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 graduate student Ethan Edwards, a guard on the men's basketball team, and senior Claire Kozma, a swimmer on the women's swimming and diving team, have been named the Spartan Club Athletes of the Week for their performances this past week.
Edwards recorded one of the most impressive performances in the history of University Athletic Association men's basketball, setting a conference and program record with a 54-point performance in a 110-98 win over Rochester on Sunday. Playing 36 minutes in the contest, he shot 18-of-29 overall (62.1%) and 12-of-21 from behind the three-point line (.571), also setting conference and school records for field goals and three-pointers made in a game. Edwards added a six-for-seven (.857) showing from the free throw line with six rebounds and a steal, while not committing a turnover in the game. The 54 points were the most in an NCAA game (any Division) this season, and he also surpassed 1,000 points for his career during the game (needing 47 points entering Sunday's action to reach the milestone). In a 101-93 loss to fifth-ranked Emory on Friday night, he scored 18 points on a four-of-nine shooting effort from the floor (44.4%), including three-of-five (60.0%) from three-point range, and made seven-of-eight free throw attempts with two rebounds, one block, and two steals. Overall for the weekend, he averaged 36.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game, shooting 57.9% overall, 57.7% from three-point range, and 86.7% from the free throw line. Edwards has scored at least 10 points in 16 consecutive games and leads the team with 19.5 points per game this year.
The Spartans stand at 11-13 overall with a 3-10 UAA record. CWRU will wrap up its 2025-26 campaign at home on Saturday, February 28, against Carnegie Mellon University at 1:00 p.m.
Kozma set a pair of school and pool records with NCAA B cut times at the Spartan Invite on Friday and Saturday at the Veale Natatorium in Cleveland. Both of Kozma's records came on the 400 Free Relay which she led off. She started the relay with a 100 Free time of 50.48 seconds, the eighth-fastest mark in Division III this season. The relay finished in a program-record time of 3:25.46, the 12th-best time in the country. Overall, the Spartans finished first out of four teams with 735 points at the meet.
The CWRU divers will head to Kalamazoo, Michigan, for the NCAA Diving Regional on Friday, February 27 and Saturday, February 28 for an opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The swimmers will await the selection announcement for the national meet which is scheduled for Friday. The NCAA Championships will be held from Wednesday, March 18 to Saturday, March 21 at the IU Natatorium on the campus of IU Indianapolis in Indianapolis.
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 swimmer Trevor Novak (men's swimming and diving) set three school records at the Spartan Invite on Friday and Saturday at the Veale Natatorium in Cleveland. On Friday night, Novak led off the 400 Free Relay with a 100 Free time of 44.78 seconds, the 26th-best time in Division III. The relay finished in a program-record time of 2:58.67, the 10th-fastest time in the country this year. On Saturday, Novak swam the third leg of the 200 Free Relay which finished in a program record time of 1:22.04. Overall, the Spartans finished first out of four teams with 737 points at the meet.
Junior sprinter Matthew Bezuneh (men's track and field) set a program record on Friday night at the Ed Finnigan Invitational at the Veale Center in Cleveland. Bezuneh finished the finals of the 60-meter dash in 6.92 seconds, besting the previous record of 6.96 seconds set by Juan Perez and Antonio Sidoti. The time ranks fourth in the UAA and 81st nationally. CWRU won eight events at the unscored meet.
Senior thrower Michelle Lee (women's track and field) improved upon her mark in the weight throw on Friday night at the Ed Finnigan Invitational at the Veale Center in Cleveland, achieving a top 30 national mark. Lee won the event with a personal best heave of 16.58 meters, which ranks first in the UAA. The mark is currently 29th-best in Division III. CWRU won four events at the unscored meet.
The Spartans' track and field team will head to Waltham, Massachusetts, the home of Brandeis University, for the UAA Championships next weekend. The two-day meet begins on Saturday, February 28 at 12 p.m.
Senior guard/ forward Emily Plachta led the women's basketball team with 18.5 points over two games and reached the 1,000-point milestone for her career last weekend. Plachta averaged over 36 minutes per game and shot 48.3% (14-29) overall and 60.0% (6-10) from the free throw line with 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 0.5 steals per game. Plachta scored a team-high 21 points during the team's 76-73 loss to 23rd-ranked Emory on Friday night, matching her career-high with eight made field goals on 14 attempts, connecting on five-of-nine free throws, and adding six rebounds and two blocks. In a 63-50 win over Rochester on Sunday, she again led the team in scoring with 16 points on a six-of-15 shooting effort, adding two rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal. Additionally, she became the 17th player in program history to record 1,000 career points, reaching the mark during the fourth quarter of the game. Plachta is averaging 15.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game this season.
The Spartans stand at 10-14 overall with a 3-10 UAA record and will conclude their 2025-26 season on Saturday, February 28, at home against Carnegie Mellon at 3:00 p.m.
Sophomore Alexander Greene Barrios (wrestling) won the 133-pound division at the Futures Invitational on Saturday in Adrian, Michigan. Green Barrios went 3-0 at the meet with a pair of pins. He defeated Eugene Barrientes of Adrian by fall in 4:13 and pinned Chicago's Matteo Littman in 6:58. Greene Barrios also earned a win by medical forfeit. He improved to 19-11 this season with eight pins and four technical falls.
