Neither UGA Tennis squad was able to prevail in today’s ITA Indoor Championship finals. The men fell 4-1 to Virginia while the women came up short against Northwestern.

Manuel Diaz sees a silver lining in the losing effort:

“I can’t say enough about our guys, it was anybody’s match on every court, and they gave a championship effort,” said Georgia coach Manuel Diaz. “A lot of the experts said we might be in for a down year but we showed we can compete with anybody in the country. I’m not saying it’s going to be smooth this year but we definitely have the kind of guys who will fight hard every time out. We’re ahead of schedule, and I like how we’ve got a close-knit group.”

Ladie’s coach Jeff Wallace on his squad’s loss:

“We ran in to the top-ranked team that played a solid match today, and I’m still proud of our team for making it to the finals,” said Georgia coach Jeff Wallace. “We learned a lot and what we need to work on for the rest of the year. This was a good experience for the team. We had the right mindset coming up here, and this was a great showing.”

Both teams surpassed expectations and did the Bulldog Nation proud. I imagine both squads will be in the hunt for their respective national titles.

In all of the hubbub over weekend recruiting visits and the news that Bobby Knight was interested in Georgia basketball job, the news of Georgia’s 4-2 victory over Washington to advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the ITA National Indoors.

Unlike the previous two matches Georgia had to come from behind after an early setback:

Washington (4-2) grabbed a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point over the Bulldogs (3-0). The team point came down to the No. 2 match where Derek Drabble and Patrik Fisher edged Josh Varela and Christian Vitulli 8-6. The Huskies No. 1 team of Martin Kildahl and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan won 8-4 while the No. 3 Bulldog tandem of Drake Bernstein and Javier Garrapiz won 8-3. It was the first time Georgia dropped the doubles point this season.

The match was clinched by the solitary Bulldog senior, Josh Varela.

“It was a total team effort today,” said Georgia coach Manuel Diaz. “After Washington won the doubles point, we knew what we had to do and everybody hung in there. Josh is a perfect example of a kid who came to Georgia to be a part of something special. He didn’t come in with a high ranking like some guys, he’s worked hard and gone from being like our eighth or ninth guy as a freshman to now winning big matches like today. He has a tremendous competitive spirit.”

Up next for the Tennis Dogs is a trip to Chicago to compete for the National Team Indoor Championships held February 13-16.

Georgia cruised to another victory in it’s quest to become ITA National Team Indoor Champions. The most recent victim was the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Third-ranked Georgia will face 36th-ranked Washington Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex for a trip to the ITA National Team Indoors.

The Bulldogs (2-0) blanked No. 51 South Carolina 5-0 Friday while No. 36 Washington defeated No. 55 Indiana 6-1 in the first day of the ITA Kickoff Weekend here at the Hopkins Indoor Courts. The winner of the Bulldog-Husky match will earn as spot in the 16-team field at the ITA National Team Indoors slated for Feb. 13-16 in Chicago. The Gamecocks will face the Hoosiers in a consolation match Saturday at 9 a.m. Admission is free for both matches at the Hopkins Indoor Courts.

So, just one victory and it will be on to Chicago.

RELATED: UGA living legend, Georgia sports oracle and the first baby born at Athens Regional Medical Center, Dan Magill, has a piece in the Banner-Herald about recently signed Georgia tennis recruit Borja Malo.

Georgia’s defending national champion men’s tennis team, which was hit hard by the graduation of All-Americans Travis Helgeson and Luis Flores, has recruited one of South America’s top players, Borja Malo of Santiago, Chile.

Given where we are in the football recruiting process, this part stood out:

Coach Manuel Diaz said Malo started school Thursday.

That’s fast! I guess recruiting isn’t always a glacial process where, after essentially a year long recruitment, it may still be another couple of years a kid sees the field.

Instant gratification FTW.