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.