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Case Western Reserve University senior Ethan Dahlem, a wide receiver on the football team, and junior Amanda Ngo, a middle blocker on the volleyball team, have been named the Spartan Club Athletes of the Week for their performances this past week.

Dahlem turned in a career day during the Spartans' 56-14 win at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, on Saturday afternoon. Dahlem caught five passes while recording career highs with 160 yards and three touchdowns, despite not playing a down in the second half with a big lead in hand. He helped the Spartans take a 21-0 lead with a five-yard touchdown catch with 2:42 left in the first quarter. He then added two long touchdown receptions in the second quarter, reeling in a 63-yard catch for a score (the longest play from scrimmage by a Spartan this season) to put CWRU ahead 35-7 with 13:26 left in the half and a 57-yard grab with 11:13 remaining in the frame to give CWRU a 42-7 lead. Dahlem leads all Spartan players with 16 receptions for 279 yards and four touchdowns. The team improved to 3-0 with Saturday's win.

CWRU will look to keep its momentum going next weekend when it travels to Meadville, Pennsylvania, to face Allegheny College on Saturday, October 5 at 1 p.m.

Ngo led the attack for the 21st-ranked Spartans during their 3-1 week, including a 2-1 weekend at the first University Athletic Association Round Robin hosted by New York University in New York. Ngo totaled 59 kills in 17 sets across the four matches with a hitting percentage of .391. At the net, she totaled a team-high 15 blocks, including four solo, for a total of 68.5 points during the week. Ngo had at least 11 kills and three blocks in all four matches. She had her best performance of the season in a five-set upset of eighth-ranked WashU on Saturday, putting down 22 kills and blocking three attacks. Earlier in the day, she had a .524 hitting percentage and 12 kills in a four-set win over Rochester. During a thrilling five-set loss to seventh-ranked Emory, Ngo had 14 kills and five blocks. In non-conference play, she committed just one attacking error in an 11-kill sweep of Heidelberg on Wednesday. This season, Ngo ranks second on the team with 205.5 points and 175 kills, averaging 2.97 per set with a team-best .356 attacking percentage. The Spartans improved to 15-2 with the three wins last week.

The CWRU volleyball team will resume non-conference play on Wednesday, traveling to Oberlin, Ohio, to face Oberlin College at 7 p.m.

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:

Senior linebacker Ryan Cabrera (football) helped lead a strong defensive effort during the Spartans' 56-14 win over Geneva College on Saturday afternoon. Cabrera finished the game with four tackles (two solo) including a sack and a fumble recovery. He set the tone for the game early with two key plays in the first quarter. Cabrera sacked the Geneva quarterback on third down to force a three-and-out on the Golden Tornadoes first drive of the game and then recovered a fumble at the Geneva 21 with 5:58 left in the quarter that set up the Spartans' third touchdown. Through three games this season, Cabrera has 11 tackles (six solo) with 4.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

Senior midfielder Lukas Dalakis (men's soccer) scored twice in as many games for the Spartans as the team went 1-0-1 at home last week. In a 2-0 victory over crosstown rival John Carroll on Wednesday night, Dalakis scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 27th minute, sending a shot from just outside the box past the goalkeeper to give CWRU a 1-0 lead. During a 2-2 draw with Mount Union on Saturday, he put the Spartans ahead 2-1 in the 25th minute on a strike from the far post. This season, Dalakis has seven points on two goals and three assists. The Spartans concluded non-conference play with an overall record of 5-2-2. 

The CWRU men's soccer team will begin its seven-game conference schedule with a visit from New York University on Saturday, October 5. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

First-year libero Sophia Datto (volleyball) had a team-high 73 digs across four matches during a 3-1 week for the 21st-ranked Spartans, including a 2-1 record at the first UAA Round Robin. Datto, who averaged 4.29 digs per set during the week, recorded at least 15 in every match. She had a career-high 25 digs in a five-set loss to seventh-ranked Emory on Sunday, totaled 18 in a four-set win over Rochester on Saturday, and added 15 in a five-set upset of eighth-ranked WashU later in the day. In non-conference action, Datto had 16 digs in a sweep of Heidelberg. Datto also contributed 10 assists and five service aces for the Spartans during the week. This season, she is averaging 2.65 digs per set and is one of three players to appear in every set for CWRU. 

Senior Lily McCloskey (women's tennis) reached the quarterfinals of both the main singles and doubles draw at the ITA Central Regional Championships, hosted by Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. McCloskey went 3-1 in singles play and 2-1 in doubles play with junior Katalina Wang to advance to the quarterfinal round in each bracket. Seeded fifth in singles play, she defeated Hope's Sullivan Moran in the round of 64, John Carroll's 17th-seeded Madeline Kavenagh in the round of 32, and Kenyon's ninth-seeded Shadia Amado Aguad in the round of 16. Seeded third in the doubles bracket, McCloskey and Wang bested Ohio Northern's Jenna Bell and Caroline Robinson in the round of 32 and Amado Aguad and Hana Nouaime in the round of 16. McCloskey finished the fall season with a singles record of 6-2 and doubles record of 6-1. 

The ITA Regional Championship marked the final scheduled event of the fall season for the CWRU women's tennis team. The squad will begin its spring season on February 15, 2025, with a home match against Hope. 

Senior punter Joseph Rhodes V (football) helped the Spartans win the field position battle in a 56-14 win over Geneva on Saturday afternoon. Rhodes punted five times for an average of 36.6 yards with a long punt of 55 yards and two punts inside the 20-yard line. He has punted eight times this season for an average of 36.6 yards with four inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

Junior forward/midfielder Alexis Sassower (women's soccer) scored a goal and had an assist during the 13th-ranked Spartans 1-0-1 week. During the team's 1-1 draw with Wittenberg on Saturday, Sassower evened the score with her fifth goal of the season in the 52nd minute. Earlier in the week, she earned an assist on the game-winning goal in the 90th minute during a 2-1 victory over Penn State Behrend. This season, Sassower has a team-high 13 points on five goals and three assists. CWRU improved to 6-0-3 on the season with the two results. 

The Spartans will host Ohio Wesleyan tonight at 7:30 p.m. to conclude the non-conference portion of the regular season.

2024-25 Spartan Club Athletes of the Week:
Sept. 3: Aidan Nathan (men's cross country) & Amanda Ngo (volleyball)
Sept. 9: Bradley Winter (men's soccer) & Sydney Schenk (women's soccer)
Sept. 16: Alex Fromberg (football) & Rea Marfatia (volleyball)
Sept. 23: Ansh Shah (men's tennis) & Ceci Dapino (women's soccer)
Sept. 30: Ethan Dahlem (football) & Amanda Ngo (volleyball)