BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. -- The Bears of Bridgewater State University are the pre-season pick to win the 2013 and inaugural Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Lacrosse championship in a vote of the league’s coaches.

Bridgewater State captured six first place votes in amassing 48 points to claim the top spot in the poll, as the Bears captured the New England Women’s Lacrosse Alliance regular season and conference crowns last spring. NEWLA runner-up Westfield State garnered the other first place vote in collecting 43 points in the poll, while Fitchburg State follows in third place with 32 points.

Worcester State edged Framingham State by a point (23-22) for the fourth spot in this year’s poll, while Salem State and Massachusetts Maritime round out this year’s rankings in sixth and seventh place, respectively, with 20 and eight points.

The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, the nation’s oldest Division III men’s and women’s playing conference, has a rich and storied tradition of competitive success while celebrating excellence in the classroom. MASCAC member schools include Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, MCLA, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Salem State University, Westfield State University and Worcester State University.

Two other institutions, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Plymouth State University, are affiliate members of the conference in the sports of football and men’s ice hockey, while Western Connecticut State University will join the conference as an affiliate member in the sport of football for the 2013-14 academic year.

(Courtesy of Jim Seavey, MASCAC Director of Media Relations)