SPRINGFIELD – Platte County had an action-packed day at the Class 2 Boys’ Tennis Final Four, having the highest finish in program history at Cooper Tennis Complex on May 24.
The Platte County boys’ tennis team took second place at the Class 2 State Final Four at Cooper Tennis Complex on May 24.
Regardless of how the day went, Platte County was primed to have the best finish in program history. The Pirates came to play in their first trip to the Final Four, starting out with a 5-1 win over Branson (19-9-1) in the semifinals.
Platte County’s only loss was in the No. 2 doubles. Jack Bralley and Hayden Cook came up short 9-7 as Branson tied the match at the time, since Gavin Nichols and Aaron Vaughn finished the No. 1 singles first.
Platte County swept Branson in singles play, albeit be in tight matches – other than Paul Havemeier who won 6-2, 6-0. Bralley won his 6-4, 6-3 and Vaughn pulled out a tiebreaker in 6-4, 5-7, 10-2.
Nichols, Hayden Cook and Daniel Bunge didn’t finish before the match was decided, 5-1. The win moved the Pirates to the championship against MICDS (13-3).
Nichols and Vaughn kept it rolling in the title match, winning their doubles match 8-5 for what ended up being the only victory of the match. The Pirates’ No. 2 lost 8-3 and their No. 3 fell 8-2.
MICDS was a tough draw for Platte County, recording sweeps over Bralley, Cook, Vaughn and Bunge in singles play. Two matches didn’t finish as Havemeier was down 2-5 in the first set and Nichols won his first set 7-5 before the second one was completed.
Zachary Keith has been at the helm of the Platte County tennis program for its entire existence and has now led the squad to back-to-back district championships and hasn’t been under .500 in well over a decade. Since going 7-7 in 2019, the Pirates have posted an overall record of 49-20 which includes a 13-2 mark at home the last two years.
Much credit of the recent success deserves to go to four-time state qualifier Nichols. Coming off the second place finish at state, Havemeier, Bralley and Cook will be back for their senior seasons as the remaining lineup has graduated.