Case Western Reserve University sophomore goalkeeper Ellie Palaian of the women's soccer team and junior Jacob Slater of the men's cross country team were each named the University Athletic Association Athlete of the Week for their respective sports based on their standout performances last week.
Palaian recorded her seventh shutout of the season in the fifth-ranked Spartans' 2-0 win over Calvin on Saturday afternoon at DiSanto Field in Cleveland. Palaian saved a season-high five shots in the game, including four in the first 45 minutes of play.
It marked the first UAA Athlete of the Week honor for Palaian, who has a goals against average of 0.13 this season and has played every minute in front of the net for CWRU.
The CWRU women's soccer team improved to 7-0-1 with the non-conference win. The Spartans will host Penn State Behrend on Wednesday, September 24, at 7:30 p.m.
Slater led the 27th-ranked Spartans to a fourth-place finish at the Pre-Nationals Meet in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Saturday morning. Slater was the team's top finisher in the men's 8K race, placing fourth overall out of 132 finishers. His time of 24:48.7 was a 24.8-second improvement on his previous career-best 8K time.
This was the second time in his career that Slater was named the UAA Athlete of the Week after receiving the honor earlier this season, based on his performance at the Sudeck Invitational.
Slater's effort helped the Spartans finish fourth out of 13 teams at the Pre-National Meet. CWRU will be off next weekend before returning to action on Saturday, October 4, at the Daniel Mullen Memorial Invitational at the Moorehead Farm in New Concord, Ohio.
The following CWRU Athletes have been named the UAA Athlete of the Week during the 2025-26 academic year:
Sep. 22: Ellie Palaian (Women's Soccer - Defense), Jacob Slater (Men's Cross Country)
Sep. 8: Maggie Farra (Women's Soccer - Offense), Phillip Washington (Men's Soccer - Defense), Katie Wong (Women's Tennis)
Sep. 2: Jamie Goldfarb (Women's Soccer - Offense), Jacob Slater (Men's Cross Country)
