Out on the water, recent St. Ambrose graduates Tony and Tim DeVolder are completely at home. With fishing line and a lure guided by steady, skilled hands, the brothers have always loved the thrill of making a good catch.
It was that love and the desire to compete nationally against other colleges in fishing tournaments that inspired them to found the St. Ambrose University Fishing Club in 2006.
Nearly two years later, the club boasts nearly 30 members and at one point during the 2006-07 season was ranked fourth in the nation in the Under Armour College Bass National Championship. More than 30 teams across the country-some in our Midwestern backyard such as the University of Iowa and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale-participated in the competition.
And, in its second year, the club has drawn national recognition, not necessarily through the quality of fish they bring in during tournaments, but by showing what it means to be Ambrosian.
The DeVolders' most recent trip in October to the Arkansas River in a Collegiate Bass Anglers Association-sponsored tournament was fraught with problems. On the first day of competition, their bass boat broke down. They suspected the motor had been overtaxed during practice the previous day, when they had towed another team's dead-in-the-water boat for eight miles. As a result, the DeVolders didn't make it to the weigh-in in time to have any of the the day's catch count toward their total number of pounds.
Since it would have been very expensive to fix the motor, the brothers decided to navigate the river on the second day using only their trolling motor. They caught four fish that day, but with no recorded catch from the day before, they ended the tournament in 19th place.
Remarkably, that didn't really matter to Tim and Tony.
"If I have time, I help someone," Tony says. "I would hope someone, in return, would help me."
Such sportsmanship put them in contention for the Under Armor Undeniable Performance Award.
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