Platte County R-3 senior Maggie McBratney is headed to the Class 2 Missouri State Tennis Championships after finishing runner-up at the Class 2 District 8 Tournament last Thursday, Oct. 10.
Platte County senior Maggie McBratney finished runner-up and punched her ticket to the state tournament at the Class 2 District 8 tournament on Thursday, Oct. 10 in Platte City. DENNIS SHARKEY/Citizen Photo
After falling short the previous two years with losses in the semifinal round, McBratney broke through this year with a semifinal win over No. 6 Evelynne Ward of St. Pius X 6-0, 6-1. McBratney lost the championship match to Ward’s teammate Kiera Dunn 6-3, 6-3. Dunn entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, with McBratney seeded No. 2.
Lily Fish. DENNIS SHARKEY/Citizen Photo
Platte County will also be sending the doubles team of Ellie Kaser and Lily Fish to the state tournament after the ladies were able to make it to the championship match versus the No. 1-seeded team from St. Pius X. Head Coach Zach Keith told The Citizen the duo formed just 10 days before the tournament and had only four matches to created chemistry.
Ellie Kaser. DENNIS SHARKEY/Citizen Photo
“They really came together and played solid tennis all day,” Keith said about Kaser and Fish.
Platte County’s other doubles team of Melanie Frame and Lillian Goodale made some noise in the tournament before being eliminated in the quarterfinals. In the opening round, the No. 8 seeded ladies beat the No. 9 seeded team from Kearney after falling behind early and coming back.
Platte County’s other singles player, freshman Macie Keith, did well in her first postseason tournament. Keith lost her first set 0-6 but battled back in the second set but lost 4-6. Overall, Coach Keith was pretty impressed with how his team performed.
“I was really proud of the way the girls played all day. You could almost write a separate story about each individual kid because they all arrived under very different circumstances,” Keith said. “I thought the girls represented our team really well all day.”
Postseason team competition continued for Platte County on Tuesday after the press deadline. The No. 2 seeded Pirates beat Kansas City East High School in the opening round on Monday, Oct. 14, and will play No. 3 Bishop Leblond in the semifinals.
