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Case Western Reserve University junior Mathew Gummere, a member of the wrestling team, and first-year Gianna Phipps, a sprinter on the women's track and field team, have been named the Spartan Club Athletes of the Week for their performances this past week.

Gummere was one of three CWRU wrestlers who qualified for the national championship with a third-place finish at the NCAA Division III Region V Tournament last weekend in University Heights, Ohio. Gummere, who was unranked regionally heading into the tournament at 184 pounds, went 5-1 with three upset victories, a technical fall, and a pin during the two-day meet. On Friday, he won his opening match by decision, 5-4, over sixth-seeded Owen Turnbow of Albion College before falling by decision, 13-6, to third-seeded Casey Aikman of North Central College in the quarterfinal. Gummere responded with a 15-0 technical fall in 7:00 over Alma's Waylon Lamkin to secure at least an eighth-place finish in the bracket. On the second day of competition, Gummere beat Manchester's Ethan Risner by decision, 8-7, needing four points in the final period to secure the victory. In the consolation semifinal, he outlasted fourth-seeded RJ Samuels of Wisconsin-Whitewater, winning 2-1 in the first tiebreaker with an escape. Gummere wrestled second-seeded Zachary Huckaby of Wabash with a trip to the national championship on the line in the third-place match. The score was tied at one after three periods with both wrestlers earning escapes. In the sudden-victory overtime, Gummere earned a takedown which led to a pin to punch his ticket to Iowa. With the 5-1 weekend, he improved to 29-16 this season with eight pins and two technical falls. CWRU qualified three wrestlers for the national championship for the first time since 2003 and had at least one wrestler secure their spot at the national meet for the first time since 2012. 

The 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Wrestling Championships will be held at the Alliant Energy Powerhouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14. Action starts at 11 a.m. ET on both days. Unofficial draws will be released by the NCAA online on Friday, March 6 at 1 p.m. with the final brackets unveiled on Tuesday, March 10 at 1 p.m.

Phipps made history at the 2026 University Athletic Association Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, last weekend. The first-year sprinter accumulated three All-UAA honors, including a conference championship, for 22 team points. Phipps became the first-ever member of the CWRU women's track and field team to win the UAA title or earn All-UAA honors in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.91 seconds in the final on Sunday after lowering her program record with a prelims time of 56.40 seconds on Saturday. She placed third in the 200-meter dash, the first Spartan to earn All-UAA honors in the event in 23 years, with a finals time of 25.47 seconds, besting her own program record in the race by 0.01 seconds. She ended the weekend as the anchor on the third-place 4x400-meter relay, helping the quartet set a program record with a time of 3:59.96 with CWRU finishing at least third in the event for the first time in 34 years. Phipps ranks ninth nationally and second regionally in the 400-meter dash, 48th nationally and eighth regionally in the 200-meter dash, and 70th nationally and fifth regionally in the 4x400-meter relay. Overall, Case Western Reserve placed sixth in the conference with 50.25 points. 

The Spartans will have one final opportunity to record qualifying marks for the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Track and Field Championships with the Polar Bear Last Chance Meet hosted by Ohio Northern University on Saturday, March 7. Student-athletes with top 20 times or marks in an individual event or relays with top 12 times in an event will be selected to the national championship.

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:

Senior Art Martinez (wrestling) was the first of three Spartans to qualify for the national championship with a third-place finish at the NCAA Division III Region V Tournament last weekend in University Heights, Ohio. Seeded fourth in the 133-pound draw, Martinez went 2-0 on Friday to reach the semifinal, defeating Elmhurst's Donovin Fields by major decision, 16-5, and Albion's Cade Odrobina by decision, 10-3. He dropped a 1-0 decision to top-seeded Ethan Spracht of North Central in the semifinal to drop to the consolation bracket. Martinez prevailed 7-3 over third-seeded Jordan Rasof of Wisconsin-Whitewater, riding two first-period takedowns to the third-place match. He needed overtime to secure his place in the national championship, defeating Ty Daughtery of John Carroll 4-1 in sudden-victory with a takedown 16 seconds into the extra period. With the 4-1 weekend, Martinez improved to 33-4 this season with 10 pins and 10 technical falls. The Spartans tied for sixth at the regional with 106.0 points, the squad's best-ever finish in program history.

Senior Thomas Wagner (wrestling) was one of three Spartans to qualify for the national championship with a third-place finish at the NCAA Division III Region V Tournament last weekend in University Heights, Ohio. Seeded third in the 157-pound draw, Wagner went 4-1 with a pin and a technical fall to secure his place in Iowa. He started the weekend with a 2-0 performance on Friday, pinning Rickey Lynch of Adrian in 3:58 and securing a 16-0 technical fall in 5:00 over Millikin's Michael Hutchison. Wagner dropped a 9-3 decision to second-seeded Luke Swan of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the semifinal on Saturday, but responded by defeating Wabash's fourth-seeded Andrew Ross by decision, 6-1, in the consolation semifinal. With 10 points in the first two periods, Wagner won by major decision, 14-5, over Kayle Bearson of North Central to secure his place in the national championship. He improved to 38-7 this season with 13 pins and seven technical falls.  

