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 junior Trey Lambright and graduate student Bryce Ware, members of the men's tennis 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.
Ware and Lambright earned all-America honors for the 2026 season following their performance at the 2026 NCAA Division III Individual Championship last weekend in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Seeded third in the doubles draw, the duo bested Pomona-Pitzer's Drew Goldman and Jay Mallampati (ranked fourth in Division III) 6-2, 6-3 in the round of 16, before falling to Gustavus Adolphus' Gage Gohl and Tyler Handorff (ranked 12th in DIII) 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. The duo also went 2-0 at no. 1 doubles in the team tournament earlier in the week, besting third-ranked Ethan Green and Kael Shah 6-2 in the Spartans' 4-3 win over fourth-ranked Denison in the quarterfinals, and top-ranked Advik Mareedu and Caleb Settles 6-3 in CWRU's 4-2 loss to second-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the semifinals. Ware and Lambright, ranked sixth in Division III, finished the year with a 23-10 record together.
The Spartans, ranked fifth in Division III, ended the campaign with a 29-9 overall record.
Phipps claimed All-America First Team honors at the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex in La Crosse, Wisconsin, last weekend. Phipps placed eighth in the finals of the 400-meter dash on Saturday in 55.03 seconds, becoming just the fourth runner in the history of the CWRU women's track and field program to earn All-America honors at the outdoor national championship. She qualified for the final with a time of 55.43 seconds in the preliminary heat on Friday, recording the sixth-best time out of the non-heat winners. The previous day, Phipps placed 20th nationally in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.93 seconds. She secured the best-ever national finish by a CWRU runner in the event.
The Spartans tied for 72nd out of 78 scoring teams at the national championship with 1.0 points.
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
Junior infielder Karen Potts (softball) hit .500 for the Spartans in the Super Regional Round of 2026 NCAA Division III Softball Championship at Broyles Field last weekend. Potts went two-for-four with two singles, a walk, and a .600 on-base percentage across two games. On Friday, she reached in all three plate appearances, hitting singles in the first and third innings and walking in the fifth frame. Potts ended the season with a .426 batting average, .503 on-base percentage, and .823 slugging percentage, starting all 44 games at shortstop for the Spartans.
CWRU went 30-14 in 2026, reaching the Super Regional Round for the fourth time in program history and third time in the last five seasons.
Graduate student Hannah Kassaie (women's tennis) earned a pair of All-America honors based on her performance at the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships last weekend at the Champions Tennis Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In the singles tournament, Kassaie won her first match, defeating Addison Felts of Mary Washington 7-5, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2 in the round of 32. In doubles play, Kassaie partnered with Katalina Wang to beat Kaya De Bruijn and Karina Elvestrom of Gustavus Adolphus College in the round of 16 by a score of 6-2, 6-1. Kassaie ended the season with a singles record of 11-4 and finished her career as a Spartan with a mark of 79-15. Her 79 career singles wins are 14 more than any other player in CWRU history. She went 14-1 in doubles matches in 2026 and 77-16 across four seasons as a Spartan, posting the best winning percentage in program history. Kassaie ended her career as an eight-time All-American, earning singles and doubles honors in each of her four seasons as a Spartan.
Senior Katalina Wang (women's tennis) received All-America honors for her performance at the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Doubles Championships last weekend at the Champions Tennis Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Wang partnered with Hannah Kassaie to beat Kaya De Bruijn and Karina Elvestrom of Gustavus Adolphus College in the round of 16 by a score of 6-2, 6-1. Wang also competed in the singles championship, falling in the first round to top-seeded Matia Cristiani of Babson 3-6, 5-7. She earned the second All-America honor of her career after also winning a doubles match at the national championship last season. Wang ended her career with a singles record of 62-32, the third-most singles wins in program history, and a doubles record of 75-32, the fourth-most victories in program history. During the 2025-26 campaign, she went 22-5 in singles matches and 25-8 in doubles matches.
Case Western Reserve competed at the NCAA Individual Championships for the 11th consecutive season. The program has had two All-Americans in each of the past five seasons and at least one All-American every year since 2018. Overall, the team finished the season with a dual record of 13-7 (.650), a singles record of 145-68 (.681) and a doubles mark of 85-34 (.714).
Junior Santiago Salazar Garza (men's tennis) claimed the first all-America honor of his career last weekend at the NCAA Division III Individual Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Salazar Garza bested Babson's Edward Wang in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) in the round of 32 of the singles draw to secure his all-America status for the campaign, before dropping a 6-3, 6-3 match to second-seeded Michael Melnikov in the round of 16. Earlier in the week, he had a 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over 13th-ranked Ethan Green at no. 1 singles during the Spartans' 4-3 win over fourth-ranked Denison in the quarterfinals of the team championship. Salazar Garza, ranked 25th in Division III, finished the season with a 23-14 overall record.
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)
March 16: Art Martinez (wrestling) & Kate Coonan (softball)
March 23: John Drumm (men's swimming and diving) & Claire Kozma (women's swimming and diving)
March 30: Garrett Myers (men's track and field) & Katalina Wang (women's tennis)
April 6: Santiago Salazar Garza (men's tennis) & Gianna Phipps (women's track and field)
April 13: Anthony DeCarlo (men's track and field) & Josephine Alspaw (softball)
April 20: Ayush Shetty (baseball) & Elizabeth Berry (softball)
April 27: Donovan Crowley (men's track and field) & Gianna Phipps (women's track and field)
May 4: Sophia Becker (softball) & Sean Donahue (baseball)
May 11: Matthew Plunkett (men's tennis) & Arianna Holbrook (women's track and field)
May 18: Karen Potts (softball) & Connor Evans (men's track and field)
May 26: Trey Lambright and Bryce Ware (men's tennis) & Gianna Phipps (women's track and field)
