Tennis team finishes sixth at NCC championships

Michelle Hogan finished third at No. 4 singles to highlight the performance of the South Dakota Women's Tennis Team at the North Central Conference Championships on Friday and Saturday in Grand Forks, ND.

As a team, USD finished tied with Augustana for sixth place with 23 points. Nebraska-Omaha won the women's team title with 58 points followed by North Dakota, 48; St. Cloud State, 44; Minnesota-Duluth, 29; Minnesota State, Mankato, 27 and Augustana and USD with 23 points.

Hogan, a junior from Rapid City, finished her season with a team-best 19-7 record as she defeated Kristie Eull of St. Cloud State, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 10-6 in the third-place match. At the No. 5 singles, USD's Rachel Kludt of Huron, ended her season with an 18-8 record and captured fifth place with a 10-8 win over Jamie Hasner of Minnesota-Duluth.

At No. 1 singles, Amanda Barton of Aberdeen, finished 10-16 after losing a first-round consolation match to Kate Maland of Minnesota State by a 10-4 score. At No. 2 singles, Ashley Waltman of Rapid City, finished sixth at the NCC championships. She dropped a 10-5 decision to Kara Skildum of Minnesota-Duluth in the fifth-place match on Saturday.

Kelli Galbraith of Rapid City, concluded her season with a 13-13 record after finishing sixth at No.3 singles. She lost the fifth-place match by a 10-5 score to Emily Callison of North Dakota. At No. 6 singles, Suzy Puetz of Sioux Falls, ended her season 14-12 with a sixth-place finish at the NCC meet. She lost in the fifth-place match by a 10-8 score to Britne Sahlmen of Minnesota State.

USD's No. 1 doubles squad of Waltman/Puetz finished their season with a 7-19 record after dropping a consolation match to Kara Skildum/Ana Hockett of Minnesota-Duluth, 8-2. USD's No. 2 singles team of Barton/Kludt won two matches on Saturday to take fifth place and finish 16-11 on the season. Barton/Kludt defeated Megan Felder/Katie Bohl of Augustana, 8-6, in a consolation round match. In the fifth place match, they upended Liz Retzlaff/Sarah Westman of Minnesota State, 8-5.

At No. 3 doubles, USD's Hogan/Galbraith finished fourth after losing to Jenna Vogel/Laura Klein of St. Cloud State, 8-2. Hogan/ Galbraith, who finished 17-10 on the season, lost a semifinal match to Folkert/Wessman of North Dakota, 8-1.