Over half of the Albion College student body participates in one of 23 varsity sports teams on campus. The college places an emphasis on competing at a high level in the NCAA Division III while also excelling each day in the classroom.
The vast number of student-athletes on campus have a multitude of backgrounds, including many unique players that often go unnoticed.
In order to truly appreciate all of the student-athletes who make up Albion athletics, The Pleiad’s “Beyond the Spotlight” series features a different athlete and the impact they have had on campus.
This Week
Featured in this week’s “Beyond the Spotlight” is lacrosse player Darcy Muns, a senior from Lake Orion, Mich. Muns is a kinesiology major with a minor in biology. A member of the Wilson Healthcare Institute, Muns has a Physician’s Assistant concentration. Muns is also a tour guide on campus, tour guide coach and member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority.
“Besides being a lacrosse player, I’m also the president of S.A.A.C. on campus, and that has been a huge part of my identity here at Albion, is getting really involved and using my voice as an athlete to better the community for other athletes, for my own team [and] for myself,” said Muns.
Growing up as a gymnast, Muns has been an athlete her whole life.
Throughout her life, Muns has battled many injuries, resulting in four major surgeries. But that didn’t stop Muns from continuing with her love of sports. When injury came to end her gymnastics career, she turned to lacrosse and fell in love with the sport.
Mun has made it onto the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) all-conference second team the last two years, as well as making it onto Albion’s top ten list for scoring the most goals in a single season with 45 goals for the 2019 season.
Muns is a two-year captain for the team, having her develop leadership roles for the team and her grade. Having her biggest takeaways from being on the team, taking those leadership skills on the field to off the field.
Muns is one of the few lefties on the team. Due to an injury to her left arm, Muns had to learn to shoot with her right arm temporarily during the duration of the injury, making her ambidextrous.
Despite all of her injuries, Muns’ mental toughness keeps her going, pushing her for that one more game, that one more practice.
Muns decided to continue her one more practice, one more game mantra in college here at Albion because of the atmosphere the campus brings.
“The team environment was really, really welcoming and totally like a home environment,” said Muns. “It’s kinda cliche to say, but I totally felt like I fit in with the current players at the time. Little me, senior in high school, had Instagram followers from all these cool college girls which was really fun. It ultimately felt like I was going to be challenged at Albion.”
Through her years at Albion, Muns favorite memory is winning the MIAA conference last year, describing it as more than just a game and the best feeling ever. The team went from being seated fourth to winning the whole tournament.
“My favorite individual memory was winning the conference tournament last year. I think personally I have wanted to do it since freshman year, but as a team, there was a lot of heart that went into the program last year and not that there wasn’t in the years but it was like this was the year we were going to do it.”
Muns’ biggest goal for collegiate sports was to be part of a conference-winning team. That goal was something she wanted to repeat again this year. Unfortunately, however, the team did not have the opportunity since spring sports were canceled this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
In the offseason, the team will be working hard so that next year in hopes of coming back and keeping their title as conference champions.
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