The individual stories combined to create the most accomplished day in program history, setting the tone for what should be a memorable postseason run.
Platte County senior Jaron Cook hits a return shot during a Class 2 District 8 doubles match Saturday at Platte County High School.
Platte County dominated the Class 2 District 8 individual tournament on Saturday at Platte County High School, locking up three of the four berths to the Class 2 Missouri State Tennis Championships. First, junior No. 1 Gavin Nichols staged a dramatic comeback to win his third straight district singles title. Second, the doubles final included both Pirates entrants with seniors Jack Forrest and Nathan Vanek defeating senior Jaron Cook and sophomore Jack Bralley.
However, both doubles teams will compete at the upcoming state meet with Vanek the first in program history to advance twice. He went last year with older brother Austin Vanek, and now teamed with Forrest to become Platte County’s first doubles district champion in program history. Prior to Saturday, the Pirates only had two doubles teams reach state but have now doubled that.
Forrest came back from disappointment as a singles entrant last year and will be a first-time qualifier along with Cook and Bralley.
The superlatives were overwhelming for a team veteran Platte County coach Zach Keith has not hesitate to call the most talented since the program started in the 2009-10 school year. The Pirates did little to dispel that, starting with a dominant run for Nichols in singles.
Nichols entered as the No. 1 seed and didn’t lose a set in the quarterfinals against Kansas City East’s Jesus Vazquez (6-0, 6-0) or semifinals against Grain Valley’s fifth-seeded Ethan Miller, who needed a third-set tiebreaker to beat William Chrisman’s fourth-seed Brandon Keltner. Miller lost the first set 6-0 and trailed 4-0 in the second when he retired.
The victory assured Nichols of his third straight singles berth. Already the only singles qualifier in program history, he continued adding to a legacy as the best player in Platte County’s history in a gutsy final against previously undefeated Liam Petrie of Lincoln Prep.
Platte County junior Gavin Nichols hits a backhand during a Class 2 District 8 singles match Saturday at Platte County High School.
Petrie led the first set 5-1, but Nichols won the next 11 games and then eventually the match 7-5, 6-2 to claim his third district singles title. He will now return to state after finish seventh as a freshman — the only medal in program history — but going 1-2 against a tough draw last year as a sophomore.
For the second straight year, Nichols will have doubles company at state, but this time, four more Platte County players will go.
The seeds did not hold in a wide-open and competitive bracket, and Cook and Bralley in particular played spoilers. Entering as the No. 5 seed, Platte County’s No. 4 and No. 6 singles players produced a quarterfinal upset of Grain Valley’s fourth-seeded Ben Drinkwater and Trace Compton (6-1, 7-5) to move within one win of a state berth. However, the Pirates were up against the somewhat-surprising top-seeded Colton Pazdera and Robert Ross of Kearney.
In what became the longest match of the tournament, Bralley eventually served the winner thanks to a return error in Platte County’s taxing 6-4, 5-7, 10-6 tiebreaker victory. Teammates ran onto the court to mob Bralley and Cook — a celebratory party that would also include their finals opponents.
Seeded at No. 2, Forrest and Vanek dominated their first two matches with 6-0, 6-2 and 6-1, 6-2 wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals. They then awaited the opponent and ended up defeating Bralley and Cook 6-2, 6-1 in the championship match.
Vanek and Forrest have been longtime doubles partners while moving up the ranks and into the varsity lineup the past two years. They will be the top candidates to achieve another first for Platte County: win a double match at the state tournament. The Vanek brothers were 0-2 last year, as was the team of Ethan Savage and Aaron Stout in Class 1 back in 2010.
Platte County senior Jack Forrest hits a forehand during a Class 2 District 8 doubles match Saturday at Platte County High School.
Platte County’s senior-heavy lineup also included Mason McBratney, who went 1-1 in singles and lost to Petrie in the quarterfinals.
However, McBratney could still end up at state and help his five teammates achieve the state double. Platte County earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 2 District 8 tournament and received a first-round bye. The Pirates will host fifth-seeded Lincoln Prep on Tuesday afternoon with the winner advancing to play either Grain Valley or Kearney in Wednesday’s championship.
Platte County defeated both second-seeded Grain Valley (8-1) and third-seeded Kearney (8-1) during the regular season. However, the Pirates have never won a team district title and have lost tight championship duals each of the past two seasons, giving them plenty of motivation to achieve another historic first.
With only eight districts in Class 2, Platte County (13-3) needs the district title and a state quarterfinal victory over the District 5 champion to advance to state and guarantee the first state team trophy in program history, as well.
Platte County 9, William Chrisman 0
Platte County sophomore Jack Bralley hits a serve during a Class 2 District 8 doubles match Saturday at Platte County High School.
Four days ahead of districts, the Pirates closed the regular season by finishing off an unbeaten Suburban Conference White Division championship with a shutout at Platte County High School.
Platte County went a perfect 4-0 and lost only one match in conference play after moving up from the Blue Division for the first time. The Pirates had also won each of the past two Blue Division champions, making this an unusual three-peat.
Against William Chrisman, Platte County dominated all three doubles matches with Forrest and Vanek playing at No. 1 and Nichols and McBratney at No. 2 with shutouts. Cook and Bralley were 8-1 winners at No. 3 for the Pirates.
Bralley had an 8-0 shutout for Platte County at No. 4 singles, and all six singles matches were won by a score of 8-3 or better.
Platte County 5, Savannah 4
The Pirates pulled out a dramatic victory over a Class 1 powerhouse on Monday at Noyes Tennis Complex in St. Joseph.
Savannah, the top seed in Class 1 District 16, took a 2-1 lead out of doubles with Platte County’s lone victory coming from Cook and Bralley at No. 3 (8-6). The Pirates losses were by scores of 8-6 and 9-7 in what were extremely tight matchups.
In singles, Savannah won at the top two spots but couldn’t come up with the split of six matches needed to take the dual. Instead, Vanek (8-1), Bralley (8-2), McBratney (8-4) and Cook (8-2) were strong to key a comeback.
Platte County goes into the Class 2 District 8 tournament on a five-dual winning streak with all three losses this year to Class 3 opponents — 5-4 to Blue Springs South in the season-opener and then 6-3 back-to-back against Park Hill South and Central (St. Joseph) in mid-April.
