🥍 In Today’s Newsletter. Opening Weekend. The Roundup. PAC, CCIW Men’s Preview. MIAA Women’s Preview. Super Bowl Eats.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Seven Nations Army. The White Stripes

📬 Are You Enjoying Our Newsletter. Please tell a friend as we spread the word headed into the season. Thank you.

Well, not really. That was last weekend. But the first full weekend in February means lots of DIII lacrosse on the slate. But be forewarned. Some games have already been shelved due to the frigid weather around the country, including the Ohio Wesleyan-Stevenson and Elizabethtown-St. Mary’s men as well as Salisbury’s women’s contest against Stevenson.

Games of Note (M). Grove City at Salisbury (Fri.); Christopher Newport at Hampden-Sydney; Transylvania at Kenyon; Berry at Methodist; Sewanee at Randolph-Macon (Sun.)

Game of Note (W). Transylvania at Berry (Sun.).

Eastern (1-1) jumped out to a 5-1 lead after one quarter and cruised to a 16-8 victory over DeSales on Thursday in Center Valley. John Tinney found the back of the net six times and added an assists for the Eagles, while Brett Williamson had a hat trick. Jake Hurd led the Bulldogs with two goals and three assists in their season opener.

“Grove City College, winners of six consecutive conference championships, was voted to the top spot in the 2026 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll, voted on by the conference's 10 head coaches. In addition to the poll, the league's Players to Watch list was released Wednesday afternoon. ”

Preseason PAC Coaches Poll. 1-Grove City, 2-Chatham, 3-Saint Vincent, 4-Westminster, 5-Allegheny, 6-Franciscan, 7-W&J, 8-Bethany, 9-Hiram, 10-Thiel

D3Lacrosse Preseason All-PAC. A-JP Rakis, Sr., Allegheny, 34-60-94; A-Joseph James, Jr., Franciscan, 52-15-67; A-Ethan Kurtz, So., Westminster, 49-17-66; M-Jacob Lubawy, Sr., Chatham, 29-27-56; M-Sawyer Strong, Jr., Grove City, 30-15-45; M-Anthony Trella, Jr., Westminster, 7-32-39; D-Sam Stevenson, Sr., Grove City, 18 CT; D-Jessie Corser-James, Jr., Chatham, 34 CT; D-Liam Kruck, Sr., Allegheny, 24 CT; LSM-Nate Clark, Jr., Grove City, 12 CT; SSDM-Jahiem Hawkins, Sr., Westminster, 36 CT; FO-Cody Randal, Jr., Chatham, 58.1%; GK-Garin Ritts, Sr., Saint Vincent, 55.1%

D3Lacrosse Preseason Favorite. Grove City
Preseason Player of the Year. JP Rakis, Sr., A, Allegheny

“A change is in place at the top of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men’s lacrosse preseason coaches’ poll. Elmhurst was selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2026 conference title on Thursday following a vote of the league’s head coaches, ending a nine-season run in which Illinois Wesleyan held the top position.”

Preseason CCIW Coaches Poll. 1-Elmhurst, 2-Illinois Wesleyan, 3-Carthage, T4-Carroll, T4-North Central, 6-Augustana.

D3Lacrosse Preseason All-CCIW. A-Eli Spencer, Sr., Elmhurst, 64-47-111; A-Tim McHugh, Jr., Illinois Wesleyan, 27-49-76; A-Hunter Hernandez, Jr., Elmhurst, 33-7-40; M-Cole Westphal, So., North Central, 19-13-32; D-Matt Koshiol, Sr., Elmhurst, 19 CT; D-Billy McHugh, Sr., Illinois Wesleyan, 22 CT; D-Brady Raczkowski, Sr., Carroll, 25 CT; D-Josh Flores, Sr., Carthage, 26 CT; D-Max Ridenour, Sr., Elmhurst, 13 CT; SSDM-Karsten Nordlie, Sr., Illinois Wesleyan, 57 GB; FO-Tony Vasquez, Sr., Elmhurst, 64.7%; GK-Jake Williamson, Sr., Carthage, 55.2%

D3Lacrosse Preseason Favorite. Illinois Wesleyan
Preseason Player of the Year. Eli Spence, Sr., A, Elmhurst

“The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) announced the 2026 MIAA Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll following a vote of the league’s eight head coaches.

Defending regular-season and tournament champion Hope College was selected as the preseason favorite, with Calvin University and Trine University rounding out the top three.”

Preseason MIAA Coaches Poll. 1-Hope, 2-Calvin, 3-Trine, 4-Adrian, 5-Kalamazoo, 6-Albion, 7-Alma, 8-Saint Mary’s.

D3Lacrosse Preseason All-MIAA. A-Audrey Booher, Sr., Calvin, 58-23-81; A-Julia Brown, Sr., Hope, 74-19-93; A-Morgan Bethard, Sr., Calvin, 39-9-48; A-Izabelle Dominski, So., Trine, 37-9-46; M-Caleigh Randall, Sr., Hope, 36-11-47; M-Ella Spooner, Sr., Kalamazoo, 48-9-57; M-Sarah Bollinger, Sr., Alma, 33 CT; D-Natalie Scott, Sr., Calvin, 27 CT; D-Caroline Curnutt, Sr., Hope, 22 CT; D-Evalyn Bellotti, Jr., Trine, 15 CT; GK-Hannah Rizzo, Jr., Calvin, 43.5%.

D3Lacrosse Preseason Favorite. Hope
Preseason Player of the Year. Julia Brown, Sr., A, Hope

“Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara will be serving a menu that reads like a love letter to the Bay Area this Super Bowl Sunday.

Dig in: Standouts include the Gilroy steak frites ($35), an homage to the self-proclaimed "Garlic Capital of the World", the Dungeness crab "potachos" ($40) — potato chips topped with heaps of crab and white cheddar cream — and the super-hot Chinatown "dawg" ($20) with spicy Chinese mustard and yellow daikon radish topped with hoisin-glazed char siu pork.

Best sips: The specialty drink menu includes nine original cocktails that are twists on classic favorites inspired by San Francisco landmarks and the Super Bowl matchup. Ranging from $17–$20 per cocktail, they include a "halftime show" spicy watermelon margarita that's influenced by Bad Bunny's Latino roots, a "Pier 39" paloma and "Golden Gate" mule made with whiskey, ginger beer and passionfruit.”

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