Championship seasons are about more than talent and ability; they require the heart and chemistry of a fully-meshed team.

After losing three matches before winter quarter’s end, there were plenty of questions about the No. 6 Stanford women’s tennis team and its ability to reclaim a championship title.

Fortunately for the young Cardinal squad, an epiphany came in the form of a breakout weekend with wins over No. 13 Arizona State and No. 63 Arizona, marking the team’s first three-win week this season.

With the wins, Stanford extended its regular-season home victory streak to 100 straight matches after legging out a prolonged five-game road trip.

The homestand certainly couldn’t have come at a better time, according to sophomore Lindsay Burdette.

“It was unbelievable,” Burdette said. “We had a lot of people out to the matches this weekend, and the weather was beautiful and the energy was great from our team as well as the fans. We knew that this was our last match before the long break and I think that really helped us put everything we had into the matches this weekend.”

On Friday, the Cardinal defeated Arizona 7-0 for its second shutout of the season.

Stanford blanked the Wildcats with a doubles sweep and two 6-0, 6-0 wins by Burdette and junior Jessica Nguyen.

“We came out with a really strong doubles point, which was great,” Burdette said. “We knew that Arizona was going to be the weaker team to Arizona State but it didn’t matter. We still really needed to solidify our lineup and we took care of business.”

Against a strong ASU squad, the Cardinal continued its intensity with another doubles sweep leading to a 6-1 win on Saturday.

Playing in front of the home crowd, freshman Jennifer Yen clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-1 win at the No. 6 spot.

“That match was where we really played our best against a strong team, which raised our level even higher,” Burdette said. “Hilary and I really came together in doubles for the first time — we hit that one match where everything was clicking. In singles, everyone carried it all out on the courts and adjusted to their opponent. We really got to see what we can do when we play well.”

The weekend was certainly a relief for a Cardinal team searching for consistency amidst numerous injuries and turnover.

“In light of that, it really showed us how we can be when we have everything together,” Burdette said. “It was positive on a lot of levels.”

Despite three losses already this season, Stanford is still in contention for the Pac-10 title and perhaps more. With a topsy-turvy shuffle of the top squads in the conference, nothing has been decided yet.

“Usually the team is meshed and ready to go in January, but the one positive thing about this season is that there is no one dominant team with a perfect record,” Burdette said. “So, we have as much of a chance as anyone to win — we just need to work hard and keep that in mind.”

In the same week that head coach Lele Forood earned her 200th victory at the program’s helm, the Cardinal earned its 100th straight regular home win on the Farm.

Including postseason play, Stanford is 126-0 over the last nine years at Taube Tennis Center.

“It’s not as difficult as it sounds because we have such a great group and we have a sense of what is expected of us and such confidence that we can accomplish that,” Burdette said. “I guess we didn’t feel like it was in jeopardy because we don’t necessarily worry about stuff like that. We don’t really think about it that way and we’re going out there one match at a time.

With Dead Week and finals coming up, Stanford will go on a two-week hiatus in match play.

The Cardinal will start up again over spring break against Cal-Poly on Mar. 24. Until then, the players will have the opportunity to work on their games.

“One of the biggest things that we’re going to be focusing on between now and Mar. 24 is our physical conditioning,” Burdette said. “Since we’ll be hitting a little bit less than normal in the next two weeks, we’re going to really up the physical stuff. Once we get back into the season, it’s going to be much more difficult to push it in that area.”

Hopefully for the Stanford women, the weekend that was will be a harbinger of what’s yet to come.