SEATTLE - No. 1 Stanford dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 5 Georgia on Monday morning in the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Stanford (5-1) experienced its first loss since a 4-3 defeat to Florida on Feb. 24, 2018, snapping a 25-match unbeaten streak that included the Cardinal's 19th NCAA title last May.
The back-and-forth contest ended when Katarina Jokic, ranked No. 2 in the country, outlasted Michaela Gordon 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 at the top spot of the lineup.
Monday represented the first time Stanford lost a match after winning the doubles point since the aforementioned dual against Florida.
Trailing 1-0, Georgia collected rare victories at the Nos. 4 and 6 spots, as juniors Emily Arbuthnott and Emma Higuchi entered the match with only 10 dual losses combined since their arrival on The Farm.
The Bulldogs then moved one step closer to clinching, grabbing a 3-1 lead when Marta Gonzalez defeated Melissa Lord 7-5, 6-2 on court three.
Stanford fought back to even the match at 3-3 after Janice Shin and Caroline Lampl converted victories.
In the third set of the deciding match, Jokic won the final three games to narrowly defeat Gordon in a rematch of last year's NCAA quarterfinal that went unfinished.
The Cardinal was participating in the ITA National Team Indoors for the first time since 2011, when it posted victories over Arkansas, Michigan and North Carolina before defeating Florida in the final. Prior to that, the Cardinal had not captured an indoor tournament title since 2006.
Stanford returns home to host Santa Clara on Friday, Feb. 15 at 12 p.m.
No. 5 Georgia 4, No. 1 Stanford 3
DOUBLES
1) No. 11 Lampl/Yee (STAN) d. Carle/Wolff (UGA) 6-3
2) No. 13 Arbuthnott/Gordon (STAN) d. Christofi/Morgan Coppoc (UGA) 7-5
3) Jokic/Kowalski (UGA) d. No. 31 Lord/Niluka Madurawe (STAN) 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
SINGLES
1) No. 2 Katarina Jokic (UGA) d. No. 23 Michaela Gordon (STAN) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
2) No. 10 Marta Gonzalez (UGA) d. No. 46 Melissa Lord (STAN) 7-5, 6-2
3) No. 57 Caroline Lampl (STAN) d. No. 102 Lourdes Carle (UGA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-0
4) No. 58 Vivian Wolff (UGA) d. No. 14 Emily Arbuthnott (STAN) 6-2, 6-2
5) No. 37 Janice Shin (STAN) d. Elena Christofi (UGA) 6-3, 6-2
6) No. 84 Meg Kowalski (UGA) d. No. 44 Emma Higuchi (STAN) 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 2, 5, 3, 1