Senior thrower Michelle Lee (women's track and field) won the UAA title in the weight throw to contribute 10 team points for the Spartans at the 2026 UAA Indoor Track and Field Championships last weekend in Waltham, Massachusetts. Lee threw the weight 16.17 meters on her third attempt to claim the conference championship for the second consecutive season. She became the first member of the CWRU women's track and field team to win back-to-back championships at the UAA Indoor Championships since Erin Hollinger placed first in the high jump in 2010 and 2011. On Sunday, Lee also placed 10th in the shot put with a toss of 10.31 meters. She currently ranks 34th in Division III and third in the region with her season-best toss of 16.58 meters in the event from February 20. 

First-year diver Ryan Wells (men's swimming and diving) secured his place at the national championship with a pair of solid finishes at the 2026 NCAA Division III Region 1 Diving Championships held in Kalamazoo, Michigan, last weekend. Wells placed sixth in the 1-meter dive with a score of 426.45 and seventh in the 3-meter dive with a score of 432.55. He will be making his first-ever appearance at the NCAA Championships and will be joining 12 CWRU swimmers who were announced as qualifiers on Friday. 

The 2026 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championships are scheduled to be held at the IU Natatorium on the campus of IU Indianapolis in Indianapolis from March 18-21. Wells will join 12 swimmers from the CWRU men's and women's swimming and diving teams who were announced as participants in the national meet on Friday.

Junior thrower Toby Langsner (men's track and field) earned his third career All-UAA honor at the 2026 UAA Indoor Track and Field Championships last weekend in Waltham, Massachusetts. Langsner placed second in the weight throw with a toss of 16.06 meters on his first attempt. He finished second in the event for the second consecutive season. Langsner also placed 12th in the shot put with a toss of 13.14 meters. 

Sophomore Leon Chen (men's tennis) won his singles and doubles matches against Grand Valley State University, the 17th-ranked team in Division II, to help the fifth-ranked Spartans to a 4-3 win in the contest. Chen teamed with sophomore Jon Totorica for a 6-4 win at no. 1 doubles over Bora Bakici and Patricio Sepulveda, the ninth-ranked duo in Division II. He went on to claim a straight-set win at no. 4 singles over Axel Le Ho, winning 6-3, 7-6 (4). Chen improved to 7-1 in singles matches and to 15-4 in doubles play this year. The Spartans stand at 11-2 overall following the win against the Lakers on Sunday.

The Spartans will begin their spring break trips on Tuesday, March 10, facing St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, and Covenant College and East Texas Baptist University in Orlando, Florida.

Sophomore runner Donovan Crowley (men's track and field) contributed 13 points for the Spartans at the 2026 UAA Indoor Track and Field Championships last weekend in Waltham, Massachusetts. Individually, he placed fourth in the mile run, completing eight laps on the track in 4:12.50 and missing All-UAA honors by 0.25 seconds. Crowley was the third leg of the distance medley relay that placed fifth in 10:21.49 and ended the meet by leading off the 4x400-meter relay that placed fifth in 3:28.01. Crowley ranks 38th nationally and second regionally with his time in the mile and the distance medley relay has the 58th-fastest time nationally and seventh-best time regionally. The Spartans finished fifth in the conference with 43.5 points.

Junior outfielder Nylah Durham (softball) led the Spartans with a .400 batting average during the team's 4-0 season-opening weekend in Washington, D.C. Durham went 4-for-10 at the plate, scoring once and driving in two runs. She also stole five bases in five attempts and ended the weekend with a .455 on-base percentage and .400 slugging percentage. Durham went two-for-three in the first game of the season, a 4-3 extra-inning win over Catholic, with a stolen base. She went one-for-two on Saturday and Sunday, driving in runs in each of the games and stealing three bases in a 5-2 win over Roanoke to conclude the set. CWRU opened the season with a 4-0 record for the first time in three years.

The Spartans will travel to Florida for spring break next week, beginning with a pair of contests on Sunday, March 8 against Lake Forest and Alfred in Clermont. CWRU will play 10 games across six days in the Orlando area.

Graduate student guard Ethan Edwards (men's basketball) led the Spartans to a 93-83 win over Carnegie Mellon University with a 32-point effort in the final game of his collegiate career on Saturday. Edwards played 35 minutes in the game, making 10-of-21 shots overall, six-of-15 from three-point range, and six-of-six from the free throw line. He also matched his own program record with seven steals in the game and added two assists, four rebounds, and a block. Edwards scored in double figures in each of the final 17 games of the season for the Spartans, averaging 23.5 points during the stretch. Saturday marked his fourth game of 30 or more points this year and his ninth effort with at least 20 points, and he ended the season leading the team with 20.1 points per contest. The Spartans concluded the season with a 12-13 overall record and finished tied for sixth in the UAA standings with a 4-10 conference ledger.

