The Envoy

January was a tumultuous month for winter sports at Hunter. During winter break, our student-athletes faced several defeats, but the Hawks ultimately took home several wins and even a championship title.

 BASKETBALL

The women’s team suffered one loss in January to the U.S Merchant Marine Academy on Jan. 5, losing 44-53. The Hawks went undefeated in conference play, beating the opponents with a large margin in the double digits. 

The most notable games were against Medgar Evers and Sarah Lawerence. Against Medgar Evers on Jan. 8, Junior Guard Alexa Charles put up 24 points and 10 rebounds. Kimberly Lau was also crucial to the win, with 11 points and 6 rebounds while also being perfect at the free-throw line.

 Against Sarah Lawerence, Charles put on another iconic performance with a triple-double. Senior Guard Erin Cosio and Senior Guard/Forward Katie Burke also had offensive explosions with 14 points each. The Hawks put on a defensive masterclass holding Sarah Lawerence to only 23.8 from the field. They also topped the boards with 47 rebounds to Sarah Lawerence’s 42. 

The women’s team also made history as Alexa Charles took more awards.  She took home Player of the Week twice and continues to be a top player in the nation in points, steals, and more. 

On the men’s side, the Hawks had a tough month with several losses. The Hawks only took two wins overall this month, defeating Medgar Evers on Jan. 8 and York College on Jan. 24. 

Against Medgar Evers, the Hawks shone with Senior Guard Jack Meyers leading with 20 points and 7 rebounds, and contributing to the Hawks’ offense and defense. Senior Forward Donovan Cola and Senior Guard Casey Meyers also contributed to the win with 18 points each. Against York, Jack Meyers stood out again with 31 points and 24 rebounds. Junior Guard Sal Salputo was helpful off the bench with 23 points and hitting three-pointers at crucial moments for the team. 

Despite numerous good games against conference and non-conference teams, the Hawks struggle with turnovers and fouls. Hunter currently stands in 6th place fighting for a spot in the playoffs. 

WOMEN’S SWIMMING

The women’s swimming team finished their season climatically with another CUNYAC title.

The women’s team started the month with a tri-match meet. They took a loss against the US Marine Merchant Academy 21-100, and a win against John Jay 64-50. Lian Winter took gold in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:10.07. The team also took first place in the 400-yard freestyle relay, which included Winter, Gwendolyn Posner, Hailey Quiller, and Parvinabonu Makhmadalieva.

Afterward, the Hawks took a win against Brooklyn (75-17) and a loss against Baruch (46-49). They advanced to the Purchase Tri-Meet, taking wins against Purchase and Barc (both wins had the same number of points with a 106-64 final score).

The women then went to the CUNYAC swimming and diving championship at Lehman College on Jan. 31. The Hawks had a riveting three days meet which was full of excitement due to their tight race against Baruch. On the first day, the Hawks were in second place overall with standout performances from Germanye Chau who took gold in the 200 individual medley, and the relay team of Chau, Kiana Guarino, Lian Winter, and Cara Chang who took silver. Their 69 points to Baruch’s 72 would make the next two days crucial to Hunter if they wanted to win.

On day two, Chau again took gold in the 100-yard backstroke and won silver in the 200-medley relay team with Kiana Guarino, Lian Winter, and Kateryna Titarenko. Multiple swimmers placed in the top 10 of the event, including Anastasiia Lyshyk, Nayesha Krishna, and Hailey-Madison Quiller. The Hawks ended the day with 163 points to Baruch’s 165, which left it all on the last day to win the title.

On day three, the Hawks put on a show with a full team effort to come from behind to claim the title. The Hawks took gold with Germayne Chau picking up another gold medal, and she ended the tournament with three individual titles. Kiara Guarino also took home the individual title in the 200- yard breaststroke. In the team performances, various podium results allowed the Hawks to come ahead and upset Baruch, with 254.5 to their 241. The Hawks took home a fifth consecutive CUNYAC title. 

TRACK AND FIELD

The men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams started the new year with a stellar performance at the Wagner College Invitational. Becky Li and Thais Beckford shined for the women in the 60-meter dash, taking first and fifth place in CUNYAC, respectively. 

The men also put in a great performance at Wagner, with Solomon Kumi taking second place in CUNYAC times and sixth place overall with his triple and long jump performance. Leonardo Kaplan had an excellent event with a time of 9:55.5 in 3000 meters, taking 10th in the event and 2nd in CUNYAC.

The Hawks kept their momentum going with another performance at the St. Thomas Aquinas Invitational, which included schools from top DI, II, and III programs. Jamie Rizzo placed third in CUNYAC for 60-meter hurdles with a time of 10.58, with her teammate Tahlea Murray taking fifth in CUNYAC with a time of 11.58. For the men,  the distance medley team of Hengzi Zhu, Paul Patino, Angel Martinez, and Harrison Abarca took first place in CUNYAC with a time of 12:59.71. 

The Track and Field team ended their month at the Ramapo Season Opener in New Jersey. Melvil Baider took 13th place overall in the 3000-meter run, for first place in CUNYAC times, with a time of 9:09.96. Brian Guillermo also took second place in CUNYAC times, with a time of 9:18.46. Tahlea Murray took a personal best time in the hurdles of 10.67, and Jamie Risso took sixth overall in the long jump with a mark of 5.18m.

