It may be the first Hall of Fame induction for Beverly native Nicole Woods, but it surely won’t be the last. The recently retired field hockey superstar was chosen for the Bay State Games Hall of Fame Class of 2021 and received her award at a pregame ceremony at Fenway Park before a recent Red Sox game.
A multi-year participant in the Bay State Games, Woods fell in love with field hockey during her four years playing at Beverly High and in the summer games. She decided to pursue it in college, landing at Louisville where she graduated as one of the program’s top ten all-time leading scorers. She made Team USA’s U19 and U21 teams before making the senior United States National team in 2017, making 31 appearances and playing in three world championships before deciding to retire earlier this summer.
Joining Woods in the Bay State Games Hall of Fame Class of ’21 was Wally Collins of Collins Sports Medicine, who won the mile at one of the first Bay State Games events nearly four decades ago and has been supporting the Games from a sports medicine perspective for years. The Waltham Recreation Department was also enshrined, for all of their support in providing venues for the Summer and Winter games over the years. Director Nick Abruzzi and his staff has supported the games for more than 20 years.
