JWU, Simmons Finish 1-2 in GNAC Women's Tennis Preseason Poll

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Two teams separated by
one point per coaches' vote

WINTHROP, Mass. – Defending Great Northeast Athletic Conference champion Johnson & Wales University (RI) has taken the top spot in this year's GNAC Women's Tennis Preseason Poll, finishing just one point ahead of second-place Simmons College, it was announced on Tuesday afternoon.

The poll is based upon the voting by the league's seven head coaches. For the complete breakdown, please see below.

One first-place vote separated the two programs in the poll, as JWU received four firsts and 45 points overall, while Simmons collected the other three first-place nods and 44 points in the poll. Last fall, JWU broke Simmons' eight-year run of winning the GNAC title, earning a 5-1 victory over the Sharks this past October.

New GNAC member Regis (Mass.), which finished third in the poll with 33 points, hopes to inject itself into the GNAC Tournament conversation and earn the possible automatic NCAA Tournament berth. Regis claimed its fifth straight New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) title last season, going 16-1 overall. The Pride's only loss came at the hands of JWU.

Suffolk University, which advanced to the GNAC Tournament semifinals last year, finished fourth in the poll with 27 points. The Rams will be without three-time reigning GNAC Player of the Year Aidiana Sagyndykova.

Making up the remainder of the poll was the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) with 26 points, Albertus Magnus College with 12 points and Mount Ida College with nine points.

2017 GNAC Women's Tennis Preseason Poll
1. Johnson & Wales (4) – 45
2. Simmons (3) – 44
3. Regis (Mass.) – 33
4. Suffolk – 27
5. Saint Joseph (Conn.) – 26
6. Albertus Magnus – 12
7. Mount Ida – 9

??? just a single vote was the deciding point in #TheGNAC #preseasonpoll with @jwuwomenstennis holding a slight advantage! We'd love to make some racket ? in 2??0??1??7?? with a fantastic semis and championship in the GNAC Women's Tennis Tournament in Winchester, Mass. on October 21-22! ?? #ncaad3 #d3tennis #tennis @ita_tennis

A post shared by Great Northeast Athletic Conf. (@the_gnac) on Aug 29, 2017 at 10:21am PDT

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and nearly 4,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

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