JWU Women's Volleyball Hosting Regional Headlines GNAC's NCAA Tourney Selections
JWU women's volleyball, Lasell women's soccer, SJC men's soccer and SJC field hockey learned their NCAA Tournament first-round matchups on Monday.
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JWU Women's Volleyball Hosts NCAA Regional in Providence, Takes on Elms
For the first time in school history, an NCAA Tournament game will take place at Johnson & Wales University. After winning its third straight GNAC title on Saturday, the Wildcats were selected as one of the eight regional host sites. JWU will play Elms in the first round.
Johnson & Wales comes into the tournament with a perfect 32-0 record and was ranked 10th in last week's AVCA national poll. The top-seeded Wildcats take on the No. 8 seeded Blazers at 8 p.m. on Friday in the Wildcat Center. Elms received the New England Collegiate Conference's automatic bid.
The winner of the Johnson & Wales-Elms match will play the winner of the match between the number four seed, Wesleyan, and fifth-seeded Wellesley. That quarterfinal matchup is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
On the other side of the bracket, MIT comes in as the number two seed and will face the number-seven seed Maine Maritime at 3 p.m. on Friday. The first round starts at 12:30 p.m. with the number three seed Tufts taking on sixth-seeded UMass Boston.
Saturday's semifinals are scheduled for 2:30 and 5 p.m. The championship match is Sunday at 2 p.m. The winner of the regional advances to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Going into the NCAA Tournament, Johnson & Wales has won 39 consecutive home matches. The Wildcats are one short of tying Bowdoin for the ninth-longest streak in NCAA history. Johnson & Wales leads the NCAA with a .338 hitting percentage and is third at 13.81 kills per set.
JWU has a 65-1 record over the last two seasons, including 59-0 during the regular season. The Wildcats only loss during that span is to UMass Boston in last year's NCAA Tournament.
Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and students, $3 for children (12-under) and children under two are free. Tickets sales are cash only and can be purchased the day of the game at the Wildcat Center.
Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.
Lasell Women's Soccer to Travel to William Smith in NCAA Tournament Matchup
Following its eighth straight GNAC Championship, Lasell College has drawn William Smith in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, it was announced on Monday. The William Smith College soccer team is one of 16 hosts for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship. The Herons will take on Lasell at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11. That contest will be followed by Swarthmore vs. Susquehanna at 1:30 p.m.
The winning teams will meet on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. Tickets are $6 for general admission, $3 for senior citizens, military personnel and students (ages 13-College), children ages 3-12 are $2. Children under 3-years-old are admitted free.
The Herons are ranked No. 3 in both the United Soccer Coaches and D3soccer.com polls. William Smith earned its 11th straight Liberty League Tournament Championship, and has a 17-1-0 overall record. The Herons are making their 28th NCAA tournament appearance (51-20-9 all time in tournament play), and are seeking their third national championship (1988, 2013). William Smith enters the tournament riding a 14-match winning streak and is 9-0-0 at home this year.
Lasell brings a 13-5-0 overall record to Geneva. The Lasers won the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Lasell is making its eighth appearance in the NCAA tournament (1-7-0 all time record). The Lasers are riding a five-match winning streak.
No. 21 Swarthmore is 14-3-2 this season. The Garnet secured the Centennial Conference Championship 3-1 on penalty kicks after playing No. 10 Johns Hopkins to a 2-2 draw, earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Garnet are making their fourth appearance in the tournament (3-3-1 all time record). Swarthmore is unbeaten in its last six matches.
Susquehanna is 14-4-2 this season. The River Hawks fell to Scranton 2-0 in the Landmark Conference Championship game, but earned an at-large bid to the tournament. Susquehanna is making its first ever appearance in the tournament.
Fans can follow the action online with All-Access Video as well as live stats on HWSAthletics.com.
Courtesy of William Smith Athletics Communications.
SJC Men's Soccer Draws NECC's Mitchell in NCAA Tournament First Round
The NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Committee announced the field of 62 teams for the 2017 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.
#19 Saint Joseph's College (18-0-1, 9-0-1 GNAC) will face Mitchell College (9-8-1, 6-1 NECC) Saturday at #4 Tufts University's Bello Field, kick-off time TBD. Both teams captured their respective conference titles on Saturday, when the Monks edged Norwich University, 1-0, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), and the Mariners topped Elms College, 1-0, in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) title contest.
Saturday's winner will play the Jumbos on Sunday, kick-off time TBD.
Forty-two conferences were awarded automatic qualification for the championship. One team was selected from Pool B, which consists of independent institutions, as well as members of conferences that do not meet the requirements for automatic qualification. The final 19 berths were reserved for Pool C, which includes institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that did not win their conference championship and any remaining Pool B teams.
All tournament games leading up to the national semifinals will be played on the campuses of the competing institutions. Two sites will host three teams for first- and second-round competition Nov. 10 and 11 or 11 and 12. Fourteen sites will host four teams for first-and second-round competition Nov. 10 and 11 or 11 and 12.
Second-round winners will advance to one of four sectional sites Nov. 17 and 18 or 18 and 19. Winners of the four sectionals will advance to the national semifinals, which take place Dec. 1 at UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina, with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Greensboro Sports Commission serving as hosts. The national championship game will be played Dec. 2. The Division III women's soccer national semifinals and championship games will also be held at UNCG Soccer Stadium Dec. 1 and 2.
Courtesy of SJC Athletics Communications.
SJC Field Hockey Set to Face UNE In All-Maine NCAA Tourney Matchup
The NCAA Division III Field Hockey Committee announced Sunday evening the field of 24 teams that will compete in the 2017 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship.
Saint Joseph's College (15-5, 6-1 GNAC) will play at University of New England (17-4, 11-1 CCC) in an opening-round contest on Wednesday at 5:00 PM. Both teams earned an automatic qualifier with conference championships on Saturday, when the Monks upset top-seeded Lasell College, 3-0, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) title game and the Nor'easters rallied to top Endicott College, 2-1, at home in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship.
Wednesday's winner will travel to Vermont to face #2 Middlebury College on Saturday.
Sixteen teams will compete in eight first-round games on campus sites Wednesday, November 8. The eight first-round winners, along with the eight teams that received a first-round bye, will compete at four campus sites during second/third-round play, Saturday and Sunday, November 11 and 12.
The winners of the four sites will advance to the semifinals Friday, November 17, which will be hosted by Bellarmine University at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. The winners of the semifinals will advance to the final on Sunday, November 19, at Trager Stadium on the campus of the University of Louisville. Semifinals will be played at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern time, Friday, November 17, with the championship game being played at 5 p.m. Eastern time, Sunday, November 19. Championship information, including information about tickets, is available here.
Eighteen conferences have been awarded automatic qualification for their champions into the 2017 championship. One team was selected from Pool B, which consists of independent institutions and institutions that are members of conferences that do not meet the requirements for automatic qualification. Finally, five berths were reserved for Pool C, which consists of institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that are not the conference champions and the remaining teams from Pool B.
Courtesy of SJC Athletics Communications.
Founded in 1995, 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. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
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