Owls Earn Multiple Academic Awards from IWLCA

WESTFIELD, Mass. –   Westfield State women's lacrosse picked up a quartet of academic honors yesterday, as three players earned spots on the 2022 IWLCA Division III Academic Honor Roll, and the team as a whole was recognized as an IWLCA Academic Honor Squad for the 2021-22 academic year.

Owls' juniors Cassidy Harvey (Niskayuna, N.Y.), Cassidy Connolly (Woburn, Mass.), and Nicole Rinkus (Pembroke, Mass.) were named to the Academic Honor Roll.  To be eligible for this honor, student-athletes must be a junior, senior, or graduate student and have earned a cumulative academic GPA of 3.50 or greater. 

Harvey, a psychology major, finished the year with 33 goals and 10 assists for 43 points, finishing as the team's third-leading scorer while picking up 21 ground balls and forcing 20 opponents' turnovers.  She was a second-team MASCAC All-Conference pick.

Connolly, a health science major and team captain, netted 25 goals with 10 assists and snared 25 ground balls.

Rinkus, a communication major, totaled 34 goals and five assists, with 52 draw controls and 20 ground balls in the midfield. 

The Owls team as a whole performed both in the classroom and on the field.  To qualify for the IWLCA Team honor, the women's lacrosse team must post a 3.2 or higher team GPA for the academic year.  The Owls registered 3.296 as a team.

On the field, Westfield finished with a 12-6 overall record while facing two nationally ranked teams.   Westfield posted a perfect 7-0 record to earn the MASCAC regular season title and the number-one seed in the league tournament before they were upset in a 14-13 loss in the conference semifinals.