Over the past five years, the Aquinas athletic department has continued its storied tradition of athletic success in the form of individual national championships, incredible postseason runs, WHAC championships, record-breaking performances, and a tremendous number of athletic and academic All-America honorees.
We wanted to provide our fans with an enjoyable look back at some of the best moments from all of our athletic programs since 2015. Over the next two months, we will highlight a few programs each week - 25 programs in total - and provide a reminder of why it's great to be an Aquinas Saint.
The 2017 WHAC Women's Bowling Tournament was about as exciting as could possibly be, as the top two seeds in the championship competed in a winner-take-all, three-game series which came down to the final ball of each game. When the pins finally settled, it was the second-seeded Aquinas Saints who were crowned the 2017 WHAC women's bowling champions.
Although the finish to the championship run was riveting, AQ's opening match was fairly straightforward. The Saints had little issue as they defeated Spring Arbor by a 3-1 score, which included victories by 66, 8, and 60 pins. However, the next match for Aquinas was certainly much more competitive, as the Saints lost the opening two games to Northwestern Ohio in the best-of-five series. Facing an early loss in the double-elimination tournament, AQ bounced back to convincingly win the next three games by wins of 48, 10, and 30 pins to advance in the winner's bracket.
The victory moved Aquinas into a huge matchup in the semifinals against Lawrence Tech, the tournament's top seed. AQ jumped out to a fast start by winning the first two games, but the Blue Devils responded with victories in the next two games to force a tie-breaking fifth contest. The Saints answered by using their highest-scoring game of the match to notch a 203-189 win and earn a spot in the championship round.
It then took Lawrence Tech five games to eliminate Northwestern Ohio from the loser's bracket, and in doing so, the Blue Devils earned a rematch with Aquinas in the championship round. With its earlier loss, #1 seed LTU needed to defeat #2 seed AQ twice to claim the conference title. Aquinas won the first game handedly (215-155), but Lawrence Tech responded with three victories in a row to win the series and force the 'if necessary' match.
The teams would play a best-of-three series of team Baker games to determine the WHAC champion. Five AQ bowlers competed in each game, with Jacqueline DuCharme serving as the Saints' final bowler in each outing. In thrilling fashion, the championship came down to the last ball of each game, with DuCharme clinching nail-biting victories on her final throws by scores of 179-178 and 197-188. With those two wins, Aquinas had captured the 2017 WHAC Tournament championship.
Allie Neal was one of five bowlers in the league to be named to the All-WHAC First Team, with DuCharme receiving All-WHAC Second Team honors. Neal, Samantha Ternes, and Antoniya Wedge earned WHAC All-Academic accolades and Neal served as AQ's representative on the WHAC Champions of Character team.
Next Moment: Tuesday, October 6th
Previous Moments:
Women's Volleyball: Saints Capture First WHAC Title in 22 Years
Men's Cross Country: Aquinas Men Earn 2018 WHAC Championship
Women's Soccer: Saints Women Pick Up First National Tournament Win
Women's Cross Country: Saints Win 2017 WHAC Championship for Fourth Straight Title
Men's Soccer: Tahlan's Buzzer Beater Stuns Trinity Christian
Esports: AQ Earns Rocket League National Runner-Up Finish
Cheer: Cheer Team Finishes 9th at 2019 Nationals
Men's Bowling: Sixth-Seeded Men's Bowling Rolls to 2015 WHAC Title
Women's Basketball: AQ Women Reach 2019 WHAC Championship, Earn Nationals Berth
Men's Hockey: Men's Hockey Wins 2017 ACHA National Championship
Men's Indoor Track & Field: McKeown Leaps to 2017 Indoor National Championship
Dance: Dance Team Finishes as 2017 National Runners-Up
