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The big fish once again escaped Polk County’s grasp.

With a narrow loss earlier this season to five-time defending state 2A champion Hendersonville, the Wolverines hoped Wednesday’s rematch might be the one that finally tipped in their favor.

But the Bearcats swept the top three singles matches, then eked out close wins in two others to claim a 5-1 victory at Polk. With light starting to fade and a cold, windy evening, the teams opted not to play any doubles matches.

Cate Brown scored Polk’s lone win, a 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 4 singles over Sophia Gallian.

Polk senior Tali Thompson nearly had another, splitting sets with Canaan Scroggs before falling 10-5 in a tiebreaker. Hendersonville brought a large crowd to the match, and they all gathered around Court 5 to urge on Scroggs as she held off a determined Thompson.

Mia Wolfe also had a battle at No. 6 singles, dropping a 7-4 tiebreaker in the opening set to Margaret Calhoun, who then took the second set 6-1 to seal the win for the Bearcats.

Polk County ends its season with an 8-2 record. The Wolverines will host a 1A first-round playoff match on Monday, with pairings to be announced Friday.