WINTHROP, Mass. – Emmanuel and Johnson & Wales both compiled perfect 7-0 records within their respective divisions to claim the No. 1 seeds in the upcoming Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament, which begins Thursday, April 25 with two Play-In games.
Saint Joseph's College, which finished with a 13-4 overall record and a 6-1 mark in the GNAC North Division, has earned the second seed in the division and will host the #3 seed in the South Division, Regis College, on Saturday at 1:00 PM.
The Monks are led offensively by junior Mackenzie Siebert (Naples, Maine), who has tallied 52 goals and 32 assists for 84 total points, and senior Bridget Collins (Milford, Conn.), who has netted 37 goals with 28 assists this spring. Senior defenders Madison Scott (Cumberland, Maine) and Heather Rohr (Merrimack, N.H.) anchor the back line with combined totals of 126 ground balls and 111 caused turnovers. Senior Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine), the Monks' all-time leader in draw controls (432), is also enjoying a fine season with 38 goals, 14 assists, 82 ground balls, 104 draw controls, and 33 caused turnovers.
In addition to their performances in-division, both squads also performed well in their four scheduled interdivision games in the conference. In addition to finishing first in the North Division Emmanuel was a perfect 11-0 in GNAC play (13-4 overall) this season, while JWU, the South Division top seed, finished with a 10-1 GNAC record (12-4 overall). The Wildcats' only conference loss came to the Saints, a narrow 14-13 affair.
Before the two division winners see tournament action however, they will have to wait on the winners of Thursday's first round matchups. The two Play-In games feature the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in each division. In the North Division No. 4 seed Simmons (4-3 North, 8-9 overall) will host No. 5 seed Norwich (3-4 North, 9-5 overall) at 6 p.m., while the South Division First Round matchup features No. 4 seed Elms (4-3 South, 5-7 overall) hosting No. 5 seed Lasell (3-4 South, 7-9 overall) at 7 p.m.
Following the first round games, the rest of the bracket will cross divisions, starting with the GNAC Quarterfinals on Saturday, April 27. The winner of the Elms-Lasell game will travel to No. 1 North seed Emmanuel and the Simmons-Norwich winner will visit No. 1 South seed JWU. The other two quarterfinals will have No. 3 North seed Colby-Sawyer (5-2 North, 12-4 overall) visiting No. 2 South seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (5-2 South, 12-4 overall) and No. 3 South seed Regis traveling to No. 2 North seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) (6-1 North, 13-4 overall).
The quarterfinal winners will advance to the GNAC Semifinals, which are scheduled for Tuesday, April 30. The winner of the contest at Emmanuel will play the winner of the USJ-Colby-Sawyer game and the victor from the game at JWU faces the winner of the SJC-Regis matchup.
The two semifinal winners will then compete for the conference title on Saturday, May 4 with the winner being crowned 2024 GNAC Women's Lacrosse Champion and earning the league's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship.
GNAC WOMEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
2024 GNAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament Schedule
First Round – Thursday, April 25
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#5N Norwich at #4N Simmons, 6 p.m.
#5S Lasell at #4S Elms, 7 p.m.
Quarterfinals – Saturday, April 27
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#4N/5N Winner at #1S Johnson & Wales, TBA
#4S/5S Winner at #1N Emmanuel, TBA
#3N Colby-Sawyer at #2S University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), TBA
#3S Regis at #2N Saint Joseph's (Maine), TBA
Semifinals – Tuesday, April 30
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#1S/4N/5N Winner vs. #2N/#3S Winner, TBA
#1N/4S/5S Winner vs. #2S/#3N Winner, TBA
Championship – Saturday, May 4
(Hosted by higher seed)
Semifinal winners, TBD
THANKS IN LARGE PART TO THE GNAC SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE
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 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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