WESTFIELD, Mass. – Three Worcester State University student-athletes were recognized with player of the week and rookie of the week awards for the week of 9/7-9/13, as named by the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Monday afternoon. Two additional student-athletes were noted on the weekly honor roll.
Women’s Cross Country:
Freshman Mia Rogers (North Dighton, Mass.) has been named the MASCAC Rookie of the Week for her performance at the University of New England Invitational this past Saturday. Rogers finished in the top-10 and was ninth out of 151 runners, covering the 5K course in a time of 20:44.
"Mia's race focus this week was to get out faster at the start of the race and pace off the more experienced front runners,” said head coach Gary Jusseaume.
Worcester State completed the race with 86 points, just one shy of the third place (Gordon College), and just five above second place finishers, Endicott College. Five of the six top finishers for the Lancers were freshman on the squad.
“Mia executed that race strategy and ran a more balanced race overall,” said Jusseaume. “She's still in her conditioning phase so I expect more competitive racing from her in the coming weeks."
Women’s Soccer:
Senior goalkeeper, Jillian Witkowski (Leicester, Mass.) was named the MASCAC women’s soccer player of the week for utilizing her defensive tactics in the net.
Witkowski tallied 17 saves with 0.00 goals against average over 200 minutes of play with two shutouts in a 1-0-1 week for the Lancers. Witkowski recorded 12 saves in the 1-0 win over MIT and five saves in the double overtime draw against Clark University.
Just last year Witkowski made the switch from a defender to goalkeeper and has done an exceptional job in the goal with the help of her teammates on defense.
Women’s Volleyball:
Freshman Emily Carens (Northboro, Mass.) was named the MASCAC Volleyball Rookie of the Week, as she posted up numerous statistics at the Wesleyan volleyball tournament this past weekend.
Carens averaged 15 kills and seven digs in two matches for the Lancers. She had a match-high 18 kills with seven digs against Wesleyan University (Conn.) and recorded 12 kills and seven digs against Rhode Island College.
“Emily has come into the starting rotation for us and has done an outstanding job, both offensively and defensively,” said head coach Bernie Chase. “She is a very strong leader both on and off the court.”
MASCAC Weekly Honor Roll
Freshman cross country runner, Michael Ricci (Peabody, Mass.), was the Lancers’ top performer this past weekend at the University of New England Invitational. Ricci placed 13th in the 8K with a time of 28:53. His 13th place finish beat two Mass Maritime runners to gain top honors in the meet among conference rivals.
Sophomore men’s soccer player, Joshua Evans (Springfield, Mass.), scored a goal in the Lancers only game of the week in a 3-1 setback to Trinity College (Conn.).
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