Mary Beth Gunn Hired as Western Illinois Women’s Tennis Coach

Gunn will head a young squad after serving two seasons at Limestone

MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois Athletics has named Mary Beth Gunn as the head coach of the women's tennis program. Interim Director of Athletics Matt Tanney announced the hire Wednesday (August 5).

Gunn joins the staff after serving two seasons as the men's and women's assistant tennis coach at Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina.

"I look forward to Mary Beth's leadership of our women's tennis program," said Tanney. "Her experience as a Division I student-athlete and assistant coach is a real asset for a squad mostly comprised of freshmen and sophomores. She is a welcome addition to the Leatherneck family."

During the 2014-15 season at Limestone, Gunn helped the Saints win their first ever conference championship with a perfect 11-0 record. Most recently, Gunn was named Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) 'Assistant Coach of the Year' for the Southeast Region, becoming the first Limestone assistant in program history to receive the prestigious award.

Gunn also coached five All-Conference Carolinas selections, including the conference 'Player of the Year' and the men's 'Freshman of the Year'.

Prior to Limestone, Gunn spent the previous eight seasons as a student-athlete and an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee-Martin. As a coach, Gunn guided the Skyhawks to a share of the 2011 Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship and coached seven All-OVC honorees, including the 2012 OVC 'Player of the Year.' During her time as a player for UTM, she was a part of two Ohio Valley Conference Championships and was selected to the All-Conference team in 2007.

"I would like to thank Matt Tanney for the opportunity to lead the women's tennis program at WIU," said Gunn. "I am very excited about this upcoming season. We have several strong returners and we hope to continually improve throughout the year."

The Leathernecks return its entire squad for the 2015-16 season, including Courtney Lubbers who was named to the 2015 Summit League 'All League Team' and posted 12 victories last season, tied for the second most wins by a No.1 singles player in the league.

Gunn graduated from UT-Martin and received her Master's of Education in May 2011. She also holds a pair of Bachelors of Arts Degrees in English and History from UTM in 2008.

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Players Mentioned

Courtney Lubbers: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Courtney Lubbers
: Freshman