TENNIS ROUNDUP: Platte County beats 'Tonka in Blue Division; South earns 1st win

Platte County  took a big step toward repeating as Suburban Conference Blue Division champion with a tight dual victory Tuesday, April 11 in Kansas City, Mo.

Platte County and Winnetonka were part of a three-way tie for the league title a year ago, but Winnetonka swept last year’s season series. The teams will only meet once this year due to the creation of a Blue Division Tournament, and Platte County took a 6-3 victory.

Platte County jumped to a 4-2 lead in singles with wins for Noah Singer, Spencer Klopfer, Brayden Percival and Jack Lawver. Spencer Kunz and Klopfer (No. 1) and Payton Anderson and Lawver (No. 3) won doubles matches to seal the victory.

Platte County 6, St. Joseph Central 3

The Pirates improved to 6-0 in full duals, taking the majority of doubles and singles matches on Thursday, April 13 in St. Joseph, Mo.

Singer, Klopfer, Anderson and Lawver won singles matches to give Platte County a 4-2 lead. Percival lost in a tiebreaker with the Pirates nearly clinching the win before doubles.

Singer and Percival won 8-3 at No. 2 doubles to secure the victory, and Anderson and Lawver battled back from a 4-1 deficit to grab a 9-7 victory at No. 3.

Park Hill 9, Lee’s Summit West 0

The Trojans lost just five games in a doubles sweep and then won all six singles matches Tuesday, April 11 at Barry Park in Kansas City, Mo.

Park Hill had 8-2 victories from Grant Martin and Jake McFee at No. 1 and 8-2 wins for No. 2 team Cooper Hayes and Chandler To and No. 3 team Matt Zhang and Ryan Decker. Hayes (No. 1), Martin (No. 3), To (No. 4), Zhang (No. 5) and Decker (No. 6) were all straight set winners.

Martin and Decker were both 6-0, 6-0 winners, while McFee needed a tiebreaker to win at No. 2.

Park Hill 8, Lee’s Summit North 1

The Trojans won a second straight in Suburban Conference Gold Division play, improving to 3-0 with a near sweep Thursday, April 13 in Lee’s Summit, Mo.

Park Hill won all three doubles matches, and the lone loss in singles came at No. 1 where Hayes lost 11-10 (7-4) in tiebreak. Martin scored the biggest victory, winning 10-2 at No. 3.

Pembroke Hill 8, Park Hill 1

The Trojans dropped to 11-4 overall with a loss to Class 1’s premier program Friday, April 14 at Plaza Tennis Complex in Kansas City, Mo. Martin won the lone match for the Trojans at No. 3 (8-5), although Gabe Rau hung close in an 8-6 loss at No. 6.

Rau and Zhang also lost 8-6 at No. 3 doubles.

Park Hill South 6, St. Joseph Central 3

The Panthers earned their first win of the season in their Suburban Conference Red Division opener Tuesday, April 11 in St. Joseph, Mo.

After going 1-2 in doubles matches, Park Hill South took five of six singles matches to win. Alex Hammond won 10-0 at No. 6, but the other four victories were tight. No. 4 Brandon Crabtree was a 10-5 winner, but Jason Jeong (No. 2) and Andrew Robaska (No. 3) were both 10-7 winners.

Joe Badalucco took a 10-8 victory at No. 1 for Park Hill South, which started the season 0-5 in duals. The Panthers are at 1-6 overall after a 9-0 loss to powerhouse Rockhurst on Monday, April 17.