SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) has released the results of its pre-season coaches' polls for the Spring 2016 season. Listed below are the rankings for each of Curry College's five spring teams, along with a preview featuring each team's key returning players.
SOFTBALL: 6th of 10
Curry (13-18, 8-8 CCC) head coach Bruce Weckworth's squad returns 13 student-athletes and welcomes in two freshmen for the 2016 campaign. Sophomore Mikayla Lambert (Blackstone, Mass.), who garnered All-CCC First Team honors last season, looks to continue her dominance at the plate this season after batting .379 for the Colonels last year. An All-CCC Second Team selection last season, sophomore April Adams (Burlington, Mass.), led the team with 19 runs scored while batting a solid .360.
Captaining this year's squad are senior Amy Nolan (Norfolk, Mass.) and junior Marissa Bruno (Milford, Conn.). Nolan, the lone senior, looks to lead the young Colonels team to a deep run in the playoffs. Bruno looks to continue to be a tough out against opposing pitchers. She has a career .357 batting average and nine homeruns through her first two campaigns with Curry.
Curry opens the 2016 season with a trip to Fort Myers, Fla. to participate in the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic. The Colonels first game is scheduled for March 14 against Geneva College.
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WOMEN'S LACROSSE: 8th of 9
The Curry women's lacrosse team is looking forward to a successful season in 2016. The Colonels have nine returning players all whom started during the 2015 season. The coaches have also brought in 10 newcomers. The roster of 20 is full of skill, talent, determination and hard work. All of those attributes should lead them to a winning season.
Senior Alexis Cran (Branford, Conn.) is back for her second stint as captain and is joined by junior co-captain Malorie Knowlton (Norfolk, Mass.). Cran has been the backbone of the defensive unit since her freshman campaign. In 2015 she started in all 17 games played. Cran had 26 goals and nine assists for 35 points, 52 ground balls, 63 caused turnovers, and a career-high 95 draw controls. Knowlton's speed and versatility on both ends of the field makes her a big threat. In 2015 she started in all 17 games played, scored 46 goals, and had nine assists for 55 points. She also had 48 groundballs, 38 draw controls and 30 caused turnovers. Cran made the All-CCC Second Team while Knowlton made the Honorable Mention Team.
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MEN'S LACROSSE: 8th of 9
This year the Colonels are comprised of primarily underclassmen and have the luxury of returning an experienced veteran core in addition to the incoming class. This blend of eager youth and veteran leadership has the squad feeling optimistic and looking to push for a berth in the CCC playoffs in 2016.
On offense the 2016 version of Curry lacrosse will return nine out of its ten leading scorers from 2015. This includes leading goal scorer and point getter junior Jack McMenomey (West Linn, Ore.), leader in man-up tallies junior Joseph Grogan (Sandwich, Mass.), and leader in shooting percentage junior Brandon Flaim (Pembroke, Mass.).
The young Colonels defense looks to build off their 2015 performance. A continued strong groundball game from junior Daniel Wise (Smithfield, R.I. ) (37) and sophomore Chris Bronander (Glen Ridge, N.J.) (44) will have a big impact. The defensive unit is strengthened by the collective contributions of sophomores Jack Boillotat (Hanover, N.H.), and Chris McGreevy (Rocky Point, N.Y.).
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BASEBALL: 4th of 9
The Curry Colonels continue to focus on developing a strong and deep pitching staff this year. The focus will be on the backend of the starting rotation and the bullpen. Several first year players will also be asked to pitch on a regular basis. The team also hopes to improve all around defensively. Infield defense will be the key to the success of this year's team. Offensively, Curry expects to have the talent to be a solid contact team one through nine.
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MEN'S TENNIS: 9th of 9
The Curry men's tennis team returns three veteran seniors, captain Toma Blatchford (Westmount, Quebec), Charlie Paltsios (Westford, Mass.) and Michael Mathieu (Paxton, Mass.). The senior class is backed by returning sophomore Andrew Hegarty (East Islip, N.Y.) and freshmen Richie Hefler (Canton, Conn.) and Sergie Evans (New York, N.Y.). First year coach Norm Nguyen is excited to see how his team will compete this season, especially with the mix of senior and freshman classes. The Curry squad is looking forward to improving their record and conference standings.
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