In 1998
the NEW 8 Conference began sponsorship of men's athletic programs under
a new name, the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference. The first
championship was hosted by Clark University and was won by top-seeded Wheaton
College, 2-0, over third-seeded Springfield College. In 1999, Springfield
defeated Clark 2-1 in the championship final. Babson College was the 2000
regular season champion but lost in the tournament final, 5-1, to second-seeded
Wheaton. As champions of the NEWMAC Tournament, Wheaton earned the automatic
bid to the 2000 NCAA Tournament. In 2001, Wheaton came in first place in
the regular season and after defeating MIT 1-0 in the tournament final,
the Lyons represented the conference in the NCAA Tournament. In 2002, