Platte County needed to plug in at least four first-year starters to open the season, and veteran coach Zach Keith actually ended up using five across two challenging duals and the team’s home invitational. The early returns were extremely encouraging with junior Hayden Cook (No. 3) and seniors Aaron Vaughan (No. 4), Daniel Bunge (No. 5) and Paul Havemeier (No. 6) filling out the singles lineup, while senior Quentin Miller also earned an opportunity to play No. 3 doubles in wins over Willard and Blue Springs South on Tuesday and Thursday plus the tournament bracket in between.
Platte County senior Aaron Vaughan hits a backhand during a Platte County Invitational singles match Wednesday at Platte County High School.
Platte County placed third in the final standings of a strong eight-team field in the Platte County Invitational, finishing behind only Class 3 Central (St. Joseph) and Park Hill South. The tournament allows six players in flighted singles and three teams in flighted doubles. Havemeier came away with the No. 6 singles title, while Cook teamed with senior Gavin Nichols, who has two-plus years at the top of the Pirates’ lineup, to win the No. 1 doubles bracket.
“It would be hard to highlight any one individual’s effort, but just in general, I was very impressed with how our new varsity players played throughout the week,” Keith said. “They definitely did not let their inexperience show against good competition.”
Coming off the most successful team and individuals season in the program’s history, Platte County returned only Nichols and junior Jack Bralley, who moved up to No. 2 singles in his third year as a starter. They helped the Pirates to their first ever playoff appearance along with now graduated seniors.
The past week provided a quick chance to assess the next wave of talent against strong competition.
Platte County closed the week with a Thursday home dual against Blue Springs South and came away with an impressive 7-2 win even with Nichols — the three-time Class 2 District 8 singles champion and a two-time state medalist — suffering a loss at No. 1 singles. The Pirates otherwise dominated singles with Bralley (8-2), Cook (8-4), Vaughan (8-4), Bunge (8-2) and Havemeier (8-4) all victorious.
Platte County senior Gavin Nichols hits a between-the-legs shot during a Platte County Invitational singles match Wednesday at Platte County High School.
Blue Springs South No. 1 Judson McIntosh reached Class 3 state last season.
Platte County’s current No. 1 doubles tandem of Nichols and Cook defeated McIntosh and junior Alex Hunt 8-3, and the Jaguars’ only other win came at No. 2 doubles. The Pirates used Bunge and Miller at No. 3, and they combined for an 8-1 win to provide a one-match advantage going to singles.
“I’ve been impressed with how strong we’ve looked in doubles, and we’ll continue to drill in practice and get better and better,” Keith said.
Platte County Invitational
Overall, Platte County went 18-9 across 27 matches played Wednesday at Platte County High School, an improvement on going 14-13 a year earlier. The Pirates scored 18 team points and were tied Park Hill for third, while Central took the title at 20 and Park Hill South finished second with 19.
In addition to the title for Havemeier, Nichols (No. 1), Vaughan (No. 4) and Bunge (No. 5) all reached singles semifinals for Platte County and finished third. Bralley (No. 2) and Cook (No. 3) came back from first-round losses to reach the fifth-place matches with Bralley also finishing 2-1 overall in his bracket.
All three of Platte County’s doubles teams won opening matchups, and in addition to Nichols and Cook going 3-0 to take the No. 1 flight title, Bralley and Vaughan came in as runnerup at No. 2, and Bunge and Miller placed fourth at No. 3.
Platte County 8, Willard 1
Platte County junior Jack Bralley hits a backhand during a singles match in the Platte County Invitational on Wednesday at Platte County High School.
For the second straight year, the Pirates came away with a nonconference dual win against a team making the most of a trip north to play in the Platte County Invitational.
Platte County and Willard played Tuesday at Platte County High School in their season-opener with both coming off of Class 2 state quarterfinal appearances. This marks the third straight year the teams have dualed in this scenario with the Tigers winning the first but losing each of the past two.
Starting in doubles, Platte County took a 3-0 lead with Nichols/Cook (8-6 at No. 1), Bralley/Vaughan (8-2 at No. 2) and Bunge/Miller (8-3 at No. 3) all victorious. The Pirates then debuted the new singles lineup, and Havemeier started his so-far-undefeated season with a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 6 in his first varsity match.
All five of Platte County’s singles wins were in straight sets with Bunge (6-1, 6-1 at No. 5) and Vaughan (6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 the most dominant). Nichols started his third full season at No. 1 with a 6-2, 6-3 victory, while Cook (6-4, 6-3 at No. 3) also made a successful debut.
Willard’s only win came at No. 2 Bralley winning the second set but losing the tiebreaker.
Platte County now takes a lengthy spring break before returning to action. The Pirates’ next two duals will be against Liberty and Liberty North on the first Monday and Tuesday of April ahead of a weekend tournament trip to Branson.
The boys passed our first two tests of the season (in duals) against two teams that were hit pretty hard by graduation,” Keith said. “Don’t get me wrong. They were still good wins, but the week after spring break we’ll start to see what we’re made of.”
