Box ScoreGalesburg, Ill. – The Prairie Fire faced a daunting task in their most important match of the season.
Knox and Monmouth College squared off on Friday afternoon at the Merdian Tennis Courts. At stake was a spot in the Midwest Conference team tournament on April 25 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Knox -- seeking its first appearance in the tournament since 2005 – lost 9-0 to the Fighting Scots in a MWC South match, which was also the home finale and Senior Day for the Prairie Fire.
The Fire dropped the three doubles matches 8-5, 8-4, and 8-1, and couldn't get over the hump in singles play – falling in all six contests against a strong opponent in Monmouth.
Jonathan Ng (Hong Kong, China, Hong Kong International School), the #3 singles player for Knox, was recognized on Senior Day. He's totaled 16 wins this year and 42 over the course of nearly three full regular seasons on the court. Ng also played his way into the semifinals of the 2013 Midwest Conference Singles Championships and helped the Prairie Fire win the consolation title in #3 doubles at last year's conference tournament.
Knox finished the 2014 campaign 2-2 in the MWC South Division and Monmouth went 3-1.
MWC South top seed Grinnell College and #2 seed Monmouth will join MWC North top seed Carroll University and #2 seed Lake Forest College in the MWC team tournament.
The Prairie Fire (5-16) close out regular season play on the road against Millikin University on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.
Knox competes in the Midwest Conference Singles and Doubles Championships on April 26 and 27 at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
