Little East Conference spring sports preseason polls released
PLYMOUTH, N.H. - The pre-season coaches' polls have been announced for four Little East Conference spring sports, and the highlight for Plymouth State University is the women's lacrosse team being picked to capture its fifth straight regular season championship.
The LEC polls are out for the sports of baseball, softball and men's and women's lacrosse. The votes were cast by the conference's head coaches, and the polls were released by LEC Commissioner William M. Moore.
The Panther women's lacrosse team, which captured the first three LEC Tournament titles from 2002-04, received three of the seven first-place votes and topped this year's poll. Eastern Connecticut also got three first-place votes and finished second in the voting, while Keene State received the other top vote and finished third. PSU went 6-0 in LEC play last season before falling to Eastern Connecticut in the LEC title game.
The PSU men's lacrosse team was picked to finished third among seven schools. Defending champion Keene State was selected first in this spring's poll, receiving six first-place votes, and last year's runner-up, Eastern Conn., was voted second, receiving the other top vote. PSU finished fourth in the LEC regular season the past two years.
Plymouth State was the No. 6 pick among eight schools in the LEC softball poll. Defending tournament champion Keene State received five first-place votes and was the top choice, while defending regular season champion Rhode Island College got two top votes and finished second in the voting. PSU placed sixth in the conference last year with a 6-8 mark.
The Panthers were picked eighth in the preseason baseball poll. The University of Southern Maine edged out perennial power Eastern Connecticut for the top spot in the poll, with USM receiving four first-place votes and EastConn three. Defending tournament champ RIC got the other top vote and finished third in the poll. PSU is hoping to avoid its fourth straight eighth-place finish.
The PSU men's and women's lacrosse and baseball seasons open this Saturday with road contests, while the softball opener is a week away. All four Panther teams are headed to Florida during the school's upcoming spring break (Mar. 18-26), with the men's lacrosse team going to Orlando, the women's lacrosse team staying in Wellington, and the baseball and softball squads competing in the annual Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic in Ft. Myers.
The complete Little East Conference spring preseason poll results are listed below:
2006 Little East Conference Women's Lacrosse Pre-Season
Poll
1. Plymouth
State
43 (3)
2. Eastern
Connecticut 42
(3)
3. Keene
State
40 (1)
4.
UMass-Dartmouth
27
5. Southern
Maine
17
6. Western
Connecticut 16
7. Rhode Island
College 11
(first-place votes in parentheses)
2006 Little East Conference Men's Lacrosse Pre-Season
Poll
1. Keene
State
48 (6)
2. Eastern
Connecticut 42
(1)
3. Plymouth
State
33
4. Western
Connecticut 30
5. UMass
Boston
17
6.
UMass-Dartmouth
16
7. Southern
Maine
7
(first-place votes in parentheses)
2006 Little East Conference Baseball Pre-Season
Poll
1. Southern
Maine
58 (4)
2. Eastern
Connecticut 56
(3)
3. Rhode Island
College 48 (1)
4. Keene
State
44
5. Western
Connecticut 31
5. UMass
Boston
20
6. UMass
Dartmouth
19
8. Plymouth
State
12
(first-place votes in parentheses)
2006 Little East Conference Softball Pre-Season
Poll
1. Keene
State
58 (5)
2. Rhode Island
College 56 (2)
3. Western
Connecticut 52 (1)
4. Eastern
Connecticut 39
5. Southern
Maine
34
6. Plymouth
State
23
7. UMass
Dartmouth
16
8. UMass
Boston
10
(first-place votes in parentheses)
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