This past year has been nothing short of an eventful one for the athletics teams of Case Western Reserve University. From strong postseason performances to record-breaking individual performances, the Spartans have continued to show what it means to be Division III (DIII) student-athletes and then some. Here is a look back at some of the most notable events of the 2025-2026 CWRU Athletics season.
Fall Sports
The fall sports teams set a high bar for the year, with the Spartans proving themselves to be among some of the most elite teams in DIII sports. Following a dominant regular season that saw them finish 11th nationwide with a 14-2-4 record, the women’s soccer team was selected as one of the hosts of the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament. Though the team’s tournament run ended in a heartbreaking 1-1 penalty shootout loss to Swarthmore College, the offense was stellar all season, tallying 63 goals total to mark the second-most in program history.
Likewise, the men’s and women’s cross country teams sent three of their most elite runners to the NCAA championship in Spartanburg, South Carolina: third-year Jacob Slater, second-year Donovan Crowley and first-year Francesca Taracila. All three earned spots in the NCAA championship field based on strong performances at the earlier NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship, extending a streak of Spartan appearances at the national level to 22 consecutive years. In addition, Slater and Crowley’s dual qualification marked the first such instance for CWRU men’s cross country since 1994.
Meanwhile, the volleyball team concluded their season with a 17-14 record and a fifth-place finish in the UAA. The last of those 17 wins came in the fifth-place match of the UAA championship, which saw CWRU defeat Emory University in a major upset and claim the program’s first victory over the Eagles in more than 30 years, dating back to 1992.
Winter Sports
Similar success was seen in the winter sports programs. On the basketball court, graduate student guard Ethan Edwards delivered one of the greatest performances in the history of UAA basketball, scoring a program and conference record 54 points during a game against the University of Rochester on Feb. 22. For his performance during this game, Edwards was named DIII Men’s National Player of the Week by the United States Basketball Writers’ Association, marking the first time this honor has been awarded to a CWRU men’s basketball player.
First-year Gianna Phipps, a member of the women’s track and field team, has been breaking records left and right the entire season. Among her achievements, she set a record time in the 400-meter dash at the UAA Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 1 and edged out the previous record in the 60-meter dash, set in 2016, at the Spartan Icebreaker on Jan. 17. These two records barely scratch the surface of what Phipps has accomplished this season. At the Spark Adams Invitational on April 18, Phipps broke a 41-year school record in the 100-meter dash. She also broke the school record for the 200-meter dash at the Bob Kahn Invitational on March 28—breaking a record set in 2011—before breaking her own record during the Spartans’ next two events.
Wrestling also reached historic heights this past season. Fourth-year Art Martinez placed sixth in the 133-pound weight bracket at the NCAA championship, marking the highest placement by any Spartan wrestler at the national level since Isaac Dukes placed third in his category in 2011. This year’s effort also marked the first appearance of CWRU wrestlers at the national championship in 14 years, an effort largely driven by consistent performances from Martinez and his teammates. Martinez himself would finish the season with a 38-10 record, concluding a Spartan career in which he achieved 104 wins, the second-most in CWRU wrestling history.
Spring Sports
The momentum continues into the spring season. The men’s tennis team has been on a roll this season, finishing their regular season with a 24-7 record ahead of the UAA championship from April 23-25 and the NCAA championship in May. Highlights of the season include a deep run in the ITA DIII championship that saw the Spartans defeat then No. 1-ranked Denison University in the third-place match, and an upset victory over then No. 5-ranked Carnegie Mellon University in the final match of the regular season.
Meanwhile, the outdoor track and field season was bolstered by a big accomplishment: for the first time in 20 years, CWRU was selected to host the UAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Welcoming the best athletes in the conference to Cleveland is a massive logistical and athletic milestone for the university, giving the Spartans a chance to showcase their top-level DIII talent right in their own backyard.
Between established upperclassmen cementing their legacies and first-year athletes bursting onto the scene, the 2025-2026 season has perfectly exemplified what the athletics programs of CWRU are capable of. This recap only scratches the surface of what has been accomplished this season, and even more major accomplishments are expected next year.