The 2013 Prairie Fire men’s tennis team is young, talented, and eager to improve.

First-year head coach Rob Rye takes over the reins of a squad that finished fourth in the Midwest Conference South Division with a 1-3 record.  Knox’s overall record was 5-12, and the squad placed seventh at the MWC singles and doubles championships.

Knox doesn’t have to do a lot of shuffling of the line-up thanks to the return of four starters that combined for 21 singles and 28 doubles wins last season.

Rye expects the Prairie Fire to be more competitive with the top teams in the MWC South Division.

“Last year in dual meets with Grinnell, Monmouth, and Lake Forest -- who all finished ahead of us in the South Division -- we only managed to win one match altogether,” Rye said. “It's a tall order to improve on our results, having lost two starters from last year and with only one upperclassman starter this year, but I believe we have the talent and work ethic to do so.”

Erik Hane, the team’s leader the past two seasons, graduated. He played #1 singles and doubles and contributed to 14 wins in 2012. Hane also won the #1 singles consolation title at last year’s MWC Singles Championships.

The most experienced Knox starter is senior David Ham (Lakewood, WA, Shadow Ridge). He played #4 or #5 singles in 14 of his 17 matches last season and won seven, the second-most on the team. Ham tied for a team-high eight wins in doubles play, mostly at #3.

The three other returning starters are sophomores Walter Palmer (Wilmette, IL, New Trier), Jonathan Ng (Hong Kong, China, Hong Kong International School), and  Karolis Ruzgas (Downers Grove, IL, Downers Grove North).  Two newcomers to the Prairie Fire men’s tennis program round out the lineup: sophomore Dustin Loch (Glen Ellyn, IL, Glenbard West) and first-year Pragyaditya Mukerjee (Kolkata, India, The Cambridge School).

Palmer, who led the team with eight singles wins, played 12 of his 17 singles matches in the #5 and #6 slots. He also had eight doubles victories, six of them while teaming up with Hane at #1. 

Ruzgas won four matches playing #2, #3, and #4 singles and had five victories at #2 doubles. He was the conference’s #2 singles consolation champion. 

Ng won two singles matches last season, one at #2 and the other at #3. He also contributed to seven wins in doubles play, six of them at #3 doubles. Ng advanced to the #3 singles consolation title match at the conference championships.

Rye thinks his squad has what it takes to post a better record and compete with the elite teams in the Midwest Conference.

“In order to do so, the team will have to stick to the commitment of playing smart, consistent tennis. It's a grueling three-month season, with a great deal of responsibility placed upon a small group of players, but I believe that we are up to the challenge.”

The other members of this year’s men’s tennis team are junior Caleb Thompson (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) and senior Mike Carr (Niles, IL, Niles Notre Dame). Carr won a match at #6 singles and Thompson at #3 doubles last season.

Rye is anticipating significant improvement in the team’s singles play.

“Patience, point construction, high-percentage shot selection, and stamina -- both physical and mental -- are already improving with the work the team has put in so far,” he said. “I'm excited to see our guys grind out long, competitive matches throughout the season.”