All-American Monday - Joaquim Rasgado

Joaquim Rasgado (1974-75)

As one of his former teammates described him, Joaquim Rasgado was good enough that he could almost “play” with most of his opponents.  At age 18, Rasgado was the Brazilian Junior Champion, the South American Junior Champion and a semi-finalist in the Orange Bowl International Tournament, the U.S. Open Junior Championship and Wimbledon Juniors. His outstanding performances solidified his ranking as the No. 3 junior in the world.

In 1971-72, playing primarily out of the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, Rasgado went 14-5 in singles play during which he put together a 12 match win streak. In doubles play, he went 10-5.   

Following his impressive freshman season, Rasgado would be named the team captain in 1973. Rasgado, playing the entire 1972-73 season out of the No. 1 position, went 15-3 in singles and 10-2 in doubles play. To open the season, Rasgado won his first nine matches. In the 1973 NCAA Tennis Championships, Rasgado won his third round singles match-up and his second round doubles match-up.

Building on the previous years’ success, Rasgado opened his junior season the same way he opened his sophomore season – with a nine-match win streak. Playing almost entirely out of the No. 1 position, Rasgado went 15-5 in singles and 16-3 in doubles. His regular season performance earned him a first round bye in the 1974 NCAA tournament. Rasgado won his second and third round match-ups. In doubles play, Rasgado advanced to the quarters of the 1974 tournament. His success earned him All-American status.

Click here to read Rasgado’s bio

Despite the impressive start to his Hurricane career, Rasgado stood out during his senior year. While he started his sophomore and junior seasons with a nine-match win streak, Rasgado opened his senior season with an 11-match win streak. Rasgado would finish the season 24-6 in singles and 17-6-1 in doubles play. As he had advanced to the fourth round of the NCAA tournament the two previous seasons, Rasgado advanced to the fifth round of the 1975 tournament. Rasgado also advanced to the third round of the doubles tournament. For the second consecutive season, Rasgado earned All-American honors.       

After his Hurricane career had ended, Rasgado played with the Brazilian Davis Cup team. As he got older it seemed he only got better. For several years, Rasgado would hold the USTA’s No. 1 ranking in the 35 and older class. In 1991, for his outstanding performance as a Miami Hurricane, Rasgado was inducted in the University’s Hall of Fame.