WESTFIELD, Mass. – After the conclusion of the fall season, Westfield State athletics holds the lead in the 2023-24 Howard C. Smith Cup standings, awarded to the top athletics institution within the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.
Westfield, which has won the Smith Cup in each of the past three years, got off to a strong start in the fall season, earning 65 points of a possible 76 available (85.53%). Bridgewater State currently sits second in the overall standings having earned 73.68% of possible points followed by Worcester State with 56.58% of possible points earned.
The Owls finished no lower than third place in any of the championship sports with men's and women's cross country as well as volleyball earning the maximum points available in their respective sports. Field hockey, women's soccer, and men's soccer all finished second to receive a combined 29 points. Football followed with a third-place mark to rack up eight additional points.
Men's and women's cross country swept the field at the MASCAC Championship meet to earn eight points each for the Owls. The women's team continued their reign of dominance within the MASCAC, securing their third straight conference title behind a second-place finish by sophomore Shea Hamel (Longmeadow, Mass.). Breakout first-year runner Nathan Sylven (Wrentham, Mass.) won the individual title to lead the men's cross country team to their first league title since 2016.
Women's volleyball claimed 12 points after a perfect conference regular season which saw the Owls post a 7-0 mark in conference play to win the MASCAC Regular Season Title. Senior Bridgette McAndrews (Longmeadow, Mass.) played a key role in the team's success, earning the MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year award.
Field hockey tied the program win record by recording 12 wins during the 2023 campaign, placing second outright in the MASCAC regular season standings to add ten points towards Westfield's overall score.
Women's soccer was also second in the league standings, piling up ten points while also defeating Bridgewater State in the league championship game on the road to clinch an NCAA Tournament berth and the program's tenth MASCAC Tournament Title. Juniors' Delaney Parker (Orange, Mass.) and Jaida Cochran (Middleboro, Mass.) along with first-year Tia Tollis (East Longmeadow, Mass.) swept the league's yearly major awards.
Men's soccer and football both saw upticks in their win totals from the 2022 season to drive the Owls point totals further ahead of the other Universities. Men's soccer locked up the second overall seed in the MASCAC Tournament to earn nine points, reaching the conference championship game for the first time in six years. Football improved their win total while finishing in the top three of MASCAC-affiliated teams to rack up eight points.
The Smith Cup is named in honor of former Massachusetts State College Trustee Howard C. Smith, who in 1970, urged the athletic directors of the eight State institutions to hold a series of meetings to discuss the possibility of forming an intercollegiate conference. In June of 1971, Smith's dream became a reality as an affirmative agreement was reached and the MASCAC was created.