The No. 29 Auburn women's tennis team fell 5-2 to No. 2 Georgia at the Yarbrough Tennis Center Friday night.
The loss makes Auburn's record 11-7 overall and 3-3 in the Southeastern Conference. It puts Georgia at 16-2 and 6-1 in the conference.
Georgia kicked off the afternoon with two wins in doubles, gaining an early lead.
Auburn's No. 34 ranked doubles team, made up of the only two seniors on the team, Alex Haney and Whitney Chappell found a 9-7 victory over Georgia's No. 37 ranked doubles team, freshmen Nadja Gilchrist and Chelsey Gullickson.
"We fought hard, and this was a something that gave me confidence for the rest of the match," Haney said.
Auburn's No. 6 ranked junior Fani Chifchieva claimed a 6-3, 6-1 singles victory, which tied everything up, over No. 9 ranked Gullickson.
"Everyone gets a little nervous, but I was excited to play the match," Chifchieva said.
Chifchieva has won seven of her last ten matches against ranked opponents.
Georgia's No. 81 ranked senior Monika Dancevik brought the Bulldogs back ahead with a 6-1, 6-0 win over junior Myrthe Molenveld.
Gilchrist strengthened Georgia's lead with her 6-4, 6-2 win over Chappell.
Haney, ranked No. 39 in singles, gave the Tigers hope and closed the gap to 3-2 by bringing in a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 34 ranked Yvette Hyndman.
"It was a good win for me," Haney said. "It's always a good feeling to step up to ranked players like that."
Haney said she lost this match last year, so the victory felt even more rewarding to her.
Head coach Tim Gray gave Chifchieva and Haney credit for the points they contributed for Auburn.
"These were both great individual wins," Gray said. "While individual wins are needed, we need team wins. Everyone has to step up."
Georgia claimed the victory in Auburn with its junior Naoko Ueshima's 6-4, 6-3 win over freshman Daniela Vukadinovic.
The evening concluded on court six when Georgia's sophomore Cameron Ellis owned a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 match over Auburn junior Jil Hastenrath.
The Tigers will face the No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers at the Yarbrough Tennis Center Sunday at 1 p.m.
"We are excited about Tennessee," Gray said. "We prepare the same for all matches and give ranked teams and non-ranked teams the respect they deserve when preparing for matches, but we may make a few slight adjustments for Sunday."
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