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 senior Daniel King, a linebacker on the football team, and first-year Halina Tompkins, a member of the women's cross country team, have been named the Spartan Club Athletes of the Week for their performances this past week.
King led a strong defensive effort for the Spartans during a 28-23 loss to Westminster in their home-opening game on Saturday night at DiSanto Field. One week removed from becoming the first Spartan player in seven years to record 15 or more tackles in a game, King accomplished the feat again against Westminster, matching his career high with 15 tackles (six solo), including 1.5 tackles for loss, with one pass breakup and a forced fumble. His play helped the Spartans hold Westminster scoreless in the second half of the game, while limiting the Titans to just 322 yards of offense. King has paced the Spartans' defense this season with 36 tackles (12 solo), including 3.0 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, and a forced fumble. CWRU stands at 0-2-1 following Saturday's setback.
The Spartans will begin a stretch of back-to-back road games starting next weekend when the team travels to Bethany, West Virginia, for a PAC contest against the Bethany College Bison. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 27.
Tompkins was the team's top finisher at the Pre-Nationals Meet in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Saturday morning. Competing in the first 6K race of her collegiate career, Tompkins crossed the finish line in a time of 22:30.9 to lead all CWRU competitors for the second time in as many meets this season. Her mark was good for an 11th-place finish out of 105 total runners in the event and helped CWRU to place third out of 11 teams on Saturday.
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 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:
Sophomore Leon Chen (men's tennis) turned in an undefeated weekend in both singles and doubles at the Everybody vs. Cancer Invitational in Toledo, Ohio. Chen went 4-0 in singles play and teamed with Jon Totorica to notch a 3-0 doubles mark. He won all four of his singles matches in straight sets, defeating Toledo's Anthony Sidoti 6-2, 6-3, Wayne State's Warren Gunnar 7-5, 7-5, Wayne State's Cole Anderson 6-1, 6-3, and Holy Cross' Natholin Golmei 6-4, 6-3. In doubles play, he and Totorica bested Jack Wong and Albert Mackey of Chicago 6-2, Sam Klaus and Harry Forsyth of Wayne State 7-6, and Thomas Friesen and Matthew Jezyk of Holy Cross 6-0. Chen improved to 6-1 in singles matches and 4-1 in doubles play through the first two weekends of the Spartans' fall season.
The Spartans will now turn their attention to the ITA Fall Regional Championship, hosted by Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan, from Friday, September 26 to Monday, September 29, as the team's top players will vie against the other squads in the region to win the singles and doubles championships. In addition, CWRU will also send a contingent of competitors to the Big Red Invitational on September 27 and 28 at Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
Sophomore quarterback Sam DeTillio (football) set his new career high for passing yards in a game during the Spartans' 28-23 loss at home to Westminster College on Saturday. DeTillio completed 30-of-49 passes for 386 yards, tied for the 12th-most in a single game in program history. He notched two touchdowns, including a 40-yard strike to Dylan Cave with 3:19 left in the first half to pull CWRU back within a touchdown, while throwing one interception. DeTillio has completed 61.4% of his passes this season for 562 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while running for an additional 49 yards and two scores.
Sophomore setter Elena Esquivel (volleyball) directed the Spartan offense during the team's 3-1 week, compiling 114 assists in 16 sets. In the team's sweep of Oberlin on Wednesday night at home, Esquivel had a double-double, recording 20 assists and 13 digs to go along with six kills, two blocks, and two service aces. On Friday in a four-set win at Ohio Northern to open the 45th Annual ONU Invitational, she had 33 assists, nine digs, five kills, and three blocks. The following day, Esquivel totaled 61 assists, 25 digs, six kills, and four blocks in nine sets as the Spartans split a pair of matches at ONU. She had double-doubles in both matches. This season, Esquivel is averaging 5.82 assists, 2.63 digs, 0.82 kills, and 0.40 blocks per set for the Spartans, who improved to 7-9 with the three victories last week.
The Spartans will start conference play next weekend with the first University Athletic Association round robin hosted by Emory University in Atlanta. CWRU will face Brandeis at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 27 followed by a matchup with 22nd-ranked Carnegie Mellon at 2 p.m. On Sunday, CWRU takes on the eighth-ranked host Eagles at 12 p.m.
