FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2014
Defending champion
Sharks
grab six of seven first-place votes
WINTHROP, Mass. – Simmons College has
been voted atop the 2014 Great Northeast Athletic Conference
Women’s Tennis Preseason Poll, as announced by the league
office on Friday morning. The conference’s seven head coaches
took part in the voting.
The Sharks, who have won six consecutive GNAC Tournament titles,
collected six of a possible seven first-place votes and garnered 48
points in the poll.
In the last fall’s GNAC Tournament title match, Simmons
(14-6, 6-0 GNAC) downed Johnson & Wales University (11-5, 6-1
GNAC), which finished second in this year’s preseason poll
with 39 points.
Suffolk University (5-9, 4-3 GNAC) received one first-place tally
and 38 points from the coaches to take third place, followed by the
University of Saint Joseph (6-8, 2-4 GNAC) with 25 points.
Rounding out the poll was Anna Maria College (8-6, 3-3 GNAC) with
18 points, Albertus Magnus College (4-8, 1-5 GNAC) with 17 points
and Mount Ida College (0-10, 0-6 GNAC) with 11 points.
The conference’s tournament champion will receive an
automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Tournament next May.
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.
2014 GNAC
Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Simmons (6) - 48
2. Johnson & Wales - 39
3. Suffolk (1) - 38
4. Saint Joseph (CT) - 25
5. Anna Maria - 18
6. Albertus Magnus - 17
7. Mount Ida – 11
( ) – indicates number of first-place votes
– #theGNAC –