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Sturgis' Megan McDougall crams for a college exam
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FarkRAPID CITY — Megan McDougall knows she needs to make some tennis hay while the summer sun shines.
McDougall, of Piedmont, entered this weekend’s Rapid City Open junior tennis tournament, seeking some competition just days before she heads to South Dakota State University to play Division I college tennis for the Jackrabbits.
“I just want to get in some matches,” said McDougall, a 2008 Sturgis Brown High School graduate who has been lifting weights and swinging a racket at the Tennis Center of the Black Hills south of Rapid City this summer as well.
“I don’t get too many actual matches at the Tennis Center. We just usually hit around, so it’s nice to be able to play here, she said.
McDougall is entered in singles and doubles play at the Rapid City Open, a late summer season United States Tennis Association Northern Section tournament for players age 18 and under.
She opened play in the four-player, Girls 18 singles category Saturday morning at Sioux Park taking on Mandi Hemmer, of Sioux Falls.
McDougall advanced to today’s finals against Rapid City’s Morgan Paluch, who defeated Allyson Burns in another semifinal match Saturday.
McDougall will also team with Hemmer in Girls 18 doubles. After a first-round bye, the duo was scheduled to play their second-round match at 6 p.m. Saturday night.
McDougall also entered the Black Hills Open in June, teaming with Whitney Paluch, Morgan’s cousin, to place second in women’s open division, and also winning consolation titles in 18-over singles and doubles, teamed with Kara McGrane of Minnesota.
McDougall was a two-sport luminary for the Scoopers, playing No. 1 singles and doubles tennis and also a four-year state Class AA golf meet qualifier.
She posted top-15 finishes at the state AA golf meet, finishing 14th her junior and improving slightly to 13th her senior year.
“I didn’t play as well as I would have liked,” she said.
McDougall looked at a pair of colleges before deciding to pick SDSU. The Jackrabbits have completed their transition to Division I in tennis and that was big draw, said McDougall, who plans to major in pre-physical therapy.
“There’s a lot more money for travel with a Division I program than there is in Division II or III,” she said.
Also, as with the tournaments she’s played this summer, she’s looking forward to taking her game to a higher level.
“It’ll be nice to have people to go hit with that are better than you. You can pretty much find someone to hit with you all the time. That isn’t always the case here,” she said.
McDougall looks forward to focusing on tennis, both this weekend and at SDSU.
“I mostly play golf for fun,” McDougall said. “I don’t enjoy golf as much as I enjoy tennis, so that’s why I decided to play tennis at state.”
Play at the Rapid City Open concludes today at the Sioux Park Courts.
Megan McDougall competes at the Rapid City Open on Saturday at Sioux Park. McDougall is playing singles and doubles in this weekend's Rapid City Open tennis tournament. (Ryan Soderlin/Journal staff)
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