Considering the roster attrition, Platte County showed a more than acceptable blend of inexperience and potential in a two-day season-opening tournament. The Pirates were competitive but winless in Friday’s three pool matchups in the Joplin Interstate Championships but came back to place second in Saturday’s Futures Bracket.
Duals were played to a best-of-five matches setup with three individuals in singles and two doubles teams. Players could only play one or the other and not both.
Platte County used the opportunity to mix and match and debut five players at the varsity level after losing nearly the entirety of the lineup that produced the first playoff appearance in program history.
“I knew we would look like a team that was replacing a lot of key players, but I was still very much impressed by how much better our level of play was on Day 2 compared to Day 1,” said Platte County veteran coach Zach Keith, who has said this roster features the most overall inexperience since he helped found the program nearly two decades ago. “I really feel like it was good for the girls to see quality competition because it can highlight weaknesses in a way practice can’t. We now have a nice list of things to work on, as well as insight into some of the things that we did very well.”
Platte County (2-3) opened against Carthage on Friday with senior Maggie McBratney returning to the No. 1 singles spot after playing there as a sophomore and at No. 2 as a junior. McBratney (8-0) and freshman Macie Keith (8-2) recorded victories, but the Tigers won both doubles matches and prevailed 3-2.
Against Lee’s Summit North, McBratney took the No. 1 singles match for Platte County, while sophomore Ellie Kaser (No. 2) and Macie Keith both lost by scores of 9-7. The Pirates’ split of the doubles matches resulted in a second 3-2 loss but with senior Lily Fish and sophomore Lillian Goodale winning 8-6 at No. 1.
Fish played at No. 4 singles for the majority of junior season and joins McBratney as the lone experienced returners.
Lebanon’s 4-1 victory in the final pool match sent Platte County into the bottom bracket for the final day. Kaser won 8-0 at No. 2 singles for the first victory of her career to help the Pirates avoid a shutout.
Platte County’s first win of the season came against Rogers Heritage (Arkansas) with McBratney (8-0) and Kaser (8-1) dominant in the top two singles spots. The Pirates also saw sophomore Veyda Chleborad and senior Jackie Frame, two more players making varsity debuts, record their first-ever victory at No. 2 doubles.
Platte County then advanced to the Futures Bracket championship dual behind a singles sweep against Joplin for McBratney (8-3), Kaser (8-0) and Frame (8-5). The Pirates dropped the finale 3-2 to Rogers (Arkansas), but McBratney closed the weekend with a 5-1 singles record after an 8-4 victory at No. 1. Kaser also continued her strong singles play with an 8-2 victory at No. 2. She posted a 4-1 record — winning the final four of the weekend — after playing doubles in the opener and taking her lone loss against Lee’s Summit North.
