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Case Western Reserve University sophomore Emil LaSida, a member of the men's swimming and diving team, and sophomore Mackenzie Mueller, a midfielder on the women's soccer team, have been named the Spartan Club Athletes of the Week for their performances this past week.
LaSida set two school records, broke a pool record, and recorded an NCAA B cut time as the 23rd-ranked Spartans defeated 10th-ranked Carnegie Mellon 174-117 in a dual meet on Saturday at the Veale Natatorium in Cleveland. He led off the 400 Medley Relay, the first event of the afternoon, with a time of 49.24 seconds in the 100 Back to break his previous record of 49.33 seconds, record an NCAA B cut, and set a pool record. The previous pool record of 50.25 seconds was set in 2000. The relay of LaSida, junior Peter Meng, and sophomores John Drumm and Mason Bencurik placed second in the event with a time of 3:22.05, finishing just 0.10 seconds behind the winning CMU relay. In the 200 Free Relay, LaSida started the race with a school record time of 20.58 seconds in the first leg, besting the previous record of 20.76 seconds set by Calvin Tecson in 2020. This time, he, Bencurik, Drumm, and sophomore Ben Borvendeg won the event in 1:23.81. In addition to the two records, LaSida won a pair of events as an individual. In the 100 Back, he placed first with a time of 50.87 seconds, and in the 100 Free, he touched the wall first at 46.59 seconds. LaSida has the best time this season in the UAA in the 50 Free and 100 Back and ranks fifth in the 100 Free. The Spartans improved to 2-0 in dual meets with the win over CMU.
Case Western Reserve will host another University Athletic Association opponent on Saturday, welcoming the University of Rochester to Cleveland for a dual meet. Diving is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. and swimming will start at 1 p.m.
Mueller contributed to both of the seventh-ranked Spartans' goals during the team's 2-0 win over Brandeis on Saturday at Gordon Field in Waltham, Massachusetts. Mueller scored the first goal of the contest in the 72nd minute of play. She received a pass from junior midfielder Sydney Schenk at the top of the box and fired the ball into the upper right corner of the goal to put the Spartans ahead 1-0. Less than three minutes later, Mueller found sophomore forward Andrea Silva on a run in the middle of the field. Silva bested the Judges goalkeeper in a 1-on-1 situation to double the CWRU lead and give Mueller an assist. This season, she has three goals and one assist and her two goals in conference play rank second in the UAA. CWRU improved to 11-1-3 overall and 3-1-2 in UAA contests.
The Spartans will end the regular season on Saturday, traveling to Pittsburgh to face archrival and nationally third-ranked Carnegie Mellon at 12 p.m. With a win and a loss or tie by WashU, CWRU will win at least a share of the conference title for the second consecutive season.
The Spartan Club Athletes of the Week are selected by the CWRU Department of Athletics each Monday, based on their performance during the previous week of competition.
Honorable Mentions:
Junior Gabriella Chambers (women's swimming and diving) earned wins in three events for the 14th-ranked Spartans in the team's 171-128 dual win over 12th-ranked Carnegie Mellon on Saturday at the Veale Natatorium in Cleveland. Individually, she won the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle events, placing first in the 100 Free with a time of 53.03 seconds and emerging victorious in the 200 Free in 1:55.90. She also teamed with sophomores Eliza Dixon and Claire Kozma and junior Adriana Kamor to win the 200 Free Relay in 1:36.47. Chambers' 50 Free time to lead off the relay (24.11 seconds) is the fastest in the UAA in the event, and she ranks fourth in the conference in the 100 Free and sixth in the 200 Free. The Spartans improved to 2-0 in dual meets with the win over CMU.
Junior wide receiver Noah Coyne (football) turned in one of the best individual receiving efforts in program history during the team's 38-33 loss at Washington & Jefferson College on Saturday. Coyne finished the game with career-highs across the board, catching nine passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns. It marked the second-most receiving yards in a single game in school history behind only a 281-yard effort by Colt Morgan against Saint Vincent in 2018. Coyne now has 35 catches this season and surpassed his career highs with 748 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches during the game. The Spartans fell to 6-2 for the season following the loss.
CWRU will look to rebound next week when the team returns to DiSanto Field in Cleveland for its final home game of the season, hosting Allegheny College for a 2 p.m. kickoff. Saturday will also mark Senior Day for the Spartans, who will honor the team's graduating players with a ceremony before the game.
Senior Stephen Henry (men's cross country) was the Spartans' top finisher at the 2023 UAA Men's Cross Country Championship on Saturday morning in Hunting Valley, Ohio. Henry placed 18th out of 77 finishers in the 8K race, crossing the finish line in a time of 25:53.0. His finish helped the Spartans place sixth out of eight teams in the race.
