The Envoy

Sept. 16 episode of “Hawk Athletics.”

The Hunter athletics’ fall season began in August as four teams pushed for conference glory.

Last fall, Hunter established a lead in the Commissioner’s Cup, the title given to the CUNY school with the most points in athletics at the end of the year. Points are distributed based on where an individual team finished in their league and playoff seasons. They are then tallied together to determine which CUNY school has the most successful athletics program. Last spring, Lexington Avenue rivals Baruch College had a strong season, which won them the Commissioner’s Cup for the third consecutive year.

But this fall, the Hawks are again looking to win their respective conferences and work towards their first Commissioner’s Cup in four years.

“Hawk Athletics,” a weekly sports show produced by David Horn that is broadcasted on the Where Hunter College Speaks (WHCS) radio station, made its’ return on Sept. 16 with the latest recaps in all things Hunter athletics. For The Envoy, Sports Reporter Conor Sullivan returned to recap the first three episodes of the WHCS segment aired so far in the fall semester.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

The women’s volleyball team tore through their competition during out-of-conference play this year. Currently sitting with 12 wins and four losses on the season, Hunter has started the season on a high note before the bulk of conference play begins. However, the Hawks have already secured wins over fellow CUNYAC schools John Jay College and City College. 

The win over John Jay went down to the wire, with John Jay going up two sets to one. This set up a nail-biting finish, with Hunter needing to win the next two sets in a row to secure victory in their first CUNY game. 

In the fourth set, the Hawks showed their winning pedigree, going up 18-6 before finishing 25-18. This dominance carried over into set five, where a composed Hunter eased by a John Jay team that was taken down by their own mistakes. Of the fifteen points scored by the Hawks, seven were recorded as attack errors from John Jay.

Junior hitter Izabella Williams was key to Hunter’s early season success. She was rewarded for her efforts by receiving the first CUNYAC Player of the Week award for the 2024 season.

MEN’S SOCCER

Men’s soccer’s lackluster out-of-conference record continued this year. Once again, the Hawks started their season 0-4, but this time, the Hawks have scored goals in their first few games. Recruits Ben Avakook and Leonardo Kaplan led the line for the Hawks, scoring and assisting throughout September. 

The issue came in the defense. In their first five non-conference games, the Hawks conceded 19 goals. This was partially due to a revamped back-line, with starting center defender Mame Gor Diop not returning to the team, along with fullback Alejandro Sanchez. The other starting center defender from the 2023 season, Conor Sullivan, was missing through injury during the big losses. 

The last three games of non-conference play showed glimpses that the Hawks could repeat their success from last season. With a statement win over Albertus Magnus for the first time in Hunter history, and a 5-2 win over Pratt, a page seemed to turn for the Hawks. 

Going into conference play, the Hawks are still second in the conference. No other CUNY school (except for Medgar Evers) has won more than one game all season, signaling a potentially promising conference this year.

Despite the less-than-ideal start to the season, the Hawks picked up some individual awards. Senior captain Bradley Espejo and Avakook won Player of the Week honors, and freshman goalkeeper Max Tsigalnitsky won a Rookie of the Week award.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

The men’s and women’s cross country keep setting conference standards after a phenomenal 2023, which saw the men win their third championship in a row and the women win their ninth consecutive championship.

In their first meet of the year at SUNY Purchase both teams placed third, which Hengzhi Zhu and Brian Guillermo finishing in the top ten for the men. 

However, the women placed even higher individually. Wendy Montiel came in second place, clocking a 23:33 5k, a new personal record for the senior. Samantha Suriel and Mikaelle Cesar both finished in the top five.

The next meet attended by the Hawks was at St. Joe’s Long Island University. Although both teams did not place as well as the prior meet, the individual times for runners drastically improved. Mateo Penafiel ran his 8k race in 27:39, a personal best and six minutes faster than Zhu’s time the week before. The men finished in ninth place overall.

The women’s roster outdid the men again. Montiel was the standout performer for the second meet in a row, running a second personal best of this season at 21:29, with Suriel and Cesar close behind. The women ultimately finished sixth overall. 

Senior Wendy Montiel received a CUNYAC Runner of the Week award after her consistent top performances, and freshman Mikaelle Cesar secured two CUNYAC Rookie of the Week awards after securing high placements at the start of her college career.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

The women’s tennis team saw mixed results through September. Against out-of-conference teams, the Hawks lost seven to zero against Pratt and four to two against Purchase. 

However, in CUNYAC matches, the Hawks shone. A statement five to zero win over John Jay was the start Hunter needed to regain traction. 

Following this momentous showing was a big six-two win over Lehman. Hunter’s singles excellence was on full display. Julia Aksamentova, Sree Kolla, Ava Cooper, and Hannah Butterworth each won their matches without dropping a set.

Freshman Sara Novo was awarded both the CUNYAC Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week awards, a rarity otherwise known as “double player of the week.” This capped off an immense month of September for her which saw her as one of the highest-scoring players in the conference.

Listen to the latest episodes of “Hawk Athletics” here.