WINTHROP, Mass. - Emmanuel and Johnson & Wales head into the 2025 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Lacrosse Season as the Preseason Favorites in the North and South Divisions, according to the results of the Preseason Poll, which were conducted last week by the league’s 16 head coaches.

The Saints (North) received 13 first-place votes and the Wildcats (South) unanimously collected all 16 first-place votes in this year’s preseason poll as both were selected to finish atop their divisions. 

Emmanuel finished at the top of the North division last season, compiling a 7-0 divisional record and went undefeated in conference play as well (11-0). The Saints breezed through the postseason, defeating Lasell and Colby-Sawyer, before becoming the runner-up in last year's GNAC championship game. They come in this year with 124 points and look to claim their first conference title since 2014.

Saint Joseph's (Maine) looks to claim their first title since 2022 as they earned a first-place vote, collecting 99 points. Colby-Sawyer comes in third with 94 points while Simmons (2 first-place votes) fills the top half of the poll with 82 points.

Norwich (73), Rivier (48), New England College (36), and Anna Maria (20) fill out the five-eight spots in the North Division in that order.

Reigning back-to-back GNAC Champion JWU was picked to finish first in the South Division with 128 points, collecting all first-place votes as the Wildcats breezed through postseason play, defeating Norwich, Saint Joseph's (Maine), and Emmanuel. JWU clinched the league's automatic qualifier bid into the NCAA tournament but fell short to no. 16 York in the first round.

The University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) collected 109 points to take second place while Regis (93) and Lasell (83) rounded out the top half of the poll.

Elms (61), Dean (54), Albertus Magnus (25), and Mitchell (24) fill out the five-eight spots in the South Division in that order.

The first faceoff of the GNAC Women’s Lacrosse season is on Wednesday, Feb. 19 as Simmons opens non-conference play against the University of Hartford. The first conference matchup takes place on Saturday, Mar. 1 with a matchup between Mitchell and Johnson & Wales. The conference schedule features 11 contests for each team. Each team will play every opponent in their division once, plus four opponents from the other division.

The top five teams in each division at the end of the regular season will qualify for the 2025 iteration of the GNAC Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament, which will begin with a Play-In round (Apr. 24) featuring the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in each division. The winners of those games will advance to the GNAC Quarterfinals on Saturday, April 26. The advancing teams will compete in the GNAC Semifinals on Wednesday, April 30 for the right to compete for the GNAC Championship on Saturday, May 3. The winner of the GNAC Championship game will be named the conference champion and earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship.

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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