TUMON BAY, Guam – Former University of Hawai'i men's tennis player
Daniel Llarenas has helped make a mark for his native Guam in international tennis. Llarenas was part of a Pacific Oceania team that defeated Iran, 4-1, in a Davis Cup match earlier this month.
Pacific Oceania is made up of 18 countries throughout the Pacific and one of two combined teams in the world. Llarenas is the first-ever representative from Guam to be on the Pacific Oceania Davis Cup team which formed and in 1995 and is currently ranked 67.
The win over Iran was the most decisive win in Pacific Oceania's history as the team retained its place in Group II for 2012. Llarenas teamed up with Cyril Jacobe from Vanuatu for the matches clinching doubles win over Iran's Ashkan Shokoofi and Seyed Taheri. Shokoofi and Taheri hold ITF rankings, but the unranked Jacobe and Llarenas pulled off the upset over the Iranian duo, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Llarenas was a three-year letterwinner for the Rainbow Warriors (2008-11) after transferring from Hawai'i Pacific University. He was part of two Western Athletic Conference championship squads before graduating this spring. A graduate of Word of Life Academy in Honolulu, he was born and raised in Guam before moving to Hawai'i at the age of 12 to care for family members. Since concluding his UH career this past spring, he relocated back to Guam where he is currently the tennis director at the Hilton Resort & Spa.
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