The Muhlenberg baseball team opens its 2002 season this weekend with a three-game series at Washington & Lee. After returning from Virginia, the Mules will travel to Florida over Spring Break to play nine games in eight days.

In 2001, the Mules had one of their better seasons in recent years. They

Carter is the only returning pitcher who started more than two games last year. He was 3-3 in six starts.

posted their first winning Florida trip ever (5-4) and eventually wound up 17-19, just two shy of the school record for wins in a season. Muhlenberg finished in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Centennial Conference with a 9-9 league mark.

Senior captain Joshua Carter is returning for his last season with the baseball team. Carter, an All-CC first-team selection a year ago, says, “I would like to recover 100 percent [from offseason shoulder surgery] and be playing to my capability throughout the season. We feel if we can make the playoffs then we can make some noise and possibly gain the berth into the NCAA Tournament.” Carter joined the 100-hit club and 100-run club last season while batting .360 and leading the team with 16 extra-base hits.

Head coach Bob Macaluso is holding nothing back this season, saying, “We expect to compete for the conference championship. This is the first year for the conference tournament and we expect to be in that pool. We lost 10 players to graduation so we will be looking for other guys to step up and fill the void.”

Top returning players include junior third baseman/pitcher Steve Rohn, who knocked in 21 runs last season, and junior second baseman Ben Carr, who batted .302.

Junior outfielders Justin Rubenstein and Justin Graf are solid hitters and fielders and will look to carry their momentum from last season into this one. Rubenstein batted .275 while Graf was second on the team with a .367 batting average and stole 18 bases. Also returning is junior pitcher Sunil Bangali, who finished last season with a 1.96 ERA and a 2-0 record.

Other returning players to watch are senior pitchers Greg Frein and Ryan White, who will add experience and depth to the staff. Senior infielders Ben Leisawitz and Mike Morris hope to assist the team at the plate and in the field this season.

Muhlenberg freshman Meghan Douglas-Snyder won the pole vault, setting a meet record of 9-6¼, on the first day of the Centennial Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Sophomore Josh Boyer was the top finisher for the men’s team, taking second place in the triple jump.

Douglas-Snyder (above) tied with two other vaulters at 9-6¼, but earned the gold because she cleared the bar on her first try at that height. She is the third Muhlenberg freshman to win a CC track title.

“It’s really exciting,” said Douglas-Snyder. “I never

Boyer’s triple jump of 43-8½ was good for second place.

expected to win as a freshman. I’ve been working with a new pole the last couple of weeks.”.

Other highlights for Muhlenberg included freshman Ashlie Hankee posting the best qualifying time in the 55-meter hurdles (a school-record 8.79) and running on the 4x200-meter relay team that set a school record. Two juniors on the men’s team, Jason App and Brendan Gallagher, broke their own school records. App took third in the pole vault with a height of 14-1, which topped the previous meet record. Gallagher’s 8:59.74 placed him eighth in the 3,000 meters.

The men’s 4x200-meter relay team also set a school record. The meet concludes on Saturday.