IC box score
Grinnell box score
Galesburg, Ill. – The Prairie Fire split matches against Midwest Conference South foes Illinois College and Grinnell College at home on Saturday.
Knox handled IC 9-0 before falling to defending MWC champion and #12 regionally ranked Grinnell 8-1 later in the day at Lakeside Tennis Center.
The Prairie Fire (5-11, 2-1 MWC South) allowed only nine points to the Blueboys in singles play. Junior
Walter Palmer (Wilmette, IL, New Trier) won his #1 singles match 6-0, 6-1. Junior
Karl Ruzgas (Downers Grove, IL, Downers Grove North) posted a 6-4, 6-1 victory in #2 singles while senior
Max Gatyas (Plymouth, WI, Plymouth Comprehensive), sophomore
Dustin Loch (Glen Ellyn, IL, Glenbard West), and first-year
Rohail Khan (Islamabad, Pakistan, Roots School System) each won 6-1, 6-0 in #3 through #5 singles.
Knox won handily against IC (0-7, 0-1 MWC South) in doubles play as well. Junior
Jonathan Ng (Hong Kong, China, Hong Kong International School) and Gatyas moved up to #1 doubles and came away with an 8-1 victory. Loch and sophomore
Pragyaditya Mukerjee (Kolkata, India, The Cambridge School) prevailed in #2 singles 8-2. The Prairie Fire won the #6 singles and #3 doubles matches by default.
"It was great to start the day with a strong win against IC before heading into a much tougher match against Grinnell," Palmer said.
Grinnell, the winner of 10 consecutive and 16 total Midwest Conference championships, moved to 3-0 in the MWC South Division with the victory over the Prairie Fire.
However, Knox won a match against the Pioneers for the first time in nearly a decade.
Palmer and Ruzgas beat Grinnell's #1 doubles team of Elliott Czarnecki and Tommy Pitcher 8-6. The win marked the first by Knox in a match against the Pioneers since the 2004-05 season. Grinnell defeated Knox 5-2 on April 23, 2005, and had shut out Knox in every match since – until Saturday.
The Pioneers took the #2 doubles match against the Prairie Fire's Ng and Gatyas 8-3 and gained the upper hand with an 8-2 #3 doubles win over Mukerjee and Loch.
Palmer didn't go quietly in the #1 singles contest against Czarnecki, who earned a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
"Against Grinnell, everyone held tough and supported each other across courts, and that support was crucial in getting Knox's first match win against Grinnell in years," Palmer added.
Grinnell matched the school record for wins in a season with 25 after downing the Prairie Fire.
"The team was focused, poised, and determined during both of the matches," Knox head coach Miriam Skrade said. "They really stuck to their game against IC and kept in their rhythm even while moving up in the lineup. The men rose to meet the challenge of the deep and skilled Grinnell team. We competed hard and made them earn their points."
Skrade said every shot counted in the #1 doubles match won by Knox.
"Both sides of the net were making incredible gets and keeping the pressure on. With little to no unforced errors, it was exciting to see Walter and Karl work together to set up and finish points. They were able to hit to the openings and close up their own."
The win by Palmer and Ruzgas was their eighth of the season playing #1 doubles.
Knox is in second place behind Grinnell in the Midwest Conference South. The Prairie Fire, with a 2-1 league record, play their final conference match at home against Monmouth College on April 18 at 4:00 p.m.
Knox welcomes Augustana College (8-7) for a non-conference match on April 2 at 4:00 p.m.
