Not everyone is cut out to be a Division I athlete, let alone a successful college student. Senior tennis player Kuni Dorn is both.

Dorn — the lone senior on the Kansas tennis team — has spent three years as one of the squad’s staple players while being selected as a Big 12 First-Team Academic All-American two years in a row.

Growing up in Sopron, Hungary, Dorn’s parents introduced her to tennis at age four. It was soon apparent that she had a knack for the game, and by age 10 she divided her time almost solely between school and tennis.

“Basically, next to school it was really hard, because I needed to wake up like at 6:30 and practice before school,” Dorn said. “And then after school I practiced a lot. That was it. It was hard, but I’m glad my parents were kind of strict with me.”

Strict as they may have been, it was just the push she needed to break into Division I athletics.

In fact, it was an opponent from her busy teenage years that led her to Kansas in the first place. Edina Horvath was a rival of Dorn’s throughout their junior tennis careers. Horvath, one of two seniors from last year’s team, graduated in the spring.

“Kuni was my friend when I was back at home,” Horvath said. “It was my freshman year and I knew that she was looking for some universities. I was the one who e-mailed her to see if she wanted to come.”

After talking with the coaches, Dorn decided that Kansas was the place for her .

In addition to boosting the team’s average grade point average, Dorn has also been a contributor on the court. She has started every year in a strong six-member lineup, and has competed in the top singles and doubles positions.

Along with successful play, coach Amy Hall-Holt will be looking for the veteran Dorn to step up as the team motivator. Last year, she asked Dorn to work closely with seniors Horvath and Yuliana Svistun.

“Considering we only had two seniors last year, I think Kuni knew that she needed to keep working and getting the experience and leadership,” Hall-Holt said. “I think she did a good job of kind of easing her way into a leadership role. She’s accepted the role and is really gaining that respect from the underclassmen, and that’s really going to help with the transition from being a junior to a senior this year.”

Dorn understands that being a senior comes with some extra expectations from her head coach.

“I think she kind of expects me to be a leader this year,” Dorn said of Hall-Holt. “But I’m not like, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to be a senior, so I’ve got to be the leader.’ I like to work with the girls and share my ideas. So we all work as a team.”

One goal Dorn ranks among the highest this year is to defeat Missouri. The Jayhawks have lost all three dual matches with the Tigers since Dorn joined the team in 2006, along with a first-round loss to the Tigers at last spring’s Big 12 Championships in Norman, Okla.

Not only does the team hope to top its biggest foe, but it also hopes to finish higher in the conference. Last year, the Jayhawks finished ninth.

Individually, Dorn is focused on winning a lot of matches. She recently spent time in physical therapy after suffering from an elbow injury, but she says that it’s healed now and is ready to go.

“Kunigunda has been working really hard on her strength and conditioning,” Hall-Holt stated during an earlier interview.

Since the injury cost her valuable training time, Dorn hopes to play a singles position somewhere in the middle of the lineup.

When not on the court, Dorn spends the majority of her time studying for classes. She said it’s difficult to have a social life during the season, especially since she’s working toward a double-major in journalism and communications.

Assistant tennis coach German Dalmagro thinks Dorn’s work ethic will help encourage the younger players on the team.

“She was an honor student last year,” Dalmagro said. “I think our freshmen and sophomores can look up and say, ‘Hey, I can play and I can study. And I can do well, too.’ Some freshmen might think it’s really tough to juggle both.”

Dorn’s attitude has not only impressed her coaches, but also her teammates. She was given the Most Improved Player Award in 2008 and the Hardest Worker Award in 2009. Persistence and hard work are recurring elements in this young student-athlete’s life.

The Jayhawk tennis team will compete in their first fall event at UNC-Wilmington Sept. 11-13.

— — Edited by Tim Burgess