The wrestling team will compete at the NCAA Region V Tournament at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio on Friday, February 27, and Saturday, February 28.
Senior Katalina Wang (women's tennis) won three of her four matches for the 18th-ranked Spartans during the team's 1-1 weekend at the Groundhog Palooza in Lexington, Virginia. On Saturday, Wang won her singles match in a 5-2 loss to 19th-ranked Washington & Lee, defeating Lauren Long 6-4, 6-4 at first singles. Wang contributed to two of the team's four points in a 4-0 win over 25th-ranked Christopher Newport the following day. She paired with first-year Gabby Lee to win 7-6 (7-4) over Lindsey Bergelin and Kylie Schaefer at first doubles. Wang clinched the match with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Kendal Chang at first singles. CWRU moved to 4-1 with the split.
CWRU will return home for a matchup against Saint Mary's College on Friday at the Mayfield Village Racquet Club in Mayfield, Ohio. The match is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m.
Junior Tyler Stillson helped the 14th-ranked baseball team open its 2026 season with a three-game sweep of Oswego State University (an NCAA at-large team in 2025) at Nobby's Ballpark in Cleveland, contributing both as a hitter and a pitcher. Stillson, who saw time at designated hitter and first base, went seven-for-12 (.583) with a .643 on-base percentage and a .917 slugging percentage for a 1.560 OPS. He added three runs, three extra-base hits (two doubles and a triple), four RBIs, and two walks. He also made a start and earned the win in the second game of the series (a 7-1 CWRU victory), needing just 78 pitches to navigate five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and a walk, while striking out a career-high 10 batters. He also went three-for-three at the plate in the game with a walk, two RBIs, and a double. In the first game of the series, a 12-7 CWRU win, Stillson was three-for-five with two runs, an RBI, a double, and a triple. He wrapped up the weekend by going one-for-four with a run, an RBI, and a walk.
The Spartans, 3-0 on the season, will travel to Washington, Pennsylvania, this weekend for games against Washington & Jefferson and Scranton on Saturday and Sunday.
Men's tennis senior Anmay Devaraj went 3-0 at no. 3 doubles and picked up a come-from-behind three-set win at no. 3 singles to clinch a third-place finish for the fifth-ranked Spartans at the ITA Indoor National Championship this year. Devaraj contributed two points to the Spartans' 4-3 win over top-ranked Denison University, teaming with senior Rohan Bhat for a 6-3 win at no. 3 doubles over Andres Chapides and Nicholas Meyers, and breaking a 3-3 tie in the team score with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Jacob Patterson. Earlier in the weekend, he helped the Spartans beat 11th-ranked Johns Hopkins 5-2 in the quarterfinals, winning his doubles match 6-3 over Mukundh Boopathi and Joshua Kim, and he claimed another 6-3 win over Warren Pham and Brandon Vu during CWRU's 5-2 loss in the semifinals to fourth-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Devaraj stands at 5-6 in singles matches and 9-4 in doubles play this season.
The Spartans stand at 10-1 overall following a 2-1 weekend at the ITA Indoor Nationals and will play a pair of matches in Detroit next Sunday, March 1, taking on a pair of nationally-ranked Division II programs in no. 23 Wayne State University and no. 17 Grand Valley State University.
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)
Oct. 13: Kalli Wall (volleyball) & Claire Kozma (women's swimming and diving)
Oct. 20: Jacob Slater (men's cross country) & Halina Tompkins (women's cross country)
Oct. 27: Bradley Winter (men's soccer) & Ellie Palaian (women's soccer)
Nov. 3: Art Martinez (wrestling) & Sohalya Rawlins (women's swimming and diving)
Nov. 10: Thomas Wagner (wrestling) & Emily Plachta (women's basketball)
Nov. 18: Jacob Slater (men's cross country) & Kalli Wall (volleyball)
Nov. 24: John Drumm (men's swimming and diving) & Claire Kozma (women's swimming and diving)
Dec. 1: Andrew Fox (men's basketball) & Maura Schorr (women's basketball)
Dec. 8: Antonio Sidoti (men's track and field) & Gianna Phipps (women's track and field)
Jan. 5: Anand Dharmarajan (men's basketball) & Mya Hartjes (women's basketball)
Jan. 12: Thomas Wagner (wrestling) & Mya Hartjes (women's basketball)
Jan. 20: Hunter Keane (wrestling) & Grace Misiunas (women's track and field)
Jan. 26: William Froass (men's swimming and diving) & Michelle Lee (women's track and field)
Feb. 2: Ethan Edwards (men's basketball) & Lillian Paley (women's swimming and diving)
Feb. 9: Alexander Goldman (wrestling) & Maura Schorr (women's basketball)
Feb. 16: Art Martinez (wrestling) & Gianna Phipps (women's track and field)
Feb. 23: Ethan Edwards (men's basketball) & Claire Kozma (women's swimming and diving)
