Lacrosse Voted Runner-Up in MAC Preseason Coaches Poll

CLEVELAND — The Mid-American Conference announced the results of its preseason poll of the league's lacrosse coaches Tuesday afternoon. Central Michigan landed second in total points (32), tied with preseason favorite Kent State (33) with three first-place votes apiece.

2024 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll (first-place votes)
1. Kent State (3) – 33
2. Central Michigan (3) – 32
3. Robert Morris (1) – 28
4. Eastern Michigan – 16
t-5. Youngstown State – 13
t-5. Akron – 13
7. Detroit Mercy – 12

The Chippewas open the 2024 campaign Friday (Feb. 9) at Butler as back-to-back reigning champions of the MAC tournament, taking the league's automatic berth into each of the last two NCAA tournaments. CMU has posted a 14-4 record in regular-season conference play in support of its postseason success.

Central Michigan will face four programs listed in the preseason Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) national rankings this season, visiting No. 7 Notre Dame (Feb. 11), No. 1 Northwestern (March 3), No. 12 Michigan (March 9) and (RV) Marquette (March 22).

Three all-conference Chippewas return on the defensive end: defender Hailie Moore (Spring, Texas / Klein), defender Jozy Allen (Cincinnati, Ohio / Sycamore) and goalie Alexa Martel (Rochester, N.Y. / Greece Olympia). Four double-digit goal scorers from 2023 return as well: Sadie Hinkle (Medina, Ohio / Medina), Skye DePrado (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny), Makenna Huhn (Parker, Colo. / Chaparral) and Reagan Martinsen (Long Beach, N.Y. / Long Beach). Nine starters from last season's NCAA tournament matchup with Michigan return, seven players that logged at least 10 starts.

Head Coach Emilia Ward's second season at the helm features 12 freshmen representative of her first recruiting class in Mount Pleasant. There are two Michiganders—Alayna Davis (Rockford, Mich. / Forest Hills Eastern) and Margaret English (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Forest Hills Central)—to go with natives of Illinois (2), Georgia (2), Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio and Ontario.

Coach Ward and select student-athletes will be available to visiting media Wednesday (Feb. 7) afternoon from 3:30-4 p.m. as the finale to a spring-sports media opportunity held in the Indoor Athletic Complex adjacent to Kelly-Shorts Stadium on campus. For specific student-athlete availability, reach out to Athletic Communications representative Harrison LaLone via email (lalon1h@cmich.edu).

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— CMU —

Players Mentioned

Jozy Allen

Skye DePrado

Margaret English

Sadie Hinkle

Makenna Huhn

Alexa Martel

Reagan Martinsen

Hailie Moore

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