Nov. 4th, 2002 - WCLL Conducts Fall Meeting; Sonoma State picked to "three-peat" as WCLL Champions
San Diego, CA: The 27 member Western Collegiate Lacrosse League conducted their annual meetings at the home of the San Diego State University Aztecs on October 11-12, 2003. All interested teams were in attendance including teams asking for admittance into the League.
Pertaining to division alignment, the Northern Division A remained in tact from the 2002 season. Division A South, was expanded by the upper movement of the University of Southern California's switch from Division B. The Trojans won the WCLL's Division B Championship in '02 and consequently felt that the time was right for them to challenge on the national level.
USC's new coaches for 2003 include Head Coach Jamie Keough (Connecticut College '00) and Assistant Coach Lenny Hirsh (Colgate University '99). Coach Keough noted the move to the Upper Division. "We believe that one of our most valuable assets is our sound organizational efforts that enable us to practice, travel, and perform like a WCLL Division A program."
In Division B North, no changes were made from last season. The changes that occurred were in the South. Biola University was unanimously accepted as a full member after posting a tremendous 2002 campaign. Biola playing under the League rules of a "New Team" last season completed all of their obligations to the WCLL both on and off the field. In addition, the University of California at Irvine (UCI) requested to be accepted back into the WCLL after a short hiatus. The membership also unanimously voted UCI back in as a WCLL New Team.
The League nominations were completed and Gary Podesta (Santa Clara University) was elected Vice President and Dick Flory was elected as WCLL Secretary once again.
It was announced that the WCLL Championship weekend, April 26-27, will be awarded to Sonoma State University. Located in the wine country of Northern California, SSU has agreed to host the semi-finals and finals for both Division A and B. The League annually rotates the location of the Championships from North to South.
Treasurer Andy Snaider had the Treasurer's Report handed out in his absence. It was discussed and approved. A progress report on the WCLL's incorporation and adoption of the new WCLL's Bylaws were discussed and approved.
In other news, President Mike Annala announced the appointment of Mickey-Miles Felton as the WCLL Director to the USLIA. "I have every confidence that as a founding member of the WCLL and the USLIA, Mickey-Miles will provide perspective and leadership in his role as director" Annala commented. He went on to mention that "Mickey has been a part of the lacrosse community for more than 25 years and his imprint on the game in the west cannot be overstated."
The WCLL Pre-Season Poll features the USLIA's 2002 National Champion, Sonoma State University, at the top slot. Even with the change in mascots from Cossacks to Seawolves, USLIA Coach of the Year Doug Carl remains humble to the team's success as both he and General Manager Mike Annala could only talk about their pride in the Program. Mike's quote after last year's Championship game was, "We've been here four times. Each time we've come up short. This championship is not only for the kids out there today, but also for all of the tremendous coaches and players that have contributed to this program. We were undefeated in the USLIA, we won our league for the second time, and this is our twenty-first straight win. This has been a dream year."
It was noted during the meeting that a record five additional WCLL teams got the invite to the 16-team field at the National Championships in St. Louis. UCSB finished third nationally, Cal-Poly SLO made their first appearance in St. Louis, and Stanford, Cal-Berkeley, & Arizona made return visits to the National Championships.
Finally, it was noted that long time League Secretary, Dick Flory was acknowledged by the USLIA for his years of distinguished commitment to both the WCLL and his impact on the other Leagues. For his continued efforts on behalf of the WCLL/USLIA, Flory was award the 2002 Sam Sadtler Service Award.
Western Collegiate Lacrosse League
2003 Pre-Season Top 10 Poll
1. Sonoma State University (23 1st place votes) - 266 points
2. UC-Santa Barbara (UCSB)(3 1st place votes) - 228 points
3. Arizona (1 1st place vote) - 203 points
4. Stanford - 174 points
5. Cal Poly SLO - 159 points
6. California - 132 points
7. UCLA - 103 points
8. Chapman - 50 points
9. UC-San Diego (UCSD) - 40 points
10. Chico State - 38 points
Other teams receiving votes: University of Southern California (26), Loyola Marymount University (19), Pepperdine University (19), Arizona State University (13), UC Davis (7), San Diego State University (5), Santa Clara University (5), Claremont Men's Colleges (4), Saint Mary's College (1).
Western Collegiate Lacrosse League
2003 League Alignment
Division A North
California (CAL)
Chico State (CHICO)
Cal Poly SLO (CPSLO)
Santa Clara University (SCU)
Sonoma State University (SSU)
Stanford University (SU)
University of California, Davis (UCD)
Division A South
Arizona (ARIZ)
Arizona State University (ASU)
Chapman University (CHAP)
Loyola Marymount University (LMU)
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)
University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
University of Southern California (USC)
Division B North
CSU, Hayward (CSUH)
Humboldt State University (HSU)
University of Nevada, Reno (NEV)
University of Pacific (PAC)
St. Mary's College (STMC)
Division B South
Biola University (BIOLA)
Claremont Men's Colleges (CLAR)
Occidental College (OXY)
Pepperdine University (PU)
University of San Diego (SD)
San Diego State University (SDSU)
University of California, Irvine (UCI)
The Western Collegiate Lacrosse League (WCLL) is a collegiate lacrosse club league based in California, Arizona, and Nevada. The WCLL is one of nine leagues nationwide that is affiliated with the US Lacrosse Men's Division Intercollegiate Associates. Currently, the WCLL consists of 27 collegiate lacrosse clubs in the Western United States. For more information on the WCLL, please visit the official league web site at:
http://www.wcll.com/
Contact: Mickey-Miles Felton: (520) 290-1101, laxcats@aol.com