LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego men's water polo alum Kacper Langiewicz has embarked to Hungary to continue to play professional water polo for the Hungarian Water Polo Federation First Division. The league Langiewicz will play in is the top league for water polo in Hungary. He plays for the Kaposvári Vizilabda Klub (Kaposvár VK).
 
"I first saw water polo culture in Hungary when I got to visit with the UC San Diego men's team in the summer of 2017," said Langiewicz. "We got to practice in facilities and see how serious water polo is here. It was always in the back of my head that it would be a great experience to play in Hungary, so when I got an offer from Kaposvár, I was very excited and I knew it would be a great opportunity for me to grow as a player."
 
Previously, Langiewicz had spent some time in Europe with Acquachiara in Napoli, Italy but the championship was cut short due to COVID-19.
 
Kaposvár VK is currently competing in the Hungarian Cup which is a preseason tournament. Langiewicz made his debut with Kaposvár VK on July 25th and led the team with three goals.

During his time with the Tritons, Langiewicz developed into a talented player. In 2018, he was named to the All-WWPA Second Team and the NCAA All-Tournament Second Team after leading the Tritons to the Semi-Finals in the NCAA Tournament. In 2019, Langiewicz earned a spot on the Team USA Roster for the World University games. He helped lead Team USA to a silver medal. 
 
Langiewicz, like former Triton Jack Turner, is one of 20 Americans vying for a spot on the 2021 Olympic team. Prior to the start of COVID-19, Langiewicz had played for Team USA in a couple of exhibition games against Team Serbia. Playing in Hungary represents an opportunity to improve Langiewicz's chances of making the Olympic Team. Hungary has nine Olympic gold medals for men's water polo, the most of any nation.
 
"The OB1 league in Hungary is consistently one the most competitive leagues in the world and this year many European and Olympic champions will compete in this league," said Langiewicz "I think playing for Kaposvár can help my chances of making the team in 2021 because it will help me develop as a player and give me valuable international playing experience. I will be competing against the best water polo players in the world almost every week, which will help prepare me for the level of play required at the International and Olympic level."
 
Langiewicz is the sixth former Triton in the last five years to play professionally in Europe after graduation. Former Tritons that have played abroad since 2015 include Josh Stiling (Spain), Matt Michalko (Italy & Germany), Cameron Ravanbach (Germany), Lukas Syka (Germany) and Kuba Bednarek (Poland). In total, at least 20 former players have gone on to play professionally.
 
To follow Langiewicz's career in Hungary, you can follow his blog here.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program begins a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I.  The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide more than 1,300 scholar-athletes to All-America honors.  A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships.  UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.