Galesburg, IL - The Prairie Fire returns seven members from last year’s squad that had its best finish in nearly a decade.
First-year head coach Rob Rye takes over the team that features four seniors, three juniors, and one sophomore.
“The four seniors make up half of the roster and should provide a wealth of leadership and experience, with Emily Tyl (Downers Grove, IL, Benet Academy) having seen the most time competing in the lineup,” Rye said.
Tyl won 10 singles matches during her sophomore season, including an 8-5 record at #6 singles. She also helped contribute to six doubles victories that season. Tyl primarily played #5 singles and #3 doubles, and she was 2-0 while teamed up with senior captain Aimee Neilan (Lake in the Hills, IL, Jacobs) in #2 doubles competition during the 2011-2012 season.
The two other seniors on the team are Sarah Bolitho (St. Charles, IL, St. Charles East) and Charmaine Washington (Blue Island, IL, La Lumiere School).
Junior Charlotte Garvin (Omaha, NE, Central) finished the fall season with a 9-3 singles record. Garvin rolled off seven straight wins going into the conference championships and posted two more victories in the tournament as the MWC runner-up in #3 singles.
Garvin also had a hand in five #1 doubles wins for Knox during the season. She and fellow junior captain Dana Pierce (South Barrington, IL, Barrington), who recovered from an injury most of last season, went 2-0 in top flight doubles.
Rye referred to Garvin and Pierce as the team’s super juniors. “Hopefully Dana will be able to stay healthy this fall as she has proven that she can compete at the top of the lineup with the best in the conference. Garvin has been the team’s amazingly consistent competitor, and I’m excited to help continue her singles dominance in the 2012 season,” he said.
Pierce had a solid first year for the Prairie Fire. She won nine matches at #1 singles and teamed up for six more victories at #1 doubles during the 2010-2011 season.
Junior Emiley Brand (Princeton, IL, Princeton) also was part of last year’s team that placed sixth at the 2011 conference championships, the highest finish since 2002.
New to the program is sophomore Claire Neri (Melrose Park, IL, West Leyden).
“My expectation for this season is to bring everyone together with a renewed culture of professionalism and an emphasis on striving for excellence in everything we do,” Rye said.
“Success will be defined by the degree to which we can maximize each player’s improvement in the various aspects of the game. I expect the team to be more (physically) fit, mentally tough, technically and tactically sound, as well as dedicated and closer as teammates.”
The Prairie Fire begins the fall the season on September 1 at Cornell College. As part of Cornell's return to the Midwest Conference, the schools will exchange pennants. The exchange will take place in all sports the first time the Rams play a Midwest Conference school during the 2012-2013 athletic year.
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