The UW men’s tennis team faced top-10 competition for just the second time this season, and for the second time, they fell short. The Huskies lost 4-2 to defending two-time champion Georgia in the qualifying round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.

“It was a very tough loss,” coach Matt Anger said. “We certainly came back here to get into the final fight in the Indoors, and we weren’t able to get that done.”

The match against Georgia started with the Huskies quickly winning the doubles match.

“We came out a lot more prepared from the first point and maintained our composure throughout,” Anger said. “We were able to push it aside and keep playing, and by doing that, our best tennis was able to come through.”

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan came up with another stellar performance. He finally broke through against top competition, beating No. 35 Jamie Hunt 6-2, 6-4 and winning his doubles match.

“Without a doubt, Jeevan was solid,” Anger said. “He played at a very high level today in both the doubles and the singles.”

Despite losing his first singles match of the year, Derek Drabble continued to fight. After coming off a win last week against No. 77 Shuhei Uzawa of Ohio State, Drabble gave a strong effort against Josh Varela but ultimately came up short 7-6, 5-7, 2-6.

“His game is headed in the right direction,” Anger said. “As I look at where his game was last January to where he is today, he’s a different player.”

Things weren’t so easy for seniors Patrik Fischer and Ryo Sekiguchi, who both lost one-sided matches against the Bulldogs.

Due to the loss, the Huskies will not be among the 16 teams participating in the ITA National Indoor Team Championships, but Anger said the Dawgs will continue to play hard.

“It’s a great experience and a learning experience,” he said. “As far as top teams, we’re going to keep hunting them and keep pounding until we break through and we become one of the top teams.”

Reach reporter Zach Ruby at sports@dailyuw.com.