Thomas Munch
Occidental baseball catcher Thomas Munch (sophomore) was selected as athlete of the week in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) March 17. He said the recognition came as a surprise.
“I opened Instagram and saw that I was tagged in a SCIAC post,” Munch said. “It was kind of out of nowhere, but it was really, really cool to see the recognition for having a good week.“
Munch was also tabbed March 18 as the fifth best batter in DIII by 64 Analytics, a college baseball analytics company. Despite his individual recognition, Munch attributes much of his success to his teammates.
“I think that my teammates helped me more than anything because one of the reasons I know I was considered is because I had a lot of RBIs,” Munch said. “In order for that to happen, I needed to have teammates on base. I definitely couldn’t make it without them.”
According to Munch, many of the baseball team’s key players are primarily first-years and sophomores. In his second year, Munch said he hopes that his teammates can look to him for inspiration and guidance.
Charlie Karlovic (first year) said he sees Munch as a leader and a friend and that Munch’s support was beneficial to his adjustment to collegiate baseball.
“I think that it’s great that he’s doing well right now because he deserves it,” Karlovic said. “He’s a great person on and off the field. He always asks me and all the other freshmen if we want to hang out and makes sure we’re hanging out with the rest of the team.”
Munch said the team has grown much closer, especially following their recent spring break trip to Louisiana. Their increased camaraderie was notable in their recent game against Cal Lutheran, in which the Tigers came up 6-5.
“It was such a tight game,” Munch said. “It was a lot of fun to be a part of. I think it’s a big thing that’s different about this [year] and any of the past years versus this team — we just have a lot more fight in this.”
According to Karlovic, Munch’s recent success has pushed him to improve.
“We always mess with him and tell him it’s going to get to his head, but it doesn’t,” Karlovic said. “He goes out there every day and still works as hard, if not harder than anybody else on the team. He sees what he’s capable of and tries to replicate that every week.”
Sydney Acol
Sydney Acol (junior), a defender on Occidental’s lacrosse team, was selected as the SCIAC Defensive Athlete of the Week March 24, after a 19-7 victory against Cal Lutheran March 21.
“I definitely have games where I want to ball out because they’re our high-profile, important games,” Acol said.
Against Cal Lutheran, Acol picked up four ground balls and caused four turnovers, making her one of the most successful defenders in SCIAC.
Acol said the senior class’s upcoming graduation has added to her drive because she hopes their final season ends with many successes.
“I was talking to Emma Cho* about that — she’s a senior — and I was like, I really want you to score all the goals you can,” Acol said. “I told her, ‘I need to see you score because I love to see you so happy after every game. I’m just gonna try to get the ball to you as much as I can.’”
Tirzah Rivera (first year) said Acol is fun to watch on the field and has also stepped into a leadership role as an upperclassman.
“Sydney is a great leader on our team, especially on the defense, and I feel like she’s great at leading by example,” Rivera said. “It’s really fun to watch her on the other side because I play attack. So seeing her on defense and doing all the right things and doing so well is really awesome.”
Acol said playing the teams in SCIAC is always exciting because they are all familiar with one another. According to Acol, despite playing on opposing teams, they have all seen each other grow as teams and as individuals.
“It was exciting just because we’ve played these girls so many times before, and they’ve gotten better,” Acol said. “We’ve gotten better, and we all meshed together really well.”
Acol has one more season playing collegiate lacrosse but said she has already begun to reminisce on her time competing collegiately.
“I’m really gonna miss the competitiveness,” Acol said. “And my best friends here are all on the team, so having one last season with them where I’m with them every waking second of the day is kind of bittersweet.”
According to Rivera, it can be hard to stand out as a defender because attackers are the primary goal-scorers, but Acol is an exception.
“We’re on opposite sides of the field, and when the ball was down [on Cal Lutheran’s side], I would just be watching,” Rivera said. “And then, all of a sudden, Sydney would have the ball […] I think I can speak on behalf of myself, a lot of the parents that watched the game and our other teammates: she’s just very fun to watch.”
*Emma Cho is a senior editor for The Occidental.
Contact Abigail Montopoli at montopoli@oxy.edu
