After finishing their previous seasons with losing records, the Case Western Reserve University men’s and women’s basketball teams look to bounce back from their struggles.
The men’s team finished last season with a 9-16 overall record, including a 5-9 record in UAA play, while the women’s team are coming off the heels of a 7-18 record, securing just two wins in their 14 conference matchups.
While the previous season may not have been up to the men’s team’s standards, fourth-year guard and co-captain Anand Dharmarajan is nonetheless optimistic about the 2025 season.
“I’m very excited for this season,” Dharmarajan said. “I think we have a really good team with a lot of guys who play well together and have high hopes for our season.”
This year’s roster marks a major shakeup for the team, with 12 first-years making their collegiate debut in addition to three upperclass transfers. Eight players from last year’s roster are making a return for 2025, including three prior starting players. Two additional players will be returning to the squad after missing out on the 24-25 campaign due to injury: third-year forward Ethan Nowak and second-year guard Henry Stowell.
One of the team’s biggest challenges this season is the loss of several key players from last year’s roster. This list includes former co-captains forward Umar Rashid and guard Sam Trunley, the latter of whom set program records for points in a single season and game last year.
“Losing [Trunley and Rashid] hurts obviously because those guys were such huge parts of the program. But the freshman class is really good and that’s every one of them,” Dharmarajan said. “I think you’ll continue to see a lot of those guys playing and maybe some new freshmen start playing as well.”
The team has been off to a strong start so far. On Saturday, Nov. 8, the team opened its season with a home game against Houghton University at Horsburgh Gymnasium. The Spartans earned a decisive 99-79 victory over the Highlanders that saw several team members, both old and new, hit the ground running. Dharmarajan and second-year guard Matthew Ellis each scored a team-high 14 points during the match, while first-year guard Shyam Patel began his collegiate career with 13 points to his name. Close behind in points were fellow guards first-year Anestis Hadjistamoulou (11) and third-year Julian Scott (10).
The team’s strengths carried onto their next match, an away game against Penn State Behrend on Tuesday, Nov. 11. While this game was a decidedly closer result for the Spartans as they narrowly defeated the Lions 71-68, it was nonetheless an opportunity for the team to show off their strengths and talents as numerous first-years helped contribute to the narrow win. Notably, first-year forward Alex Vincent led the squad with 24 points scored in only the second game of his collegiate career.
Reflecting on the two matches, Dharmarajan notes his reaffirmed confidence in the team to perform well this season.
“I thought we played well on Saturday and handled business the way we needed to. I feel confident in our abilities going forward,” Dharmarajan said. “I’m really happy with how we played Tuesday at Behrend. That was a great win on the road and definitely taught us a lot about what we’re made of.”
On the women’s team, similar optimistic sentiments were expressed by third-year guard Mya Hartjes in regards to the team’s performance this season. In spite of the team’s overall struggles last season, Hartjes proved herself enough to receive an All-UAA Second Team selection, emerging as one of the top players in the entire UAA.
“I’m feeling really excited going into the season. It’s great to be competing in more games now that we are about a month in, and I think all of our hard work is going to go a long way,” Hartjes said.
While the women’s team roster is not as shaken up as the men’s roster, there are still several differences to be seen. Four first-years will be making their debut with CWRU this season: forward Clara Swanson and guards Christen Banks, Abby Sirois and Ava Jordan. Many of the team’s most notable players from last season are returning for the new campaign, while two players who missed the previous season due to injury—fourth-year guard Maya Roberts and third-year forward Biz Watson—will be returning to the court and looking to make an impact.
“This season, I feel like we are continuing to grow from last year,” Hartjes said. “Everyone came in ready to work and focus on improving every day to the next level.”
This collective enthusiasm from the team was on full display this past weekend as the squad emerged victorious in the MSOE STEM Tip-Off Tournament in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their run in the tournament began with a blowout 81-33 win over the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Friday, Nov. 7, a game that saw several achievements for numerous members of the squad. Fourth-year guard/forward Emily Plachta, for one, scored a career-high 24 points during the match, breaking her previous record of 22.
The momentum continued into the championship game on Saturday, Nov. 8 that saw CWRU overcome Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges 58-51 to win the tournament. Hartjes reached a major milestone by scoring her 500th career point during the game, finishing with 23 points. Plachta added 19 points to her name and earned the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award, and Watson came off the bench to achieve a career-high eight rebounds.
“[Winning this tournament] is really exciting,” Hartjes said. “It’s a really strong start and a great way to open the season. There are a lot of great things to take away from it, and watching film will help us keep improving as we move forward.”
For both the men’s and women’s teams, the end goal is the same: be the best team they can be, putting in the work and effort to make this a reality. With both teams starting the season on a high note after opening-weekend victories, the focus now shifts from celebration to continuation. The early results are promising, but both squads know that lasting success comes from what happens next: staying hungry, holding each other accountable and turning one good weekend into a season-long standard.
The men’s team will be traveling to Waynesburg, Pennsylvania this weekend for the Omni Ink Waynesburg Tip-Off Tournament, taking on host team Waynesburg University on Friday, Nov. 14 and either the University of Mount Union or Muhlenberg College on Sunday Nov. 16. Meanwhile, the women’s team will be returning to Cleveland for their home opener, taking on Adrian College inside Horsburgh Gymnasium on Saturday, Nov. 15.