JWU Athletics Weekly Roundup: Nov. 8–14

More GNAC championship games marked the second week of November, some deciding the regional champion across Men’s Soccer, Women’s Soccer, and Women’s Field Hockey. Other JWU sports teams fought for similar spots in their GNAC Tournament, alongside the start of winter sports.

Friday, November 8:

After a hard-fought, back-and-forth match against Nichols, JWU’s Men’s Hockey team scored the victory in an overtime shootout after the game was tied 3–3 after three periods and one overtime of play. The win provided good momentum for the team moving into their second game against Nichols on Saturday.

In Women’s Hockey, JWU scored a 2–1 victory in their first weekend match against the University of New England. This gave the team a leg up against UNE heading into Saturday.

JWU hosted a Women’s Basketball match versus Salve Regina, with the Wildcats outsourcing their visitors 94–69. In addition, freshman Grace Jaffray scored 39 points across two halves of play–the most any freshman has ever scored in one game.

Saturday, November 9:

JWU opened its Men’s Basketball season with an 81–69 victory over visiting Salve Regina.

JWU’s Men’s Soccer season ended with a 2–1 loss in their championship match against No. 1 seed St. Joseph.

Unfortunately for JWU’s No. 1 seed Women’s Soccer team, they ended their five-year GNAC conference winning streak with a 2–1 loss against Emmanuel (MA) for the championship. Fortunately, not all fortune was lost, as three team members were selected to be on the All-Tournament Team moving into the NCAA Tournament.

Women’s Volleyball swept both doubleheader matches against Albertus Magnus (25–11, 25–22, 25–12) and Mitchell (25–18, 25–13, 25–18) respectively, winning all three sets in both matches. The double victory gives the team good momentum into the GNAC Tournament, with their first match being against Rivier on November 12.

Women’s Field Hockey captured their fourth-straight GNAC championship against Simmons, winning on home turf 4–2. With this, and a 17-win streak, they hoped to take that momentum into the NCAA Tournament and their first NCAA match-up, York (PA).

JWU’s Men’s Hockey made their second match against Nichols much more one-sided, winning 6–3 and marking a strong first two matches in the Conference of New England (CNE) standings.

Hot off their 2–1 win against UNE the previous day, JWU’s Women’s Hockey team scored another victory, this time at a closer 1–0 margin in the third and final period.

Tuesday, November 12:

Women’s Volleyball advanced to the GNAC Tournament’s semifinal round after a successful battle against Rivier, winning all three sets (25–17, 25-17, 25–7) and placing them in a match-up against St. Joseph’s (ME) for a spot in the championship game.

Wednesday, November 13:

Men’s Basketball lost a close non-championship match against Rhode Island College, with the final score being 69–79.

Women’s Field Hockey fought hard but ultimately lost 2–0 to York in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, ending a stellar run of form for the fall 2024 season.

Thursday, November 14:

After a successful 3–1 win (25–10, 24–26, 29–27, 25–13) over St. Joseph’s (ME), JWU’s No. 2 seed Women’s Volleyball team moves on to the GNAC championship game versus No. 1 seed Lasell on November 16.