The Spartan Club, comprised of Case Institute of Technology (CIT), Western Reserve University (WRU) and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) alumni, parents of current students, faculty and staff, and friends of the University, is aimed at helping foster and honor the proud tradition of athletics at the University, while also supporting the current student-athletes. For more information on the Spartan Club, and to help support its purpose by becoming a member, CLICK HERE.

Case Western Reserve University first-year Tyler Stillson, a utility player on the baseball team, and sophomore Lauren Iagnemma, a distance runner on the women's track and field team, have been named the Spartan Club Athletes of the Week for their performances this past week.

Stillson helped lead the Spartans to three wins in four games last week with both his bat and his arm. The highlight of Stillson's week came during the team's 28-3 win at Ohio Wesleyan on Sunday when he went two-for-three at the plate with a grand slam, two runs scored, and six runs batted in, while also starting on the mound and throwing five innings of four-hit baseball, allowing three runs and walking four with a pair of strikeouts. Stillson also went three-for-four with a double and a run scored during the team's 5-1 win over Kenyon on Saturday and finished the week batting .625 (5-for-8) with three runs, a double, a home run, and six runs batted in. For the season, he is hitting .333 with three home runs and 17 runs batted in, while also leading the team in wins with a 5-0 record to go along with a 4.00 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 27 innings. The Spartans stand at 24-7 overall for the campaign.

The Spartans will resume their University Athletic Association schedule next weekend when the team travels to Staten Island, New York, for a four-game series against New York University, starting on Friday, April 19 at 3:00 p.m. CWRU will enter the series with a 7-1 conference record and a three-and-a-half game lead over WashU for first place in the league.

Iagnemma ran the fourth-fastest time in program history in the 5,000-meter run at the Bison Outdoor Classic hosted by Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Iagnemma completed the invitational race in 17:15.05 to place 26th. It was the fastest time by a Spartan since Justine Jeroski recorded a mark of 17:14.95 in 2011. The time currently ranks 38th in Division III and eighth in the UAA.

Next week, the Spartans will make the short trip to Berea, Ohio, for the 54th Annual Sparky Adams Invitational, hosted by Baldwin Wallace University on Saturday, April 20.

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 Casey Hishinuma (men's tennis) helped lead the fourth-ranked Spartans to a 9-0 win over Grove City with wins at no. 2 doubles and no. 3 singles. Hishinuma teamed with sophomore Anmay Devaraj to win their doubles match 8-3 over Jose Pablo Leon and Josiah Newton. Hishinuma's match was the first singles match to finish, extending the Spartans' lead to 4-0 with a 6-0, 6-2 win against Gavin Miller. He improved to 19-6 in singles play and to 10-5 in doubles matches this season with the wins. The Spartans have won seven straight matches to move to 20-4 for the season.

CWRU will be back in action on Friday, April 19, hosting Kalamazoo College at 9 a.m. and 14th-ranked Denison University at 1 p.m. at the Carlton Courts. Friday will also mark Senior Day for the Spartans, who will honor the team's graduating players before the start of their match against Kalamazoo.

Graduate student third baseman James Powers (baseball) helped lead the 22nd-ranked Spartans to three wins in four games last weekend. Powers hit .421 (eight-for-19) with nine runs scored, three doubles, a home run, nine runs batted in, and one stolen base. He finished the week with a .737 slugging percentage and a .476 on-base percentage for a 1.213 OPS. The left-handed hitter went three-for-five with two doubles, four runs, three runs driven in, a stolen base, and a walk during a 16-6 win in seven innings in the opening game of a doubleheader against Kenyon. The next day, he got the Spartans on the board with a three-run home run in the first inning and went three-for-five overall with three runs, six runs batted in, and a double in a 28-3 win at Ohio Wesleyan before going two-for-five in an 8-5 loss to second-ranked Denison. Powers leads all CWRU players this season with 49 hits, 15 doubles, and 45 runs batted in, while batting .368 with a triple, two home runs, 37 runs scored, and 12 stolen bases on as many tries. 

