In the first of two straight incredibly busy weeks, Platte County came up with three Suburban Conference White Division victories then took a trio of losses while playing top-tier competition in Friday’s Liberty Tournament. The Pirates have seemingly found an identity, own a 6-10 overall record and go into this week with a chance to win the league crown.
“I’m proud of the girls for the way they’ve come out and played with more confidence in our conference matches against some teams with less a bit less experience, and we’ve gradually started playing a better brand of winning tennis collectively,” Platte County coach Zach Keith said. “We will need that as we wrap up conference play this week on Thursday in Grain Valley against a team that’s made it a habit of making it to the (Class 2 state semifinals) the last several years.”
After Liberty took a shutout in Friday’s tournament opener without dropping a game, Platte County took a pair of matches in a 7-2 loss to Kickapoo. The No. 1 doubles team of senior Maggie McBratney and Ellie Kaser earned a 6-3 victory while Kaser won by the same score at No. 2 singles.
Central (St. Joseph) topped Platte County 6-3 in the final match with McBratney and Kaser taking a 6-0 victory at No. 1 doubles. McBratney (6-1 at No. 1) and senior Jackie Frame (6-2 at No. 6) were the singles winners for the Pirates.
McBratney plays at No. 1 for the second time in her career after holding the No. 2 spot last year as a junior, while Kaser made a big jump up from junior varsity to the top half of the lineup.
The results against the three strong Class 3 opponents were encouraging with Platte County likely in competition with St. Pius X (6-2) and Bishop LeBlond (5-3) for the top seed in Class 2 District 8. A year ago, the Pirates won the tournament to reach the playoffs for the first time in program history.
“Maggie McBratney and Ellie Kaser have continued to lead the team well at the top of the lineup, which is not an easy task as they have to take every opponent’s best shot week in and week out,” Keith said. “And even though we haven’t been as consistent at (Nos.) 3-6 in terms of getting wins, those ladies are getting in a lot of tennis, which will really help them individually and the team as we prepare for the most important part of the season. It’s not easy doing what we’re asking them to do in terms of competing with more experienced players in a regular basis, and we’ve been really proud of how they’ve responded.”
Prior to the one-set-to-six games tournament, Platte County moved within one win of a .500 record with dominant wins over William Chrisman (7-2), Ruskin (9-0) and Fort Osage (7-2) earlier in the week. The Pirates improved to 4-0 in White Division play, having lost just six matches total in those duals.
On Monday in Independence, Platte County continued to use a lineup involving eight different players with sophomore Macy Doll and senior Brooklynn Mahowski playing No. 3 doubles. They were 8-4 winners and helped the Pirates take an early lead combined with an 8-0 sweep for McBratney and Kaser at No. 1.
McBratney (8-0), Kaser (8-2), senior No. 3 Lily Fish (8-2), freshman No. 5 Macie Keith (8-2) and Frame (8-5) all took singles matches for Platte County, while sophomore No. 4 Lillian Goodale lost in a tiebreaker. Goodale and Frame have remained in singles only, while Fish and Keith have formed the Pirates’ No. 2 doubles team.
With only McBratney and Fish back from Platte County’s playoff team, six new contributors have now earned playing time.
Platte County lost just one game in the nine matches with Ruskin on Wednesday in Kansas City before encountering another challenge from Fort Osage on Thursday. The Pirates again came out of doubles with a 2-1 lead and related the 5-1 showing in singles.
In doubles, McBratney and Kaser were 8-0 winners at No. 1, while Fish and Macie Keith held on for an 8-5 win at No. 2 for Platte County. Keith also fought for an 8-6 win at No. 5 singles, while McBratney (8-1), Kaser (8-0), Fish (8-1) and Frame (8-3) held solid margins of victory to give the Pirates a season-best fourth straight dual win — all in conference play.
Platte County’s quest to reclaim the conference title resumes Monday at Truman. The Pirates then host Raytown on Tuesday before traveling to Grain Valley on Thursday for the likely decisive matchup for the White Division crown. The Eagles are 13-4 overall and have won seven straight.
