The Park Hill boys’ tennis team finished in second place out of eight teams who competed in the Platte County Invitational on March 29.
To kick off the spring season, Platte County, Park Hill and Park Hill South were three of eight teams who competed in the Platte County Boys’ Tennis Invitational on March 29.
Out of the three area schools, Park Hill had the highest finish – taking second place with 18 points – only trailing St. Joseph’s Central who won it all by scoring 20 points. Platte County claimed fourth place, which was two points and places above Park Hill South who ended with 12 points.
Park Hill made the most of its singles opportunities, having five of its six players make the finals in their respective brackets. Drew Miller and Will Poole were both flight champions to help lead the team to a second-place finish.
“This reflects our depth and shows how a good showing at a tournament doesn’t happen with just one or two players doing well,” Park Hill head boys’ tennis coach Rustin Reys said. “In doubles, our guys were tested for the first time. We’ve spent the past two practices learning from our experiences at the tournament.”
The Trojans had six of their nine flights come away with a medal with their best doubles team being Will Poole and Wesley North who made it to the championship and lost to Park Hill South’s Jack Arnold and Miles Bingham. Tristan Houchin and Drew Miller won the consolation side of the bracket, receiving a pair of fifth-place medals.
The Platte County doubles team of Nathan Vanek and Jack Forrest pose with the medals they earned at the Platte County Invitational.
Jeremy Hernandez made it to the championship flight in singles but lost to Platte County senior Jaron Cook, 6-4. Connor Dennis had the same result in the No. 2 singles championship – losing to Lucas Cebulko from St. Joseph’s Central – along with Josh Minder who fell to Willard’s Seth Miller in the No. 3 singles championship.
“Overall, I was proud of how we competed; we won several tiebreakers and everyone contributed to our team’s success. I’m looking forward to seeing our guys learn from each test, as none of our varsity guys were top-6 last season,” Reys said.
Park Hill South’s biggest triumph of the tournament was having its No. 3 doubles team win its flight. Arnold and Bingham didn’t compete in singles, but took down St. Joseph’s Central, Platte County and Park Hill to walk away with a first-place finish in doubles.
Mikey Walzl was the top individual Panther, claiming third place as his final win was over Leyton Ross from Kearney. Noah Slaughter finished the Platte County Invitational with a fifth-place medal, while Gavin Fritts ended in fourth place after falling in the third-place match to Asav Gupta from St. Joseph’s Central.
For Platte County, the senior duo of Cook and Mason McBratney medaled in singles as they both made it to flight championships with matchups with Park Hill. The Trojans swept the Pirates in the championships with Poole beating McBratney 6-5.
Mason McBratney and Gavin Nichols finished in second place in the #2 flight on March 29.
Gavin Nichols, the Pirates’ No. 1 singles player, took third place as he fell to Willard’s returning senior state medalist Caden Lingenfelser. Nichols ended singles play with a win over Colton Pazdera from Kearney.
Ahead of the Platte County Invitational, the Pirates hosted Willard on March 28 for regular season play as there were some repeat matchups the next day. In the non-tournament match, Platte County won 7-2 as Willard struggled in every match that didn’t involve Lingenfelser.
“There were definitely a few tense moments early in the singles matches, particularly after Lingenfelser won and (Jack) Forrest, (Nathan) Vanek and (Jaron) Cook were all locked in tight battles,” Platte County head boys’ tennis coach Zach Keith said. “Forrest played really well against a quality #2 player in Dawson Amstutz; Cook rallied in each set to grind out the victory; and Vanek proved that he likes to be the last one on the court every match by securing his win in a 10-point super-tiebreaker for the third set.”
Lingenfelser won both the singles and doubles matches for Willard’s only two points on the day, defeating Nichols 6-2, 6-2 in singles after beating Forrest and Nathan Vanek 8-6 in doubles. The Pirates comfortably won their other two doubles matches as Nichols and McBratney had an 8-4 victory, while Jack Bralley and Cook swept Christian Ryan and Jonahan Lupescu.
In singles, Forrest came out on top 7-5, 6-1; Bralley beat Brigham Thedell 6-3, 6-2; McBratney defeated Ryan 6-0, 6-3; and Cook had a pair of 6-4 triumphs against Lupescu. Vanek was in a battle with Miller, with scores of 7-6 (6), 4-6, 10-5, scraping away a super-tiebreaker win in the third set.
“Although there’s a small sample size, the Platte County versus Willard rivalry has been fun with great kids, good sportsmanship, close matches and a lot of fun on the court. This match will hopefully serve as a confidence booster for the Pirates as they continue to face quality competition every dual for the next few weeks,” Keith said.