Mark Vellek

Executive Director
Tennis Professional
USPTA Certified — Elite Professional

Mark Vellek joined the Huether Family Match Pointe team in February 2016 and serves as the club's Executive Director. He came to Match Pointe after serving as the Head Pro at GreatLIFE Woodlake and Sioux Empire Fitness for seven years.

Vellek was named the 2020 USTA Northern Frank Voigt Pro of the Year. In 2011, he was the recipient of the Ward C. Barton Junior Development Award given annually to a USTA Northern coach who has displayed excellence in junior development. In 2017, he was named PTR State Member of the Year. He is a USPTA Elite Professional and is PTR Certified at the Professional Level.

As a coach, Vellek has worked with numerous state champions in South Dakota and has developed many of the USTA Northern Section top juniors. He is currently a USTA Northern National Team Coach and is a member of the USTA Northern Talent ID and Development Committee as well as the USTA Northern Tournaments and Rankings Committee. He also serves as a Team USA and Early Development coach for the section.

A native of Sioux Falls, Vellek played number one singles and doubles at Washington High School for four years, helping lead the Warriors to back-to-back state championships in 2000 and 2001. He was a top-five ranked junior in the USTA Northern Section and top-200 nationally. Collegiately, he played four years at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania where he was a member of teams that made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II National Championships. He was also an ITA East Region doubles champion and an all-conference performer. 

Joe Sawatzke

Head Tennis Pro
USPTA Certified Pro

Joe Sawatzke joined the Huether Family Match Pointe staff in 2022. Originally from Billings, MT, he most recently was the Tennis Director at Arrowhead Country Club in Rapid City, SD.

Sawatzke played college tennis at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, where he played in the varsity lineup all 4 years. He carried the #1 doubles and #2 singles spots in the lineup his senior year, and he graduated with degrees in business management and sports management. He also qualified for USTA League Nationals at 9.0 Mixed Doubles in 2016 and 2018, and he captained the Intermountain team in 2018.

He played through the junior tennis ranks in the Intermountain section, where he was ranked as high as top 30 in the section in singles and doubles. He went on to play high school tennis at Billings West High where he played #1 singles or doubles each year and went to state all 4 years. He was also a 3-time captain of the team and won the state tournament in doubles his senior year along with a team title. He coached and worked in various roles through high school and college that included the Yellowstone Country Club, Billings Parks and Recreation, as well as the Elks Tennis Center in Billings, MT.

Richard Lenker

Tennis Professional
USPTA Certified — Elite Professional

Rich Lenker joined the Huether Family Match Pointe team in May of 2023. Lenker previously worked as Head Pro at West Hills Racquet Club for four years and then ran the Racquet Club in Portland, Oregon for 25 years. Most recently he coached at Arrowhead Country Club in Rapid City. He also served as General Manager for the Portland Panthers of the World Team Tennis League. 

As a coach, Lenker was twice named Professional of the Year in the Pacific Northwest Section and was USPTA President for the Pacific Northwest and has served on the USPTA National Executive Committee. Lenker has developed a number of junior and adult players throughout the years, coaching juniors that went on to play collegiately at Duke, Illinois, Washington, Santa Clara, Santa Barbara, St. Mary's, Gonzaga and Portland to name a few.

As a player, Lenker played Division I tennis at the University of Portland and played number one singles and doubles in Rapid City during high school. 

Mignonne Schwebach

Front Office/Pro Shop Manager

Mignonne Schwebach joined Match Pointe in September of 2023 bringing decades of Pro Shop management to the team. Schwebach is the Match Pointe stringer and manages the day-to-day operation of the Pro Shop.

A 2005 South Dakota Hall of Fame Inductee, Schwebach has the distinction of winning the first-ever SD High School girls singles championship in 1969 while at O’Gorman HS. She was a top-ranked junior in the Northwestern Section and played collegiately at South Dakota State University. She is also a past president of the Sioux Falls Tennis Association.

Yuliya Irons

Tennis Professional

Brady Barr

Director of Pickleball

Jared Hofer

Coach

Jared Hofer joined the Match Pointe coaching staff in 2022. A native of Sioux Falls, Hofer played varsity tennis at Lincoln High School where he played #1 singles and doubles for the Patriots before continuing his career at Augustana University where he had a career 34-23 singles record. Hofer is currently an assistant coach for the Augustana Vikings men’s and women’s tennis teams and was also the assistant coach for the 2015 State Champion Lincoln boys team.

Katie Jesperson

Coach

Katie Jesperson joined the Match Pointe coaching staff in October of 2023. Originally from Elk River, MN, Jesperson had a stellar high school career in Minnesota before coming to Sioux Falls to play for the Augustana Vikings where she played #1 singles and doubles. As a junior, Jesperson was a top-5 ranked player in the USTA Northern Section.

Laura Wong

Coach

Laura Wong has been coaching at Match Pointe since 2019. She also serves as the Executive Director for the Brandon Tennis Association. Wong played collegiately at South Dakota State University and is an active player on USTA Adult League Teams and has played on teams that have qualified for the national championships.