WINTHROP, Mass. – Emmanuel College has claimed the top spot in the 2015 GNAC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the conference office on Thursday morning. The Saints garnered eight of a possible 10 first-place votes and received 98 points overall in the voting by the league's head coaches.
After posting a 15-3 overall record and perfect 10-0 mark in league play last season, the Saints went on to win the GNAC Tournament crown before falling to Wheaton (Mass.) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Norwich University (8-5, 7-3 GNAC), which won three straight GNAC Tournaments from 2010-12, finished second in the poll with 80 points and one first-place vote. Saint Joseph's College of Maine (12-8, 8-2 GNAC) placed third with 71 points, just one point ahead of fourth-place Lasell College's (9-8, 7-3 GNAC) 70 points. Simmons College (7-7, 6-4 GNAC) rounded out the top-five in the poll with 65 points.
Last spring, Saint Joseph's (Maine) upended Norwich in the GNAC Tournament semifinals, while Lasell and Simmons both fell in the quarterfinal round.
Johnson & Wales University (8-9, 5-5 GNAC) earned the remaining first-place vote and 54 points overall in the poll to place sixth according to the coaches, while Rivier University (9-9, 6-4 GNAC), which fell to defending league champ Emmanuel in the 2014 GNAC Tournament semifinals, received 49 points for seventh place.
Making up the remainder of the poll was the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (4-10, 3-7 GNAC) with 28 points, Mount Ida College (6-11, 2-8 GNAC) with 21 points and Albertus Magnus College (2-10, 1-9 GNAC) with 14 points.
Rivier will be the first GNAC team to get the 2015 campaign underway when it hosts Regis on Thursday, February 26. League play begins on Saturday, March 14, and the eight-team conference tournament is slated for April 22, April 24 and April 26.
Weekly reporting for GNAC women's lacrosse at www.thegnac.com will begin on Monday, March 9.
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 Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Emmanuel (8) - 98
2. Norwich (1) - 80
3. Saint Joseph's (Maine) - 71
4. Lasell - 70
5. Simmons - 65
6. Johnson & Wales (1) - 54
7. Rivier - 49
8. Saint Joseph (Conn.) - 28
9. Mount Ida - 21
10. Albertus Magnus - 14
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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 430-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.
