Box ScoreMONMOUTH, Illinois – The Prairie Fire are off to a strong start in Midwest Conference play after winning 5-4 at Monmouth College on Wednesday.
Knox (1-3, 1-0 MWC) started by taking two of the three doubles matches. First-year
Taytem Chapman (Lincoln, NE, Lincoln East) and sophomore
Eden McKissick-Hawley (Prairie Village, KS, Shawnee Mission East) won 8-5 in the #1 doubles slot. First-year
Miranda Corbett (Algonquin, IL, Jacobs) and senior
Claire Neri (Melrose Park, IL, West Leyden) posted an 8-6 victory against the Fighting Scots in #2 doubles.
"We came out big in doubles," Knox coach Miriam Skrade said. "Our extra volley and overhead work was evident.
The Prairie Fire added #1, #2, and #4 singles victories over Monmouth (1-6, 0-1 MWC) by Chapman (6-3, 1-6, 6-4), Mc Kissick-Hawley (6-3, 6-2), and Corbett (6-3, 6-2), respectively.
"Miranda had her first wins in both singles and doubles. She was all smiles. I'm delighted to see the new found confidence in her game," Skrade said.
"Spending the past few weeks training and connecting with the team has really eased my transition to collegiate level tennis and quickly helped me find confidence on the court," Corbett said.
The coach was also impressed with the play of McKissick-Hawley and Chapman.
"Eden was mentally and physically tough in her matches. She watched the ball tight and didn't waste any opportunities to close out points, earning us wins in singles and doubles to tie the meet 4-4. Once again, Taytem was the last court out in the #1 spot facing another first-year player this time. After winning the first set and losing the second, she was down 1-4 in the deciding match. The teams gathered to support her under the lights to watch her rally each point until clinching the match with a 6-4 victory," Skrade added.
Knox returns home for two more Midwest Conference matches on Saturday against defending MWC champion Grinnell College at 11:00 a.m. and Cornell College at 3:00 p.m.
