Suffolk University (17-5) has clinched the top seed in the 2015 GNAC Softball Tournament, which will get underway this week with the single-elimination round on Tuesday.
Albertus Magnus College (16-5) has cemented itself as the No. 2 seed.
Tuesday's do-or-die round will see eighth-seeded Mount Ida College (8-14) travel to fifth-seeded Johnson & Wales University (14-8) at 7:00 p.m., and sixth-seeded Emmanuel College (12-10) will host seventh-seeded University of Saint Joseph (11-11) at 7:00 p.m. Each winner will earn a spot in the six-team, double-elimination portion of the tournament, which begins Friday.
On Friday, the Mount Ida-JWU winner will take on fourth-seeded Simmons College (15-7) at top-seeded Suffolk, while the team that prevails in the Emmanuel-USJ matchup will take on third-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine (16-6) at Albertus Magnus.
Also on Friday, Suffolk and Albertus Magnus will play the winners of the aforementioned matchups at their respective sites. Saturday and Sunday's contests will be hosted by Suffolk. For the complete tournament schedule, please see below.
The second-seeded Falcons have one GNAC regular-season contest remaining on Monday against Anna Maria College, but they are locked into the No. 2 seed regardless of the result to that contest.
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.
First Round - Tuesday, April 21 (single elimination)
Game 1: #8 Mount Ida at #5 Johnson & Wales - 7:00 p.m.
Game 2: #7 Saint Joseph (Conn.) at #6 Emmanuel - 7:00 p.m.
Second Round - Friday, April 24 (double elimination begins)
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. #4 Simmons at #1 Suffolk - TBA
Game 4: Game 2 winner vs. #3 Saint Joseph's Maine at #2 Albertus Magnus - 5:00 p.m.
Game 5: Game 3 winner at #1 Suffolk - TBA
Game 6: Game 4 winner at #2 Albertus Magnus - 7:00 p.m.
Semifinals - Saturday, April 25 (Hosted by Suffolk)
Game 7: Game 4 loser vs. Game 5 loser (elimination game) - 10:00 a.m.
Game 8: Game 3 loser vs. Game 6 loser (elimination game) - 12:15 p.m.
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner - 2:30 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner (elimination game) - 4:45 p.m.
Championship - Sunday, April 26 (Hosted by Suffolk)
Game 11: Game 9 loser vs. Game 10 winner (elimination game) - 10:00 a.m.
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs Game 11 winner - 12:15 p.m.
Game 13: if necessary