Daniel Diaz and Ian Millan came a long way to play tennis at Prairie State.

Diaz, a native of Los Angeles, Chile; and Millan, from Burriana, Spain, were recruited by former Pioneers coach Patrick Reichard, and both jumped on the opportunity to play and study in the United States.

“I always saw tennis as an opportunity to come to this big country,” Diaz said. “I knew this was the chance to come here and maybe start a life here. I picked Prairie State because it's so close to Chicago.

“In Chile, studies are so hard that you don't have time to play tennis. Tennis and studies are equally important to me, so this gave me the chance to do both.”

Millan got curious about playing in America after hearing about a friend's experiences.

“He played tennis at a college in Virginia and he came back to Spain and told me how great it was,” Millan said. “I started looking at teams and schools, and Patrick contacted me and I decided to come.”

The two sophomores have had plenty of success in Chicago Heights.

Both are returning to the NJCAA National Tournament, which begins Monday in Plano, Texas.

Diaz repeated as Region IV champion at No. 1 singles and earned back-to-back Region IV and Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference Player of the Year awards.

Millan, who has signed to play at St. Francis next season, will compete at No. 2 singles at nationals after winning the region title. He reached the national quarterfinals last season at No. 2 singles.

The pair will also compete at No. 1 doubles.

“Since they've been down there once, they kind of know what to expect,” Prairie State coach Brian Johnson said. “I set up our schedule this year to play some tougher schools to prepare them and they did well.

“They're both smarter players this year and I think they'll have a good chance to go a little farther.”

International players are common in junior college tennis. Johnson estimates 80 percent of players who qualify for the national tournament are from outside the U.S.

Nonetheless, the situation at Prairie State is unique. In addition to Diaz and Millan, the Pioneers had five other international players on their roster. Two are from India, and there's one each from Australia, Serbia and South Africa.

“Learning from other people and other cultures, that's a big thing,” Millan said. “This has been a great experience because getting to see life from other points of view is really important.”

Diaz and Millan, both from Spanish-speaking countries, have helped each other get over the language barrier, which was challenging at first. Both now speak English well.

“There were definitely some adjustments we had to make,” Diaz said. “It was tough sometimes, but this was a great opportunity to learn about culture in the United States in a city like Chicago.”

Diaz's goal is to play for a NCAA Division I school. With no offers yet, he'll likely return to Chile to play for a year with the hope of returning to play at a D-I school.

“We'll see what happens next,” he said. “I'm glad I chose to come here, though, because it's been two years of good tennis, good friendships and good times.”

Steve Millar is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.