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.
Saint Joseph's, which went 14-3 overall and was undefeated (6-0) in GNAC regular season play under the watch of 11th-year Head Coach Rupert Lewis last season, has been forecasted to finish second this season. The Monks garnered 39 points and a pair of first-place votes in the coaches' poll.
Simmons has been picked to defend the 2014 GNAC Field Hockey Championship after receiving four first-place votes and 46 points overall in the preseason ledger.
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
COURTESY OF GNAC SPORTS INFORMATION
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
