Lasell Men's Lacrosse Draws
Misericordia in First-Ever NCAA Appearance

NEWTON, Mass. (5/8/17) -- The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) champion Lasell College men's lacrosse team learned its first-ever NCAA Tournament draw Sunday night and will face the Cougars of Misericordia University in one of two first-round games to be played Tuesday in Salisbury, Md.

Game time is set for 4:00 p.m. at Sea Gull Stadium, and will be streamed live athttps://portal.stretchinternet.com/salisbury/.  The winner will face host and No. 2 nationally-ranked Salisbury in second-round action Wednesday.

Entry prices are $5 for general admission, and $3 for students (with ID) and seniors.

The Lasers enter the tournament with a 13-3 overall record and is in the midst of a five-game winning streak after earning a 13-12 win over rival Mount Ida for their first GNAC crown on Saturday. Lasell finished the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record in league play. The Cougars improved to 12-3 with a first-ever Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom championship victory of their own over Eastern, 6-1.

Sophomore Ryan Madden (Hingham, Mass.) earned GNAC Tournament MVP honors after scoring hat tricks in each of Lasell's GNAC playoff contests ― a 14-11 semifinal victory over Norwich and the title game against Ida. Madden leads Lasell with 37 goals on the season, and his 48 total points are tied with classmate Austin Shindoll (Denver, Colo.) for second on the team.

Junior Austin Tomasetti (Elmsford, N.Y.) leads the team and ranks fourth in the GNAC with 64 points, while his 43 helpers are tops in the league. He scored two goals and two assists against the Mustangs, including the game-winning tally with 4:22 to play.

As a team, Lasell scores a league-best 13.13 goals per-game, while its 9.16 goals against-average is third and 147 goals allowed are the second-fewest. Senior goalkeeper Jorge Salazar (Waltham, Mass.) nine of his 12 saves in the second half of the title game, and boasts the third-best save percentage in the GNAC at .593.

Seven individuals have scored 20 or more goals for the Lasers, while eight have scored double-digit points. Additionally, senior midfielder Connor Johnson (Hampstead, N.H.) has scooped up the fifth-most ground balls in the league with 85, while sophomore David Sheehan's (Tewksbury, Mass.) 32 caused turnovers are tied for second.

Junior Chris Fleming (Hatboro, Pa.) has scored a team-high 35 goals and 52 points for the Cougars, who average 12.93 goals per-game and allow just 7.87. Classmate Patrick Kellish (Clark, N.J.) has 51 points, including 20 assists. Both players rank among the top-five scorers in the MAC Freedom, while sophomore Matthew Beck (Massapequa Park, NY) boasts a 7.16 goals against to sit second in the league.

Follow the Lasers on their journey to Md., by adding us on snapchat at @lasellathletics, and on twitter at @lclacrosse.

Courtesy of Lasell Athletics Communications.

GOING DANCING!: JWU Women’s
Lacrosse Draws Babson in NCAA Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – In four short years, the Johnson & Wales University women's lacrosse team has gone from a first-year program to a GNAC champion. On Sunday night the Wildcats found out their magical season will continue against Babson College in the NCAA Tournament.

This will be the first meeting between Johnson & Wales and Babson. The game will be played on Saturday, May 13 at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. Game time will be announced later this week.

The Wildcats had a losing season in head coach Caitlin Hansen's first year, but since then they have amassed a 42-13 mark, including a school record 16 wins this season. Johnson & Wales enters the NCAA Tournament on a 13-match winning streak.

The eighth-highest scoring offense in the country at 16.50 goals per game, the Wildcats have six players with 30 or more goals. Junior Gabrielle Vasile (Milford, Mass.) leads the team 53 goals. Senior midfielder Lydia Knapp (Glens Falls, NY) has a team-best 75 points and ranks sixth in NCAA history with 464 draw controls. 

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.

DANCE PARTY!: JWU Softball Set to
Take on Messiah in NCAA Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – After winning its third-straight GNAC Championship on Sunday, the Johnson & Wales softball team learned its first round opponent for this weekend's NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats will face eighth-ranked Messiah in the opening game.

SUNY Cortland will serve as the host site for the four-team regional. The Red Dragons take on Widener on the first day of the double-elimination regional.

Playing in the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row, the Wildcats have won at least one game in each of its previous two appearances. Last year JWU shutout host Williams to start the tournament.

Led by GNAC Coach of the Year Kim Camara-Harvey, Johnson & Wales is one of the most balanced teams in the country. Ranked in the top 10 nationally in runs, batting average, doubles, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, home runs and fielding percentage, the Wildcats have a school-record 34 wins going into this week's NCAA Tournament.

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.

JWU Wildcats Draw Wilkes in First
Round of NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Johnson & Wales University women's tennis team may have earned its spot in the NCAA Tournament in October, but they didn't find out their first round opponent until Monday. The Wildcats start the NCAA Tournament on Friday against Wilkes University.

The regional is being hosted by Williams College and the winner of the JWU-Wilkes match will draw the Ephs.

This will be the program's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. When Johnson & Wales last won the GNAC in 2002 there was no automatic bid for the league.

The Wildcats come into the national tournament with a 15-3 record. Wilkes won the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom Championship and comes in with a 23-0 record.

Johnson & Wales is led by First-Team All-GNAC selections Morgan Thompson (Fargo, ND), Luiza Silva Simoes (Cuiaba, Brazil) and GNAC Rookie of the Year Nina Cohen (Guatemala City, Guatemala).

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.

Ramapo Men's Tennis to Face
Yeshiva at Amherst in NCAA Tournament

Mahwah, N.J. - The Ramapo College men's tennis team earned the Great Northeast Athletic Conference automatic bid to the 2017 Division III Men's Tennis Championships with their fifth straight conference title. The Roadrunners (12-7) will be traveling to #8 ranked Ahmerst College (22-5) who will host the first three rounds of the tournament.
 
Ramapo will take on familiar foe Yeshiva College (15-1) on May 11th, with a match time to be determined. This is the Roadrunners third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Ahmerst earned an at-large bid while Yeshiva won their fourth straight Skyline Championship to earn the conference automatic bid.  The winner will face Ahmerst in the second round on May 13th. In the other half of the bracket, Wilkes College will take on Messiah College in a first round match-up with the winner facing Williams College in the second round. Wilkes won the MAC Freedom Conference and Messiah won the MAC Commonwealth Conference while Williams earned an at-large bid.

Courtesy of Ramapo Athletics Communications.

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. 

– #TheGNAC –