By Evan Doan, Sports Editor
The Aquinas women’s golf team – Photo by Aquinas Golf
The Aquinas women’s golf team kicked off their fall season on Sept. 1 in Angola, Ind. at the Trine Fall Kick-Off Classic. The team earned fourth place overall in the tournament and first amongst NAIA teams.
Chance Fry was recently hired to lead both the men’s and women’s programs. The former Saint played for the men’s program from 2016-2021.
“I want our golfers to compete for championships, but I also want them to look back on their time here and value their Aquinas experience the way I value mine,” Fry said. “If we can build that kind of culture in both programs while competing at a high level year after year, we’ll be building something pretty special.”
Fry was welcomed to a veteran team that saw no members graduate last spring with youthful talent injected into the lineup. The team finished fourth last year at the WHAC championship, their best result since 2023. The team looks to build this fall for a push at a WHAC championship in the spring.
This was a start to a championship push. Aquinas beat fellow WHAC foes Cleary, Defiance, Cornerstone and Rochester Christian en route to their fourth place finish. Senior Jayda Kern led the way with a nine over par 81 to finish in the top ten for the event.
“Our result at Trine was incredibly important for building momentum as we get into the fall season,” Kern said. “We put up a lot of good scores and beat all the teams we will see in the [WHAC].”
3 other Saints finished in the top 20. Freshman Ashlyn Vanderbaan, in her first collegiate tournament, and sophomore Quinn Clement both fired an 83, 11 over par, to finish tied for 17th. Senior Zoey Quinn finished 20th with an 85 to round out the scoring for Aquinas who finished with a team total of 332, 19 shots better than the next WHAC opponent.
Junior Elle Christian played as an independent and notched a top 25 finish with an 87 and junior Ava Clark finished in 47 place.
“I’m super proud of how all of us played and I know we will all be able to use that round as a reminder moving forward,” said Kern.
The women’s golf team is back in action Sept. 13-15 for the Pretty Lake Intercollegiate hosted by Bethel University in Plymouth, Ind.
The Saint 