Our female Athlete of the Month for December 2014 is Rachel Mirsky. Rachel, who is from White Plains, N.Y., is a member of Yeshiva's women's basketball and softball teams. As a basketball player, Rachel is averaging 8.7 points and 5.5 rebounds through the first 10 games this season. She recorded a double-doubles earlier this season when she scored a season-high 15 points and had a season-high 10 rebounds in the championship game of the Dr. Betty Shabazz tournament against the College of New Rochelle on November 30. As a softball player, Rachel helped the first year varsity program advance to the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship game last season by batting .355 (11-for-31) with two doubles, a triple, three homeruns and eight runs batted in. As a pitcher she tossed 26.2 innings and earned four wins, en route to being named an HVIAC All Conference member.
| Name | Rachel Mirsky |
| Major | Biology |
| What is your career ambition? | Doctor. I really want to work with kids and babies!! |
| What is your favorite thing about Yeshiva University? | I get the best of both worlds- sports and learning. I find that I am able to take advantage of the best aspects of Torah U'maddah. The integration of the two allows me to bring learning to sports by being both competitive on a college level in two sports and compassionate about Torah and secular learning, without having to sacrifice either ideal. |
| What is your favorite thing about being a student-athlete at Yeshiva University? | Being on a team gives you a second family. They have your back, they can push you to do more than you ever thought you could, they understand your struggles, they teach you in ways you never imagined but best of all you know they are always there for you. The basketball and softball teams have given me more than I could have ever imagined out of my college experience. |
| What Yeshiva University class have you found most beneficial? | Jewish Medical Ethics |
| What was your greatest memory as a Yeshiva student-athlete? | Well I have narrowed it down to two: 1. When I got the nickname MATRIX in basketball and 2. When I struck out a player with a changeup pitch in softball. |
| Who was the most influential person to you as a child? | My parents!!! |
| What is your favorite food? | Pizza, peanut butter and pretzels |
| What is your favorite television show? | Friends |
| In high school, what clubs were you involved with? | I was the head of STOMP productions/club |
| What is your favorite hobby (besides the sport you play)? | Besides eating...baking |
| Favorite sport to play (besides your sport)? | Tennis |
| What would people you know now find surprising about you when you were younger? | When I was younger my brothers dropped my stuffed animal Barney down the laundry chute and I dove in to save him… |
