In a potentially overburdensome situation, Jake Diano delivered the performance of a lifetime in essentially the most dramatic way possible.
Platte County’s already accomplished season firmly sat on the brink of a devastating conclusion in Monday’s Class 2 quarterfinal dual with Branson at Platte County High School. Instead, Diano — one of five seniors in the lineup — delivered a memorable comeback victory in the final singles match to give Platte County a 5-4 victory and reversing the result of a matchup between the two teams during the regular season.
With the result, Platte County (12-7) earned a second straight trip to the state semifinals with a rematch of last year’s Class 2 championship dual awaiting next week. Diano survived five match points in a 6-2, 6-7 (7-1), 14-12 super tiebreaker at No. 5 singles over Branson freshman Jacob Merrifield, leading to a small mob celebration on the court before players doused Zach Keith with a Gatorade bucket full of water to conclude what he succinctly described as the “craziest match I’ve ever coached.”
“The environment was very intense from the first ball hit,” Platte County’s veteran coach said. “It was obvious both teams had a ton of respect for one another on the court, and everyone knew that every point mattered. I’m not sure I’ve ever been a part of a match that so many instances of a match-defining moment only to be topped by another sometimes a minute later.”
Branson (18-6) defeated Platte County by a score of 7-2 in what has become an annual meeting between the two programs.
Platte County needed to win four of the six singles matches with seniors Hayden Cook (No. 3), Will Kimlinger (No. 4) and Diano all reversing results from the previous results to help overcome a daunting early deficit. This marked the program’s third straight trip to the postseason, but Kimlinger, Diano and sophomore Mitchel McBratney — a repeat winner at No. 6 against Branson, this time 6-1, 6-1 — were all first-year contributors in the varsity lineup.
In addition, Platte County senior Paul Havemeier moved from No. 6 as a junior to the top of this year’s lineup with senior No. 2 Jack Bralley, a four-year starter, easily the most experienced player on the roster.
The two teams met in the playoffs for a second straight year with Platte County knocking off Branson in last year’s state semifinals. However, Branson returned the majority of a talented lineup, and Keith gave a full telling of the Biblical story of David vs. Goliath to give his players the inspiration for belief in a path to victory prior to the regular season dual with Branson.
“One underrated part of that story is when David convinces King Saul that he was prepared to fight Goliath, for the moment, because as a shepherd he protected his sheep from lions and bears,” Keith said. “Obviously, we know how that story ends. I tried to explain to the guys that all year long we fought against lions and bears to prepare us for our Goliath. It’s easy to tell stories like that but difficult for high school boys to actually embrace the mentality, and I think they deserve a ton of credit for not only embracing the mentality but having the confidence to beat a team that beat them 7-2 about a month ago.”
Just like in the first matchup, Branson took a 2-1 lead out of doubles but not in the same convincing fashion.
Platte County stayed with the familiar dual pairings, and Cook and Kimlinger came up with an important 8-3 victory at No. 2. Additionally, Havemeier/Bralley were more competitive than last time in an 8-3 loss, while Diano and McBratney earned two different match points but ended up with a 9-8 (7-3) tiebreaker loss to Branson junior Ben Merrifield and senior Preston Volz.
“Every match was close, and we looked good,” Keith said.
However, Branson went up 3-1 when Ben Merrifield, a fourth-place Class 2 state medalist in singles last season, survived two set points while down 5-3 in the first then proceeded to win the next nine games on the way to a 7-5, 6-1 victory.
Platte County needed to win four of the remaining five matches and started the comeback with McBratney’s 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 6 and Cook’s 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Branson junior Tyler Borger at No. 3. With the team score back even, Bralley (No. 2), Kimlinger (No. 4) and Diano (No. 5) won the first set, and the three matches all went to super tiebreakers.
At No. 4, Kimlinger trailed 8-6 in the third set but later ended up tied 8-8. He saved a match point down 9-8 to Jacob Merrifield and then closed the 6-2, 2-6, 11-9 victory while on serve with one of the best shots Keith saw all day.
Jacob Merrifeld floated a return of the first serve to Kiplinger’s backhand, but he ran around the ball and ripped a flat, inside-out-forehand winner. In the first meeting, Jacob Merrifield beat Cook at No. 3, and Kimlinger entered the team postseason after coming up just short of a Class 2 state berth in singles with a loss in a similar three-set match in the District 8 individual tournament semifinals.
Platte County suddenly led 4-3 after the wins for Cook, Kimlinger and McBratney in fairly quick succession.
“It was unreal,” Keith said of Kiplinger’s winning shot. “Hayden and Mitchel were workmanlike in either wins. Both played fantastic. Hayden hasn’t lost a singles or doubles match in over two weeks. Will showed no signs of PTSD in the super tiebreaker. The singles performances from top to bottom were incredible.”
Branson forged a 4-4 tie after Volz came back for a 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 win at No. 2 against an increasingly exhausted Bralley, Platte County’s first three-time state qualifier in doubles. The result ultimately set up the decisive No. 5 match between Diano and Branson sophomore Pierson Dean, and the dynamic of the team matchup looked completely different from Platte County’s prior loss.
“I realize Paul didn’t win at No. 1, but he fought like crazy and set the tone early that nothing was going to be easy,” Keith said. “Jack may have lost his match, but he literally had to take a medical timeout because he was exhibiting heat stroke symptoms on the court. I would take Jack Bralley in any big match on any day, any time. The guy is incredible.”
Already the last singles match to start, Diano and Dean ended up the focal point of an attentive crowd of players, coaches and fans outside the courts’ fence.
Diano missed out on two match points in the second set and decisively lost the ensuing tiebreaker, setting up a difficult scenario for a player on the C team as a sophomore and lower half of the junior varsity lineup as a junior. In the super tiebreaker third, Dean took a 5-1 lead only to end up tied at 6-6. Diano trailed again at 9-6 and saved three successive match points to extend the match and then fought off two more before eventually putting the win away.
There were 26 total points played in the super tiebreaker between Diano and Dean, a fitting conclusion to competitive dual.
“Jake Diano will get a lot of credit, as he should, but the singles performances from top to bottom were incredible,” Keith said. “Jake Diano. Man. There was a chance for the moment to be too big, but no. What a career that kid has had.”
Platte County’s season now extends over the next two weeks and will conclude with the second team trophy in program history.
Havemeier already became the second singles district champion and state qualifier in program history, while Bralley and Cook advanced back for a second straight year in doubles after they earned an eighth-place medal last season. The Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships individual tournaments are scheduled for Thursday and Friday at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield. The Pirates have now sent a singles player in five consecutive seasons and at least one doubles team in each of the past three.
Regardless of results, Platte County’s third straight playoff appearance — all in successive years — continues the following week at the same location against defending state champion MICDS (12-0) with Warrensburg (16-1) and the winner of the postponed quarterfinal between Parkway West (16-3) and Mehlville (10-2) in the other semifinal.
Platte County lost to Helias in the 2023 state quarterfinals then went all the way to the Class 2 championship dual a year ago behind senior star Gavin Nichols — a four-time district champion in singles who graduated as by far the most accomplished and decorated player in program history. Last season, Platte County beat Branson in the semifinals and lost 5-1 to MICDS before graduating four of the seven players contributing to last year’s dual lineup. Havemeier played exclusively singles for the majority of his junior year.