First-year first baseman Tucker Greer (baseball) made the first three starts of his career this weekend, leading the team with four hits and two RBI during the weekend. Greer batted .333 (4-for-12) with a .583 slugging percentage and a .385 on-base percentage. He added a run scored, in addition to notching a double and a triple during the weekend. His highlight performance of the weekend came during the team's 5-1 win over Washington & Jefferson College on Saturday, during which he went three-for-four with a double, a triple, an RBI, and a run scored. Greer is batting .385 with two doubles, a triple, and two runs batted in this season. The Spartans have opened the campaign with a 4-2 record.

CWRU will return home to host a single game against Oberlin College on Wednesday, March 4, at Nobby's Ballpark in Cleveland. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Senior pitcher Devanghi Misra (softball) went 1-0 with a pair of solid starts for the Spartans during the team's 4-0 opening weekend in Washington, D.C. Misra finished the weekend with a 1.27 earned run average, striking out 14 batters in 11 innings. She was given the start in the team's opening contest, allowing no earned runs in six innings with seven strikeouts in an eventual extra-inning win over Catholic. On Sunday, Misra went five innings in a 5-2 victory over Roanoke, earning the win in the circle by allowing just two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts. 

Senior guard/forward Emily Plachta (women's basketball) scored a career-high 31 points to lead the Spartans to a 68-59 win over Carnegie Mellon University in the final game of her collegiate career on Saturday. Plachta did not come out of Saturday's game, playing all 40 minutes and making a career-high 10 shots on 15 attempts, including all three of her long-range attempts, while adding five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and a block. Plachta finished the year averaging a team-high 15.7 points with 7.0 rebounds per game, while also pacing the squad with 32 blocks. The Spartans ended their season with an 11-14 overall record and tied for sixth place in the UAA with a 4-10 conference ledger.

Junior infielder Karen Potts (softball) reached base in all four games for the Spartans during their 4-0 season-opening weekend in Washington, D.C. She finished the weekend with a .333 batting average (4-for-12), .467 on-base percentage, and .500 slugging percentage, hitting two doubles, scoring six runs, driving in three, and stealing five bases in as many attempts. On Friday, she scored a run and had an RBI in a 4-1 win over Roanoke. She followed that with a two-for-three performance on Saturday against Catholic, scoring three times and contributing two RBI in a 10-4 victory. Potts closed the set by stealing three bases and scoring twice in a 5-2 victory over Roanoke on Sunday. She leads the team in walks, steals, runs scored, and doubles. CWRU opened the season with a 4-0 record for the first time in three years.

Junior guard Julian Scott (men's basketball) had a career day for the Spartans during the team's 93-83 win over Carnegie Mellon University on Saturday. Scott played 27 minutes off the bench to score a career-high 21 points, shooting nine-of-12 from the floor and one-of-two from three-point range. He added eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the game. He finished the season averaging 5.4 points, 2.6 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game.

Junior right-handed pitcher Tyler Stillson (baseball) pitched the program's first nine-inning complete game in nearly two years during the team's 5-1 win over Washington & Jefferson College on Saturday. Stillson shut out the Presidents through the first eight and two-thirds innings before an error resulted in an unearned run. He allowed just three hits and two walks in the game, while striking out a career-high 11 batters. Stillson has won both of his starts this season, allowing just the one unearned run through 14.0 innings with 21 strikeouts and holding opponents to a .106 batting average. 

Senior Katalina Wang (women's tennis) won all three of her matches for the 18th-ranked Spartans during the team's 1-1 weekend. In a 7-0 home sweep on Saint Mary's on Friday night, Wang prevailed 6-0, 6-1 at first singles over Emma Kealy. On Sunday afternoon in Pennsylvania, she partnered with graduate student Hannah Kassaie to upset eighth-ranked nationally Trinity Levy and Rosabella Andrade of 11th-ranked Trinity, 6-1, at first doubles. Wang followed that with a gritty 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 victory at second singles over Andrade, who is ranked 28th nationally for singles play. CWRU fell to the Tigers 5-2 in a marathon match. Wang improved to 15-2 this season in singles play and 12-6 in doubles play, including fall matches. The Spartans moved to 5-2 with the weekend split.

The Spartans will take about three weeks off from intercollegiate competition before heading to Christopher Newport University for the Blue Gray Invite. CWRU will take on 17th-ranked Williams on Saturday, March 21 and 12th-ranked Johns Hopkins on Sunday, March 22.

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)
March 2: Mathew Gummere (wrestling) & Gianna Phipps (women's track and field)