WINTHROP, Mass. - The Regis (Mass.) women's lacrosse team has been chosen to finish seventh in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, as the conference released its annual Preseason Coaches Poll on Tuesday afternoon.
Reigning league champion Johnson & Wales was chosen atop the poll, receiving seven of a possible 11 first place votes. Lasell and Saint Joseph's (Me.) finished second and third respectively, splitting the remaining four first place votes, two apiece. Rounding out the top six were fourth-place Mount Ida, fifth-place Emmanuel, and sixth-place Simmons.
The Pride, the newest GNAC full member, landed seventh in the poll after capturing the 2017 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship, earning the league's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to Salisbury, 19-2. Regis also captured NECC titles and NCAA berths in 2015 and 2016, and won the NECC Tournament every year dating back to 2013.
Following the Pride were, in order, Norwich, Rivier, Albertus Magnus, and St. Joseph (Conn.).
The Pride opens its 2018 season with a non-conference matchup against Framingham State on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
2018 GNAC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
1. Johnson & Wales (7) - 111
2. Lasell (2) - 108
3. Saint Joseph's Maine (2) - 105
4. Mount Ida - 85
5. Emmanuel - 74
6. Simmons - 62
7. Regis (Mass.) - 56
8. Norwich - 51
9. Rivier - 35
10. Albertus Magnus - 26
11. Saint Joseph (CT) - 13
#RegisWLAX