SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) has released the results of its pre-season coaches' polls for the Fall 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.

Women's Soccer: 8th of 10

Curry head coach Jason Tassinari returns for his fifth season at the helm of the Colonels. In his first season at Curry in 2012, the team improved by three wins. In 2013, the team qualified for the CCC tournament. In 2014, the Colonels notched 11 wins, the most the program has achieved since 2008. Last year, the Colonels continued their steady progress going 13-6-2, and earning an ECAC tournament bid.

Curry will be a veteran team, relying heavily on the team's strong defense and last year's point-leader, senior captain Kaitlyn Lima (New Bedford, Mass.).  Other returning contributors will be senior captain Kelly Parker (Branford, Conn.), junior captain Abby Ford (Halifax, Mass), senior Briana Fitzsimmons (East Haven, Conn.) and junior captain Korinna Tsonis (Dartmouth, Mass.). Senior Morgan Stott (Dartmouth, Mass.) will once again be the team's starting goalkeeper as Curry looks to improve on a successful 2015 campaign.

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Men's Soccer: 8th of 10

Curry tenth-year head coach Peter Mendel and the Colonels return a young but experienced 2016 squad. Offensively, Curry returns sophomore forward Tristan Eckert (Weaverville, N.C.) who finished last season with 11 total points on four goals and three assists and junior Ben Silvia (Dartmouth, Mass.), returns from a season ending injury looking for a breakout year. Seniors Steven DePina (Stoughton, Mass.) and Roy Butlin (Milton, Mass.) will look to lead the midfield for the Colonels. Junior defenders Giancarlo Orsini (Watertown, Conn.) and Eric Miller (Hanover, Mass.) will anchor the backline, and senior goalkeeper Dan Johnson (Easton, Conn.) will look to continue his solid play in between the posts as the Colonels seek to move up the conference ranks.   

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Women's Volleyball: 8th of 10

Curry will look to improve upon last year's success which saw its best overall record at 10-14 and conference record at 2-6. The Colonels will look for offensive leadership from their three experienced seniors: setters Makayla Hughes (Franklin, N.H.) and Alyssa Keeney (Coventry, Conn.), and outside hitter Nicole Grambley (North Attleboro, Mass.). Incoming juniors Courtney Carroll (Fairhaven, Mass.) and Janine Medina(Pawtucket, R.I.) will continue to lead the team defensively as libero and defensive specialist, respectively, and classmate Nicole Rice (Woburn, Mass.) returns to her starting position as middle blocker; as well as come-back of junior outside hitter Elaina Morrison (Kingston, Mass.) after missing the second half of the season due to medical issues. Sophomore Grace Stafford (West Yarmouth, Mass.) will continue her all-around play and classmate Angie Johns (Burrillville, R.I.) will look to gain experience as an outside hitter.  The Colonels are also looking forward to the addition of several talented freshmen.

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Women's Tennis: 9th of 9

With coach Norm Nguyen in his second season, the women's tennis team at Curry College will look to make a make a splash this year by bringing in several new players to its line-up. Captains Kayla Prete (Orange, Conn.) and Laura Ferris (Shelton, Conn.) will look to bring back the surge of energy seen last year, while key returning players will provide depth for this young squad.  Newcomers Keeley Hardy, Kathleen Giffels, Taylor Johnson, Kendra DaSilva and Alexis McLea-Perry will have their opportunity to make an impact on this team this Fall.  2016 will prove to be an exciting one for the school and its tennis teams.

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