Tight victories from Mark Fricke and Nick Classen helped Park Hill South to a win against its biggest rival Tuesday, May 5 at Park Hill South High School in Riverside, Mo. Both players won 10-8 matches in the singles portion of a dual against Park Hill. With a 7-2 victory, Park Hill South improved to 3-1 in Suburban Conference Red Division play and helped the Panthers to a runner-up showing in the final league standings behind Liberty.
Park Hill dropped its final two Red Division duals of the year and finished 3-2.
Fricke outlasted Chandler To at No. 4 singles, while Classen beat Harim Lee at No. 5. Overall, Park Hill South went 5-1 in singles with Noah Higgins-Dunn scoring the Trojans lone victory, beating Brian Day 10-2.
Day came back and teamed with Fricke for an 8-6 victory at No. 2 doubles against Jacob McFee and Ryan Moise.
Park Hill South went 2-1 in three doubles matches with To and Lee winning at No. 3 for Park Hill. Josh Robaska (No. 1 singles) and JD Nassab (No. 2 singles) combined for three victories for the Panthers, including an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles against Henry Eckold and Higgins-Dunn.
Park Hill South and Park Hill have the top two seeds in the Class 2 District 15 tournament, which started Monday. Both teams received a first-round bye and won semifinals Tuesday, May 12, setting up another matchup at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13 for the right to advance to the state playoffs.
The winner advances to the Class 2 Missouri State Tennis Championships with the individual district tournament slated for Saturday, May 16 at Barry Park in Kansas City, Mo.
Liberty 6, Park Hill 3
The Trojans finished out the regular season at 10-8 in an encouraging performance Thursday, May 7 at Barry Park in Kansas City, taking three matches from the undefeated conference champions.
Park Hill went 2-1 in doubles play, including a 9-7 win for McFee and Moise at No. 2 doubles. Henry Eckold and Higgins-Dunn won 8-4 in the doubles match. However, Liberty went 5-1 in singles matches with To scoring the Trojans lone win at No. 3, beating Kellen Campbell 10-5.
Park Hill South 7, Truman 2
The Panthers’ victory Thursday, May 7 at Park Hill South High School in Riverside, Mo. locked up second in the Red Division standings. They finished the regular season at 8-6 and 4-1 in league play with the only loss to Liberty (8-1 on April 28).
Class 2 District 16
St. Joseph Central 5, Platte County 3
The Pirates’ season came to an end with a 7-6 record following a first-round loss Monday, May 11 at Noyes Tennis Complex in St. Joseph, Mo.
Zack Regan and Andy Day posted an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles for Platte County, but the Indians took a 2-1 lead into the singles portion. Central’s Van Parker and Andrew Fangman were victorious at the top two spots against Parker Ward and Spencer Kunz, leaving the Pirates to win the final four matches to advance.
Regan and Day scored wins at No. 3 and No. 5 to close the gap, and the final two matches went to a third set. However, Jack Lawver’s loss ended the matchup and sent the Indians into the semifinals. The Class 2 District 16 individual tournament starts at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 16 in St. Joseph, Mo.
Platte County 8, Grandview 1
The Pirates finished second in the Suburban Conference Blue Division standings, completing a 5-3 league slate with a win Tuesday, May 5 in Grandview, Mo. Ward and Kunz won the No. 1 doubles match for Platte County and became the first top duo in program history to go undefeated in conference play.