Louisiana UnLimited: Finding a Second Home Over 5,000 Miles Away

This story is based off Kacper Dworak's conversation with Jay Walker on Ragin' Cajun Connection, the official podcast of Louisiana Athletics. You can listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Playing collegiate tennis in the United States wasn't always the plan for Kacper Dworak. After seeing the commitment from people at the University and a little push from his parents, Dworak made the decision to travel 5,400 miles from Lodz, Poland, to play for the Louisiana men's tennis team.

Dworak began playing tennis around the age of six when his father signed him up for a tennis class at the local fitness club. While soccer was his favorite sport back then, he stuck with tennis with a little urging from his father, and eventually gained attention from coaches in the United States after reaching the quarterfinals of a junior tournament.

"I remember after my quarterfinal match, going on my Facebook and seeing messages from people I didn't know in English," recalled Dworak. "I was with my dad at that time and I was like 'Dad listen, there's some weird people messaging me about playing college tennis.' As soon as my father heard about the opportunity to go to the U.S. and play college tennis, he was like 'Yeah, you're going.'"

One of those coaches who eventually got a hold of Kacper was current Ragin' Cajuns head coach Luc Godin, who at the time was the assistant coach under Mark Jeffery. Godin recruited Dworak and even flew out to Poland to watch him play and talk things over with his parents. Seeing that he had someone in his corner in America, it helped Dworak make the decision to join the Ragin' Cajuns in 2018.

"Since I had someone constantly in touch with me, that made the whole process a lot easier," he said. "It was somebody else that really showed me they really want you as well. You don't have to worry whether you're wanted or not."

Dworak struggled out of the gate as a freshman. He remembers going winless at the regional championships in Alabama before suffering an injury that would shelve him until the spring season.

"There were moments where I was doubting everything. I remember very vividly the fall of my freshman season was a difficult semester," he said. "I called my dad saying 'I don't think I'm good enough, I think I'm not going to make it, I don't think they're satisfied with what I present and I'm not good enough anymore.' Until then I really didn't have to face anything nearly as difficult. At the end of the day, I'm in a different country 5,000 miles away, trying to figure things out on my own. I put an enormous amount of expectations on myself.

Things did turn out well for Dworak, who won 13 doubles and nine singles matches in the spring his freshman year, before going on to finish his Cajun career with 83 total victories and had at least nine doubles wins every season.

Now after exhausting his eligibility, Dworak remains with the team as a volunteer assistant while he completes is master's degree in petroleum engineering.

"I've cried for this team, I've bled for this team, and I've sweated for this team for five years of my life. I want to be a part of it for as long as I can," he said. "I know everybody on the team, I love the guys, I love the coaching staff, and I love the University. I want to see this team be the best it possibly can and if that means volunteering hours of my free time, I'm happy to do it and I'll be doing it with a smile on my face."

As for what's next, Dworak isn't sure. He's received some attention from the local job market while also considering returning home to Poland or once again experiencing a new country somewhere else. The one thing he does know is Lafayette has become a second home and the support he's received is something he wants to continue to pay forward.

"At the end of the day, the University gave me a hand. Many people saw something that they wanted to have here and gave me the opportunity and I will forever be grateful for it," he said. "My one dream is that I want to leave this program in a better place than when I saw it in the beginning. I just want to contribute, even if it's just a little bit. I feel like there was a lot of will and desire from other people to get me here and I'd feel bad if I didn't give back. So many small things have grown here now and I want it to grow in the direction the University deserves to grow."

Louisiana UnLimited: Finding a Second Home Over 5,000 Miles Away

Players Mentioned

Kacper Dworak

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