FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WINTHROP, Mass. – After capturing its first-ever Great Northeast Athletic Conference title in program history a year ago, head coach Lisa Lopes and Johnson & Wales University (RI) have taken home the No. 1 spot in the 2022 GNAC Field Hockey Preseason Poll, it was announced on Thursday morning. 

Following the 2020 missed COVID-19 season, last fall JWU went 10-1 in GNAC play en route to the No. 2 seed in the GNAC Tournament, where the Wildcats took down (then) four-time defending GNAC champ Saint Joseph's College of Maine in the semifinals before topping Colby-Sawyer College on the road in the conference title game. 

While the Wildcats were bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, they lost by a mere 1-0 final at Tufts in the 57th minute after carrying a 15-game win streak into the big dance. 

JWU received half of the 12 first-place votes to lead the way in the preseason poll, while Saint Joseph's of Maine finished second with three first-place votes and 127 points in the voting. Under longtime head coach Rupert Lewis, the Monks won four straight GNAC crowns from 2016-19 and own a 35-4 GNAC record the past five seasons combined.

Colby-Sawyer earned the top seed in the 2021 GNAC Tournament by virtue of defeating JWU in the regular season, as the Chargers garnered two first-place votes and 124 points in the 2022 poll voting under head coach Emily Dewdney. 

Simmons University, which won GNAC titles in 2014 and 2015, finished fourth in the poll with 104 points, while Lasell University finished fifth with 87 points. Elms College finished with 79 points and one first-place tally to take the sixth spot.

Also featured in the poll were Anna Maria College (71 points), Rivier University (70), University of Saint Joseph (CT) (48), Regis College (45), Dean College (29), and Albertus Magnus College (14). 

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 3,500 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

– #TheGNAC –