Sophomore goalkeeper Ellie Palaian (women's soccer) 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. This season, Palaian has a goals against average of 0.13, playing every minute in front of the net for CWRU. The Spartans 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.
Junior midfielder Adam Pluszczyk (men's soccer) scored a pair of goals for the Spartans in their 3-0 win over Marietta on Wednesday night at Marietta Field in Marietta, Ohio. He opened the scoring in the fourth minute, getting a foot on a loose ball near the goal line and pushing it past the goalkeeper on the ground. Pluszczyk added the team's third goal of the day in the 81st minute, firing a low shot into the back of the net following a two-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. He recorded his first career multi-goal game and the first two-goal game by a Spartan this season. The goals were the third and fourth this season for Pluszczyk and the seventh and eighth of his career. CWRU moved to 6-0-2 following its 1-0-1 week in non-conference play.
The Spartans will next face crosstown rival John Carroll in the Cleveland Derby on Wednesday, September 24. Kickoff in University Heights, Ohio, is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
First-year forward Izzy Probst (women's soccer) scored the game-winning goal for the fifth-ranked Spartans in their 2-0 victory over Calvin on Saturday afternoon at DiSanto Field in Cleveland. Probst scored the first goal of the game in the 39th minute. She stole the ball from a Knight defender in the box, dribbled within a few yards of the goal, and fired a shot past the goalkeeper for her third goal of the season. It was also the first game-winning goal of her career. Probst finished the contest with four shots, including two on goal, in 39 minutes off the bench.
Junior Jacob Slater (men's cross country) 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. His effort helped the Spartans finish fourth out of 13 teams at the event.
Senior outside hitter Kalli Wall (volleyball) totaled 58 kills in 16 sets to lead the Spartans to a 3-1 record last week. In a three-set sweep of Oberlin to open the week on Wednesday night at home, Wall had 12 kills and did not commit an attacking error, finishing the match with a hitting percentage of .600. To open the 45th Annual ONU Invitational, she put down 16 kills in a four-set victory over Ohio Northern, adding two blocks and two digs in the victory. The following day, she totaled 30 kills in nine sets, leading CWRU to a five-set win over Albion and a four-set setback to Millikin. Wall added nine digs and four blocks in the two contests on Saturday and was named to the All-Tournament Team. This season, Wall has 216 kills (3.60 per set) with a .253 attacking percentage, adding 1.18 digs and 0.50 blocks per set for CWRU.
Case Western Reserve senior Katalina Wang (women's tennis) advanced to the quarterfinals of both the singles and doubles draws at the ITA Central Regional Championships last weekend in St. Louis. She started the singles competition with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Maddie Larsen of Denison, followed with a 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) win over Emily Chiasson of WashU, and defeated Abigail Penados of North Central 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the round of 16. In the doubles draw, Wang and first-year Gabby Lee defeated Briah O'Neal and Valerie Doherty from DePauw 8-0 and Clare Hudson and Kiara Komlodi of Kenyon 8-6 in the round of 16. Overall, Case Western Reserve went 14-9 (.609) in the regional with an 8-6 (.571) singles record and 6-3 (.667) doubles record.
After a week off from intercollegiate competition, the Spartans will wrap up their fall season with action at the Ashland Fall Invitational scheduled for October 4-5 at the Deborah Liebert Karl Tennis Complex in Ashland, Ohio.
Senior goalkeeper Bradley Winter (men's soccer) recorded a pair of shutouts for the Spartans in non-conference games during the team's 1-0-1 week. Winter started the week with 90 goalless minutes against Marietta in a 3-0 win for CWRU. He made one save in the contest and faced a total of five shots. Winter followed with a shutout of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, on Saturday afternoon, facing seven shots while holding the Owls off the scoreboard. His lone save came in the 23rd minute, diving acrobatically to his right to deflect a curling shot out of play. Winter has seven shutouts this season, one shy of matching the program record he tied during the 2023 season, and a goals against average of 0.13.
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)
