STANDISH, ME - The Saint Joseph's College athletic programs enjoyed
a tremendously successful inaugural year in the Great Northeast Athletic
Conference (GNAC). Numerous teams and individual student-athletes
received regional recognition for their accomplishments and new rivalries
are taking shape.
Twelve of 14 St. Joe’s athletic programs competed in the GNAC,
as both the field hockey and men’s lacrosse teams played as
Independent programs last year. Both teams will join the North Atlantic
Conference for their upcoming seasons and the men’s lacrosse
team will join the GNAC in 2011, the first year in which the conference
will sponsor the sport.
Since the athletic department administration made a decision to leave
the NAIA upon completion of the 2001-02 seasons, all St. Joe’s
teams, with the exception of the Monks baseball team which competed
in the NAC as an associate member from 2005 to 2007, played their
schedules as NCAA Division III Independents. While several programs
recorded successful seasons as NCAA Independents; the women’s
basketball, women’s soccer, softball and cross country teams
all captured Regional Independent Championships; the quest for a bid
into the NCAA Tournament came up empty-handed.
For the 12 programs, joining the GNAC provided an opportunity to extend
their seasons with postseason play, as all conference playoff champions
receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Former St. Joe’s Athletic Director David Roussel, now the Associate
Dean at Saint Joseph’s, helped lead the charge for the move
from NAIA to NCAA Division III Independent and, subsequently, the
college’s entry into the GNAC.
“It’s in the best interest of our student-athletes and
our athletic programs to be part of an NCAA Division III conference,
and the GNAC is a great fit,” adds Roussel. “The cornerstone
of the GNAC is sportsmanship and service, which meshes well with the
philosophy of the Saint Joseph's College athletic department.”
The partnership has also proven to be a perfect match competitively,
as 11 programs experienced postseason play. The women’s cross
country team also secured the first GNAC Championship in St. Joe’s
history in the meet that was hosted on the SJC campus in late October.
It was nearly a Royal Blue sweep that day, as the men’s cross
country squad earned a runner-up finish in the 8K race, with junior
Ryan Prescott winning the race to take home GNAC Men’s Cross
Country Runner of the Year honors.
The women’s soccer and baseball teams both hosted conference
tournament contests, and the baseball team succeeded in winning the
conference championship to secure a berth into the NCAA New England
Regional Tournament.
“Everyone involved at St. Joe’s understands what the Division
III experience for student athletes is meant to be, they ‘get
it,’” says GNAC Commissioner Joe Walsh.” “St.
Joe’s runs a class act and is the epitome of professionalism
from the President all the way to the student-athletes.”
While the team accomplishments as a first-year member in the conference
were impressive, the amount of individual accolades the SJC student-athletes
received was extraordinary.
In the 12 sports in which St. Joe’s sponsors teams, 29 athletes,
including 15 First Team honorees, were named to GNAC All-Conference
teams. Senior Luke Enman was named as the 2008 Baseball Player of
the Year while freshman swimmer Lindsay D’Ascanio and freshman
baseball player Ian Lee both received 2008 GNAC Rookie of the Year
honors.
On a weekly basis, the conference recognizes the top athletes, according
to sport and performance, as player or rookie of the week. During
the 2007-08 year, 22 different athletes from St. Joe’s accounted
for 42 weekly honors. A pair of SJC athletes, D’Ascanio and
freshman cross country runner Katie Murphy (Baileyville, ME), each
received GNAC Rookie of the Week certificates five times!
With many St. Joe’s student-athletes and teams receiving accolades
in their first year in the GNAC, it’s also important to acknowledge
a milestone that was achieved by a coach in 2008. Will Sanborn, in
his 16th season as the head coach of the Monks baseball team, notched
his 400th career victory on April 24th with a GNAC quarterfinal victory
over Suffolk University.
The Saint Joseph's College athletic programs appear to have found
a home in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. “Entering
this conference was an important step for Saint Joseph’s athletics,”
adds Athletic Director Brian Curtin. “Having a home for our
teams, having the opportunity to compete for automatic bids to the
NCAA national tournament and building new rivalries are all valuable
products of us joining the GNAC.”
