Muhlenberg Mules Podcast

The softball team provided one of the biggest highlights of the 2021-22 academic year, winning the Centennial Conference championship. Sarah Karmazyn '22 was the hero of the championship on the field, hitting a walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of the final game, and Madison Amdur '22 was a hero off the field, openly talking about the mental health struggles that caused her to step away from softball in her junior year.

After three season as an All-America tight end at Muhlenberg and two years as an assistant coach, Ryan Curtiss '20 took his talents overseas to play for the Lazio Ducks of the Italian Football League in the first half of 2022. He talks about his experience, including beautiful scenery, Italian citizenship and the unexpected opportunity to work with Ukrainian refugees.

The first episode of the 2021-22 academic year features senior quarterback Michael Hnatkowsky, who has broken a record or reached a milestone in nearly every week of the new year. The active NCAA leader in touchdown passes talks about the decision to return for a fifth year, his future plans, and Tom Brady.

A member of the 2005 Centennial Conference champion Muhlenberg men's soccer team and a first-team All-Centennial back, A.J. Barnold '09 currently is performance analyst for the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. He talks about his trip to Tokyo for the Olympics, giving an inside look at the top sports event in the world.

Tony Merchlinsky, an offensive lineman on the Muhlenberg football team, donated his blood stem cells after joining the Be the Match national bone marrow registry and being matched with a Canadian cancer patient. Merchlinsky talks about the seamless process of donating, why he felt lucky to be selected and why he would do it again.

In celebration of Pride Month, the Muhlenberg Mules Podcast talks to Laurainne Ojo-Ohikuare '14 and Holly Hynson '15, who met as volleyball players at Muhlenberg in 2011, got engaged in 2017 and were married in May 2019. The couple talks about their relationship and positive developments for the LGBTQ community in the sports world.

Elizabeth Garrison, a former libero for the Mules' volleyball team, was the valedictorian of Muhlenberg's graduating class of 2017. Four years later, she once again found herself atop her class, graduating as the valedictorian from NYU's College of Dentistry. Garrison talks about her experiences at both Muhlenberg and NYU, and how her time in Allentown prepared her for NYU.

Last week we heard from two seniors from spring sports, this week we heard from two fall sport seniors in volleyball's Maya Illovsky and football's Thomas Spinelli. The pair discuss having the opportunity to don the cardinal and grey one last time in the spring despite having their regular season cancelled.

The Muhlenberg Mules Podcast takes a look at the memorable final games for senior men's lacrosse defensive middie Alexander Giaquinto and senior softball player Sophie Chong. Giaquinto scored a goal in the Mules' 15-10 upset win at No. 10 Gettysburg in his last game, while Chong went yard for the first time in her career in a 4-1 win over Haverford in her second-to-last career at-bat.

Past meets present in this episode as former men's lacrosse scoring and assists record holder, Mickey Norton'08, joins the man who broke his records, Ethan Grossman'21. The pair discuss their experiences with the Muhlenberg men's lacrosse program and the friendship they've formed.

Body Positive is an organization that provides the Muhlenberg community a safe space to come together and talk about issues with self-love and body positivity. Muhlenberg track and field senior, Jill Lissner, was a driving force behind the creation of the group following a battle with anorexia exudes passion with a message of loving yourself and being happy with who you are.

History was made not once, but twice in the first 11 days of the 2021 spring athletic season. Freshmen Kersti Svenningsen (softball) and Jonathan Toth (baseball) both went yard in their first collegiate at-bat. The two join the podcast to discuss those historically plate appearances, along with their experience at Muhlenberg thus far.

We've all been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in one way or another, but men's lacrosse senior Jacob Sarrel and his family are using their unfortunate experience to help honor Covid-19 victims and promote the vaccine. Following the passing of his father, Louis Sarrel, in April Jacob and his family started the #thisjabsforyou social media campaign to encourage people to dedicate their vaccine to someone or something affected by Covid-19.

Sports are back at Muhlenberg! Softball opened the spring season Tuesday, the first games in 369 days. Today, ahead of the opening weekend of conference play, we hear from student-athletes from all of our spring teams about what it means to have the opportunity to compete in 2012. Go Mules!

Who better to have on the podcast in Women's History Month than Dr. Giselle Aerni, the founder of Madam Athlete. Dr. Aerni, a sports medicine physician by trade, talks about her experiences as a woman working in sports and her venture in Madam Athlete that empowers women to own their stories. She also discusses her "quintessential" Division III experience.

Rob McVicker, the recently named head coach of the Muhlenberg volleyball team, joins the show to discuss a wide range of topics from how he got into volleyball to multi-sport athletes to his vision for the program. McVicker was named the 11th head coach in program history following a three-year stint as an assistant coach with the Mules.

Our Black History Month celebration concludes with Josh Carter '02, a former three-sport athlete at Muhlenberg who received CC player of the year honors in both football and baseball. Now the head football coach at Juniata, Carter discusses waiting to coach his first game, multi-sport athletes in today's athletic landscape and the increase in the number of Black head football coaches in the CC over the last two years.

Our Black History Month celebration continues with the Executive Director of the Centennial Conference, Portia Hoeg. Hoeg became the first African-American woman commissioner in Division III when she came to the CC in 2019.

Our Black History Month celebration continues with head wrestling coach Jason McLean '01, the first wrestling All-American in Muhlenberg history and the 2020 Centennial Conference coach of the year. His talk ranges from the NCAA Tournament cancellation last season to how he used his family's history with racism to help the Muhlenberg athletic staff better understand challenges in today's society.

All this month, we join the Office of Multicultural Life in celebrating the rich history and contributions of Black people to the world, the United States of America and to Muhlenberg College. We start with Assistant Director of Admissions Kenyamo McFarlane, a Class of 2000 graduate and the last Mule to play both football and basketball.