Several Hawks picked up awards during the month of January, with all three categories being swept in the week of Jan 6. Jamie Rizzo took two field athlete of the week awards, one for her Spartan invitational performance and the other for her Ramapo performance. Shannon Ferri and Solomon Kumi also took home awards for their outstanding performances.

MEN’S WRESTLING

The men’s wrestling team started their month at the Williams Open in Massachusetts. Sophomore Botensky Bauzile scored second place against Alfred State’s Elijah Moshenek in the 133 lbs category. Freshman Jayden Medina also scored second place to SUNY Cortland’s Angelo Centrone (who is ranked number 2 in the nation) in the 149 lb category. Freshman Martin Palomeque secured a top 6 finish after losing in the consolation finals to Alfred State’s Owen Cummings in the 157 lbs category. 

Next was a loss to Rhode Island College in the Sportsplex. Despite the loss, the freshmen shone again in this match. Medina and Palomeque won in their category, 14-0 and 11-6 respectively. At the Mariner Duels, the Hawks lost again to Norwich University and Plymouth University. Medina was a bright spot with two pins against Norwich’s Josh Lister and Plymouth’s Nick Nicosia. Freshman Justin Riello also took a win against Norwich’s Ethan Tanner.

At the NY vs PA Duals, the Hawks took a win against Keystone College but lost to Wilkes University and Penn College. Ricky Tucubal (133 lbs), Naman Bhasin (141 lbs), Komil Ismoilov (149 lbs), Jayden Medina (157 lbs), Martin Palomeque (165 lbs), and Nicholas D’Erasmo (174 lbs) all contributed with wins. 

Finally, the month ended on a high note with senior night and a win at the home tri-match against Waynesburg College and John Hopkins University. Seniors Ricky Tucubal, Naman Bhasin, Jevin Torres, and Abdullah Saleh were all honored before the match began. The Hawks took a 36-23 win over Waynesburg with a win from Jevin Torres in the 197 lb category over Waynesburg’s Kevin Willis. The Hawks lost to Johns Hopkins but Botensky Bauzile won his match, 14-7 against JH’s Duncan Stadler.

FENCING

The men’s fencing team competed at the Matt Lampell Invitational at Vassar College on Jan 26th. The foil team had great performances from Sophomore David Xing(12-3), Senior Chris Lin (8-7), and Freshman Isaac Ramirez (9-6). In Epee, sophomore Steve Zhu, Senior Isteaq Zim, and sophomore Steven Zhang also won some matches. They lost to NYU on Jan. 27. 

The women’s fencing team was outstanding at Vassar, winning Pool B. The foil squad swept the competition with a 5-0 win. Standout performances from sophomore Brean Tobin and freshman Julia Stenger who both won 14-0 helped the Hawks to dominate. In epee, junior Katherine Hanin had an 11-4 record, and junior Betzabe Granados and senior Victoria Klapkova also helped with their win records of 9-6 and  8-7, respectively. This performance from the fencing team continues to give them momentum through the rest of the season.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

The season has brought some new faces to the team with the arrival of new head coach Quentin Moore in December. Despite a loss to NYU on Jan 23., he has started his tenure as Hawks’ coach strong.  The Hawks played very well against NYU, with scores of  25-17, 25-12, 25-22 in three sets. Outside hitter Kyle Foley led the way with six kills, a dig, and two blocks. Sophomore Brandon Yeh helped on offense with 10 assists and two digs.

The next day saw the Hawks put up another good effort in a loss against Springfield College. The Hawks started the first set with Middle blocker Lucas George and middle blocker Annes Deljanin combining for seven kills. Foley again had an offensive explosion with four kills in the second set. Outside hitter Felipe Delgado had two kills and a .400 hitting percentage in the third set. 

Finally, the Hawks took their first win of the season against Purchase College at home on Jan. 28. This was a 3-0 sweep from the Hawks, who gave a balanced performance. Outside Hitter Ahmed Mohammed, a transfer, gave an offensive masterclass in the second set with two kills, while Libero Brandon Yeh gave two aces. Mohamed had 14 kills in the second set with a .667 hitting percentage. In the final set, the Hawks rallied to stop a comeback from Purchase with libero Charlie Alvarez and middle blocker Jon Pflueger getting multiple blocks against Purchase. The team recorded 14 total blocks with a well-deserved win off an all-rounded performance.

Looking Ahead

Following the start of a successful Winter sports season, our Hawks are still chasing success. The women’s basketball team lost their championship game against Brooklyn College on Feb. 28. The men’s basketball team missed out on the playoffs on a loss to York after a tough season. The Indoor track team will be competing for another CUNYAC title at the championship on March 1. The men’s volleyball team will continue their season.

The men’s wrestling team will be going to the NCAA Division Three Regionals on March 1st as well. The men’s fencing team will be going to NCAA regionals on March 9. The women’s fencing team will end their season at the MACFA championships at Drew University. The women’s swimming team competed at the Metropolitan Collegiate Championships at Rutgers, placing 8th overall.