By Evan Doan, Reporter
Aquinas Women’s Volleyball wins the WHAC Conference Championship – Photo by Aquinas Volleyball
The fall regular season for athletics has come to a close and with that starts conference playoffs in which national tournament bids were up for grabs. Multiple Aquinas teams made conference tournaments with both cross country teams performing well in their conference meet.
Women’s volleyball were both WHAC tournament champions and regular season champions two years in a row. The Saints did not lose a set during their dominant tournament run sweeping Siena Heights, Rochester Christian and Cornerstone. The Saints also went a perfect 18-0 in conference play during the regular season. Three Saints captured player of the year awards; Lauren Chioni player of the year, Bella Holmes libero of the year and Natalie West newcomer of the year. Four Saints were named to the all conference first team and one to the second team.
“As a senior reflecting back on the teams I’ve been a part of, this one has a special place in my heart,” Chloe Hogarth, senior, said. “The depth of skill on this team is unmatched to any [team] in our conference. Our bond to push one another to be the best version of ourselves on and off the court is truly what makes us so amazing.” Women’s volleyball will host Lindsey Wilson Saturday at home in the first round of the national tournament.
The Women’s Cross Country team finished second at the WHAC conference meet. Madison Rempalski led the Saints with a third place finish individually. Madi Rempalski and Amber Koole were named to the first team all conference with Ella Koons being named to the second team. The Saints earned an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championship held in Tallahassee Florida.
Women’s Cross Country Earns an at-large bid to NAIA Nationals – Photo by Aquinas Athletics
The Women’s Soccer team also earned an auto bid to the national tournament through their play during the WHAC conference tournament. The Saints started the tournament with a 2-0 win over cross town rival Cornerstone University. The Saints would then avenge their regular season loss to Lourdes University when they traveled to Sylvania Ohio and came home with a 1-0 victory. The Saints would battle hard in the WHAC championship against the University of Northwestern Ohio, but would ultimately fall 1-0 to the Racers. The Saints travel to Indianapolis, IN Nov 20th to play St. Ambrose in the first round of the national tournament.
The Men’s Cross Country team finished third in the WHAC conference meet. The team earned an at-large bid to the NAIA national championship meet in Tallahassee. Andrew Stern finished 6th individually earning him first team all conference honors. Brian Longlios, Shema Reponse, and Juan Davis Hernandez Avila all earned second team all conference honors.
“None of the guys were overly satisfied with our performance,” Carson Lafferty, senior, said. “It left a bad taste in our mouths, but we are looking forward to having one last race and an opportunity to prove ourselves and have our best race of the season down in Florida.”
Men’s Rugby finished their season with a 32-12 win over Iowa Central Community College to finish third in the Big Rivers Rugby Conference. The Saints went 8-2 on the season highlighted by a 50-3 win over Grand Valley State University and a 42-15 win vs Drury University which earned them a first round bye in the conference tournament. The Men’s Rugby team now looks toward the spring and the start of Rugby 7s season.
The Saint 