RAPID CITY - The girls high school tennis season begins this weekend with all Rapid City high school teams participating in matches in the coming week.

Rapid City Stevens travels to Yankton on Saturday for dual matches with Yankton, Watertown and Vermillion.

Rapid City Central's season opens on Tuesday with matches against Mitchell and Vermillion in Mitchell while St. Thomas More begins its season on Tuesday, as well, hosting Spearfish at Sioux Park. The following weekend all three teams will participate in the Rapid City Invitational beginning on Aug. 29.

Any discussion of high school tennis in Rapid City begins with the success of Jason Olson's Stevens program which has captured three of the past four girl's state championships.

Sioux Falls O'Gorman snapped Stevens' three-year winning streak by winning the 2007 title. However, the Raiders return all of their varsity players from last year's squad though junior Kaitlyn Wright, Flight 3 singles last year, has been lost to a shoulder injury.

"Losing Kaitlyn will hurt a lot but especially in doubles," says Olson, beginning his 11th year at Stevens. "Kaitlyn and Lauren Schultz put in a lot of time in the off-season and were looking to improve on last year's third place finish in Flight 1 doubles."

Olson will work with various doubles combinations before making completing his flights. Otherwise, the team should be typically Raider strong. Lauren Schultz will again be at No. 1 singles and Morgan Paluch, back from an injury that kept her out of action most of last year, will be at Flight 2 singles. Sidney Moyle, an eighth grader, moves up to Flight 3 singles; Cassie Malik, a 10th grader, returns at Flight 4, Kelly Feehan, who won the state title at Flight 6 singles last year will move up to Flight 5, and freshman Kelsie Dubon will compete in Flight 6.

"We will be strong even without Kaitlyn, and our JV should do well also," says Olson.

Olson sees O'Gorman as the team to beat.

"O'Gorman is No. 1 without a doubt. They lost no one and will be even better in 2008. They are the head of the class with the rest of us battling it out."

Rapid City Central coach Doug Lecy is optimistic about his team as well.

"We have a fairly veteran team this year," he says. "My No. 1, Hallie Sims, will be a junior. And the players behind her, Kaia Erickson, Kelsey Smith and Dana Jakeway are all seniors. We've been joined also by Rochelle Flynn who has been playing volleyball, so that will provide another good player too."

Lecy expects the Cobblers to improve upon their ninth-place finish in the 2007 state tournament.

"We have a lot of returning talent, a lot of the girls worked hard over the summer, and we are looking at a much improved season. The last couple of years we've been a very young team, so it is nice to have some older girls who have been to state and know how to compete at that level. It will be a fun year I think."

St. Thomas More split its matches last season, but figures to improve this year, according to coach Mary Helen Flanery.

"Our kids will compete though playing many schools much larger than ourselves makes it tough sometimes," Flanery said. "This year, we are going to play the Stevens varsity, which we have not done in the past, and we will play Central again."

Flanery will have a young team with but a single senior playing a significant role. The team is loaded with younger players including seventh grader Denali Raforth who Flanery describes as "one talented little girl."

Other players returning are junior, Aisling Gould, Flight 1 singles in 2007; Sophomore Cheyenne Raforth, Flight 2 singles in 2007; senior Marin Plump at Flight 3 singles and freshman Alexis Haakedahl at Flight 5 singles.

All three coaches are delighted that the girls state tournament will be in Rapid City this year on Oct. 9-11.

Flanery perhaps accurately expresses the views of the Rapid City tennis community.

"In the past, the East River teams would not come out here. Apparently, they thought it takes longer to drive from east to west," she said. "With the new courts being built at Parkview, Rapid City will soon have the best tennis facilities in the state."