The No. 3 Stanford women’s tennis team knew about this season over a year and a half ago, but little could be done about it.

The players braced themselves, they weathered the storm, and now they are that much better for it.

On Saturday, the road-tested Cardinal women completed their final away match of season with a dominant 7-0 sweep of Oregon, ending a travel-heavy 2008 campaign.

“It was a brutal schedule this year, and we knew that this year was coming for a really long time,” sophomore Lindsay Burdette said. “We’ve braced for it and now it’s over.”

Though playing away from the Farm has produced mixed results, the Cardinal played nearly flawless tennis in its fourth shutout of the season.

“It feels really good to get it over it,” Burdette said of the road match. “It was an extremely, extremely difficult season on the road including the individual tournament in Palm Springs and [National Team] Indoors at Madison. Counting all of that, we have just traveled and traveled.”

In Eugene, Ore., the Cardinal women had a short weekend with only one match. Stanford began play with its second consecutive doubles sweep.

The onslaught continued in singles.

At number one, freshman Hilary Barte easily won her 15th consecutive match at the top of the lineup 6-1, 6-0 against another freshman, Celine Rolly.

With the victory, Barte is now an impressive 23-5 on the season and 18-3 in doubles match play.

The Cardinal women were so dominant that Oregon was unable to pick up more than four games in any one set.

“The fact that it was a really short weekend really drove everybody to take care of business,” Burdette said. “It was short, it was sweet and we really took care of business.”

The California-like weather in Eugene was an added bonus for the Cardinal cause.

“It was beautiful weather up there which actually helped us,” Burdette said. “We got to play outdoors — we couldn’t even remember the last time that happened. It was great preparation for next week when we play at home.”

With the win, Stanford is now 17-4 on the season and 6-1 in Pacific-10 Conference play.

The Cardinal’s conference record ties it with UCLA and California at the top of the standings. Cal heads to the Farm this weekend while UCLA will face off against USC.

“We’re really excited about Cal,” Burdette said. “We proved against UCLA that we can come out and take care of business on our own turf and I think that’ll be the same with Cal. The whole team in general has a completely different attitude on the court when they’re playing in our place.

“They know how strong we are at home,” Burdette added.

But first, Stanford will follow up that quick sweep of the Ducks with a match-up against UC-Davis on Tuesday. Cal comes on Saturday to face a Cardinal squad that expects to feel well-rested for the showdown.

“I think that the fact that it [the weekend] was short will also help us with the Cal match because we’re fresh and ready to go,” Burdette said.

Despite losses on the road — their first four-loss season since 1987, the Cardinal players think they have benefited from being in the line of fire.

“Last year we didn’t nearly travel as much,” Burdette said. “After this season, the freshmen and I were broken in, and we learned a lot on this season on how to win on the road. We’re definitely stronger not playing at Stanford and that’ll really help us.”

With a 21-year Pac-10 conference title streak on the line, that added strength could be a factor in the crucial match against Cal. Winners of five in a row and 11 of the last 12 matches, the Cardinal women carry much momentum heading into the rivalry match.

The Cardinal will take the court at home at 3 p.m. on Tuesday against Davis. The bout with Cal will begin at noon on Sunday, and will also take place at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.