BEVERLY, Mass. – Earlier this week, the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) announced its preseason polls and schedule formats for spring sports. The polls were broken down by pods with the exception of men's and women's lacrosse. Endicott was picked first in the following preseason polls: softball, baseball, men's tennis, women's tennis, and women's lacrosse. Meanwhile, men's lacrosse was picked second in its poll.
The following information is courtesy of the CCC's announcement.
As announced on March 3, the CCC is set to begin its spring season on Saturday, March 27. The Conference is excited that it will be able to provide our spring student-athletes with competition opportunities.
The spring season will feature a modified schedule that is intended to provide a robust experience, while also working to maintain a safe and healthy environment on all of our campuses. While these are current standards, they are still subject to change.
Additionally, the information below applies to the conference schedule. Additional "non-conference" contests against CCC schools have also been scheduled, but will not count towards the conference standings.
Due to the limited competition window and strict testing protocols, conference games that are canceled will not be made up. However, if two teams have a scheduled non-conference matchup at a later date, those games can replace the canceled conference contests.
TEAM SPORTS
Baseball/Softball/Men's and Women's Tennis – Pod Sports
For the 2021 spring season, baseball, softball, and men's and women's tennis will compete in "pods," based primarily on geography.
Baseball and softball are scheduled to play two doubleheaders against each pod opponent. Conference doubleheaders will take place on Saturday and Sunday (except for Easter weekend when games will be played on Friday and Saturday) with teams competing against one opponent during that weekend (i.e. two doubleheaders against the same school).
In baseball, the first game of the doubleheader will be scheduled for seven innings, while the second will be scheduled for nine innings. In the event that the first game goes to extra innings, the second game automatically becomes a seven-inning game. All baseball games will also employ the 10-run rule, which terminates the game if one team is leading by 10 or more runs after seven innings.
Men's and women's tennis will play a double round-robin schedule within their pod on Saturdays. Men's and women's tennis will play identical schedules.
Pod designations and the preseason coaches' polls are included below.
Men's and Women's Lacrosse
For the 2021 spring season, men's and women's lacrosse will play a single-round robin conference schedule.
The men will play conference games on Saturdays with the exception of one midweek game in the final week of the regular season. The women will play conference games on Saturdays as well, but will also have one mid-week game each week.
The schedule difference is due to the fact that the women had a smaller window to compete as the deadline for declaring an NCAA automatic qualifier is a week earlier than the men. Additionally, women's lacrosse needed to accommodate nine teams, while men's lacrosse only needed to accommodate eight teams.
Pod designations and the preseason coaches' polls are included below.
INDIVIDUAL SPORTS
Track and Field and Golf
Generally, the CCC does not schedule "regular-season" contests in track and field or golf. However, the coaches of each sport have worked with the CCC office to schedule multiple events featuring only CCC schools this spring.
Track and field will offer meet opportunities on three consecutive weekends in April based on schools that are able to host.
Similarly, golf will offer multiple opportunities for CCC schools to compete in April based on course availability.
TOURNAMENTS AND CHAMPIONSHIPS
The tournament and championship formats are still being discussed by the CCC athletic directors.
PRESEASON POLLS
Below are the results of the CCC Preseason Coaches' Polls. Voting was conducted by the head coaches of their respective sports. While pod sports were ranked separately, all coaches were required to rank the teams in each pod.
Baseball
Pod B
| Team | Points |
| 1. Endicott | 35 (8 First Place Votes) |
| 2. Suffolk | 26 (1) |
| 3. Gordon | 16 |
| 4. Wentworth | 13 |
Men's Lacrosse
| Team | Points |
| 1. Western New England | 61 (5 First Place Votes) |
| 2. Endicott | 59 (3) |
| 3. Roger Williams | 45 |
| T-4. Curry | 33 |
| T-4. Salve Regina | 33 |
| 6. Wentworth | 24 |
| 7. UNE | 18 |
| 8. Nichols | 18 |
Women's Lacrosse
| Team | Points |
| 1. Endicott | 79 (7 First Place Votes) |
| 2. Roger Williams | 74 (2) |
| 3. University of New England | 57 |
| 4. Western New England | 54 |
| 5. Salve Regina | 50 |
| 6. Curry | 34 |
| 7. Wentworth | 22 |
| 8. Gordon | 19 |
| 9. Nichols | 16 |
Softball
Pod B
| Team | Points |
| 1. Endicott | 50 (10 First Place Votes) |
| 2. Suffolk | 32 |
| 3. University of New England | 30 |
| 4. Gordon | 20 |
| 5. Wentworth | 18 |
Men's Tennis
Pod B
| Team | Points |
| 1. Endicott | 30 (7 First Place Votes) |
| 2. Gordon | 25 (1) |
| 3. Wentworth | 16 |
| 4. Curry | 9 |
Women's Tennis
Pod B
| Team | Points |
| 1. Endicott | 32 (8 First Place Votes) |
| 2. Gordon | 24 |
| 3. Curry | 13 |
| 4. Wentworth | 11 |
ABOUT THE COMMONWEALTH COAST CONFERENCE
The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), founded in 1984, is an NCAA Division III athletic conference comprised of 10 full-member and two associate member institutions throughout the New England region. Its membership aims to provide student-athletes with a positive experience in their pursuit of excellence through high academic standards, quality competition, and meaningful student life. The conference administers championships in 19 intercollegiate sports.
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(Photo Credit - CCC)
