Platte County took some extra time to ensure a 9-0 sweep of Kearney then honored six seniors, including the four in the current dual lineup, in a ceremony Thursday at Platte County High School. The Pirates had plenty to celebrate with a mostly inexperienced roster seemingly in position to have a strong postseason.
Platte County senior Maggie McBratney hits a backhand during a singles match against Kearney on Thursday at Platte County High School.
Improving to 9-12, Platte County needed a lengthy 9-8 (2) tiebreaker victory from senior Lily Fish and freshman Macie Keith at No. 2 doubles to secure the shutout. In fact, senior No. 1 Maggie McBratney had already finished an 8-0 shutout in her singles match after she paired with sophomore Ellie Kaser in a win by the same score at No. 1 doubles by the time Fish and Keith finished.
Platte County’s No. 3 doubles team of senior Brooklynn Mahowski and sophomore Macy Doll — a duo that has expanded the number of players in the lineup to eight — also finished a tidy 8-2 victory to extend the Pirates’ lead to 4-0.
In singles, Platte County mostly dominated with Keith an 8-0 winner at No. 4 plus Kaser 8-1 at No. 2. The Pirates’ seniors were able to go unbeaten with Fish prevailing 8-4 at No. 3 and Jackie Frame earning a victory at No. 5 after her opponent defaulted while trailing 6-5.
Platte County sophomore Lillian Goodale rounded out the effort with an 8-3 victory at No. 6 singles. The Pirates then honored McBratney, Fish, Frame, Mahowski, Summer Jenni and Ailin Garcia — the seniors responsible for leading a turnover despite limited experience from a recent run of success. Jenni started last fall at No. 4 singles but suffered a knee injury that ended her season and prevented her from playing this season, as well.
Platte County senior Lily Fish hits a serve during a doubles match against Kearney on Thursday at Platte County High School.
Because of Jenni’s injury, Platte County entered this season returning only McBratney — also the No. 1 as a sophomore before playing No. 2 as a junior — and Fish, a key part of the first playoff team in program history a year ago. Kaser, Keith, Frame and Goodale have spent the majority of the season in the singles lineup, while Doll and Mahowski became doubles-only players down the stretch.
Platte County closes the regular season Tuesday with a dual on the road against Central (St. Joseph). The Pirates then turn the focus to hosting the Class 2 District 8 individual tournaments Thursday at Platte County High School with hopes of continuing the recent run of state qualifiers.
The entrants could be interesting with each team putting two doubles teams and two singles players into the brackets.
McBratney seems a strong bet to have a shot at becoming the second in program history to advance to the Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships in singles, joining older sister Molly McBratney (district champion, 2020). Each of the past two years, Maggie McBratney earned a strong seed in the district bracket but came up short.
However, Kaser and Maggie McBratney have also been the top doubles team for Platte County. The two district finalists in both singles and doubles advance to state, and in anticipation of difficult decisions, the Pirates recently used Fish and Kaser together in the Suburban North Tournament while Keith played singles.
Platte County senior Brooklynn Mahowski prepares to hit a shot during a doubles match against Kearney on Thursday at Platte County High School.
Outside of the top three, Keith seems likely to play in some capacity for Platte County, and Frame, Goodale, Doll, Mahowski and sophomore Veyda Chleborad other options in some combination. In addition to Molly McBratney’s singles berth, the Pirates have swept the Class 2 District 8 state doubles spots each of the past two years but none of the players from those teams are back.
Platte County also looks to defend the team title from last year that resulted in the program’s first playoff appearance. Seeding hasn’t been determined, but the Pirates seem likely to take the No. 1 spot in the tournament set to begin next week.
A year ago, Platte County edged St. Pius X 5-4 in the Class 2 District 8 final but saw a historic season end in the state quarterfinals with a shutout loss to Thomas Jefferson Independent. The Pirates graduated four seniors from that lineup and have collectively replaced them with the current group of six contributors in addition to McBratney and Fish.
Park Hill South 5, Platte County 4
The Pirates’ week started with a close loss to a Class 3 opponent on Tuesday at Park Hill South High School in Riverside.
Platte County came out of doubles with a 2-1 lead thanks to victories at No. 1 from McBratney and Kaser (8-2) and No. 3 from Doll and Mahowski (8-6). Fish and Keith dropped the No. 2 matchup by 8-6 in what ended up a critical result.
McBratney (8-0) and Kaser (8-3) won the top two singles matches, but Park Hill South swept the final four in a comeback effort. Fish came up just short in a 9-7 loss at No. 3 in what ended up an encouraging but disappointing result for the Pirates.
