JOPLIN – A historical girls’ tennis season had a heartbreaking ending when Platte County (13-9) fell to Thomas Jefferson Independent (13-0) in the Class 2 Quarterfinals after defeating St. Pius X (9-6) for the first ever district championship win.
St. Pius had knocked Platte County out of the postseason each of the last two years, including the 2022 Class 2 District 8 Championship. The Lady Pirates avenged the loss and brought home their first district title in program history with a 5-4 win on Oct. 4.
“I was really proud of our focus and energy throughout the entire dual,” Platte County girls’ tennis coach Zach Keith said. “(St.) Pius is a really solid team, and they are well-coached.”
Platte County started the match off with two doubles wins, including a 9-7 win by Addy Mayne and Olivia Holbrook. Delany Bachmann and Lucy McClain won their doubles match 8-3.
The district championship went down to the wire with the No. 3 singles match being the deciding factor. Holbrook matched up with St. Pius’ Frances Hess and the Lady Pirate senior pulled out a 6-2, 6-2 win.
“We knew we would have to play well to win, and the girls did that. There were multiple momentum shifts throughout, and we handled all of those really well. Olivia did an awesome job handling the pressure of being the last match on court and pulling out the win for the team, she had a great day,” Keith said.
Platte County and St. Pius split the three singles matches with Maggie McBratney and Bachmann coming away with wins in the No. 2 and No. 5 matches. McBratney won in a 10-5 tiebreaker after splitting the first two sets and Bachmann pulled out a 6-2, 7-6 (1) victory.
Platte County went on to play Thomas Jefferson Independent – who has won four straight district titles and posted a 52-5 record since 2020 – and lost in the Class 2 Quarterfinals.
While the season ended for Platte County, it will have a pair of doubles teams compete at individual state on Oct. 12 and 13. The doubles teams of Mayne and Holbrook, along with Bachmann and McClain, will have another chance this season.