Coming off three straight dominant and consequential victories, Platte County received an opportunity to both test depth and take a breath as the postseason approaches.
Platte County senior Jack Forrest hits a forehand during a match in a dual with Belton on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
The Art Loepp Northland Invitational on Saturday at Oak Park High School in Kansas City featured plenty of competition but didn’t have any real bearing on the chase for the Suburban Conference White Division title nor Class 2 District 8 seeding. Still, the Pirates placed fourth out of 10 teams with both singles entries and a doubles team placing top four and the other doubles entrant fighting back to claim fifth place in the consolation side of the bracket.
Platte County totaled 42 points and finished behind only Class 3 programs Park Hill South (50), Liberty (47) and Park Hill (44). Kearney, the only other Class 2 team in the field, finished 10th.
The highlight came from junior Gavin Nichols (A singles) and sophomore Jack Bralley (B singles) with both finishing third. However, Nichols lost a rematch with Park Hill South’s Henry Jacobs in the semifinals in a tiebreaker after having won the previous meeting between the two during a dual. Bralley dropped his semifinal to Park Hill’s Drew Miller but came back with an 8-0 win over North Kansas City’s Joseph Ko in the third-place match.
Platte County senior Nathan Vanek hits a shot in a match during a dual with Belton on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Platte County seniors Jack Forrest and Nathan Vanek finished fourth in A doubles, receiving a first-round bye and then going 1-2. The Pirates’ team of seniors Mason McBratney and Jaron Cook lost in the quarterfinals to Michael Tang and Ryan Soper of Central (St. Joseph) but finished 2-1 overall to capture fifth place.
“We intentionally did not train very much this week in order to give the guys a little bit of a mental and physical break before the push for the postseason begins this coming week,” Platte County coach Zach Keith said. “So we knew the higher level of competition on Saturday would be a little bit of a rude awakening. I don’t know that any of the guys were completely satisfied with they played overall, but it was good for us to have some high level tennis matches.”
Indeed, Platte County entered off of an 8-1 win over Grain Valley on Monday that locked up the top seed for the Class 2 District 8 tournament and then 9-0 sweeps over Belton and Raytown on Tuesday and Thursday that put the Pirates on the brink of winning a third straight conference title and first since moving up a tier for the first time. They loaded up the schedule for what Keith has unashamedly called the most talented in program history.
Platte County (10-7) closes the regular season against Savannah, a returning Class 1 state playoff qualifier, on Monday and then at home Tuesday against William Chrisman. A victory in the latter sends the Pirates into the postseason with the outright White Division crown.
Platte County senior Jaron Cook hits a shot during a match in a dual with Belton on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
That’s because Platte County earned a much-needed win over Grain Valley on Monday. The two teams met twice last year with the Eagles taking both by a 5-4 score, the second coming in the Class 2 District 8 championship match. The Pirates have reached that round each of the past two years but remain in search of the first playoff appearance in postseason history.
“The district championship match was probably the closest match, from beginning to end, in Platte County tennis history,” Keith noted
The 8-1 victory should provide some needed confidence, especially given the circumstances.
Nichols played with a strained meniscus and ACL suffered last weekend against doctor’s orders, while Vanek gutted through doubles and singles matches while battling illness. Forrest and Vanek won five of the final six games for an 8-3 victory at No. 1 doubles to highlight a sweep that sent Platte County into singles with a 3-0 lead. Nichols (8-1 at No. 1) and Vanek (8-3 at No. 3) quickly claimed victories to secure the dual victory. Bralley (8-4 at No. 4), Cook (8-4 at No. 6) and McBratney (8-6 at No. 5) were also victorious.
“Jack Bralley played some of his best tennis of the year,” Keith said. “Even though Mason and Jaron would tell you they didn’t, they still controlled their matches and showed why they are very reliable match in and match out at Nos. 5 and 6.”
After the two duals to start the week, Platte County shifts focus first to the Class 2 District 8 individual tennis tournament, scheduled for Saturday at Platte County High School. Each team enters two singles players and two doubles teams with the finalists in both brackets earning berths to the Class 2 Missouri State Tennis Championships.
Nichols enters as the two-time defending singles champion, having earned the only state berths in that discipline in program history and medaling as a freshman. Vanek teamed with graduated older brother Austin Vanek to make a surprise run to the doubles final in 2022, becoming the second team to advance to state for the Pirates and first since Ethan Savage and Aaron Stout in Class 1.
Forrest competed in singles as a junior, while Bralley was on a doubles team with graduated senior Shane Duggan.
The Class 2 District 8 bracket has not been released, but Platte County should open with a first round bye as the top seed. Grain Valley should be the No. 2 with Kearney, Lincoln Prep, William Chrisman and Winnetonka also in the field.
