DECATUR, Ill. — Amy and Tracy Kuhle aren't just doubles partners. They're not even just twin sisters. They're best friends.
The Kuhle twins hang out in the same social circles, share a car, take all the same classes and — for the most part — get the same grades.
The two, now seniors at St. Teresa, have been inseparable since birth. The most time they've ever spent apart was six days two summers ago — "And that was weird," Amy said.
But now, for the first time in their lives, they're facing the reality that while they'll always be close, eventually they'll go their own ways.
They just didn't think about it coming this soon. Though nothing is decided yet, Amy and Tracy — who will begin their final high school postseason together today at the Casey Sectional — will likely end up at different colleges.
Amy and Tracy have been a doubles team since they first picked up tennis rackets at 3 years old. Since, they've become one of the best doubles teams to come out of downstate Illinois since the IHSA began holding the girls state tournament in 1972.
Amy and Tracy made a splash at their first state tournament as freshmen, shocking even themselves by taking second place. They followed it up with a third-place finish as sophomores and fourth place as juniors. No other singles or doubles players from outside the Chicago area have finished in the top four three times.
"They haven't played with a different partner more than three or four times ever, and that's by design," said their dad Chuck Kuhle, the director of tennis at the Decatur Athletic Club since 1980 and a former player on the Swiss Satellite Circuit in Europe. "I had them play together because it helps when you play together all the time. You're more in sync with each other, and that's a huge advantage over two players that are just paired together."
As recently as a year ago, they were planning on attending the same college and playing doubles together. But they finally had a difference in opinion. Both want to play college tennis, but Tracy prefers NCAA Division I — she's visited Bradley, Western Michigan and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville — while Amy would rather go Division II.
"We'd like to go to the same place, but we're studying different things," Amy said. "I want to do pre-med, and she wants to do business and management. Pre-med is going to be a lot of work, so I think I'd rather go Division II and be less serious about tennis."
While discussing their college plans, Amy and Tracy exchanged a quick glance. There was no animosity — just a hint of sadness.
"We're kind of dreading it," Amy said. "I don't know how it's going to work, but we have to do it sometime, I guess."
Chuck said as close as the twins are, they eventually have to split paths.
"They've been around each other their whole life — they finish each other's sentences," Chuck said. "But at some point, things have to branch out."
The twins will never be done playing doubles together. They'll still play in tournaments here and there, and — coming from a tennis family — will likely play together against their children and grandchildren. But if they don't attend the same college, their days as a competitive team could end at state.
And if that's the case, the Kuhles want to make the last one memorable.
"No matter what happens this year, five or 10 years from now what they've accomplished is going to mean a lot," Chuck said. "But they haven't won it yet, and that's the goal."
Though the twins don't put pressure on themselves to win the state title, they've done everything they can to put themselves in position to. They're in the best shape of their lives.
"Well, our dad made us give up pizza and Coke, and we decided to start working with the personal trainer last year after state just to try to keep our speed up and just be in better shape in general," Tracy said. "We didn't want to go to the state tournament this year and say, 'I wish we would have done more.' If it doesn't go our way, they were just better players."
There's little doubt the Kuhles will win sectionals. And once it's time for state, the Kuhles will follow the same traditions they have the previous three years they've been to Chicago for the tournament. They'll stop at Illinois State for a short practice on the way, stay at the same hotel, play bad but still win their first match and likely end up in the top four again.
But no matter what happens at the tournament, the homecoming celebration is already set.
"We're going to Monical's, and we're each getting our own pizza and a Coke," Amy said.
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Information from: Herald & Review, http://www.herald-review.com