GC Tennis closed out its season Wednesday with a hard-fought 1-4 loss to New Palestine Dragons in the opening round of sectionals. The Cougars showed clear improvement from the teams’ earlier meeting this season, when New Pal earned a 5-0 victory. New Pal took the early lead with wins at No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles. At No. 2 singles, Chaille Frye battled hard against a tough opponent but could not quite find her rhythm in a 0-6, 0-6 loss. The No. 2 doubles team of Anna McQueeney and Chloe Kiser competed early before falling 4-6, 1-6. At No. 1 doubles, Lauren Page and Lucy Stewart bounced back after a slow start and nearly pushed the match to a third set. After dropping the opening set 3-6, the Cougar pair rallied to take a 4-3 lead in the second before eventually falling 4-6, giving New Pal its third team point. At No. 3 singles, Audrey Marcum competed in the longest first set of the evening, battling for more than an hour before narrowly falling 5-7. She later dropped the second set 0-6 as New Pal secured the match victory. The final match and highlight of the night came from 1 singles, where Kate Gilkison earned the Cougars’ lone win and advanced individually in sectional play. Gilkison came out strong with a 6-2 first-set victory before her opponent answered with a 6-1 win in the second set. In the deciding set, Gilkison settled back in and held strong for a 6-4 victory to continue her postseason run into next week. The Cougars finish the season with an 11-10 record. Throughout the year, GC continued to improve and competed in several close matches that the team can build on heading into next season.