The Envoy

The Sept. 23 episode of “Hawk Athletics.” Amina Mouhmmads’ interview takes place at 5:09, while Leo Kaplans’ interview starts at 24:42.

On the Sept. 23 episode of “Hawk Athletics,” David Horn was joined by Amina Moummad and Leo Kaplan, two newcomers to Hunter who have brought a special touch to the women’s volleyball and men’s soccer teams.

Amina Moummad

The women’s volleyball team started the week with a 7-4 record and carried their momentum with two wins against the United States Merchant Marine Academy (3-1) and CUNYAC rivals John Jay (3-2).

High flyer Amina Moummad helped carry her team to victory.

Moummad, a junior, tallied nine kills against USMMA and a double-double with ten kills and 15 digs against John Jay. Later that week, however, Hunter faced off in a non-conference matchup against Farmingdale State, which resulted in a loss against the Rams.

Moummad sat down with David Horn on WHCS radio to discuss her move to Hunter and the volleyball team’s plans for the year.

As a San Francisco native, Moummad started her higher education journey at Butte College and then moved to Shaw University, a D2 school in North Carolina.

“It was very fun,” said Moummad regarding her time at Butte. “I made a really great impact on the team. I still have relationships with girls that I played with and they’re still really good friends. I still talk to the coaches and update them on my journey. They just made me feel really welcomed. It was like a family. But I would say, I’ve always wanted to go up a level whether it’s D2, D3. I set high expectations for myself.”

This friendly environment was heavily impacted by Covid restrictions.

“No one really knew what was next, but we knew we still had like a mission to get as far as we can in our conference and just to progress in the sport,” she said.

Moummad eventually moved to the next level when she committed to Shaw University, a division two volleyball program. But what she saw as a move to play better competition resulted in another transfer.

“I think where I messed up was I didn’t go visit the school,” Moummad said. “ I didn’t really meet people face to face. I don’t know why I did that. I just felt like there wasn’t a lot of positive affirmation, which is what I’m used to.”

Moummad alleged that her coach was misogynistic and brash towards the players on the team. She talked to her teammates about it and eventually decided to leave as she didn’t feel it was the right place for her.

“Something in me was like, ‘don’t stay’,” Moummad said.

Ultimately for Moummad, living in New York was something she always dreamed of.

To make her dream a reality, Moummad looked at transferring to a college in the city. “I did a lot of research on the CUNY conference,” Moummad said. “Seeing that Hunter was top in their conference was the pinpoint for me.”

Moummad has her associates in communication and is pursuing her bachelor’s in media studies with a concentration in journalism.

This year, Moummad said she is hoping to grow even more as a player, starting with getting a CUNYAC Player of the Week award.

“I definitely want to up my numbers and blocks as well,” Moummad said. “That’s definitely a role that they’re having high expectations for me. I just really have to lock in, be more confident, and not hesitate. I do want to get player of the week. I do want to have 20 kills in a game.”

She and the women’s volleyball team hope to bring home the CUNYAC championship title this season for the third year in a row.

“That’s all I think about,” Moummad said.

Leo Kaplan

While the season has been unfavorable so far for the men’s soccer team, who started off with a 1-6 record, the Hawks saw their first win of the season against Albert Magnus with two goals, scored by Bradley Espejo and Ben Avakook.

One member of the team, midfielder Leonardo Kaplan, sat down to talk with David Horn about his time on the team and their expectations for the year. The freshman and Bronx native contributed to Wednesday’s game with the most shots and second-most shots on goal.

Kaplan played during his high school years and in recreational leagues across the Bronx and Westchester area, before coming to Hunter. Initially, Kaplan played at club level for 5 years but left to play for his high school, Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy. Kaplan mentioned that his decision to leave was due to team politics as well as favoritism towards some players over others.

“I thought that was just really unfair and I couldn’t really put myself out there,” says Kaplan.

At his high school, Kaplan had two successful seasons and says that he enjoyed his time playing in high school. “I would say it’s a big change from high school, it’s much more lenient, but again, if you just put yourself out there, you take initiative, there’s people there to help you.”

Kaplan credits the team’s coach, Daniel Cinelli for recruiting him into Hunter. “I was trying to put myself out there, but the coaches, I don’t think they really recognized me as much as Cinelli did,” Kaplan says. For Kaplan, the team has felt like a “second family” and he feels at home at Hunter.

In regards to the team’s rough start to their season, Kaplan said that while they had a good performance against Albert Magnus, they need to put away more chances.

“I also take blame for that too, because I probably had, I had like three or four chances on net and I should have probably scored at least one or two of them,” Kaplan says.“That game was a team effort and we stuck with it together. It was just a great win at the end of the day, getting our first win, even though it was a non-conference game. It was a good feeling to get on the winning sheet.”

The entire team holds each other accountable for mistakes, and they don’t let them affect their in-game mentality, Kaplan says. They use it as inspiration to move on to the next play. But there needs to be a lot of work done before they can win a CUNYAC championship, he says.

“All you can do is just try to go to practice, learn from our mistakes, go through certain tactics and stuff, you know. And it’s all about the little details with soccer and the fundamentals. If you don’t have the fundamentals, you can’t play the sport,” Kaplan says.

Despite their struggles this season, Kaplan’s passion for the team and sport remains unmoved.

“I always believe that we can win, no matter if the team is better than us, no matter if the team is worse than us, or if they’re equally as good as us,” he says.

“Winning is a good feeling, and everyone should have that mindset that no matter what team you play, as long as you believe in yourself, and you believe in your teammates, and you trust in each other, you always have a chance to win, and that’s the great thing about sports.”

“Hawk Athletics” is a sports show hosted by David Horn airing every Monday at 3 p.m on the Where Hunter College Speaks (WHCS) radio station. In collaboration with WHCS radio, The Envoy breaks down Horn’s weekly show and recaps the latest on all things Hunter athletics.