The Spartans will have a week off before returning to action on Saturday, November 11 for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship at the Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton, Ohio, where the team will be aiming to qualify for the national championship meet. The men's 8K race is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. with the women's 6K race to follow at 12 p.m.
Sophomore Lauren Iagnemma (women's cross country) claimed the first All-UAA honor of her career at the conference championship meet on Saturday. Iagnemma finished eighth out of 74 finishers in the race, completing the 6K course in a time of 22:03.3 to earn a spot on the All-UAA Second Team. Iagnemma saw her place improve eight spots from her finish at the meet last year when she narrowly missed out on an All-UAA honor. Her effort helped the Spartans finish sixth out of eight teams at the meet.
Senior middle blocker Jennifer Ngo (volleyball) led the Spartan offensive attack in the team's four-set win over Otterbein on Saturday at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland. Ngo recorded a season-high 21 kills with a .447 hitting percentage in the match, leading all players. She added five total blocks and a service ace to record 24.5 points. This season, Ngo has 272 kills (3.40 per set) on a .348 attacking percentage and 96 total blocks (1.20 per set). She ranks in the top 10 nationally in blocks per set, and first in the UAA in points per set. CWRU improved to 18-7 with the win.
The Spartans have two more matches before the conference tournament, first facing crosstown rival John Carroll on Tuesday, October 31 at 7 p.m. in University Heights and then traveling to Wooster to face the Fighting Scots on Saturday, November 4 at 1 p.m.
Junior setter/right side hitter Carly Scott (volleyball) had a career-high 34 assists during the Spartans' four-set win over Otterbein on Saturday at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland. Scott's 34 assists led all players in the match. She added a kill, a dig, and seven total blocks in the match for CWRU. This season, Scott averages 5.90 assists per set, totaling 490 in 25 matches.
Senior goalkeeper Maggie Storti (women's soccer) recorded her seventh shutout of the season during the seventh-ranked Spartans' 2-0 win over Brandeis on Saturday at Gordon Field in Waltham, Massachusetts. Storti recorded one save in the contest, raising her save percentage to 0.833 this season. The shutout was the second of the season for Storti, who lowered her goals against average to 0.54.
Senior midfielder Matt Vatne (men's soccer) tallied two assists for the Spartans during the team's 2-1 win over Brandeis on Saturday at Gordon Field in Waltham, Massachusetts. On the team's first goal, Vatne, with the ball on the goal line, found Brandon Kim in front of the net. The junior fired a shot into the back of the net to give the team the lead in the 52nd minute. In the 74th minute, Vatne fired a shot from about 25 yards out that required a diving save by the Judges goalkeeper, and Josh Cook was able to collect the rebound and sent a shot into the lower right corner of the goal to give CWRU a 2-0 lead. This season, Vatne leads the conference with six assists, and he has scored three goals to total 12 points for the team. The Spartans improved to 8-3-3 overall and 2-2-2 in UAA contests.
The Spartans, ranked fifth in Region VII by the NCAA on Wednesday, will look to bolster their resume for a possible postseason selection in their final contest of the season next Saturday. CWRU travels to Pittsburgh to face archrival Carnegie Mellon at 2:30 p.m.
Junior Alex Waltman (men's swimming and diving) won both diving events for the 23rd-ranked Spartans during the team's 174-117 dual win over 10th-ranked Carnegie Mellon. Waltman scored 230.63 points in the 1-meter dive on six dives and 236.93 points in the 3-meter dive on six dives to place first in each event.
Junior diver Abigail Wilkov (women's swimming and diving) swept the diving events during the 14th-ranked Spartans' 171-128 dual win over 12th-ranked Carnegie Mellon on Saturday at the Veale Natatorium in Cleveland. Wilkov won the 1-meter dive with a score of 270.83 points in six dives and the 3-meter dive with a score of 270.90 points in six dives. She also qualified for the NCAA Diving Zone Regional next March with her second score of at least 255 points in the 1-meter dive this season.
2023-24 Spartan Club Athletes of the Week:
Sept. 5: Jacob Salmon (men's soccer) & Alyssa Blessinger (volleyball)
Sept. 11: Matt Vatne (men's soccer) & Jennifer Ngo (volleyball)
Sept. 18: Aidan Nathan (men's cross country) & Ceci Dapino (women's soccer)
Sept. 25: Alex Fromberg (football) & Hannah Kassaie (women's tennis)
Oct. 2: Lauren Iagnemma (women's cross country), Vishwa Aduru & Diego Maza (men's tennis)
Oct. 9: Kaden Tong (football) & Jamie Goldfarb (women's soccer)
Oct. 16: Henry Busch (football) & Rea Marfatia (volleyball)
Oct. 23: Gage Duesler (football) & Gabriella Chambers (women's swimming and diving)
Oct. 30: Emil LaSida (men's swimming and diving) & Mackenzie Mueller (women's soccer)
