NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Illinois Wesleyan was predicted to win its second-straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men's lacrosse title based on the results of the conference's annual preseason coaches' poll announced Wednesday.
The Titans won the poll with 36 points and six first place votes following the program's second CCIW men's lacrosse title last season. Illinois Wesleyan earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship following their second-straight conference tournament title last season.
Elmhurst was second in the poll with 30 points and one first place vote. The Bluejays finished second in the CCIW last season, which was the program's highest finish since the conference began sponsoring men's lacrosse in 2015.
Carthage placed third with 27 points following a third place finish in 2018, while Augustana was fourth with 20 points following a fourth place finish last season.
All four programs have qualified for every CCIW Men's Lacrosse Tournament since its inception in 2015.
North Central, Dubuque and Carroll rounded out the poll with 17, 11 and six points, respectively.
Voting is done by the CCIW's head men's lacrosse coaches. Each coach votes for the six other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (six points for first, five for second, etc.). Coaches do not vote for their own teams.
2019 CCIW Preseason Men's Lacrosse Poll
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (1st Pl. Votes) |
| 1 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
36 (6) |
| 2 |
Elmhurst |
30 (1) |
| 3 |
Carthage |
27 |
| 4 |
Augustana |
20 |
| 5 |
North Central |
17 |
| 6 |
Dubuque |
11 |
| 7 |
Carroll |
6 |
2018 CCIW Men's Lacrosse Standings
| Institution |
CCIW |
Overall |
| Illinois Wesleyan |
6-0 |
16-4 |
| Elmhurst |
5-1 |
13-3 |
| Carthage |
4-2 |
13-6 |
| Augustana |
3-3 |
8-8 |
| North Central |
2-4 |
6-10 |
| Dubuque |
1-5 |
8-9 |
| Carroll |
0-6 |
2-12 |
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2017-18 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,100 academic all-conference recipients, 15 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 28 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.