In its last competition before this month’s NCAA Championships, Stanford women’s tennis didn’t capture any individual titles in singles or doubles action at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships in Ojai, Calif. However, the Cardinal did manage to accumulate more individual wins than any other Pac-10 school this past weekend.

Stanford sent two players to the singles semifinals — senior Theresa Logar and junior Celia Durkin — but both fell in the semifinal round. Co-captain Logar lost to Southern California’s Lindsey Nelson, while Durkin was defeated by last year’s NCAA Champion, Susie Babos.

Cardinal freshman Lindsay Burdette also had an impressive performance in her first Pac-10 Championships, reaching the quarterfinals of the singles bracket, as well as the finals of the doubles bracket with senior teammate Anne Yelsey.

Burdette fell to friendly fire in the singles tournament when she lost to Logar by a score of 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. She and doubles partner Yelsey also lost in the finals of the doubles tournament to UCLA’s combo of Yasmin Schnack and Riza Zalameda.

The Bruin duo defeated Yelsey and Burdette rather handily, 6-1, 6-0, by playing “out of their minds,” according to Burdette.

The freshman also commented on her match with teammate and friend Logar.

“The match was extremely competitive,” she said. “It was strictly tennis. I think we both did a really good job of handling it.”

In assessing her performance during the weekend, Burdette had no reservations in admitting that she surprised even herself.

“I was actually shocked with how well I played,” she said.

On the whole, head coach Lele Forood was also very happy with the way her team performed.

“I thought we had a great tournament,” Forood said. “There were so many positives: having two players in the semifinals and having a doubles team in the finals, and having Lejla [Hodzic] going to the semis [of the Pac-10 Invitational Draw, the weekend’s secondary tournament].”

Durkin’s performance was also notable. The junior lost to Babos in the semifinals of the singles bracket, but not before getting valuable match experience and collecting an impressive win over a Cal player, Suzi Fodor.

In another positive development, sophomore Jessica Nguyen made her return to the lineup. Nguyen was hampered by injuries in recent weeks, but saw valuable match action in both the singles and doubles draws this past weekend.

“It might have been the highlight of the weekend,” Forood said of Nguyen’s first significant match play in weeks.

In singles action, Logar’s semifinal match pitted her against USC’s Nelson; the matchup between the two top-notch players has turned into its own mini-rivalry this year.

The Trojans’ No. 1 Nelson stands over 6 feet tall, posing match-up problems for almost any player. She and the 5-foot-9 Logar faced each other for the third time this season on Saturday; both players had knocked each other off once coming into the match.

Logar struggled against the powerful Nelson, losing in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. Nelson would go on to win the tournament’s singles championship by defeating Babos in the finals.

Forood wasn’t pessimistic in her outlook on Logar’s performance, instead praising the USC junior — a player she once labeled as arguably the best in the nation.

“Lindsey was really, really good this weekend,” Forood said. “She played at a very high level both yesterday and today. I think [Theresa’s loss] was more that than anything else.”

With the Pac-10 Championships behind them, No. 1 Stanford waits for the announcement of its NCAA opponent. The Cardinal will host first- and second-round action by merit of its top national ranking and 20-1 overall record.

The announcement of the NCAA pairings will be made later today, although the tournament will not begin until next Friday, May 11.

The Cardinal will take the next week and a half to fine-tune any last tweaks before the first and second rounds of the 64-team tournament begin. With three national titles to defend, and a fourth title run to prepare for, Stanford took advantage of this past weekend’s tournament, using the Pac-10 Championships as a practice test for the challenge NCAAs present.

Although they have already accomplished plenty this season in battling injuries, amassing a 20-1 record and capturing yet another Pac-10 title, Stanford knows it still has one more monumental task ahead.

“I think we did a great job of establishing ourselves [at the Pac-10 Championships],” Burdette said. “Hopefully, we’ll finish the job.”