Two down, four to go.

Opening the 2008 NCAA Tournament on the Farm, the No. 4 Stanford women’s tennis team punched its ticket to Tulsa, Okla. with two wins over the weekend.

Playing in front of the home crowd, the Cardinal women continued their dominance at home.

“I definitely love playing at school and in front of the Stanford crowd,” freshman Hilary Barte said. “There’s something electric about the crowd. I could definitely feel it turn up the intensity to another level mentally and energy-wise for both matches.”

To start off their 27th consecutive appearance at the Tournament, the Cardinal women blanked Boston University 4-0, in quick fashion.

Barte returned to the courts in doubles, teaming up with sophomore Lindsay Burdette for an 8-0 win.

Stanford would sweep doubles for a 1-0 lead.

Recovering from a strain at the Pac-10 Championships, Barte was kept out of the singles lineup against the Terriers as a precautionary measure.

“I was itching to get out there,” Barte said. “I knew we’d be playing a lot of tennis ahead, so there was no need to rush. By helping myself I was helping the team.”

Junior Jessica Nguyen stepped in for Barte and easily won 6-0, 6-0 against Francine Whu. Burdette also recorded a 6-0, 6-0 victory, and freshman Carolyn McVeigh sealed the win with a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

In the match, senior Celia Durkin appeared to injure herself against Vanessa Steiner. Despite the injury, Durkin led 6-4, 4-1 when play was suspended.

“Cel[ia]’s such a fighter and competitor,” Barte said. “Even when we’re practicing and she’s hurt, she doesn’t tell anyone. Last year she played the entire year with mono and she did great.

“If she’s hurt, she’ll make up for it in effort,” Barte added.

Saturday’s matchup against Texas A&M wasn’t nearly as easy as the opening round, however.

On the afternoon, doubles play began at 12:13 p.m. and finished at 1:55 p.m. when Durkin and McVeigh won 9-8 (2) on Court 3.

“To watch Cel[ia] and Carolyn pull off the win was great,” Barte said. “Throughout the season, they’ve been extremely clutch. When I see them battling out and they’re the last team on, I feel confident — they really come through when we need them to.”

In singles, Barte returned to the top of the lineup with a quick and flawless 6-0, 6-2 win over Elze Potgieter.

“It felt great to get back out there and play side by side with my teammates,” Barte said. “I look forward to more of it in Tulsa.”

In fact, Barte logged only 1 hour and 42 minutes of court time, nearly the length of Durkin and McVeigh’s doubles match.

But, timing aside, the results are what counted in the 4-1 victory over the Aggies.

“We all go out there and give it our all every match,” Barte said. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes, as long as you get it done.”

After Barte’s win, Durkin fell 6-2, 6-1 to Anna Blagodarova, trimming the Cardinal lead in half.

However, McVeigh surged back for a 6-3, 6-0 win, and senior Whitney Deason clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-3 tally.

With the two wins, the Cardinal women are now 106-12 in the postseason. They extended their home win streak to 134 matches, and have won their last 28 postseason matches on the Farm.

Though Stanford now heads to Tulsa along with 15 other top programs, they are confident in their abilities to win away from home, especially after a travel-heavy season.

“We played away a lot this season,” Barte said. “In February we were gone almost every weekend. We’re looking forward to making Tulsa our home court for a week.”

On Thursday, Stanford will face off against No. 13 Clemson in the Round of 16.

But, currently on a nine-match win streak, the Cardinal women are certainly aiming for higher goals.

“We’re definitely one of the top teams vying for the national championship,” Barte said, “It’s definitely going to be a battle. We’re not going to just walk through. We have a chance but we just have to fight hard.”

Today, Stanford will head to Tulsa, where they’ll prepare for their Thursday match against the Tigers. Starting then, the Cardinal will be four victories and five days away from reclaiming the national title.