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Case Western Reserve University senior Cormac Apostolides, a defender on the men's soccer team, and junior Madeline Halter, an outside hitter of the volleyball team, have been named the Spartan Club Athletes of the Week for their performances this past week.
Apostolides led the University Athletic Association with five points on two goals and an assist as the fifth-ranked Spartans kept their undefeated record intact with a win and a tie over the weekend. In a 2-0 victory over Brandeis on Friday evening, Apostolides deftly converted from the spot for the team's second goal of the game in the 23rd minute. It was the senior's fourth penalty kick goal of the campaign, tying a single-season program record. During a 2-2 tie with NYU on Sunday morning, Apostolides scored and had an assist as the Spartans came back from a two-goal deficit to secure the point. In the 59th minute, he had a kick from the penalty spot saved, but he quickly collected the rebound and tapped the ball into the back of the net. On the team's tying goal with 14 seconds left, Apostolides headed a free kick toward the goal that sophomore Micah Rossen sent into the back of the net. Apostolides, who has scored in each of the team's last three games, is tied for the Spartan lead with 16 points on six goals and four assists and ranks second in the league with seven points in five UAA contests. CWRU improved to 11-0-3 overall and 3-0-2 in the association, maintaining their one-point lead over Emory in the conference standings with two games left.
The Spartans will face 17th-ranked Emory in a battle for first place in the UAA next Saturday in Atlanta. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. With a win, the Spartans would clinch at least a share of the UAA Championship for the third time in program history, while a win coupled with a loss or tie by third-place Rochester to Carnegie Mellon would secure the outright title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for CWRU.
Halter had 21 kills across two matches for the Spartans at the third University Athletic Association Round Robin hosted by Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday. In the team's five-set loss to 11th-ranked NYU, she led the team with 16 kills and had a .433 attacking percentage, committing just three errors. Halter added a pair of blocks and two digs in the match. Later in the day, she had five kills without an error in a three-set loss to 20th-ranked Emory, adding a block. This season, Halter is second on the team with 162 kills (2.00 per set) and has added 56 digs and 21 total blocks. The Spartans fell to 9-14 overall and finished conference play with a record of 1-6, tying for sixth in the league.
The Spartans will next return home for their final four matches of the regular season, beginning with a tri-match against William Smith and 12th-ranked Calvin on Halloween. CWRU faces the Herons at 11 a.m. and will take on the Knights at 3 p.m. inside Horsburgh Gymnasium.
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 defensive end Dominic Ghilani (football) continued to apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks, leading a dominant defensive effort for the Spartans in a 38-0 win at Hiram College on Saturday in Hiram, Ohio. Ghilani finished the game with four tackles (three solo), one sack, and three quarterback hurries. His play helped the Spartans' defense shut out the Terriers on 239 yards of offense, after Hiram entered the game averaging 26.2 points and 402.2 total yards per game. Ghilani extended his streak to six straight games with at least half a sack, and his 1.29 sacks per game this season are second among Division III players. Through seven games, he has totaled 27 tackles (18 solo), nine sacks, and three quarterback hurries. CWRU stands at 6-1 overall with a 3-1 Presidents' Athletic Conference record.
The Spartans will return home to host Thiel College on Saturday, October 31 at 1 p.m., in the team's final regular season home game of the year. Before the game, the Spartans will hold their annual Senior Day ceremony to celebrate the 22-player graduating class.
Sophomore diver Jayna Kawas (women's swimming and diving) averaged 200 points across two diving events as the 20th-ranked Spartans defeated both Ohio Wesleyan and Centre in a tri-meet in Cleveland on Saturday. Kawas placed second in the 3-meter dive with a six-dive score of 211.58 and finished fourth in the 1-meter dive with a six-dive score of 188.40. CWRU defeated Centre 192-108 and OWU 244-43 to improve to 2-0 in dual meets this season.
The Spartans will head to Pittsburgh on Halloween for a dual meet against rival Carnegie Mellon University that is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. The CMU men's team is ranked seventh in Division III and the Tartan women's team is 13th in the country.
