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Case Western Reserve University senior Osi Chukwuocha, a cornerback on the football team, and senior Ceci Dapino, a midfielder on the women's soccer team, have been named the Spartan Club Athletes of the Week for their performances this past week.
Chukwuocha helped lead a strong defensive effort for the Spartans in a 42-14 win over Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Against a team that entered the game as one of the top passing teams in the Presidents' Athletic Conference this season, Chukwuocha helped hold the Bearcats scoreless through the first three quarters and to just 364 total yards and 259 passing yards (117 of which came after he left the game in the fourth quarter). He finished the game with five tackles (four solo), one pass breakup, and his first interception of the season, which came with 1:08 left in the second quarter and stalled a Saint Vincent drive at the Spartans' 23-yard line. Halfway through the season, Chukwuocha has 25 tackles (18 solo) with 2.0 tackles for loss, one interception, a team-high four pass breakups, and one quarterback hurry. The Spartans have won two games in a row to improve to 2-2-1 for the season.
CWRU will return home for their Homecoming Game at DiSanto Field in Cleveland on Saturday, October 11. CWRU will aim to ring in the celebration against Allegheny College with the kickoff scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Dapino scored a pair of goals for the fourth-ranked Spartans, including the game-winning score, in the team's 3-1 victory over 13th-ranked Rochester on Saturday at DiSanto Field in Cleveland. With the score tied at one in the second half, Dapino broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute with her team-leading fourth game-winning goal in 2025. She charged into the penalty area, slid and hit a shot into the back of the net, to put the Spartans ahead. Dapino put the game away in the 75th minute, intercepting an errant clearance in the middle of the box and firing a shot in between the goalkeeper's legs for the score. It was the first time a Spartan scored twice in conference play since October 28, 2023 when Camryn Hartman had a pair of goals against the Yellowjackets. The goals were the seventh and eighth for Dapino this season and the 16th and 17th of her career. CWRU remained undefeated with the victory, improving to 11-0-1 overall and 1-0-0 in University Athletic Association play.
The Spartans will host fifth-ranked WashU, the defending national and conference champion, on Saturday, October 11 at 12:30 p.m. as part of Homecoming Saturday.
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:
First-year Atra Biria (women's tennis) won all five of her matches at the Ashland Invitational at the Deborah Liebert Karl Tennis Complex in Ashland, Ohio, on Saturday and Sunday. In singles play, Biria defeated Ana Penteado (8-5) and Anna Corbel (6-1, 6-1) of Division II Ashland. She paired with first-year Gabby Lee for three doubles matches, taking down Corbel and Evalienna Pryor (8-6), Penteado and Constanza Arancibia (6-3), and Morgan Dobos and Maddie Kavenagh of John Carroll (6-3). Biria went 4-3 in singles play and 6-2 in doubles play during the fall season. Overall, the Spartans went 28-4 (.875) in singles play and 14-4 (.778) in doubles matches at Ashland.
Case Western Reserve will begin its spring season on February 6, 2026, hosting Hope College for a dual match that is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.
Sophomore defensive specialist Sophia Datto (volleyball) paced the Spartans with 37 digs in a pair of wins on Saturday afternoon in Delaware, Ohio. During the team's four-set victory over Denison to begin the tri-match, Datto collected 24 digs and added four assists and a service ace. It was 11th match with at least 20 digs this season. To conclude the day, she had 13 digs, four assists, and a kill in a sweep of host Ohio Wesleyan University. This season, Datto has 381 digs (4.82 per set) and 59 assists (0.75 per set). The Spartans improved to 10-11 with the two wins.
The Spartans resume UAA play with the second round robin on Sunday, October 12. CWRU will host all eight schools for the round robin at the Veale Center as part of Homecoming Sunday. Case Western Reserve will face Rochester at 12 p.m. and 10th-ranked WashU at 2 p.m. inside Horsburgh Gymnasium.
