Platte County senior Maggie McBratney and the Pirates’ doubles team of senior Lily Fish and sophomore Ellie Kaser ended up as Class 2 District 8 runnersup Thursday at Platte County High School.
The two concluding losses weren’t nearly as important as a pair of earlier results. All three players became first-time Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships qualifiers for Platte County with well-earned semifinal victories that locked up state berths. The Pirates have now advanced two individual entrants past districts in three consecutive seasons.
McBratney became just the second state singles qualifier in program history, while Fish and Kaser joined a growing list of doubles players to make a district final after Platte County swept the top two spots in both 2022 and 2023.
“Obviously, the players deserve a ton of credit because they’re the ones putting in time in the offseason and committing to being at their absolute best when the most important matches are played late in the season,” Platte County coach Zach Keith said. “We are fortunate that we have really good buy-in, but honestly, it says a lot about our assistant coaches — coach (Scottie) Blakley and coach (Karlee) Chase this season and coach (Taylor) Stodden in previous years — because they are constantly pouring into these kids to develop them both mentally and physically to compete at the varsity level.”
Platte County went into the season with only McBratney and Fish back and healthy from last year’s lineup. That meant replacing four state qualifiers from the two doubles teams that went to state.
After coming up short of the district final each of the past two seasons, McBratney took a third and final shot. She earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye then dominated her way to quarterfinal and semifinal victories by scores of 6-0, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-1. The second against St. Pius X freshman Evie Ward assured McBratney of a first state berth, joining older sister Molly McBratney (2020) as the only two in program history to advance in singles.
Maggie McBratney ascended to No. 1 singles as a sophomore, played No. 2 as a junior and provided a steadying presence at the top of Platte County’s lineup for the entirety of this season.
“I’m really proud of Maggie,” Keith said. “She’s been a state-qualifier caliber player for a while, but this result just validates what she’s worked so hard for. It was hard not to get a little emotional when she won her semifinal match just knowing how much this win means to her how much she’s put into (tennis).”
St. Pius X junior No. 1 seed Kierra Dunn also dropped only one game in her first two straight-set victories in the bracket. Maggie McBratney took three in each set of the final with Dunn taking the district title with a 6-3, 6-3 victory.
Molly McBratney won a district title as a junior and came up short of a state berth as a senior, but prior to the 2020 season, Platte County’s only qualifiers were the doubles team of Rachael Bumstead and Lisa Wyrwinski in 2009. The Pirates didn’t advance anyone out of districts in 2021 before the Pirates’ recent run of individual postseason success started.
After having both doubles finalists each of the past two seasons, Fish and Kaser became Platte County’s top duo after limited chances to play together. Kaser plays No. 2 singles and has generally been at No. 1 doubles with Maggie McBratney, while Fish and freshman Macie Keith have been the preferred No. 2 team.
Fish and Kaser’s path to the district final started with a 6-2, 6-3 victory in the quarterfinals, and they avoided a third set with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) tiebreaker victory in the semifinals against St. Pius X’s Avery Sharp and Annelise Sharp, the No. 6 seed coming off of an upset of Winnetonka No. 3 seed Araceli Cruz/Eva Henges.
Another St. Pius X opponent awaited in the final with the No. 1-seeded duo of Manmeet Kaur and Frances Hess topping Fish and Kaser 6-2, 6-3. Kaur and Hess entered off of a comeback 2-6, 6-3, 10-5 victory in the semifinals and continued the momentum to win the championship match.
However, Kaser and Fish have a chance along with McBratney to become the first in Platte County history to win a match at state.
“It takes a lot of trust in your coaches to be put with a completely different doubles partner 10 days before the district tournament and be told, ‘We think this is your best path to state,'” Zach Keith said. “(Lily and Ellie) not only bought in but really fought well together and pulled each other through every tough moment throughout the tournament.”
Macie Keith held the No. 9 seed in the singles bracket and lost in the first round, while Platte County’s doubles team of sophomore Lillian Goodale and senior Jackie Frame won a dramatic opening match 4-6, 6-3, 12-10 against Kearney’s Alexis Robertson and Neffie Rinck before losing 6-2, 6-2 to Kaur and Hess. The Pirates’ six players entered into the district brackets plus senior Brooklynn Mahowski and sophomore Macy Doll could all factor into the chase for a second straight team district title.
Platte County’s postseason continues in the Class 2 District 8 tournament, starting this week with a home first round matchup Tuesday with East (Kansas City), which went 3-8 this season. The Pirates enter with the No. 2 seed and a 9-13 record that includes losses to strong competition in an intentionally difficult schedule.
St. Pius X (8-3) earned the top seed.
With a win over East, Platte County would play the winner between No. 3 Bishop LeBlond (6-4) and No. 6 Lincoln Prep (4-5) in Tuesday’s semifinal round at Platte County High School. St. Pius X would host Wednesday’s championship dual, assuming the Warriors advance.
Central (St. Joseph) 5, Platte County 4
The Pirates’ regular season concluded with a tight dual loss on the road Tuesday in St. Joseph.
In the final tuneup before districts, Platte County took a 2-1 lead out of doubles while giving Fish and Kaser a chance to play together. McBratney and Macie Keith won at the No. 1 spot in a tiebreaker, while Fish and Kaser took the No. 2 match 8-3. McBratney (8-3 at No. 1) and Kaser (8-2 at No. 2) were the Pirates’ lone winners in singles with Central going 4-2 to complete a comeback.
Of Platte County’s 13 losses in dual play, only one came against another Class 2 team in Missouri — 7-2 to Grain Valley on September 26.
