Kaser/Keith head back to state in doubles looking to make more program history

Another day of triumph couldn’t escape an overhanging sense of disappointment.

Platte County senior Ellie Kaser and junior Macie Keith deepened their imprint on the school record book with a second straight Class 2 District 8 doubles championship Friday at St. Pius X High School in Kansas City. However, the duo ended up the only state qualifiers from one of the Pirates’ most talented lineups in program history.

All four entrants medaled, but only Kaser and Keith reached the championship match to earn a spot in this month’s Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships individual tournament.

“It was a good day,” Platte County coach Scott Blakley said. “There were some sad moments. We didn’t quite reach where we wanted for some of our entrants, and maybe I’m just being a little bit greedy because to qualify a doubles team for state as a district champion in back-to-back years is incredible to do. We just wanted it for the other girls, and to be so close made things a little bittersweet.”

Platte County’s focus can now turn to this week’s Class 2 District 8 team tournament and extending the season for all six varsity players. The Pirates own the No. 1 seed and a 6-3 regular season victory over St. Pius X fueling optimism over earning just the second playoff berth in program history and first since 2023.

However, Platte County went into the individual competition with big goals and came up just short in what became extremely unusual proceedings.

Kaser became the first three-time state qualifier in program history, while Keith now joins an exclusive list of two-timers that also includes Addy Mayne and Olivia Holbrook. The Pirates extended the active streak of qualifying at least one individual entrant to state to five years, all of those with at least one doubles team.

Additionally, Platte County juniors Katelyn Newberry and Jayne Muir both reached the singles semifinals, while senior Macy Doll and sophomore Clare Hayter placed third in doubles. Newberry conceded the third-place match to Muir, her doubles partner.

Newberry and Doll/Hayter both lost third-set tiebreakers in the semifinals to the No. 2 seed in the brackets when a win would have earned a state berth.

“Pretty heartbreaking. I really wanted it for them,” Blakley said.

However, the dramatics started much earlier when a disagreement between coaches on seeding processes led to the tournament starting only to then have a stoppage in play before a new bracket went into effect, nullifying some final results and other matches in progress.

The Missouri State High School Activities Association made the final decision on procedures. This specifically affected Muir, who ended up making a remarkable run to third place. A random draw moved her from No. 9 to No. 13, and she posted victories over the No. 4-seeded Kearney sophomore Sadie Stuart and Winnetonka junior Lydia Heathman to reach the semifinals.

Muir dropped to the third-place match with a 6-2, 6-0 loss to St. Pius X junior Evie Ward, who went on to claim the singles title. Ironically, Muir won her original first-round match while seeded at No. 9 and would have faced Ward in the quarterfinals had the brackets not been redrawn.

“We had a day,” Blakley said. “Ultimately, there was that situation with the MSHSAA ruling, and we had to make sure we did things right or the matches could have been contested. We could have had to come back and play the entire tournament again on Saturday.”

Newberry maintained the No. 3 seed and posted back-to-back straight-set victories to reach the other semifinal and then came up just short of a comeback against second-seeded Lincoln Prep senior Annika Wirz — a 6-4, 0-6, 10-5 winner to earn the other singles state berth.

Platte County also maintained seeds in the doubles bracket, and Kaser and Keith received a first-round bye as the No. 1. They lost just three games total in three consecutive two-set sweeps to repeat as champions.

A year ago, Kaser and Keith became Platte County’s first-ever doubles team to win a state match, going 1-2 and just missing a Class 2 medal. Doll and Hayter were the No. 3 seed and were dominant in first round and quarterfinal victories. In the semifinals, St. Pius X’s combo of seniors Avery Smith and Sydney Mitchell — the Warriors’ Nos. 2 and 3 players — came back for a 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-5 victory after taking both of the pivotal tiebreakers.

“We had all four of our individual entrants playing in the semifinals at the same time, and it was just two hours of intensity, nerves and emotion,” Blakley said.

A year ago, Hayter played singles at districts and didn’t win a match, while Muir (singles) and Doll (doubles) were also in last year’s individual postseason tournaments.

All six of Platte County’s players in the lineup were also part of the runnerup finish in the Class 2 District 8 team tournament. St. Pius X has won that title each of the past two seasons.

In 2023, Platte County advanced the playoffs with a win over St. Pius X in the Class 2 District 8 championship match and then lost a state quarterfinal to Thomas Jefferson Independent.

This year’s tournament starts with Monday’s first-round matches, and Platte County plays either Kearney or Benton in Tuesday’s semifinals at Platte County High School. The championship will be Wednesday with the winner advancing to play the District 7 champion a week later.

Platte County 5, Savannah 2

With two singles matches left uncontested, the Pirates were a 5-2 winner in a dual against the 2025 Class 1 state runnerup Wednesday at Platte County High School.

This served as the final test before the start of the postseason with Platte County taking a 2-1 lead out of doubles and then securing the dual win behind singles victories for Hayter at No. 3, Newberry at No. 4 and Muir at No. 6. All three were two-set sweeps.

Kaser and Keith closed the regular season with a tight 8-6 victory at No. 1 doubles, while Newberry and Muir took the No. 3 match 8-2.

Platte County 9, Raymore-Peculiar 0

The Pirates swept a nonconference matchup Monday in Peculiar, part of what became a seven-dual winning streak entering district play.

In doubles, Platte County dropped just eight games total, and Kaser (No. 1) and Muir (No. 6) posted shutouts in singles. The closest match ended up being Doll’s 8-5 victory at No. 5.