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Baruch soccer's Luis Munoz spoke on our podcast about his solo bike ride across America that started in New York City on May 8 and ended on July 10 in Santa Monica, California. What was the hardest part of his trip? Which part of the country was the toughest to ride? Where did he sleep & eat? We asked all the interesting questions and have your answers! Episode hosted by Assistant AD/Sports Information John Neves and Head Men's Soccer Coach / Assistant Athletic Director for Equipment and Intramurals Dima Kamenshchik.   

LUIS MUNOZ BIO: Played three years on the soccer team and graduated in May 2022 with a Major in International Business...2021-22 Baruch Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year...2021-22 CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Honorable Mention...Member of the team that won the 2021 CUNYAC Championship and played in the NCAA Tournament...Scored the lone goal in the 2021 CUNYAC Championship against Lehman (1-1, Bearcats won in PKs)...The day after winning the CUNYAC Championship, he ran all 26.2 miles of the 2021 New York City Marathon...Named to the 2021 CUNYAC All-Sportmanship Team...Three-Time Athletic Director's Academic Honor Roll...Member of the team that won the 2018 CUNYAC Championship and played in the NCAA Tournament that season. The team rallied from 2-0 to win the CUNYAC title with a score of 3-2...Ran a marathon during the pandemic lockdown on his terrace which garnered national media attention. 

Justin Starrantino graduated from Baruch in 2016 with a degree in finance & investments with a minor in economics. Justin was a two-sport athlete competing in men’s soccer and cross country. With the soccer team, he was a starter on the 2014 CUNYAC Championship squad and in his 2 years on the soccer team he won 20 total matches. In the fall of 2016, his competitive juices continued and he ran on the men’s cross country team. Off the field, he was President of both Baruch and CUNYAC SAAC for one year and was Baruch's representative for the 2016 CUNYAC Goodwill Tour to Cuba. Justin returned to campus in 2019 to speak at the Athletics Varsity Awards Dinner. This interview took place on Thursday, April 15, 2021.

Our special guest this episode is former softball player and current acting head softball coach, Nicole Bellini. Nicole played on the softball team from 2016 to 2018. She was a three-time CUNYAC All-Star, three-time team MVP, and a two-time team captain. She is also Baruch's leader all-time in batting average at .406, second best all-time in doubles with 34, and seventh best in runs scored with 45. In 2019, Bellini became the assistant softball coach and this past November 2020 she transitioned to current acting softball head coach. This interview took place on Thursday, March 18, 2021.

Abe played on the men's basketball team from 2013-2015. In 2016, he was awarded the Burt Beagle Alumni Association Award.  While attending graduate school at Baruch for higher education administration, Abe was a graduate assistant to the Baruch Men’s Basketball team. From September 2016 to June 2017, he was a Global History teacher and Head Freshman Basketball Coach at Xaverian High School, his alma mater. Abe also spent numerous summers teaching at various basketball camps like Nike Basketball Camp and the New York Knicks Summer Basketball Camp. More recently, Abe debuted his first children’s book entitled “Brand New Shoes,” which we will discuss in this podcast. This interview took place on Tuesday, March 2, 2021.

Matt was a cross country runner and coach at Baruch College. He ran as a Bearcat from 2005 to 2007. He was one of the first people to help transition the cross country program from a club to varsity sport in 2006. During his undergraduate time at Baruch, he finished in first place individually at the 2006 CUNYAC Finals. In 2008, he was named the CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Male Honorable Mention. He would later coach the men’s cross country from 2009-2016 with his wife Mercedes Zegarra-Soja, who he first met at Baruch at a cross country practice. This interview took place on Thursday, February 11, 2021.

The Baruch College Athletic Department hosted it's Fourth Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day. We had terrific guest speakers from 'This Is Us', which included professional softball superstars Monica Abbott, Kiki Stokes, Ally Carda, and Aubrey Leach. This year marked the 35th year of the national event that celebrates the achievements of women and girls in sports with fair play and Title XI. The Baruch College Athletic Department hosted this year's event on Zoom on Tuesday, February 2, 2021.