FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WINTHROP, Mass. – Both new to the league, Colby-Sawyer College and Eastern Nazarene College have solidified first-round byes in next week's 2018 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament, which gets underway on Wednesday, October 17. 

Colby-Sawyer, which joined the GNAC as a full core member in 2018-19, and Eastern Nazarene, currently in its inaugural year as a GNAC associate member in both women's and men's tennis, squared off head-to-head last Wednesday with the Chargers prevailing, 6-2. The win gave Colby-Sawyer an unblemished 7-0 in conference action, while the setback was Eastern Nazarene's only loss to date this year, as the Lions are 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the league. 

On Saturday in a pair of GNAC regular-season finales, defending GNAC champion Johnson & Wales University (RI) defeated Regis (Mass.), 5-4, to capture the No. 3 seed in the GNAC Tournament, while Suffolk University handled longtime conference powerhouse Simmons University, 7-2, to capture the No. 5 seed.

As a result, JWU will take on Simmons on Wednesday afternoon at RIC in the GNAC Tournament First Round (2:30 PM) and Regis will welcome Suffolk Wednesday on campus for a 4:30 PM start.

In next weekend's GNAC Tournament Semifinals on Saturday, October 20, top seed Colby-Sawyer will be in action (2:00 PM) at the Winchester Indoor Tennis Center in Winchester, Mass. Second-seeded Eastern Nazarene will follow with a 4:30 PM start at Winchester. The JWU/Simmons winner will face ENC in the semis at Winchester, with Colby-Sawyer taking on the Regis/Suffolk winner.

First Round - Wednesday, October 17 (at high seeds)
Match 1: #6 Simmons at #3 JWU - 2:30 PM @ Rhode Island College 
Match 2: #5 Suffolk at #4 Regis - 4:30 PM 

Semifinals - Saturday, October 20 (at Winchester Indoor Tennis Center)
Match 3: 4/5 winner vs. #1 Colby-Sawyer - 2:00 PM
Match 4: 3/6 winner vs. #2 Eastern Nazarene - 4:30 PM

Championship - Sunday, October 21 (at Winchester Indoor Tennis Center)
Match 5: Highest remaining seeds - 12:30 PM 

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 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. 

– #TheGNAC –