WOMEN'S TENNIS: GNAC Announces 2021 Tournament Matchups

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Regis, USJ to host first-round
campus matches on Wednesday

WINTHROP, Mass. - The Great Northeast Athletic Conference unveiled its 2021 women's tennis tournament seeds and matchups on Monday, with top-seeded Colby-Sawyer College and second-seeded Simmons University advancing to Saturday's GNAC semifinals on October 16.

For the complete playoff schedule, please see below. 

The postseason gets underway on Wednesday, October 13 as third-seeded Regis College hosts sixth-seeded Albertus Magnus College at 6:00 PM and fifth-seeded Eastern Nazarene College travels to fourth-seeded University of Saint Joseph (CT) for a 3:30 PM start.

The ENC/USJ winner will travel to Colby-Sawyer on Saturday (1:00 PM) and the Albertus/Regis winner will face Simmons on Saturday at noon.

The top-seeded Chargers rolled through the GNAC regular-season schedule with an umblemished 6-0 mark, while second-seeded Simmons' only loss was a 9-0 blanking back on September 15. The No. 2 Sharks posted a key 5-4 victory at Regis back on Sept. 25 to earn the bye. 

CSC won the GNAC title back in 2018 to earn the GNAC's NCAA bid, before ENC claimed the 2019 title over Regis but could not compete in the Spring 2020 NCAA Tournament due to COVID-19. 

Simmons will look to recapture GNAC glory under longtime head coach Bob Rauseo, as the Sharks last conference championship came six years ago. That 2015 title marked Simmons' eight straight and 11th in 12 years, but it fell in the title game to Johnson & Wales in both 2016 and 2017. 

First Round - Wednesday, October 13
#6 Albertus Magnus at #3 Regis - 6:00 PM
#5 Eastern Nazarene at #4 St. Joseph (CT) - 3:30PM

Semifinals - Saturday, October 16
4v5 winner at #1 Colby-Sawyer - 1PM*
3v6 winner at #2 Simmons - 12PM^

Championship - Saturday, October 23
at Highest Remaining Seed

* - Indoor backup venue Mountainside Racquet & Fitness Club, Oct. 16 2PM
^ - Raindate Daly Field, Oct. 17 2PM

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 3,500 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. 

– #TheGNAC –