All-WHAC Release

Grand Rapids, Mich. — The No. 8-ranked Aquinas women's soccer team received numerous awards on Friday morning (Nov. 3) following the release of the 2023 All-WHAC winners. As a team, the Saints (15-0-3) won a share of the WHAC Regular Season title for a fourth straight season and are gearing up for the WHAC Tournament semifinals this Saturday (Nov. 4) against (RV) UNOH. 

As announced by the conference office, Aquinas picked up two out of the three Player of the Year winners, six All-WHAC First Team selections, two All-WHAC Second Team selections and had a pair of All-WHAC Newcomers as well. That's in addition to the work the Saints have done in the classroom with 11 student-athletes being named to the WHAC All-Academic Team.

Starting off with the most coveted individual awards, senior forward Sydney Shenk was named the WHAC Offensive Player of the Year and Avery Tack was named the WHAC Defensive Player of the Year. This is the first time that either player has been named a Player of the Year. Shenk keeps AQ's tradition alive of winning the past four Offensive Player of the Year awards after former teammate and Aquinas star Hannah Crum had won that accolade in 2022, 2021 and 2020. Tack joins Merin McDermott (2021), Breanna Probst (2020) and Kelsey Duley (2011) in the exclusive club of Aquinas defenders to win WHAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Shenk leads the conference with 26 points (10 goals, 6 assists) so far this season despite playing in 3-4 games less than everyone else. Shenk's 1.73 points per game average is significantly higher than the other top point producers in the conference with UM-Dearborn's Emmi Pinkowski (1.33) and Siena Heights' Parker Cheney (1.32) being the closest ones behind Shenk. In her fourth season with AQ, Shenk has scored 44 career goals — second-most in school history behind Crum (73) — with 16 of them being game-winning goals, which is the all-time record at Aquinas. Her 112 total career points also places her second in AQ's history and is one of just three players ever to reach triple-digits with Crum (184) and AQ Hall of Famer Amy Panse (100).

Tack is a vital cog of an AQ defense that has only allowed two goals all season, the fewest in the NAIA. The Saints haven't conceded a goal since Sept. 7, 2023, at then-ranked No. 24 Campbellsville. Since then, the Saints have strung together 15 straight shutouts for a total of 1,376 minutes of game time. AQ hasn't allowed a goal to a conference opponent so far this season. Tack, a former Grand Valley State transfer back in 2021, has started all 18 games for the Saints this year and has also had her best offensive showing this season with a career-high eight points. She scored goals against Lindsey Wilson, Cornerstone and most recently against Indiana Tech in the WHAC Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday (Nov. 1). Tack has played the most minutes for the Saints so far this year (1,523).     

Along with Shenk and Tack, Kayla Shuk, Ingrid Hentemann, Laia Cunill and Macy Hollingsworth were also named to the All-WHAC First Team. Ariana Garcia and Maeva Lichtensteiger picked up second team honors, while Brittney Probst and Stephanie Ramos were selected for the All-Newcomer team. Shenk and Hollingsworth are both four-time First Team selections. Garcia picked up her fourth All-WHAC selection (three years on First Team, one on Second Team). Tack is now a two-time First Team selection and Shuk moved up from the Second Team as a freshman to the First Team as a sophomore. Cunill and Hentemann get the recognition they deserve with their first nods to the First Team. Lichtensteiger also received her first All-WHAC accolade by making the Second Team.

Shuk has been nearly unbeatable since stepping between the posts as a true freshman last season. The sophomore goalkeeper bolsters a career record of 31-2-3 and is on pace to break the WHAC all-time record in career shutouts (42.5) and wins (47). She is up to 27 clean sheets in 40 career games played after just breaking her single-season AQ record with her 14th shutout this season on Wednesday. Shuk has made 31 saves on 33 shots this year for a sparkling .939 save percentage and a 0.12 goals allowed per game average — best in the NAIA.

Helping anchor the Saints defense alongside Tack has been reliable center back Hentemann. The junior from Grand Haven, Mich., has started 16 games this season and played 90 minutes in the 13 of those contests. In those 16 games Hentemann played, AQ's defense only allowed 37 shots on goal (2.31 per game). Hentemann also picked up her only point of this season on an assist to Sandra Segovia in a 7-0 win against UM-Dearborn on Sept. 27.

From keeping goals out to creating them, Cunill leads the conference with 11 assists so far this season. This is tied for the third-most in a single season in AQ history, and Cunill needs two more to match the record set by Garcia in 2021. She also has six goals this season, including a handful of world-class strikes from distance. She is tied for the fourth-most points (23) in the WHAC this season and has a pair of game-winning goals. In 77 career games at Aquinas, Cunill has 19 goals and 24 assists for a total of 62 points.

Hollingsworth is a regular on the All-WHAC First Team, making her fourth appearance in her fifth season with the team. The experienced midfielder from Grand Rapids, Mich., has played in 90 career games for the Saints — second-most in the program's history behind Crum (108). She has played all 18 games this year and started 17 of them. This season, Hollingsworth has scored six goals and provided two assists. Three of those goals have been game-winning goals in wins over UM-Dearborn (Sept. 27), Cornerstone (Oct. 11) and Indiana Tech (Nov. 1). 

Alongside Hollingsworth in the midfield has been another experienced veteran in Garcia, who has featured in 82 career games with 75 starts. She has scored twice this season against Concordia (Sept. 23) and Indiana Tech (Oct. 28). Her physicality and ability to connect AQ's defense to the offense has been a constant over Garcia's four seasons with the Saints. Garcia is one point shy of reaching 50 points after collecting 16 goals and 17 assists in her career.

Making her debut on an All-WHAC Second Team, junior forward Lichtensteiger has been AQ's secondary goal scorer behind Shenk. She finished the regular season with seven goals and four assists but had a breakout game against Indiana Tech on Wednesday (Nov. 1) with a goal and three assists. That gives Lichtensteiger 23 points on the season — tied for fourth-most in the WHAC. She leads the conference with 76 shots on the year after playing all 18 games so far with 16 starts.

Last, but certainly not least, two Saints were named to the All-WHAC Newcomer team: Probst and Ramos. It's the third straight year the Saints have had a All-WHAC newcomer, as Aquinas continues to build and bring in top-level talent. Probst, a junior transfer from Toledo, has scored five goals and added four assists in 17 games (seven starts). Ramos, a sophomore transfer from Marian, has scored six goals and dished out one assist in 17 games (six starts).

The Saints placed 11 student-athletes on the WHAC All-Academic Team, which are sophomores or above in academic standing with a cumulative 3.25 grade point average and have been at AQ for at least one full year. Aquinas' All-Academic honorees are: Shenk, Cunill, Garcia, Lichtensteiger, Segovia, Alison Bishop, Marie-Louise Abild, Bridget Sherman, Emma Merchant, Katelyn Kahael and Olivia Bowling.

Lichtensteiger was recognized as AQ's representative on the Champions of Character Team, as the Saints' student-athlete who best represents the five core character values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.

Next up, Aquinas takes on (RV) UNOH in the WHAC Tournament semifinals at 3 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 4) from the AQ Athletic Field.