Peninsula Daily News

PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College, with one of the winningest athletic programs in the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC), won’t be competing for a championship this year when the Pirates join most of NWAC for a spring season like no other.

Basketball tips off the 2020-21 season at Skagit Valley on Wednesday and soccer opens play, also on the road against the Cardinals, on April 8. NWAC member colleges will only play in-region, and there will be no NWAC-sanctioned championships.

Peninsula College will live-stream all home games at NWACsportsnetwork.com, as will many of the colleges in the North Region.

“Pushing all sports to spring was really all we could do, and it was the safest possible scenario to get games in,” said Rick Ross, associate dean for athletics and student life. “That’s not a real tall order for us, since we don’t have spring sports, but it’s already been an adventure trying to arrange travel and prepare to host games under COVID protocols.”

Those protocols are evolving almost daily, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve. The NWAC recently updated its plan, allowing limited fans for soccer games and, due to plans for testing, allowing players to compete without masks.

Eligibility

The spring season won’t cost the players a year of eligibility, as the NCAA, and the NWAC, are allowing athletes to compete this spring without it impacting their four-year eligibility. That means fewer roster spots at the four-year level, however, so some of Peninsula’s graduating sophomores are opting to return next year.

The soccer program is coming off a men’s championship in 2019, and a women’s runner-up finish, and looks to be as strong as ever. The women will play 12 games and the men just nine. Shoreline canceled all sports for 2020-21, and Skagit Valley suspended its men’s program for the year.

“We have nine NWAC championships in the last 11 years, and the teams that head coaches Jake Hughes and Kanyon Anderson have this year would likely have brought more hardware home,” Ross said. “I can’t wait to see them play. It’s very high-caliber college soccer.”

The Pirates open their home schedule April 12 against Edmonds.

Basketball

The PC basketball teams will play a 20-game North Region season with no official championship to play for.

“Ali’s [Crumb] team has been devastated by injuries but will still put a quality team on the floor. She’ll just be a bit thin on subs,” Ross said. “And Donald [Rollman] has a great-looking team with size, speed, talent and depth. They should be fun to watch.”

The Pirate basketball team opens at home on April 3 on a night the college will be dedicating its new floor, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to happen during halftime of the men’s game.

Fan cutout fundraiser

NWAC rules currently don’t allow fans for indoor games, so Peninsula is selling fan cutouts to Pirate boosters by going to printedfans.com and looking for the Peninsula Pirate option.

“Coach Rollman set this up. I really hope our fans will get involved and buy a cutout, if not for themselves, maybe for their kids or grandkids,” Ross said. “Our teams are struggling financially, and this will not only add to the atmosphere of the games, but it will help out their programs.”

“We just hope we get to play,” Ross said. “It’s been a grind for everyone.”