Bobby Kleinecke came to WT from Galveston's O'Connell High School in the fall of 1974 and started a storied tennis career under head coach David Kent in the spring of 1975. He played singles and doubles each of his four years and graduated in 1978 with a degree in secondary education and a 3.32 GPA.
During his career at WT Kleinecke won five Missouri Valley Conference championships - three in singles and two in doubles. He helped lead the Buffs to MVC team titles in 1975, 1976, and 1978in addition to serving as-captain of the team during his senior year.
Following graduation he started his high school coaching career with stops at Corsicana, Amarillo High, and Bryan. During those seven years Kleinecke compiled a 126-44 record with his teams being ranked in the state's top 20 in five of the years along with seven district titles.
He was the logical choice for the Texas A&M women's tennis head coaching position prior to the start of the 1985-86 season because of his association with the Aggie summer tennis program since 1981, serving as assistant director to Kent, his former college coach and the head coach of A&M's men's team.
In his inaugural season at A&M, Kleinecke's team compiled a 19-8 overall record and the school's first Southwest Conference championship and made their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championships - losing to second-seeded USC in the first round. He was named SWC Coach of the Year in 1986 and 1996, as the squad that year posted a school-record 20-6 mark and advanced to the NCAA Regional finals.
In the first year of the Big 12 Conference in 1997 Kleinecke led the Aggies to a 19-6 record and advanced to the NCAA Regionals. In 2003, the Aggies won their first-ever Big 12 Conference regular season title and set a school record with 23 wins. The following year A&M won their first conference tournament championship. The team advanced to the Sweet 16 and was defeated by No. 7 Clemson and finished ranked 16th in the nation. He also picked up his 300th collegiate coaching victory against Nebraska on April 30th.
Kleinecke was named Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2004. In 2002 he was named Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year, and he has coached four All-Americans, 36 conference individual champions and 49 all-conference performers.
He is a member of the ITA Southwest Regional Committee, the ITA Operating Committee and the NCAA Regional Committee, and has always emphasized the concept of team play in his student-athletes.
