Worcester, MA- On Saturday, January 28, Worcester State Athletics honored some exemplary Lancer Student Athletes and an Alumnus in a halftime ceremony of the Men's Basketball game versus Salem State. Worcester State paid tribute to the 2022 MASCAC Hall of Fame induction of Eric Swedberg and the participation of Men's Ice Hockey player Max Roth for Team USA in the Maccabiah Games, where the team won the gold medal, and Women's Ice Hockey member Clare Conway who was selected to play with Team USA in the World University Games.
Last summer the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference named Eric Swedberg to its 2022 Hall of Fame Class. The MASCAC Hall of Fame was created to provide recognition to those individuals who have made a significant contribution to the conference. Eric Swedberg was a standout baseball student-athlete for the Lancers, earning All-American honors from 2000-2002, while also being named MASCAC Player of the Year all three of those years. Swedberg was inducted into the Worcester State Hall of Fame in 2007 and was named to the D3baseball.com's All-Decade Team in 2010. He was named ECAC New England Player of the Year at the conclusion of the 2000 season, winning the MASCAC Triple Crown. In 2001 he was named the New England Baseball Writers' Player of the Year.
Swedberg predominantly started as catcher for Worcester State, where he is the all-time career batting average leader at .458. He also holds Lancer records in career hits, triples, home runs, and RBIs, while having single season records in singles, hits, home runs, and RBIs. Swedberg's family was in attendance in the afternoon as he was awarded his MASCAC Hall of Fame Plaque.
Additional honorees during the halftime presentation were graduate students Max Roth and Clare Conway, who were both selected to represent Team USA in international competition.
Roth, a MASCAC All-Conference First Team Selection, represented Team USA at the Maccabiah Games in Israel this summer, an event that runs every four years and is open to participants of Jewish faith from around the world. The gathering of U.S. athletes at this year's event topped out at a number equal to the U.S. Delegation at the past summer Olympic games, making it one of the most widely attended sporting events of 2022. Roth was named Player of the Game for Team USA after his goal against Team Europe in the semifinals. Team USA were the gold medal winners after a 5-1 victory over Canada.
Conway, who was named the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Alliance's Player of the Year last year, was freshly returned from her Team USA participation in the World University Games. She was one of only four Division III athletes selected to participate in the international tournament, held this year in Lake Placid, NY. The World University Games is a celebration of international university sports and culture and is among the world's largest winter multi-sports competitions. The tournament was featured live on ESPN and their affiliates. Conway helped lead the team to victories over Great Britain and the Czech Republic, registering five points in five games.
Conway and Roth are back in action this week when the Men's Ice Hockey team hosts Morrisville on Thursday night at 7pm while the Women's Ice Hockey team travels to Wilkes University in Pennsylvania for a Friday night faceoff at 5pm.