On an overcast Friday afternoon, the No. 2 Stanford women’s tennis team won its de facto season opener against No. 41 UNLV, 6-1.

After an entire rain-soaked week of postponed and cancelled matches, the Cardinal finally fit in its first dual match of the season at the Taube Family Tennis Center against the Runnin’ Rebels. According to sophomore Lindsay Burdette, the sun couldn’t have come at a better time.

“It felt really good to get back on the courts,” Burdette said. “We have worked really hard since we got back from Christmas break, and by the time UNLV got here, we were really excited and super fresh. Everybody had a lot of energy, and it definitely showed in the score.”

Burdette teamed up with freshman Hilary Barte in an 8-3 win over Elena Gantcheva and Kristina Nedeltcheva for one of two Cardinal doubles victories.

Then, in singles, Burdette took down Nedeltcheva again, 6-1, 6-3, at the number two spot.

“I felt awesome out there,” Burdette said. “We have a bigger team this year and a lot fewer injuries than last year, so we’re really hungry to play and win.”

What kept the match from being a season-opening sweep was junior Jessica Nguyen’s 6-2, 7-6 loss to Gantcheva.

“It was my first match playing at the number one position, so there were different factors going into how I was coming onto the court mentally and physically,” Nguyen said.

Down a set and a break in the second, Nguyen battled back, ultimately losing in the second set tiebreaker.

“It was one of those situations where Jessica was a little off and it took her a minute to get going,” Burdette said. “[Gantcheva] is such a tough player.”

Last year, Gantcheva also defeated Theresa Logar ‘07 in the No. 1 singles spot.

Nonetheless, the victory was a dominant showing only boosted by the performances of its freshmen: Barte and No. 58 Carolyn McVeigh.

Barte defeated Katy Williams 6-4, 6-0 while McVeigh bested Adrienn Hidvegi, 6-0, 6-3.

“It’s always really exciting as a freshman coming in playing your first dual match of your life,” Nguyen said. “It’s a lot of high energy and excitement leading up to it. We did a great job of executing and working together as a team for the first time.”

Elsewhere in the nation, No. 1 Georgia Tech lost to Northwestern, snapping its 23-match win streak.

In the latest team rankings, the Yellow Jackets were No. 1 with 750 points and all 10 first place votes. Stanford trailed by only 10 points, so a No. 1 national ranking may be next in line for the Card.

“It just goes to show you that it’s hard being number one,” Nguyen said. “We were number one for so many years and we kept it up for so long and it’s not that easy. Whoever comes here on a given day can come out and beat you.”

On Thursday, the top squads in the nation will convene in Madison, Wisc., for the National Team Indoors. With one match now under its belt, the Cardinal appears ready to face the rest of the top teams in the nation.

“We’re all really hungry,” Burdette said. “We have worked a great deal, and though it’s [the Indoors] not a complete indicator of who will make it all the way to May, it’s a great way to kick off the season. We’re all really excited to make it to the last day this year and take the title.”

In spite of the horrendous weather, perhaps Stanford has benefited from all of the rain and delays.

“Last week was really good preparation for us because Indoors is such neutral grounds and there are no external factors going in as far as weather conditions go,” Nguyen said. “It really prepared us mentally, and we’re ready for the tournament this week.”