For the second straight year, Platte County made the Class 2 District 8 individual tournament doubles final into an all-Pirates affair.
Platte County seniors Addy Mayne and Olivia Holbrook earned the championship with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over senior teammates Delaney Bachmann and Lucy McClain on Friday afternoon at Kearney High School. Both earned berths to the upcoming Class 2 Missouri State Tennis Championships after equally dramatic semifinal victories ahead of the title match.
Interestingly, Mayne and Holbrook earned repeat trips after both went in 2022 but as part of separate teams. Bachmann and McClain are first-year starters.
Platte County’s senior quartet came a long way to this point in their career to play such a big part in writing more program history.
“After the tournament, we were all together eating dinner, and I asked the girls what number they played on the team as a freshman,” Platte County coach Zach Keith said. “Every single one of them was No. 20 or below. That shows their level of commitment to getting better and working hard to be the best players they can be.”
Prior to last fall, only one Platte County doubles team had advanced to state. The Pirates’ singles qualifiers remains at one after junior Maggie McBratney dropped a semifinal Friday to top-seeded Bishop LeBlond senior Emily Weddle, who went on to finish first. McBratney needed just one win to join older sister Molly McBratney as the only players in program history to reach a district final.
Maggie McBratney finished fourth after a loss to LeBlond’s Kris Ideker in the third-place match.
“I know Maggie was really disappointed in the loss because she and Weddle had a really good match last year in this same tournament, but Weddle was really tough on Friday,” Keith said. “Maggie will use this tournament as an opportunity to get better and come back stronger and more well-rounded next year with high hopes of earning a state bid.”
Mayne became a two-time district doubles champion for Platte County. A year earlier, she teamed with Cosette Stephenson to best Holbrook and Ellie Fish in the championship match. However, Stephenson and Ellie Fish were two of four seniors in the Pirates’ 2022 lineup.
With the turnover, Platte County saw major changes. Mayne moved up to No. 1 with McBratney bringing top-of-the-lineup experience to the No. 2 spot. The Pirates then faced early questions after junior No. 4 Summer Jenni suffered a season-ending knee injury during a singles match in a dual with Staley.
Eventually, Keith settled on partnering his top two seniors, while McBratney played singles at districts for a second straight year along with junior Lily Fish, who lost in the opening round to the tournament’s No. 3 seed. Bachmann opened 2022 in the No. 6 spot but moved up after Jenni’s injury, and McClain went from doubles-only to two-way lineup mainstay.
Mayne and Holbrook earned the No. 1 seed in Friday’s double bracket and easily advanced to the semifinals. However, they dropped the first set of that matchup against LeBlond’s duo of Hillary Bui and Murphy King, only to come back for a difficult 6-7, 6-2, 10-6 victory to give Platte County the first state qualifier of the day.
Coming off of an upset of No. 3 seed Kearney, Bachmann and McClain were down 4-6, 2-5 to No. 2 seed Manmeet Kaur and Charli Pyle of St. Pius X in the other semifinal. The Pirates’ unseeded entry came all the way back for a miraculous 4-6, 7-5, 10-8 victory.
“We had five of our six varsity players in the district semifinals and playing simultaneously, and at one point, both doubles teams and McBratney had lost their first set and win prospects looked low,” Keith said. “When both doubles teams turned it around, the energy from the players, all of the girls watching and family and friends was incredible. I’m not sure I’ve seen momentum shift like that in two simultaneous doubles matches.”
Prior to 2022, Lisa Wyrwinski and Rachel Bumstead were Platte County’s only other state-qualifying doubles team (2009), and only three players had advanced past districts. The Pirates now have nine to achieve the feat with Mayne and Holbrook the first ever two-time qualifiers.
Platte County now looks to make more history in the coming days and weeks. The Pirates earned the top seed for the Class 2 District 8 team tournament and play in Tuesday’s semifinals against either William Chrisman or Kearney. They beat both potential opponents during the regular season.
The championship dual will be Wednesday with No. 2 seed Bishop LeBlond and No. 3 seed St. Pius X the favorites.
Platte County needs two wins to claim the first district title in program history after losing lost last year’s final to St. Pius X. The Pirates hope to add the team success knowing the season will continue at state regardless with a chance at another first.
None of Platte County’s prior individual state qualifiers have won a state match with all three doubles teams and McBratney in 2020 all going 0-2. Mayne/Holbrook and Bachmann/McClain will be looking to end the winless drought Thursday, October 12 at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.
If Platte County wins the District 8 tournament, the Class 2 quarterfinals will be Monday, October 9, which could be the first playoff game in program history.
Northland Invitational
Platte County finished third behind North Kansas City and Staley in Wednesday’s tournament at Oak Park High School in Kansas City in the final tuneup before the postseason.
Bachmann and McClain led the way, advancing to the B Doubles final and placing fourth. The Pirates then did the majority of the work in the consolation half of the bracket with two of the four entrants losing in the first round. Fish also reached the semifinals in B doubles but ended up 1-2 and placing fourth.
McBratney (A singles) and Mayne and Holbrook (A doubles) both went 2-1 overall and placed fifth. The setup previewed what Platte County would use at districts two days later. The Pirates ended up with a busy week of play after inclement weather postponed the tournament from Saturday.
North Kansas City 6, Platte County 3
The Pirates finished the regular season with an 11-8 record after a loss Tuesday at Platte County High School.
North Kansas City took a 3-0 lead out of doubles before splitting the six singles matches. Holbrook (No. 3), Fish (No. 4) and Bachmann (No. 5) all earned victories, but Platte County needed to win five of six to complete the comeback.
Platte County 9, William Chrisman 0
The Pirates closed Suburban Conference White Division play with three straight wins thanks to a shutout Monday in Independence.
After losing in early September to Grain Valley, Platte County went on to finish 3-1 in league play and finished behind only the undefeated champions. The Pirates left little doubt against William Chrisman with Mayne and Holbrook (No. 1), McBratney and Fish (No. 2) and Bachmann and McClain (No. 3) all securing doubles wins. They were equally dominant in sweeping singles with the normal lineup.
