Platte County now knows the task ahead, and while the Suburban Conference White Division title got away from the Pirates, the postseason looks full of possibilities.
As the regular season nears the end, Platte County put together an impressive showing in the nine-team Suburban North Tournament on Saturday at Oak Park High School. The Pirates placed in a tie for fourth as a team with North Kansas City with 34 points and came in behind only champion Staley (50), runnerup Park Hill (48) and Park Hill South (39). The bulk of the points came from senior Ellie Fish and junior Olivia Holbrook making a run to the B Double title — just the third flight championship in the program’s 15-year history playing in the event.
In addition, Platte County sophomore Maggie McBratney made the A singles semifinals and placed fourth, while senior Cosette Stephenson and junior Addy Mayne recovered from an opening loss n A Doubles to go 3-1 and finish fifth.
Platte County senior Cosette Stephenson hits a backhand during a singles match in a dual with Blue Springs on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
“The girls have handled the strong competition well, and it’s showed against other competition,” Platte County coach Zach Keith said. “We are right where we want to be heading into districts.”
The results were encouraging for Platte County ahead of Monday’s final home match and senior night conference dual with William Chrisman, Tuesday’s regular season finale at North Kansas City and the start of Class 2 District 8 play in the individual tournament Friday at Platte County High School. The Pirates will then be highly seeded in the team bracket that will play out next week.
Platte County entered the season with three seniors in the top six but only Fish with prior varsity experience. She continues to play at No. 5 singles, while McBratney, Holbrook, Mayne and Stephenson made big moves up the depth chart, and junior EmmaLyn Burnett and senior Madelyn McFall have been rotating in the No. 6 spot.
“We’ve had a couple of girls that did not start the year on varsity that have either played some varsity matches or done really well on JV and done a lot of what we’ve asked of them,” Keith said. “We’re using this season to prepare us for the future. I think we’ve improved a ton.”
Burnett received the call in the Suburban North Tournament but went 0-2 in B singles.
Platte County thrived in the difficult field. Fish and Holbrook were especially impressive, upsetting second-seeded Ava Gates and Chloe McClendon of Staley 8-4 and then reaching the finals with an 8-0 shutout of third-seeded Sophia Nguyen and Campbell Woodbury of Park Hill South. In the finals, Fish and Holbrook held off top-seeded Avery Whalen and Faith Moise of Park Hill for an 8-5 victory.
McBratney also went in unseeded but in the quarterfinals reversed the result of an earlier loss by beating fourth-seeded Oak Park Sydney Prate 8-3. McBratney ended up going only 1-2 overall with a loss to top seed and eventual champion Sydney Fuger of North Kansas City in the semifinals and unseeded Katie Miller of Park Hill 8-6 in the third-place match.
Stephenson and Mayne played the most after being drawn into a first round match and beating Truman’s Lessly Berrios and Jordyn Hughes.
After an 8-1 loss to top-seeded Hanna Bytyqi and Vivian Hamilton in quarterfinals, Platte County’s duo started a run through the consolation bracket with a dominant 8-1 win over St. Joseph Central’s Dani Burg and Hattie Adkins. The Pirates closed it with an 8-6 win over North Kansas City’s Adele Merchant and Lilly Gerend in the fifth-place match.
The lineup for the Suburban North could provide a glimpse into what comes next for Platte County in the postseason.
Platte County sophomore Maggie McBratney prepares to hit a forehand return during a singles match in a dual with Blue Springs on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
“We’ll have a couple days of practice Wednesday and Thursday to really focus on what we want to do at individual districts and how that impacts us as a team,” Keith said. “Not a lot of conversations yet, but we’re obviously thinking about the big picture and I’m having individual conversations, as well.”
Platte County rebounded well from the Liberty North Doubles Tournament on Friday when the Pirates lost 5-0 to Liberty, 4-1 to Liberty North and 3-2 Staley in a four-team round robin. Keith used the opportunity to mix and match players without any real focus on who might be playing together down the stretch.
