GNAC Field Hockey Champion JWU Travels to No. 7 Bates to Begin NCAA Tournament

November 5, 2023

INDIANAPOLIS – Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Field Hockey Champion Johnson & Wales will start its 2023 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship journey with a trip to Lewiston, Maine to take on No. 7 Bates on Wednesday, Nov. 8 for a first round matchup.

The Wildcats were one of the 26 teams announced in this year’s tournament field during the NCAA.com Selection Show on Sunday (Nov. 5) evening. They were also one of the 18 teams to earn their tournament berth by winning their league’s automatic qualifier.

JWU enters the national tournament sporting a 17-2 overall (11-1 GNAC) record. It was the No. 1 seed in the GNAC Championship Tournament, taking down No. 8 seed Regis and No. 5 seed New England College to earn a trip to the GNAC title game. In the championship on Saturday, the Wildcats defeated No. 3 seed Colby-Sawyer, 4-1, to earn its third-straight conference crown.

Bates, meanwhile, was one of eight at-large selections into this year’s field, earning one of seven Pool C selections. The Bobcats are currently ranked No. 7 nationally in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III National Coaches Poll. They enter the national tournament with a 12-5 overall (7-3 NESCAC) record. Their fate was left up to the selection committee after they missed out on the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) AQ with a 2-1 loss to No. 9 Williams in the conference semifinals.

The winner of JWU-Bates will move onto the second round to play No. 2 Babson. Babson was the automatic qualifier out of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). The Beavers were one of six teams to receive a first-round bye.

Bates is one of 10 first-round sites with the winners of those games moving on to four campus sites for second and third round play on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 11 and 12. The winners of those four sites will advance to the semifinals and final, which will be held on Friday and Sunday, Nov. 17 and 19 at Jennings Family Stadium at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va.

2023 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship Schedule

First Round – Wednesday, Nov. 8
(Hosted by Bates – Lewiston, Maine)

Johnson & Wales at No. 7 Bates, 6 p.m.

Second Round – Saturday, Nov. 11
(Hosted by Babson – Babson Park, Mass.)

Johnson & Wales/No. 7 Bates at Babson, 11 a.m.

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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