Platte County went from moments away from potentially playing for a Class 2 state championship to a fourth-place state finish in a wildly emotional Thursday at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.
Platte County senior Ellie Kaser hits a backhand shot during the Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships third-place match Thursday at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.
Thomas Jefferson Independent (TJI) took the deciding singles match in a 5-4 victory during the morning semifinal, and St. Dominic pulled away for a 5-1 win in the afternoon. A loss in the Class 2 third-place match ended up the conclusion for Platte County’s second-ever playoff appearance and the best finish in program history. The Pirates went 15-4 overall with a breakthrough group that set a new standard for all teams moving forward.
“There is no better way to end a season for the tennis team and as a head coach than getting to put a state medal on every single one of your players and assistant coaches,” Platte County second-year head coach Scott Blakley said. “I’m sure many other coaches say something like this, but in a way, the medal doesn’t really have meaning. But when I see that medal, it symbolizes all the hard work we put in back in May, June, July and August and how the team came together, the belief, the fight through difficult victories, the willingness to overcome excessive heat warnings and rainouts and all the stuff you deal with in a season.
“So when I see that medal or the state trophy we have, I think about all the work we put in to make this happen, and it’s just so special.”
Platte County senior Macy Doll hits a backhand shot during the Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships third-place match Thursday at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.
A dominant win over Barstow in the state quarterfinals sent Platte County into the state semifinals for the first time. The Pirates captured the Class 2 District 8 championship to reach the playoffs for the second time — first since 2023 when a quarterfinal, incidentally to TJI, ended the season.
An entirely new lineup took the courts on a bigger stage this time around.
TJI (12-1), which went on to lose against Parkway West in the championship dual, took a 2-1 lead out of doubles with the lone loss coming against Platte County juniors Katelyn Newberry and Jayne Muir at No. 3. Then a back-and-forth battle ensued in the six single matches with the Pirates needing to take four to complete a comeback.
Platte County eventually trailed 4-1. Straight set wins from senior Macy Doll (No. 5) and Muir (No. 6) closed the gap and left two matches on the court.
“Right around that time, Jayne Muir won her match, and pretty shortly after Macy Doll wins her match,” Blakley said. “Then it came down to Katelyn and Ellie.”
Newberry staged a big comeback in the second set to finish off a 6-4, 7-5 victory.
Platte County junior Katelyn Newberry hits a shot during the Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships third-place match Thursday at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.
That left Platte County senior No. 1 Ellie Kaser — one of only three players in program history with more than 100 combined singles and doubles victories — on the court against TJI senior Esther Yang, a seventh-place finisher in Class 2 singles at the individual state tournament a week earlier. Kaser led big in each of the first two sets, but Yang ended up with a 6-4, 5-7, 10-7 three-set win in a super tiebreaker.
Kaser fought off an initial match point but couldn’t survive the second.
“You could feel the energy start to build, and honestly, for us, we weren’t as nervous. We were playing the right way,” Blakley said. “Katelyn shifted her mindset, changed her mindset in the middle of the match and just started rolling. We’re so close to a state championship. There’s like 100 people watching. It’s pretty awesome.
“You couldn’t hope for a better scenario, and in that moment, it was tough. It was hard on Ellie.”
Kaser and junior Macie Keith became Platte County’s first state champions in tennis after winning the doubles bracket in the Class 2 individual tournament.
Platte County junior Macie Keith waits for an opponent’s serve during the Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships third-place match Thursday at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.
However, TJI entered with a unique advantage at the top of the lineup. In a weird quirk of the singles seeding, the Cavaliers ended up with two medalists, and sophomore No. 2 Sara Maksoud ended up fifth at state and finished above Yang on the podium.
Yang and Maksoud defeated Kaser and Keith 8-0 at No. 1 doubles and then swept the top two singles matches.
“That was a bit of bummer for Ellie and Macie after they won the state championship, but they didn’t have their best match,” Blakley said.
Just hours later, Platte County returned to the courts against St. Dominic, which dropped a semifinal to eventual state champion Parkway West 5-1, in the third-place match.
Kaser and Keith gave Platte County an early positive with an 8-2 victory at No. 2 doubles, but St. Dominic won the other five matches completed to lock up the dual. All three singles wins were in straight sets.
“St. Dominic was deep, and we’re a deep team,” Blakley said. “St. Dominic kind of matched us player for player. Everything was a battle.”
Emotions ran high with Platte County accepting the first state trophy in program history. The Pirates’ experienced lineup that produced this memorable run included three-year contributors in Kaser, Keith and Doll, and two graduate while Muir’s family is set to move out of district. The Pirates truly came together down the stretch, and Blakley lauded how each player seemingly wanted the best for each other throughout the memorable run.
That led to positive vibes going into the one-day placement duals and ultimately mixed emotions on a historic achievement.
“We were really pumped, especially after Ellie and Macie won a state title, to have the opportunity to go back down,” Blakley said. “We had a great week of practice. We felt good about our matchup, but we knew it would be tough (against TJI), but we knew we had another match (after the loss). We tried to have fun.
“Not a fun way to end your season, but I think the big message to the girls was just how proud I am of them and the season we had. We won a state trophy.”
