Simmons Women's Tennis Lays Claim to First Place in 2014 GNAC Preseason Ledger

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 29, 2014

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Defending champion Sharks
grab six of seven first-place votes

WINTHROP, Mass. – Simmons College has been voted atop the 2014 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Preseason Poll, as announced by the league office on Friday morning. The conference’s seven head coaches took part in the voting.

The Sharks, who have won six consecutive GNAC Tournament titles, collected six of a possible seven first-place votes and garnered 48 points in the poll.

In the last fall’s GNAC Tournament title match, Simmons (14-6, 6-0 GNAC) downed Johnson & Wales University (11-5, 6-1 GNAC), which finished second in this year’s preseason poll with 39 points.

Suffolk University (5-9, 4-3 GNAC) received one first-place tally and 38 points from the coaches to take third place, followed by the University of Saint Joseph (6-8, 2-4 GNAC) with 25 points.

Rounding out the poll was Anna Maria College (8-6, 3-3 GNAC) with 18 points, Albertus Magnus College (4-8, 1-5 GNAC) with 17 points and Mount Ida College (0-10, 0-6 GNAC) with 11 points.

The conference’s tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Tournament next May.

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.

2014 GNAC Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Simmons (6) - 48
2. Johnson & Wales - 39
3. Suffolk (1) - 38
4. Saint Joseph (CT) - 25
5. Anna Maria - 18
6. Albertus Magnus - 17
7. Mount Ida – 11

( ) – indicates number of first-place votes

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