Lady Bulldogs Make School History at State Tennis Tourney

Coach Abbey Trapp called the Lady Bulldogs performance at the 2026 South Dakota Girls State Tennis Tournament, “Outstanding!”  During the tournament held October 5-6 in Rapid City, Milbank scored a total of 153.5 points – the third highest in Milbank history under Class A.

Senior Jenna Korstjens, playing at No. 1 for Milbank, took third place in the singles competition. Korstjens also won the Spirit of Max Award. She is the first Milbank player  to receive the award. (See accompanying story here on The Valley Express.)

Seven was the magic number for the entire Milbank team at the state tourney: 

Singles Results
At No. 1 – Jenna Korstjens –  Third Place 
At No. 2 – Charlotte Swanson –  Seventh Place 
At No. 3 – Payton Lamp – Seventh Place  
At No. 5 –  Bri Hicks – Seventh Place  
At No. 6  – Becca Lavallee – Seventh Place 

Doubles Results
At No. 2 –  Korstjens  and Perez – Seventh Place 
At No. 3 –  Ky Schwandt and Lavallee – Seventh Place 

As a team, Milbank took eighth place. Sioux Falls Christian dominated the tournament, and they were named the team champions. This marks their second consecutive title and third title in the last four years. At this year’s event, the Lady Chargers took first-place in all six of the singles flights.

• Winner: Sioux Falls Christian (600 points)
• Runner-Up: Rapid City Christian (429 points)
• Flight 1 Singles Winner: Mackenzie Boyle (Sioux Falls Christian)
• Flight 2 Singles Winner: Anna Westenberg (Sioux Falls Christian)
• Flight 3 Singles Winner: Eisely Roark (Sioux Falls Christian)
• Flight 4 Singles Winner: Pipe DeBoer (Sioux Falls Christian)
• Flight 5 Singles Winner: Mattie Stroh (Sioux Falls Christian)
• Flight 6 Singles Winner: Danielle Verdusen (Sioux Falls Christian)

Team Rankings:

1. Sioux Falls Christian – 600
2. Rapid City Christian –429
3. Vermillion – 267
4. Aberdeen Roncalli – 220
5. Huron – 220
6. Lennox – 216.5
7. St. Thomas More – 187
8. Milbank – 153.5
9. Madison – 120
10. Spearfish – 96