FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sharks claimed inaugural
conference title last fall

WINTHROP, Mass. – Simmons College has been selected first in the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Field Hockey Preseason Poll, as voted upon by the league's head coaches. The GNAC league office handed down the announcement on Thursday.

The Sharks received four first-place votes and 46 points overall in the preseason ledger, while Saint Joseph's College of Maine finished second with 39 points and a pair of first-place votes.

Saint Joseph's went a perfect 6-0 in GNAC regular-season play last fall – the first season in which the conference sponsored field hockey – but the Monks fell to Anna Maria College, 1-0, in the 2014 GNAC Tournament Semifinals.

Anna Maria, which finished third in this year's preseason poll with 33 points, went on to fall to Simmons in the GNAC Championship contest.

Johnson & Wales University finished fourth in the voting with 31 points and one first-place tally.

Making up the remainder of the poll was Lasell College in the fifth spot with 25 points, Rivier University with 14 points and Mount Ida College with eight points.

Four GNAC teams will be in action next week on Tuesday, September 1. Conference action will begin on Saturday, Sept. 12 and the six-team GNAC Tournament is scheduled to begin with first-round action on Saturday, October 31.

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

2015 GNAC Field Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Simmons (4) - 46 
2. Saint Joseph's of Maine (2) - 39 
3. Anna Maria - 33 
4. Johnson & Wales (1) - 31 
5. Lasell - 25
6. Rivier - 14
7. Mount Ida – 8

– #theGNAC –