Little East Conference spring sports preseason polls released
PLYMOUTH, N.H. - The pre-season 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 fourth straight LEC 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 Thursday by LEC Commissioner William M. Moore.
The Panther women's lacrosse team, which has captured the first three LEC titles, received five of the seven first-place votes in this year's poll. Keene State and Eastern Connecticut, which finished second and third in the voting, each received one first-place vote. PSU is 23-0 against LEC opponents since the conference started women's lacrosse in 2002.
The PSU men's lacrosse team was picked to finished fourth among seven schools. Defending champion Eastern Connecticut was picked first in this spring's poll, receiving four first-place votes, and last year's runner-up, Keene State, was voted second, receiving the other three first-place votes. PSU tied for fourth in the regular season last year with Southern Maine and UMass Boston.
Plymouth State was the No. 6 pick among eight schools in the LEC softball poll. Defending regular season champion Keene State received five first-place votes and was the top choice in the poll, while defending LEC tournament champion Western Connecticut got two top votes and finished second in the voting. PSU placed sixth in the conference last year with a .500 record (7-7).
The Panthers were picked eighth in the preseason baseball poll. Perennial powers Eastern Connecticut and Southern Maine shared the top spot in the poll, each receiving four first-place votes. PSU finished just behind UMass Boston for the final two spots, which is where the teams finished last season.
The PSU men's lacrosse season opened last weekend, and the women's lax team is slated to begin this Saturday. The Panther baseball and softball squads start their seasons the third week in March at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic in Ft. Myers, Fla.
The complete Little East Conference spring preseason poll results are listed below:
2005 Little East Conference Women's Lacrosse
Pre-Season Poll
1. Plymouth
State
47 (5)
2. Keene
State
40 (1)
3. Eastern
Connecticut 37
(1)
4.
UMass-Dartmouth
28
5. Western
Connecticut 18
6. Southern
Maine
15
7. Rhode Island
College 11
(first-place votes in parentheses)
2005 Little East Conference Men's Lacrosse
Pre-Season Poll
1. Eastern
Connecticut 46
(4)
2. Keene
State
45 (3)
3.
UMass-Dartmouth
31
4. Plymouth
State
26
5. UMass
Boston
21
6. Western
Connecticut 17
7. Southern
Maine
10
(first-place votes in parentheses)
2005 Little East Conference Baseball Pre-Season
Poll
1. Eastern
Connecticut 60
(4)
1. Southern
Maine
60 (4)
3. Rhode Island
College 41
4.
UMass-Dartmouth
39
5. Western
Connecticut 35
6. Keene
State
28
7. UMass
Boston
13
8. Plymouth
State
12
(first-place votes in parentheses)
2005 Little East Conference Softball Pre-Season
Poll
1. Keene
State
59 (5)
2. Western
Connecticut 52 (2)
3. Southern
Maine
48
4. Rhode Island
College 46 (1)
5. Eastern
Connecticut 31
6. Plymouth
State
27
7.
UMass-Dartmouth
13
8. UMass
Boston
12
(first-place votes in parentheses)
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