Aquinas Wins 2026 Men's Bowling Tournament
LANSING, Mich. - (Bracket Results) For just the second time in program history and the first time since 2015, Aquinas College has claimed the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) men's bowling tournament title. The Saints did so in dramatic fashion, forcing the "if-necessary" match with red-hot Lourdes to claim the title. The Saints were the tournament's #4 seed and started the day with a 3-2 win over Rochester Christian. They then knocked off regular season champion and #1 seed Indiana Tech 3-1 to advance to the semifinals. There, they lost a 3-2 match against Lourdes and had to claw their way back to the finals with a win over Rochester Christian. Falling behind 2-1, things looked grim for the Saints, but a late surge forced the pivotal final game and that was all the momentum they needed to earn the conference title.
With the win, Aquinas earns the WHAC's autobid to the NAIA National Championships on March 19-21 at Royal Scot in Lansing.
Indiana Tech claimed top honors in the Men's Reserve tournament, defeating Aquinas in the finals.
Bracket Play (Best of five, double elimination):
Round 1:
No. 1 Indiana Tech def. No. 8 Cleary, 3-0 (214-193, 248-201, 234-176)
No. 4 Aquinas def. No. 5 Rochester Christian, 3-2 (200-180, 187-243, 186-195, 197-164, 220-191)
No. 3 St. Francis def. No. 6 Madonna, 3-2 (191-216, 236-148, 18-=199, 216-203, 202-202)
No. 7 Lourdes def. No. 2 Lawrence Tech, 3-2 (256-199, 170-245, 205-182, 136-254, 222-198)
Round 2:
Upper:
No. 4 Aquinas def. No. 1 Indiana Tech, 3-1 (195-193, 195-199, 182-173, 202-182)
No. 7 Lourdes def. No. 3 St. Francis, 3-0 (191-153, 236-182, 237-178)
Lower:
No. 2 Lawrence Tech def. No. 6 Madonna, 3-0 (206-165, 216-187, 213-185)
No. 5 Rochester Christian def. No. 8 Cleary, 3-0 (225-219, 212-196, 210-171)
Round 3:
Upper:
No. 7 Lourdes def. No. 4 Aquinas, 3-2 (212-240, 201-190, 212-196, 167-255, 222-209)
Lower:
No. 1 Indiana Tech def. No. 2 Lawrence Tech, 3-0 (222-216, 223-193, 215-184)
No. 5 Rochester Christian def. No. 3 St. Francis (205-242, 181-164, 220-203, 203-186)
Round 4:
Lower:
No. 5 Rochester Christian def. No. 1 Indiana Tech, 3-2 (247-243, 201-203, 168-190, 213-193, 208-207)
Round 5:
No. 4 Aquinas def. No. 5 Rochester Christian, 3-1 (211-205, 239-211, 202-171, 226-203)
Finals:
No. 4 Aquinas def. No. 7 Lourdes, 3-2 (210-226, 239-217, 215-183, 218-217, 205-192)
No. 4 Aquinas def. No. 7 Lourdes, 3-0 (212-177, 201-181, 206-173)
Men's Reserve (best of five, double elimination)
Round 1:
No. 1 Lawrence Tech def. No. 4 Aquinas, 3-2 (187-155, 191-176, 203-201, 182-171, 254-181)
No. 3 Indiana Tech def. No. 2 St. Francis, 3-2 (220-191, 182-237, 201-179, 182-238, 201-160
Round 2:
No. 4 Aquinas def. No. 2 St. Francis, 3-1 (189-167, 235-210, 202-196, 191-189)
Round 3:
No. 4 Aquinas def. No. 1 Lawrence Tech, 3-1 (214-182, 266-188, 173-187, 235-225)
Round 4:
No. 3 Indiana Tech def. No. 1 Lawrence Tech, 3-0 (181-157, 160-147, 188-161)
All-Time (seed) Tournament Champions
(seeding is done after Baker Round)
2013: (1) Davenport
2014: (2) Davenport
2015: (6) Aquinas
2016: (7) Indiana Tech
2017: (1) Lawrence Tech
2018: (3) Lawrence Tech
2019: (2) Lawrence Tech
2020: (3) Lawrence Tech
2021: (1) Indiana Tech
2022: (1) Indiana Tech
2023: (3) Indiana Tech
2024: (1) Lawrence Tech
2025: (2) University of St. Francis
2026: (4) Aquinas