KELLY MULVIHILL STAHLHUTH

Kelly Mulvihill started hitting balls off a wall at her elementary school when she was five. She entered tournaments at seven but didn't win one until she was fourteen. That didn't stop her from entering every tournament she could find. 

By the time she got to St. Joseph's Academy, Kelly was ranked tenth in the country in the girls 16s. A stress fracture took her out freshman year. That didn't stop her from winning state her sophomore, junior, and senior years without losing a match. 

She hated to lose. So she didn't. She came to Indiana University on a scholarship and went all-conference all four years. Big Ten Player of the Year twice. Two-time doubles All-American. Conference championship three out of four years. She's in the IU Athletics Hall of Fame. 

At 38, she had no teaching or coaching experience. That didn't stop her from applying for the coaching job at Washington University. In her fifteen years she took the Bears to 11 consecutive NCAA Division III tournaments, three Elite Eight appearances, and won the 2015 Division III Coach of the Year award. Then came Bayless High School, where the tennis program had nearly ceased to exist. That didn't stop her. She brought it back and was named High School Coach of the Year for the St. Louis District. 

Nothing could stop Kelly Mulvihill. She made sure of it. 

(2022)