With a 7-6 dual record, Platte County needs a win over William Chrisman to lock up second in the White Division after moving up from the Blue Division after earning that championship a year ago. The Pirates will likely be in competition for the top seed in Class 2 District 8 but could also be the No. 3 with St. Pius X (14-2) and Bishop LeBlond (7-2) also in the field with impressive records but against much different competition.
“I think the girls are ready to compete agains the teams in our district when we have to see the level of competition we knew that we would see,” Keith said.
The first question will be how Platte County divides the roster for Friday’s individual district tournament. The top two singles players and doubles teams advance to the Class 2 Missouri State Tennis Championships.
Platte County senior Ellie Fish prepares to hit a serve during a singles match in a dual with Blue Springs on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Two years ago, Platte County’s Molly McBratney became the first state singles qualifier in program history, and the Pirates’ only doubles team to reach state came more than a decade earlier in a two-class system. Molly McBratney suffered an upset loss early and didn’t earn a repeat bid, and now a team district championship could be the more likely scenario with Maggie McBratney likely making her singles postseason debut in a tough field and the Pirates doubles teams capable but without a true No. 1 or No. 2 and plenty of options with McFall and Burnett in the mix.
“I don’t know that we will be seeded one or two in either individual singles or individual doubles, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get someone through,” Keith said. “Who know what we’re getting there, but teamwise, if you match us up one-on-one with any team in our district, I like our chances of being very competitive with any of them. We just don’t see the teams in our district this year like we have in the past, so I couldn’t sit here and say I love our chances. But you’d have a hard time convincing me that we aren’t at least 50-50 with at least three or four teams in our districts. I will say I know we play the toughest schedule of any team in our district so in terms of being prepared for quality competition, I can’t imagine anyone is as prepared as us. I hope that translates into success, but that’s why you play.”
Platte County 8, Belton 1
On Thursday, Platte County traveled to Belton and improved to 2-1 in White Division play with a near sweep.
The doubles teams to win for Platte County were at No. 2 (Mayne and Stephenson) and No. 3 (Fish and McFall), both by a score of 8-2. Platte County then swept the singles with the closest match Maggie McBratney’s 8-4 triumph at No. 1, while Stephenson had an 8-0 shutout at No. 4 and McFall took advantage of her time in the lineup with an 8-1 win at No. 6.
Platte County 7, Blue Springs 2
The Pirates took a break from conference play and recorded a comfortable victory Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Mayne and Stephenson were 8-1 winners at No. 2 doubles for Platte County, while Fish and McFall won by a score of 8-3 at No. 3. The Pirates then won 5 of 6 in singles with Holbrook (No. 2), Mayne (No. 3), Stephenson (No. 4), Fish (No. 5) and McFall (No. 6) all winning by scores of 8-3 or better, but none were shutouts.
Platte County 9, Raytown 0
The Pirates didn’t lose a single game in a White Division sweep Monday in Raytown.
McFall returned to the lineup in singles to start the week and recorded 8-0 victory. Platte County continued to stay consistent with McBratney and Holbrook at No. 1 doubles and earning a win. McBratney also came up with a needed 8-0 win at No. 1 and the rest of the lineup followed suit.
Liberty Tournament
The Pirates lost both of their duals last Saturday in Liberty with the No. 3 doubles team of Stephenson and McFall earning the lone victory against Kickapoo.
Liberty defeated Platte County 9-0, and Kickapoo won the dual 8-1 with a sweep of singles.
Grain Valley 7, Platte County 2
The Pirates’ loss in the White Division opener ultimately decided the championship last Thursday in Grain Valley.
Keith tested his depth and received an 8-4 victory from Stephenson and McFall at No. 3 doubles to send Platte County into singles down 2-1. The lone singles win came from Fish 9-8 (7-2) in a tiebreaker at No. 5. Burnett played singles and played well in an 8-5 loss, while Stephenson nearly forced a tiebreaker but dropped the No. 4 match 9-7.