First-year Quinn Saunders (baseball) threw six shutout innings to help lead the 22nd-ranked Spartans to a 5-1 win over Kenyon College on Saturday afternoon. Saunders allowed just two hits and issued four walks in the game while striking out seven batters. The southpaw did not allow a runner past second base in his six innings of work. He improved to 4-0 on the season with the win while lowering his earned run average to 3.90 and has now struck out a team-high 57 batters in 30 innings this year.

First-year vaulter Holly Schreiber (women's track and field) set the program record in the pole vault for the second consecutive week at the Division III All-Ohio Outdoor Championships hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, on Saturday. Schreiber cleared 3.66 meters to best her previous record of 3.61 meters at the prior week's Marv Frye Invitational. She placed third in the event on Saturday and currently has the third-best mark in the UAA and 20th-best mark in Division III. Overall, the Case Western Reserve women's team placed third out of 12 schools in Delaware, Ohio, with 104 points, trailing only Ohio Northern (146 points) and host Ohio Wesleyan (132 points). 

Senior hurdler/jumper Yusuf Shaaban (men's track and field) placed in the top three in two events for the Spartans at the Division III All-Ohio Outdoor Championships hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, on Saturday. As an individual, he placed third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.98 seconds, the third-best time in the UAA and 43rd-best time in Division III. He also was a member of the winning 4x400-meter relay that recorded a time of 3:19.63. The time currently ranks fourth in the conference and 45th in the country. Overall, the Spartan men's team had the second-most points of the 12 schools competing, scoring 97.5 points.

First-year outfielder Alaina Steffes (softball) led the sixth-ranked Spartans in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage during the team's four games last weekend. Steffes hit .400 (four-for-10) with a .455 OBP and .600 slugging percentage, driving in two runs. In the second game of the series, she had two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs to give the Spartans an early 2-0 lead. The following game, Steffes collected her second double of the series. This season, she is batting .413 (second-highest on the team) and leads the team with 11 doubles, a .696 slugging percentage, .509 OBP, and 1.205 OPS. CWRU, which dropped three of four at WashU over the weekend, fell to 24-5 on the season and 9-3 in UAA contests.

The Spartans will continue their eight-game road trip next weekend, journeying to Waltham, Massachusetts, for a four-game series against Brandeis. First pitch of the first game is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday, April 19.

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)
Nov. 6: Art Martinez (wrestling) & Maggie Storti (women's soccer)
Nov. 13: Lauren Iagnemma (women's cross country) & Jennifer Ngo (volleyball)
Nov. 20: Peter Meng (men's swimming and diving) & Lauren Iagnemma (women's cross country)
Nov. 27: Kayla Characklis (women's basketball)
Dec. 4: Colin Kahl (men's basketball) & Sarah Ozeki (women's track and field)
Dec. 11: Mike Valerino (wrestling) & Kate Montgomery (women's basketball)
Jan. 2: Anthony Mazzeo (men's basketball) & Kayla Characklis (women's basketball)
Jan. 8: Mitchell Arch (wrestling) & Art Martinez (wrestling)
Jan. 16: Anthony Mazzeo (men's basketball) & Mya Hartjes (women's basketball)
Jan. 22: Sam Trunley (men's basketball) & Erica Rice (women's swimming and diving)
Jan. 29: Mitchell Arch (wrestling) & Adrienne Wachtman (women's track and field)
Feb. 5: Colin Kahl (men's basketball) & Abigail Wilkov (women's swimming and diving)
Feb. 12: Keith Cartwright (men's track and field) & Emily Hopkins (women's track and field)
Feb. 19: Peter Meng (men's swimming and diving) & Kayla Characklis (women's basketball)
Feb. 26: Peculiar Nzegbuna (men's track and field) & Sarah Mitchell (women's basketball)
March 4: Sam Trunley (men's basketball) & Stevie Rieger (softball)
March 18: Jack Anderson (baseball) & Lexi Miskey (softball)
March 25: Claire Kozma (women's swimming and diving) & Peter Meng (men's swimming and diving)
April 1: Dane Camphausen (baseball) & Karen Potts (softball)
April 9: Diego Maza (men's tennis) & Holly Schreiber (women's track and field)
April 15: Tyler Stillson (baseball) & Lauren Iagnemma (women's track and field)