Jerstad, Sandy

Born Nov. 18, 1943. Grew up in Virginia, Minn. 1966 St. Olaf College. The winningest softball coach in NCAA Division II history, Jerstad compiled a 1,011-359-2 record in 27 seasons, all at Augustana. She guided the Vikings’ program from its infancy to national prominence. When she retired after the 2003 season, she ranked second all-time […]

Felderman, Barb

Barb Felderman was a 1969 graduate of Doland High School and 1973 graduate of Northern State University. She was a member of the first NSU women’s basketball, volleyball and track & field teams and went on to letter in field hockey as well. Felderman was the first woman’s athlete to be inducted into the NSU […]

Ekeland, Clare

Clare Ekeland was a 1934 Washington High School and 1938 Augustana College graduate. Ekeland began his high school teaching/coaching career at Dell Rapids in 1938. From 1945-48 he was at Luverne, MN, serving as athletic director, coach and teacher. He also taught and coached at Rapid City High School from 1948-52. In 1952 Ekeland started […]

Dummermuth, Chris (Sandvig)

Dummermuth has spent virtually her entire life playing, teaching and coaching tennis – beyond what any woman has done in South Dakota. She grew up near the McKennan Park courts in Sioux Falls and started played tennis when she was 10. She was a two-time state prep singles champion (1971-72) at Washington High. She played […]

Barnes, Don

A 1962 graduate of Notre Dame High School in Mitchell and a 1970 graduate of USD, Barnes is arguably South Dakota’s greatest tennis coach and one of its longest-tenured high school coaches, regardless of sport. His tenure with the Sioux Falls O’Gorman boys’ and girls’ tennis teams is marked by extraordinary achievements, including over 1,000 […]

Swett, Rex

Huron. Nebraska. Led the 1958 Huron Tigers to a 22-0 record and state Class A basketball title, averaging 15 points a game. He averaged 20.8 the previous season as Huron finished third. Held Huron High records in the 180-yard low hurdles (20.1) and long jump (22-9). He was named the state’s High School Athlete of […]

Simko, John

Sioux Falls (1957 Washingon HS grad). 1961 Augustana grad. Simko’s great athletic achievements have been unusually varied. He is the only South Dakotan to win state high school tennis titles four years in both singles and doubles (1954-57), and he was ranked No. 1 in 18-and-under singles in the Northwest Region. In his senior season […]

Johnson, Floyd “Lefty”

1937 Watertown High School grad. 1948 Augustana grad. Thought of by many as Mr. Tennis in South Dakota, the longtime Brookings teacher and principal won almost 50 state championships of one kind or another since his high school days. Appropriately, the SD Tennis Hall of Fame started in 1991 with his induction. After starting city […]

Jansa, Ryan

1991 Sioux Falls Lincoln/1996 New Mexico State graduate Perhaps the greatest, but for certain the most decorated, amateur golfer in South Dakota history with a record 33 South Dakota Golf Association champions and numerous state runner-up finishes. Won nine husband-wife state titles with wife and fellow SDGA Hall of Famer Julie. He played professionally for […]

Hunter, Phyllis

The 1942 Watertown High grad is the only South Dakota tennis player ever to play in the U.S. National Championships (now the U.S. Open) in New York City, reaching the round of 16 in 1941 and 1946. In 1941, she won her first two matches before falling to eventual runner-up Pauline Betz (who would go […]