Wesleyan Athletes Earn Gold Medals at Maccabiah Games

Former Wesleyan University men’s soccer player Danny Rubenstein ’17 and rising junior Tara Berger ’19 of the women’s basketball team, both won gold medals recently in their respective sports at the 20th Maccabiah Games in Israel.

The games were hosted at Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium and featured roughly 10,000 Jewish and Israeli athletes from over 80 countries. Forty-three sports competed at the “Jewish Olympics.”

Rubenstein—a member of the United States of America men’s soccer team— played in all six contests during the tournament and earned the starting nod after the second game. After going 2-1 during the round robin format, USA defeated Uruguay in the quarterfinals (4-2) and Israel in the semifinals (2-1) to advance to the championship game against Great Britain, who handed USA its only loss. However, USA responded with a 3-0 shutout in the finals to earn the gold.

Rubenstein is the second Wesleyan men’s soccer player to win a gold medal at the Maccabiah Games, joining Jared Ashe ’07 who won in Argentina in 2007. The team was coached by Wesleyan alum, Amos Magee ’93.

Berger—a member of the USA women’s basketball team—competed in all five games of the tournament and averaged 5.0 points per game as USA went 4-1. The team opened with a 101-71 victory over Russia, as the 6-1 forward dropped 11 points, but fell to Israel in its next game, 68-62. However, they responded nicely with a 72-36 rout against Australia as Berger scored 10 points. USA also went on to defeat Russia in the semifinal, 77-63, and avenged its loss to Israel with a 71-61 victory in the championship game.

Berger was also joined on the team by NESCAC counterparts Hannah Fox of Amherst and Ally Silfen of Bowdoin.