First-year punter Nick Delfau (football) helped the Spartans win the field possession battle during the team's 42-14 win over Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Delfau punted four times in the game, averaging 41.0 yards per punt. He had a 44-yard punt, two 43-yard punts, and a 34-yarder that pinned the Bearcats at their own 10-yard line at the end of the third quarter. Delfau has punted 15 times this season, averaging 39.2 yards per punt, and has placed five inside the opponents' 20-yard line with two punts of 50 or more yards.
Senior middle blocker Amanda Ngo (volleyball) totaled 20 kills and 12 blocks to help lead the Spartans to a pair of wins at Branch Rickey Arena in Delaware, Ohio, on Saturday afternoon. In a four-set victory over Denison to start the day, Ngo had 11 kills and seven blocks (two solo). She followed with a team-leading nine kills in a sweep of host Ohio Wesleyan, hitting .500 in the match (9-1-16), while adding five blocks (three solo). This season, Ngo has 211 kills (2.67 per set) with a .306 attacking percentage and 73 total blocks (0.92 per set). She has 732 career kills on a .271 attacking percentage (seventh-best in program history) and 276 career total blocks, which ranks eighth in program history. The Spartans improved to 10-11 with the two wins.
First-year midfielder Micah Rossen (men's soccer) scored the game-tying goal in the Spartans' 1-1 draw with the University of Rochester at DiSanto Field in Cleveland on Saturday afternoon. Rossen tallied his goal in the 70th minute, just three minutes after the Yellowjackets broke the scoreless deadlock. He was on the receiving end of a free kick by sophomore Mitchell Fein, deftly tapping the ball past the goalkeeper in the middle of the box for the score. The goal was the second of the season for Rossen. CWRU moved to 6-1-4 overall and 0-0-1 in UAA play with the tie.
The Spartans will host 11th-ranked WashU on Saturday, October 11 at 10 a.m. to kickoff Homecoming Saturday.
First-year Kian Schneeweis (men's cross country) was the team's top finisher for the first time in his career at the Daniel Mullen Memorial Invitational in New Concord, Ohio, on Saturday. Schneeweis crossed the finish line of the men's 8K race in a time of 28:05.3, good for a third-place finish out of 87 finishers at the event. His performance helped the Spartans finish first out of seven teams at the meet.
The Spartans will be back in action in two weeks when the team travels to nearby Oberlin, Ohio, for the Inter-Regional Rumble on Saturday, October 18.
Sophomore wide receiver Will Stack (football) notched the first two touchdowns of his career during the team's 42-14 win over Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Stack totaled 86 yards of offense in the game, carrying the ball once for 21 yards and catching two passes for 65 yards. He helped to extend the Spartans' lead to 21-0 with a 20-yard touchdown catch with 9:38 left in the first half and added a career-long 21-yard touchdown run later in the frame, giving CWRU a 28-0 lead with 2:57 left in the period. Stack also had a career-long 45-yard catch during the game. Through five games this season, he has caught 11 passes for 173 yards with one touchdown while running the ball three times for 28 yards with an additional score.
First-year Francesca Taracila (women's cross country) was the top finisher for the women's cross country team for the first time in her career at the Daniel Mullen Memorial Invitational in New Concord, Ohio, on Saturday. Taracila was the second overall finisher out of 60 competitors in the women's 6K race, crossing the finish line in a time of 23:24.0. Her effort helped the Spartans win the meet, placing first out of six teams.
2025-26 Spartan Club Athletes of the Week:
Sept. 2: Jacob Slater (men's cross country) & Jamie Goldfarb (women's soccer)
Sept. 8: Mitchell Fein (men's soccer) & Maggie Farra (women's soccer)
Sept. 15: Bradley Winter (men's soccer) & Ceci Dapino (women's soccer)
Sept. 22: Daniel King (football) & Halina Tompkins (women's cross country)
Sept. 29: Sam DeTillio (football) & Kalli Wall (volleyball)
Oct. 6: Osi Chukwuocha (football) & Ceci Dapino (women's soccer)
