Men’s Basketball
After a pair of losses at the Great Lakes Invitational, the Case Western Reserve University men’s basketball team came back strong with 78-61 over Saint Vincent College in Horsburgh Gymnasium this past weekend. The win ends a losing streak for the Spartans, putting them up 4-3 as the Bearcats fall to 3-2.
From the opening tip, CWRU set the tone as the Spartans scored the first five points including three from free-throws by fourth-year guard and co-captain Anand Dharmarajan. A layup by third-year guard Julian Scott put CWRU up 39-16 with just under five minutes left in the first half as the team jolted ahead to a 46-27 halftime lead.
Saint Vincent opened the second half with renewed energy, trimming the Spartan lead to 51–35 with 16:19 left in the period. CWRU was quick to respond with a layup by first-year forward Alex Vincent and a three-pointer by first-year guard Shyam Patel pushing the margin back to 21 points with 15:31 remaining.
The Bearcats would mount a serious rally later on, cutting the lead down to 8 points with 13 unanswered points, putting the score at 56-48 with 8:23 left on the clock. Patel answered with a three-pointer at 7:30, and added another a minute later to extend the lead to 62-50 with less than seven minutes remaining. The Spartans maintained control from this point, never going below a double-digit lead on their way to closing out the game with a 17-point lead.
Dharmarajan led the team in points with 14 to his name. Patel added 11 points over the course of the game, while 10 points came courtesy of Vincent.
With the conclusion of this match, CWRU now turns its attention to its next match: a road game against Hiram College on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
Women’s Basketball
On the road in Bethany, West Virginia, the CWRU women’s basketball team defeated Bethany College 53-47 on Tuesday, Nov. 25.
Leading the charge was third-year forward Maura Schorr, who posted 17 points and 11 rebounds—her second double-double of the year and the fifth of her career. Fourth-year guard/forward Emily Plachta also notched a double-double with 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, along with contributions on both ends including two steals and two blocks.
The game was neck-and-neck most of the time, with both teams narrowly pulling ahead of each other as the match went on. By halftime, the margin was a narrow 24-21 in favor of the Spartans.
In the third quarter, Bethany took the lead for the first time, overtaking CWRU 31-28. But the Spartans responded before the period ended with a late three-pointer from second-year guard Taylor Angielski and a free throw from Schorr, allowing them to reclaim a 39-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
It was during this final period that third-year forward Biz Watson scored five points to put the Spartans back in front for a lead that they would refuse to give up for the rest of the match. After a brief Bethany free throw, Watson added a putback that extended the lead, as the squad would hold the Bison long enough to secure their win.
The Spartans’s next contest will come on Saturday, Dec. 6 as they travel to Granville, Ohio to take on Denison University.
Swim & Dive
The CWRU men’s and women’s swim and dive teams concluded their 2025 slate at a duo of meets: the Total Performance Invite hosted by Kenyon College and the Phoenix Fall Classic hosted by the University of Chicago.
At the Total Performance Invite—which took place from Thursday, Nov. 20 to Saturday, Nov. 22—the women’s team finished fifth out of seven teams while the men’s team finished fourth out of seven. Among the notable performances for the Spartans during this meet were several impressive times recorded across a variety of events.
During the first day of the meet, fourth-year swimmer John Drumm set a school record in the 500-yard freestyle finishing fourth overall with a time of 4:27.53; the previous record was set by him at this same meet last year. The team of first-year Sohalya Rawlins, third-year Sheila Monera Cabarique and fourth-years Eliza Dixon and Claire Kozma finished third in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:34.09.
As for day two, Kozma finished second in the 100-yard butterfly with a 55.32 time, while fellow fourth-year Mason Bencurik achieved a 1:39.06 time during prelims for the 200-yard freestyle. The third day would see more top finishes for Spartan swimmers, such as a first-place finish by Drumm in the 200-yard butterfly (1:47.69). The team of Kozma, Dixon, and first-years Olivia Jastrzab and Sohalya Rawlins achieved a third-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:28.34). Finally, Kozma finished fourth (50.89) in the 100-yard freestyle. All of the aforementioned times across the meet’s three days met the threshold for an NCAA B cut time, a provisional qualifying standard for the national championship.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Fall Classic saw CWRU send five divers to compete in Chicago. The event was not as productive for the team, with both the men and women finishing in last place out of 10 teams. Some notable performances were still to be seen during this meet, however; First-year Ryan Wells achieved a second-place finish in the three-meter dive and a third-place finish in the one-meter dive. Third-year Jack Rudofsky finished in fifth in both of these events.
With their fall schedule complete, the swimming and diving teams will take a break from collegiate competition before returning to the pool on Saturday, Jan. 17 for a dual meet at The State University of New York College at Geneseo.
Wrestling
The Spartan wrestling team competed at the Baldwin Wallace Invitational in Berea, Ohio on Nov. 22, finishing third out of 13 teams with a total of 151.5 points.
Leading the Spartan showing was fourth-year Art Martinez. Wrestling at 133 pounds, Martinez went 4-0 to win his bracket with two pins, a technical fall and a victory by major decision. He opened with an 18-1 technical fall in 2:09, followed by pins at 1:20 and 4:04, before defeating Albion College’s Cade Odrobina in the final by major decision (14-4).
Beyond Martinez, the Spartans fielded a deep, balanced roster. Four wrestlers—first-years Hunter Keane (141 lb) and Alexander Goldman (197 lb), fourth-year Thomas Wagner (157 lb) and third-year Mathew Gummere (184 lb)—reached their bracket finals, each finishing second. In the semifinals of his weight class, Keane won his team-leading 13th match of the season. Other wrestlers contributed solid efforts, helping shape up a well-rounded team result. First-year Cole Rose (141 lb) and fourth-year Marty Landes (165 lb) both landed fourth-place finishes, while second-year Chase Crutchley (174 lb) took fifth.
Among other accomplishments, first-year Thomas Trout (184 lb) secured the first win and technical fall of his collegiate career while fellow first-year Christopher Bezzeg (157 lb) extended his team pin lead to seven following the two he achieved at this meet.
With these strong showings, CWRU heads into the next phase of the season on a high note. After a short break from intercollegiate competition, the Spartans return to action on Friday, Dec. 5 with three dual meets in Berea that will see them face off against the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Baldwin Wallace University and Wilmington College.