Six local tennis standouts will be headed to Springfield this weekend to compete in the 2025 Singles and Doubles Boys Tennis State Tournament.
Platte County and Park Hill both have doubles teams returning to the State Tournament for a second straight year while Platte County's Paul Havemeier and Park Hill South’s Henry Jacobs enter with hopes of medaling in their singles debut.
Platte County’s senior doubles tandem of Jack Bralley and Hayden Cook won the Class 2 District 8 championship to qualify for the state tournament a second straight year. Just as they did last year, Bralley and Cook will face a Warrensburg team in the sectional round, this time facing the junior duo of Calvin Werner and Oliver Staab as the District 7 runner-up.
After a seventh-place medal at state last year, Park Hill’s doubles team of Andrew Miller and Carter Lovitt is headed back to the state tournament as Class 3 District 8 champions in the second year of their partnership. Their path back to the medal stand begins against Blue Springs South’s District 7 silver medalist duo of Alexander Hunt and William Griffel.
In singles, Jacobs finished runner-up in Class 3 District 8 as a junior, but has his back against the wall in his sectional matchup against Shaan Patel from John Burroughs. Patel won the single state title in 2023 before opting out of high school tennis last year to focus on national tournaments. Patel is back this year ranked No. 4 of all boys 18 and under by the United States Tennis Association.
Havemeier was crowned district champion in Class 2 District 8 as a senior and will face Benjamin Schwende from Fort Zumwalt South in the sectional round of Class 2. The senior will be making his individual state tournament debut looking to become the first state champion in Platte County history.