WHAC Release
 
As announced on Tuesday (Jan. 23), the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference published the standings for the coaches' preseason polls for the 2024 men's lacrosse season. The Saints have been selected to finish fourth in the WHAC with 56 points in the poll.

Leading the way in the women's poll is Lawrence Tech with 75 points and six first-place votes. Last year, the Blue Devils had a dominant season with an overall of 17-1 and a perfect 8-0 finish in the conference. LTU didn't stop there, as they crowned themselves both the WHAC Champion and the NAIA National Tournament Champions.

The Knights of Marian take second with 67 points and three first-place votes. MU's postseason dreams were dashed by Aquinas in the semifinals of the WHAC Tournament. Knights managed an overall record of 13-5, with a conference record of 7-2.

Taking third in the poll are the Warriors of Indiana Tech with 62 points. The Warriors finished 10-5 overall, and 6-3 in conference. The Indiana Tech season came to a close within the WHAC Tournament as they lost in the semifinals to Lawrence Tech.

With a 12-3 overall finish and an 8-1 conference record, the Saints of Aquinas are seeded to take fourth in the WHAC this season. AQ made it to the championship match of the WHAC Tournament but fell short against eventual national champions, Lawrence Tech.

The Saints saw significant improvement in 2023. Aquinas ran all the way to the WHAC championship match in the tournament and only lost one match throughout the conference regular season, which was the 2023 national champions, Lawrence Tech.

Newly appointed head coach, Chip Vazquez, takes the reins of a talented 2024 roster that sees many returning players after the departure of Angelica Gero.

2023 NAIA Second Team All-American, Kennadie Minerich, returns after being named to the WHAC All-Conference First Team in 2023. This was her second time garnering this award and her first time being named an All-American.

She torched the scoreboards last season, scoring 57 goals and assisting 46 more for 103 total points – numbers that rank 13th, fourth, and fourth respectively in the NAIA. She has 212 career points and is only 21 points short of becoming AQ's all-time leader in points. She ranks third all-time in goals (133) and is already AQ's all-time leader in career assists (79).

2023 WHAC Defensive Player of the Year, Alexis Villarini, also makes her return to the turf following an incredible 2023 season. In 13 games last season, Villarini had 32 ground balls, 18 caused turnovers, and was constantly pressuring the opposing offense. Her contributions allowed the Saints to generate a positive 103-goal differential against their opponents in 2023.

Other key returners include 2023 First Team All-Conference midfielder, Shaylin Rings, and 2023 Second Team All-Conference attacker, Trinity Reynoso.

The Saints will be moving forward without former WHAC Defensive Player of the Year and multi-time First Team All-Conference defender, Carli Taylor. AQ also loses 2023 First Team All-WHAC midfielder, Ciara Davis and midfielder Stella Bottum, who both made significant contributions in 2023.

The start of Aquinas' season is right around the corner as the Saints will take on Northern Michigan University on February 10th. That game will be played up in Marquette, Michigan, and is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm.