Westfield State's Zak Named As 2010-11 MASCAC Male Co-Scholar-Athlete Of The Year

Westfield State University senior ice hockey player Dennis Zak has been selected the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference 2011 Male Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The award is presented annually to male and female senior student-athletes who have excelled both academically and athletically while a student of a Massachusetts state university

Westfield State's Zak Named As 2010-11 MASCAC Male Co-Scholar-Athlete Of The Year
May 26, 2011

Courtesy Westfield State Sports Information

Westfield State University senior ice hockey player Dennis Zak of Dover, N.J., has been selected the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference 2011 Male Co-Scholar-Athlete of the year.

The award is presented annually to male and female senior student-athletes who have excelled both academically and athletically while a student of a Massachusetts state university. To be considered for the award, a student-athlete must have achieved a least a 3.2 cumulative grade point average and be in his or her last year of athletic eligibility.

Zak, a business management major with an accounting concentration, shares the honor with soccer standout Jonathan White of Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

“Westfield State University is proud of Dennis Zak’s accomplishments, both on the ice and in the classroom. He has been an outstanding representative of Westfield State and the MASCAC," said Westfield athletics director Richard Lenfest..

Zak was a key member of the men’s ice hockey team that was reinstituted as a varsity sport at Westfield in 2008 after a 20-year hiatus. He was the 2011 MASCAC player of the year and selected to the New England Hockey Writers Division II/III all-star team in 2009 and 2011. Furthermore, he was a semifinalist for the 2010 Joe Concannon Award as the best American born hockey player in New England Division II/III and was selected the 2011 Westfield State University Male Athlete of the Year.

The talented forward led the MASCAC in scoring (47 points, 20 goals, 27 assists) and ranked fourth national in scoring (1.96 points per game) in 2009. He also led the MASCAC in scoring (42 points, 18 goals, 24 assists) and ranked 11th nationally in scoring in 2011.

Zak, who played his freshman year at UMass Boston, finished his three years at Westfield with 127 points, ranking ninth on the Owls’ all-time scoring list. He ranks eighth in assists (78) and ninth in goals (49) on Westfield’s career charts.

Zak is the 16th Westfield State student-athlete to receive the MASCAC scholar-athlete of the year award since its inception in 1980. Westfield’s 16 scholar-athlete honorees are the most in the eight-team conference, followed by Fitchburg State with 11.