With St. Pius X loading up the singles bracket, Platte County’s decision to pair junior Ellie Kaser and sophomore Macie Keith made all the more sense. The Pirates’ top two players earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 2 District 8 bracket and recorded three straight set victories in a row to claim the title Friday at Platte County High School and earn a state berth.
Platte County sophomore Macie Keith hits a shot during a dual with Central (St. Joseph) on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Platte County extended the active streak of qualifying at least one individual entrant to the Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships to four years, all with at least one doubles team.
“I felt really good about all of our girls’ chances. I knew in singles it would be tough,” Platte County coach Scott Blakley said. “Really proud of (Ellie and Macie). They played No. 1 and No. 2 all year, and they played 1 doubles together all year. They’ve had a really successful season.”
A second-year starter in a first season at No. 1 singles, Kaser joins Addy Mayne and Olivia Holbrook as the only two-time state qualifiers in Platte County’s program history. She went last year alongside now-graduated Lily Fish with the pair going 0-2 in the Class 2 tournament. Keith, who moved up from No. 4 in the Pirates’ lineup to No. 2, became a first-time qualifier after playing singles in districts a year ago.
Kaser and Keith were mostly dominant in their postseason debut together. After a first-round bye, they blanked William Chrisman’s Reese Williams and Kelsi Carter 6-0, 6-0 to reach the semifinals. A 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) victory over fourth-seeded Avery Smith and Annelise Sharp of St. Pius X ended up being the closest of three matches but also guaranteed the state berth.
Platte County junior Lillian Goodale reaches to hit a shot during a singles match in a dual with Central (St. Joseph) on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
In the championship, Kaser and Keith pulled away from No. 3 seed Araceli Cruz and Eva Henges for a 6-3, 6-0 win. Cruz and Henges were on their fourth match of the day and coming off of back-to-back three set battles. Kaser and Keith improved to 19-10 on the season as a doubles team.
“Many of their losses are to state qualifiers, whether in Class 1, 2 or 3,” Blakley said. “We’re excited to see them at state.”
One of the wins for Cruz and Henges came in the quarterfinals against Platte County juniors Lillian Goodale and Macy Doll, who earned the No. 6 seed and opened the tournament with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Lyla Clark and Allegra Dickson of Lincoln Prep. The Pirates’ No. 3 and No. 5 players and No. 2 doubles team then fought back before bowing out of the tournament with a 6-4, 1-6, 10-5 loss to Cruz and Henges.
“I know Lillian and Macy were really bummed they didn’t get that win and play in the semis for a chance to go to state, but we played really well in the second set but didn’t have enough clutch points in the super tiebreaker,” Blakley said. “Anyone who knows tennis will tell you, if you get into a third set super tiebreaker, it’s anybody’s match. Anything can happen. I know they’re disappointed, but I’m really proud of them.”
Platte County freshman Clare Hayter hits a serve during a singles match in a dual with Central (St. Joseph) on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
St. Pius X senior Kiera Dunn knocked off sophomore teammate Evie Ward 6-1, 6-3 in the singles final. Each team enters two singles players and two doubles teams into the brackets with the top two seeds receiving first round byes in the seven-team district.
Dunn and Ward were No. 1 and No. 2 in singles.
Platte County sophomore Jayne Muir owned the No. 8 seed and opened with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Minnetonka’s Aubrey Austin to reach the quarterfinals but lost 6-0, 6-0 to Dunn. Hayter’s tournament ended with a 6-3, 6-4 first-round loss to Lincoln Prep’s Ariana Easton, who owned the No. 7 seed.
Doll, Muir and Hayter all made individual district debuts for Platte County.
“Still felt good about Jayne Muir and Clare Hayter in singles,” Blakley said. “I think Jayne would say there was a little too much experience from (Dunn) in the second round. Jayne just isn’t quite there yet, playing varsity No. 4 all year and then have to take on the best player in the district. Clare had a battle in the 7-10 matchup. I liked her chances going in. She played well.”
Already owning this year’s Suburban Conference White Division Championship, Platte County (11-6) turns the focus to this week’s Class 2 District 8 tournament seeking a second playoff berth in three seasons. The Pirates finished as runnerup last year after reaching the state quarterfinals in 2023.
