MELBOURNE, AUS. – UCF women's tennis freshman Stefani Webb traveled to Melbourne, Australia to compete in the Australian Open Junior Tournament this past weekend as a wild card into the singles and doubles main draw.
Opening the singles main draw, Webb earned a win over No. 1 seed Sara Saito from Japan, who is No. 5 overall in the ITF World Tennis Junior Rankings. Trading points in the first two sets, Webb secured the upset win in the final set to take the match and advance to the second round, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.
In the second round, Webb played a competitive three-set match against No. 34 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva but dropped the head-to-head, 4-6, 6-4, 4-6.
Webb played in the main draw doubles event with her partner and childhood friend, No. 156 Roisin Gilheany, who she partnered with for multiple Grade 3 and Grade 4 tournaments in 2020. In the opening round, the Australian duo took down the tandem of Lavinia Morreale and Elizara Yaneva in a back-and-forth match, 6-4, 1-6, 1-0 (7).
Webb and Gilheany saw their success continue in the second round with a commanding win over Germany's Carolina Kuhl and Ella Seidel, 6-1, 6-3. Seidel is ranked No. 31 in the individual rankings, while Kuhl checks in at No. 41.
Advancing to the quarterfinals, Webb once again met Saito, this time with her partner Hayu Kinoshita. Putting up a good fight, but unable to complete the upset, the Australian duo concluded their tournament run with a score of 2-6, 6-2, 10-8.
UP NEXT
Webb returns home to make her debut with No. 23 UCF against No. 19 Arizona State when the Knights travel to Auburn, Ala. for the ITA Kickoff weekend.
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