Hard work, loyalty pay off for Rachel Anne Daquis as FEU retires her number
WHEN volleyball player Rachel Anne Daquis played for the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws in the 2000s, she made it a point to work hard, both as a student and an athlete, and be loyal to the school that took a chance on her. And that commitment and dedication paid off for her as FEU decided to retire her jersey number.
In simple ceremonies on Tuesday night at the FEU Gym in Manila, Ms. Daquis’s No. 3 jersey was raised to the rafters as a tribute to what she has done for the school and the many achievements she had during her whole collegiate career as a Lady Tamaraw from 2004 to 2009.
Present during the landmark occasion were school officials, current FEU athletes and friends and supporters of Ms. Daquis who laid witness to her evolution as one of the best FEU studentathletes and who until after college has become a good ambassador for the yellow and green.
With her jersey number retired, Ms. Daquis joined FEU basketball legends Johnny Abarrientos (No. 14) and Arwind Santos (No. 19) to have their numbers retired by the Morayta-based school.
“I’m very thankful and feel blessed to be recognized in such a way. I look at this as a result of all the hard work I put in throughout my collegiate volleyball career. I instilled a lot of discipline in myself as a student-athlete because I wanted to go for my dreams,” said Ms. Daquis in the vernacular during her speech at the jersey retirement ceremony.
“FEU accepted me despite the fact that I did not know how to play volleyball at the start. But my coaches and school officials encouraged me and helped me develop my game,” added the now 29-year-old Daquis, who highlighted her collegiate career by helping FEU’s women’s volleyball team to its 29th University Athletic Association of the Philippines title in 2008.
Ms. Daquis further said that FEU has supported her even after graduating, rallying behind her as she parades her wares in various leagues locally and during national team duties. It is a gesture that Ms. Daquis greatly appreciates and takes special pride in.
DESERVING
Considering what she has done for, and meant to, the FEU community, school athletic director Mark Molina said Ms. Daquis truly deserves to have her number retired.
“When we came up with the idea to retire Rachel’s number the FEU community was really supportive of it. She was an ideal student-athlete who despite the rigors of the sport still maintained very good grades. She arrived in FEU very raw as a volleyball player but she strove hard and worked on her game and eventually became the face of FEU volleyball during her run,” Mr. Molina said.
“I don’t think there is any FEU athlete who has had the biggest positive impact on the FEU community than Rachel. She transcended the sport and has become synonymous with FEU,” the athletic director continued.
For current Lady Tamaraws coach Shaq Delos Santos, what Ms. Daquis had done for FEU volleyball is truly inspiring and he hopes that her players take cue from it.
“I’m happy for Rachel and it is something we are looking at as an inspiration. She had great success during her playing years here in FEU and hopefully we get to experience the same as well. Our players look up to Rachel and I believe if they continue to work hard and believe in themselves they can build a name for themselves for FEU much like Rachel,” Mr. Delos Santos told a group of sportswriters on the sidelines of the ceremony.
And inspiration is what Ms. Daquis wants people to take away from her jersey number retirement.
“I hope this inspires people much like it will inspire me as I continue with my career. Sure, individual success has come my way but it has always been about the team for me. Dedicate your games to the school and appreciate what it is doing for you. What I have become is because of FEU and I’m proud of that,” she said.