This post was written by Hatchet reporter Aaron Esparza.

The men’s tennis team may have finally confronted its ceiling this weekend.

The No. 53 team in the nation showed its conference dominance through the first two games of the weekend, comfortably handling Atlantic 10 rivals Fordham and Richmond, 5-1 and 6-1, respectively. But in its loss to No. 21 Wake Forest, the Colonials also showed the vast difference between top 60 and top 25 teams.

During the victories, sophomore Danil Zelenkov extended his streak of unbeaten play to 12 matches, winning in straight sets both days.

On Sunday, the team traveled to take on No. 21 Wake Forest – easily GW’s highest ranked opponent of the season. The team knew they were up against a powerhouse, but one that had lost four of its last 10 matches.

According to head coach Greg Munoz, with the Demon Deacons playing their second match of the day, the game plan was to tire their opponent with “1000 percent effort, energy, and focus.”

The team showcased that effort early in doubles play, when the No. 76 duo of junior Francisco Dias and freshman Julius Tverijonas won a close tiebreaker, 8-7. However, the No. 2 pair of senior Nikita Fomin and Zelenkov were not as fortunate, finding themselves on the losing end of a similar tiebreaker, 7-8. In the No. 3 spot, the senior duo of Viktor Svensson and Ulrik Thomsen came up short against Wake Forest’s Adam Lee and Anthony Delcore, losing the set, 5-8, and giving away the doubles point.

Though the Colonials performed admirably, it was clear in singles play that the Demon Deacons were, simply, the more talented team. With a roster that boasted three nationally ranked players, Wake Forest secured the 4-0 win quickly with wins at the No. 1, 2 and 4 slots.

Despite the unbalanced results of the weekend, Munoz described his team’s situation as, “an unknown team that’s been steady in the rankings.”

GW (12-6) lost an opportunity to solidify its impressive season with a win against a top 25 team, but proved once more that they are still a threat to grab one of the top two seeds in the A-10 Tournament. The Colonials are now perfect in conference play, at 2-0, with less than two weeks remaining before postseason competition.

The Colonials will move on this weekend in their home finale against Georgetown Friday at noon.