Former Spartan great Thea Aspiras enters her second year with the Norfolk State bowling program in 2020-21. After serving as an assistant coach during the 2019-20 season, she was promoted to interim head coach following the retirement of longtime head coach Wilhelmenia Harrison.
A 2019 inductee into the NSU Athletics Hall of Fame and a former All-American, Aspiras ranks as the most decorated bowler in school history.
She competed for the Spartan program for four seasons from 2010-14. She was named second-team All-American her freshman year in 2011 and honorable mention as a junior in 2013. Aspiras was voted to the All-MEAC first team all four seasons, winning the league’s Rookie of the Year award in 2011. She also earned the NSU Athletic Department’s Female Athlete of the Year Award in 2011 and ’12.
She led Norfolk State to Southern Division titles all four seasons and to a MEAC title in 2012, the program’s only conference championship. She earned five tournament MVP awards, including twice at the prestigious Kutztown Invitational as well as at the 2012 MEAC tournament. Aspiras owns the school record for career average (198.0) and average in a season (201.7 in 2012-13). She became the first bowler to earn a spot in the NSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Aspiras served as an intern with Analynix, LLC from 2012-17, where she helped to manage the bowling pro shop floor and provide customer service. She also helped design the business’ logo and website. She still works as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator for a variety of business needs.
From 2017-19, she was co-owner of Sumptuous Centerpiece Cakes, LLC, where she created the company’s brand, website and social media while also managing cake designs and cake decorations. She also spent time in 2019 as a bowling lane technician at NSU’s Spartan Lanes, helping to run the eight-lane, on-campus alley and all bowling events on a day-to-day basis.
Aspiras continued her bowling career in adult leagues after graduating from Norfolk State.
She received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with a specialty in graphic design from NSU in the spring of 2014, graduating with honors. Aspiras was a four-time NTCA All-Academic honoree, including national first-team honors as a freshman. She later earned a masters in business administration with a specialty in marketing from Regent University in 2018.
