The Thunder Aces, the competitive team from Trine University’s Bridge Club, finished
tied for 14th in an American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) competitive event on April 7.
Team members Erin Boles, a senior from Pittsboro, Indiana, majoring in mechanical
engineering, Brooke Hardy, a senior from Wauseon, Ohio, majoring in chemical engineering,
Allison McCrady, a senior from Lancaster, Ohio, majoring in biomedical engineering,
and Cameron Orr, a senior from Hartford City, Indiana, majoring in chemical engineering,
competed against 31 teams representing 19 colleges and universities.
The Aces begin with an 18-2 loss to Harvey Mudd before winning matches against Vanderbilt
20-0 and a team from the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) 19-1. In
a second round of play, the team defeated another UCSB team 18-2 before falling to
top-ranked Columbia 20-0 and Cal Tech 17-3.
“The students observed last time they were in the bottom half and this time they were
in the top half,” said retired chemistry professor Chet Pinkham, who supervises the
club.
“Not only did they finish in the top half, they tied a very strong Carnegie Mellon
team,” said Stephanie Threlkeld, education and communications manager for ACBL.
