VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota head tennis coach Brett Barnett is pleased to announce the signing of Merle Vagt to a National Letter of Intent. Vagt is a native of Quickborn, Germany.
"We've added another strong student-athlete in Merle," said Barnett. "Her ranking history and consistent results in Germany have been impressive. We are getting an athletic player who hits big off both sides and has good instincts at the net. She is going to be a good player indoors and on all of the fast courts we tend to play on. She will be able to make an impact in our lineup immediately."
Vagt is a Northern German Team Champion, has participated in International Tennis Federation Junior events and at the German Championships for singles. She is currently ranked No. 63 in Germany for Girls 18's and has been ranked as high as No. 222 in the German women's rankings, which includes all professional players. In her hometown, Vagt plays for TC Rot-Weiß Wahlstedt in the Bundesliga North 2nd Division. From 2009-16, she has a career record of 57-51.
She plans on studying medicine at USD.
