The No. 1-seeded Simmons tennis team knocked off third-seeded Johnson and Wales, 6-3, on Sunday evening at the Weymouth Club to claim it's fourth Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tennis Championship in the last five years.  The Sharks, the best team in the conference all season long, enjoyed a successful start to the tournament with a 7-2 win over fifth seed Emerson on Saturday in the tournament semifinals. 

The top-seeded Sharks won two of three doubles matches to open the finals against Johnson and Wales.  Freshmen Liza Pope (West Newbury, Mass.) and Maggie Taylor (Yarmouth, Maine) paired together for an 8-4 win over Olivia Molhant and Jess Cohen at the No. 2 doubles slot, while at No. 3 doubles, senior Jordan Borash (Marblehead, Mass.) and freshman Athena Lynch (Andover, Mass.) posted an 8-6 victory over Laura Schwenk and Dana Trimborn.  Simmons got singles wins from sophomore Maile Macleod (Carlsbad, Calif.) at No. 2, Taylor at No. 4, Pope at No. 5 and Lynch at No. 6.   

Macleod and Taylor were both named to the GNAC All-Tournament Tennis Team.  

"Overall, we couldn't have played much better in the tournament," said Head Coach Bob Rauseo.  "In the final, we held firm and played tough in critical stretches when the momentum could have switched.  A key point was Maile Macleod going from a 5-0 lead to a 6-5 deficit but somehow finding a way to get herself together enough to pull out the set 7-6.  It was similar to our team all season, we wouldn't give in.  The character of this team impressed me more than anything else.  For such a young team, we showed remarkable poise and confidence.  That was the biggest difference in the end."

With the win the Sharks (11-5) secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tennis Championships beginning May 8th.