TOKYO, Japan – Luisa Stefani earned the first medal of the 2020 Olympics by a Pepperdine alum, as the former three-time All-American won the bronze medal in women's tennis for her native Brazil.
 
Stefani and teammate Laura Pigossi defeated the Russian duo of Elena Vesnina and Veronika Kudermetova, 4-6, 6-4, 11-9. An amazing comeback saw them rally after losing the first set, and they then overcame deficits of 5-1 and 9-5 in the third-set super tiebreaker. They fought off four championship points before winning the match.
 
It's the first time that Brazil has ever medaled in tennis at the Olympics. The Brazilian pair was not part of the original Olympic draw but became a late addition.
 
"It's a feeling of pure happiness," Stefani said. "This medal stays forever in history but also all the memories we've accumulated this week and the feelings we went through."
 
Stefani and former teammate Mayar Sherif became the first Waves ever to compete in women's tennis at the Olympics this year. Stefani becomes Pepperdine's second medalist in tennis, joining Brad Gilbert, who won a bronze medal in men's tennis singles in 1988.
 
Stefani earned All-American honors in each of her three seasons with the Waves (2016-18). She reached the semifinals of the 2016 NCAA singles tournament, and the quarterfinals in 2018. Stefani finished in the top 20 in the ITA singles rankings all three seasons, and was #3 in 2016 when she was the ITA National Rookie of the Year. She helped Pepperdine advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA team event in 2016 and 2017, and to the round of 16 in 2018. Stefani was the West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017.
 
Stefani's Olympic results:
First round: Stefani/Pigossi def. Dabrowski/Fichman (Canada), 7-6, 6-4
Round of 16: Stefani/Pigossi def. Plisoka/Vondrousova (Czech Republic), 2-6, 6-4, 13-11
Quarterfinals: Stefani/Pigossi def. Mattek-Sands/Pegula (USA), 1-6, 6-3, 10-6
Semfinals: Golubic/Bencic (Switzerland) def. Stefani/Pigossi, 7-6, 6-3
Bronze Medal Match: Stefani/Pigossi def. Vesnina/Kudermetova, 4-6, 6-4, 11-9