Sophomore swimmer Oliver Lazenby (men's swimming and diving) won three events for the 23rd-ranked Spartans as the team defeated Ohio Wesleyan and Centre in a tri-meet on Saturday in Cleveland. Lazenby swept the breaststroke events, placing first in the 100 Breast in 58.23 seconds and winning the 200 Breast in 2:08.50. He was also a member of the winning 200 Medley Relay which finished the race in 1:33.23. CWRU defeated Centre 229-71 and Ohio Wesleyan 250.5-41.5, improving to 2-0 in dual meets this season.
First-year running back Dom Manicioto (football) stepped up for the Spartans in their 38-0 win at Hiram College on Saturday, carrying the bulk of the load in the running game. He led all Spartan players with 18 carries for 58 yards, including a six-yard touchdown run, the first of his career, to give CWRU a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. Manicioto has played in four games, recording 25 rush attempts for 88 yards and a touchdown.
Senior quarterback Pierce Olsen (football) helped lead the Spartans to a 38-0 win over Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio, on Saturday afternoon. Olsen completed 22-of-33 passes (66.7%) for a career-high 299 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He threw a pair of touchdowns to Garrett Pavlick, hitting him from 23 yards out to put CWRU ahead 14-0 with 6:29 left in the first half and connecting for a 42-yard score with 11:57 remaining in the third to extend the lead to 24-0. With 9:23 left in the third quarter, he threw a career-long 65-yard touchdown pass to Beau Wolf to give the Spartans a 31-0 lead. Olsen has completed 62.9% of his passes this season for 872 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
Senior kicker Gabriel Petrozzi (football) added another seven points to his season total, making all four extra point attempts and nailing a 42-yard field goal in a 38-0 win at Hiram College on Saturday. Petrozzi's field goal came as time expired at the end of the second quarter and gave the Spartans a 17-0 lead going into halftime. He also kicked off four times in the game for an average of 59.2 yards. Petrozzi has made four-of-six field goal attempts this season (with all of his makes coming from 40 yards or longer) and has converted 29-of-32 extra-point tries for a total of 41 points.
Senior swimmer Maggie Rose Rook (women's swimming and diving) won a trio of events for the 20th-ranked Spartans as the team defeated both Ohio Wesleyan and Centre in a tri-meet in Cleveland on Saturday. Rook took first place in the 200 Free in 1:58.62 and was the first finisher in the 500 Free in 5:25.93. She also swam the second leg of the winning 200 Free Relay with the team finishing the race in 1:41.01.
Sophomore goalkeeper Carter Shedd (men's soccer) recorded a shutout to help the fifth-ranked Spartans maintain their undefeated record in 2026 with a win and a tie over the weekend. Shedd made a save in a 2-0 victory over Brandeis on Friday evening to record his sixth individual clean sheet of the season. Though the Judges had 14 shots, just one was on target. On Sunday morning, Shedd made five saves in a 2-2 tie with NYU. The Spartan netminder is tied for the University Athletic Association lead with three shutouts in five conference games and also has a league-low 0.60 goals against average. In all contests this year, Shedd had a 0.45 goals against average across nearly 1,211 minutes, recording 32 saves in 14 games.
Sophomore diver Ryan Wells (men's swimming and diving) placed in the top two in both diving events as the 23rd-ranked Spartans defeated Ohio Wesleyan and Centre in a tri-meet on Saturday in Cleveland. Wells won the 3-meter dive with a six-dive score of 322.27, a career-best mark in the event. He finished second in the 1-meter dive with a score of 279.82, which was also a career best.
2026-27 Spartan Club Athletes of the Week:
Sept. 8: Aaron Filips (football) & Izzy Probst (women's soccer)
Sept. 14: Micah Rossen (men's soccer) & Maya Zarow (volleyball)
Sept. 21: Andy Kavcic (football) & Reid Smith (women's cross country)
Sept. 28: Carter Shedd (men's soccer) & Gabby Lee (women's tennis)
Oct. 5: Rowan Matorin (men's tennis) & Izzy Probst (women's soccer)
Oct. 12: Jake Kavcic (football) & Sheila Monera Cabarique (women's swimming and diving)
Oct. 19: Yaw Gyamfi (football) & Halina Tompkins (women's cross country)
Oct. 26: Cormac Apostolides (men's soccer) & Madeline Halter (volleyball)
