Brazilian first-years call Lehigh mens tennis home

Rafael Gracie and Victor Imanishi can’t escape one another. 

Gracie is originally from Brasília, Brazil, and Imanishi is from São Paulo, Brazil, but the two met while attending Grandview Preparatory school in Boca Raton, Florida.

The men’s tennis players traveled together to college, joined the Lehigh team together and are currently roommates. 

These two have always been side by side and while they were not roommates in Florida, they met through tennis and hung out often.  

“I don’t know how I did not get bored with him, but I’ve seen him every day for the past three years,” Gracie said. “We are best friends.” 

In addition to their passion for tennis, one thing Imanishi said they had was their love for Lehigh, mostly due to the high level of academics and athletics. 

“The coach came and watched me, and at the same time, he was talking to (Gracie),” Imanishi said. “It only seemed like a natural fit to become a Mountain Hawk.” 

Their close bond helped them take home first-place in the first doubles tournament they played together. 

Lehigh men’s tennis coach Craig Schwartz said he’s witnessed the chemistry between the two firsthand. 

Although he didn’t intentionally recruit them together, he found both of them while scouting their academy. 

Since they were being recruited by the same coach at the same time, Gracie and Imanishi said they confided in each other throughout the recruitment process. 

After committing to Lehigh, Gracie said he and Imanishi grew even closer. 

Gracie was not able to come visit Lehigh’s campus, but Imanishi made sure his friend and teammate could still see the campus and its facilities. 

“When Victor (Imanishi) actually came on campus and he was FaceTiming (Gracie) and sent him videos, it was kind of like they were doing the visit together,” Schwartz said. 

Gracie and Imanishi said their high school practices were extremely intense, which helped their transition to collegiate level play.

They were able to apply their prior experiences, but Imanishi said they still recognize the work is more challenging in college.

He said the balance between academics and athletics is a larger commitment at Lehigh than it was in high school.

“The practices were physically demanding,” Imanishi said.  “At least for me, the school part was pretty easy.” 

Gracie said their team was not very close in high school, so the two sought to fill this void at a large university.  He said this differs from the Lehigh team as they all motivate each other and practice together as a team.

Gracie said they feel a sense of belonging on the team. 

“As a team, it is so much better because they all motivate you,” Gracie said. “At the academy, you are doing your own workout and your own stuff.”

Schwartz said the duo are great team players and have helped the program continue as advertised. 

“They have just gelled right in with the rest of the team and culture, and I think they bring that kind of calm presence to the program,” Schwartz said.