St. Pius X (12-1), the defending Class 2 District 8 champion, owns the No. 1 seed and a 9-0 victory over Platte County in the regular season. The Warriors have a first round bye.
Platte County sophomore Jayne Muir hits a shot during a singles match in a dual with Central (St. Joseph) on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Platte County opens up at home against No. 7 seed Lincoln Prep (4-10) with the winner advancing to play either No. 3 Winnetonka (9-3) or No. 6 William Chrisman (5-6) in Tuesday’s semifinal. The championship dual will be Wednesday at the higher seed’s home facility.
Rebuilding this year’s roster, Platte County relied on Kaser, Keith, Goodale (No. 3) and Doll (No. 5) — all back from last year’s postseason roster. However, Goodale played only singles and Doll only doubles while helping the Pirates to the district championship dual, which ended with a 5-1 loss to St. Pius X. There were four seniors in the lineup for that matchup.
In a short season, Blakley ended up having to make changes this year whenjunior Addison Fleming, who occupied the No. 3 singles spot, went down with a dislocated knee cap during a dual win over Ruskin that likely end her season. The Pirates had already shifted her out of doubles with sophomore Katelyn Newberry quickly finding success as a partner with Muir at No. 3, while Hayter moved into the No. 6 singles spot.
Platte County 5, Staley 4
Playing a third dual in three days and preparing for the individual district tournament, both teams made lineup adjustments Thursday at Staley High School in Kansas City.
Platte County junior Macy Doll hits a shot during a singles match in a dual with Central (St. Joseph) on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Platte County took a 2-1 lead out of doubles with Goodale and Doll winning 8-5 at No. 2, while Newberry and junior Ainsley Scheib took the No. 3 match 8-4. Muir and Hayter played at No. 1 and No. 2 in singles but took losses, but the Pirates earned a split of six matches to earn the dual victory.
Newberry (8-4 at No. 4), sophomore Halley Jenni (9-8 (7-4) at No. 5) and junior Veyda Chleborad (8-6 at No. 6) were Platte County’s winners.
“We just have a pretty deep roster,” Blakley said. “We were essentially down 4-2, and it’s starting to get dark outside. Veyda and Halley were both behind. Everybody from Platte County is wathcing and cheering; everyone from Staley is cheering on their senior night. This match is on Court 5, right by the benches. To cap our year at 11-6 as a team, it was awesome.
“That was the perfect way to finish off the regular season.”
Platte County 9, Raytown 0
The Pirates officially wrapped up the unbeaten run to the conference title while celebrating senior night Wednesday at Platte County High School.
Platte County sophomore Macie Keith hits a shot during a singles match in a dual with Central (St. Joseph) on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Already guaranteed of at least a share of the White Division crown, Platte County swept doubles and then played lone senior Kelly Gabbert at No. 5 singles and junior Signe Rasmussen, a foreign exchange student from Denmark, at No. 6. Gabbert made her varsity debut with an 8-3 win, while Rasmussen held on for an 8-6 victory.
“Kelly’s been a great overall team member this year, super positive with the girls. All the girls look up to her,” Blakley said. “It was really fun to send her out that way.”
Kaser and Keith (No. 1 doubles) and Muir and Hayter (No. 3 doubles) scored shutouts, while Goodale and Doll won 8-4 at No. 2.
Platte County’s singles dominance included 8-0 victories for Kaser, Keith and Goodale in the top three spots. Muir added an 8-1 win at No. 4.
Platte County 5, Central (St. Joseph) 4
The Pirates won one of the two doubles results Tuesday at Platte County High School decided by a score of 9-7 then split six singles matches on the way to a tight dual victory to start a busy week.
Kaser and Keith took an 8-0 sweep at No. 1 doubles, while Muir and Newberry survived a 9-7 matchup at No. 3 to put Platte County up 2-1. Muir and Newberry trailed much of the match but took the final three games. The wins from Kaser (6-3, 6-2 at No. 1), Keith (6-4, 6-3 at No. 2) and Doll (4-6, 6-2, 12-10 at No. 5) were enough to deliver the win. Goodale also went to a third-set tiebreaker.
The outcome reversed a result of a 5-4 Central win in a dual during the Liberty Invitational.
“The girls played really well, really inspired,” Blakley said. “Winning two out of three doubles matches is always good when you’re playing a team that’s really close in competition level because a lot of times (the dual) comes down to that.”
