Football | 9/8/2026 9:45:00 AM

CLEVELAND, Ohio (pacathletics.org) - Case Western Reserve University junior defensive back Jake Kavcic (Kirtland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week for his standout performance during the Spartans' season-opening 38-20 win at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York on Friday night.

Kavcic and the CWRU defense held the Yellowjackets offense scoreless until late in the fourth quarter and yielded just 164 total yards of offense (130 passing and 34 rushing) and nine first downs. Individually, the strong safety finished the game with five tackles (four solo), one sack, and four pass breakups (tied for the fourth-most among DIII players last week).

Kavcic, who the Spartans' player representative at PAC Football Media Day in August, also had a 10-yard punt return and a 20-yard kick return during the game.

Kavcic is the first Spartan to be named to the D3football.com Team of the Week since week six of the 2025 campaign, and joins Dan Calabrese (week six of 2011) and the only safeties in program history to receive the honor. A total of 19 Spartan players and two offensive lines have received 28 D3football Team of the Week honors in the 27 years since the award was first issued.

The Spartans, 1-0 on the season, will be off next weekend before returning to action in their home opener against Shenandoah University at noon on Saturday, September 19, at DiSanto Field in Cleveland.

Contributed by Case Western Reserve Athletic Communications