MVP (Rattiya Hiranrat) and four Academic All-MAC honorees (Hiranrat, R. Parekh, Jeanmaire, Remynse). Hiranrat’s honors concluded a year where she set new school records with 200 overall wins and 109 doubles wins in a career.

Kuhle has helped develop three MAC Players of the Year and four MAC Freshmen of the Year. She has mentored 29 different All-MAC performers and coached 20 different MAC individual or doubles champions.

The 2004-05 campaign provided a perfect illustration for WMU’s exceptional level of success under Kuhle. The Broncos claimed the MAC championship after posting a perfect 9-0 league slate, finishing 20-6 overall. The program’s 20 victories marked the fourth-highest total in school history and was the 17th straight year the team compiled a winning record. Two student-athletes were on both the All-MAC and Academic All-MAC teams. WMU also finished the season ranked 55th in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, the highest end of season ranking ever for the Broncos.

The 2003-04 season was yet another campaign filled with team and individual honors. The Broncos finished second in the league standings and advanced to the tournament semifinals. Kuhle was named Co-MAC Coach of the Year and a pair of student-athletes claimed All-MAC accolades.

Kuhle’s young 2002-03 team went 15-9 overall, 7-2 in the MAC. Five of the eight players had never competed with the Broncos. Kuhle guided Frederika Girsang to the MAC Player of the Year award, the first Western Michigan women’s tennis player to win that award since its creation in 1998.

The 2000-01 season will be remembered for a pair of historic achievements. Kuhle won her 300th career match as WMU coach. No other coach in Western Michigan history has won more than 50 matches. Kuhle also guided WMU to its third-consecutive Mid-American Conference championship, marking the first time in program history the Broncos won three consecutive titles.

Prior to taking over the Broncos, Kuhle served as a pro at the John Gardiner Tennis Ranch in Carmel Valley, Calif., for two years. She held a similar post at the Santa Catalina Girls School in Monterey for nearly three years. In September, 1980, Kuhle assumed professional duties locally at the West Hills Tennis Club.

A 1976 graduate of the University of Illinois with a bachelor’s degree in finance, Kuhle played No. 1 singles for the Illini. She received a master’s degree in business administration from WMU in December of 1987.

A native of Decatur, Ill., Kuhle captured the 1994 ITA 35-and-over title and ranked as high as fourth in the Western Tennis Association’s rankings. She also served as the chairperson for the WTA Junior Wightman Cup Tournament.

Kuhle’s three brothers serve as tennis pros. Lornie is the head pro and owner of the Bobby Riggs Tennis Club in Del Mar, Calif., and the head pro and owner of the Tennis Shop in the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas; Chuck is head pro and manager at the Decatur Racket Club in their hometown, and Mike is a pro in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.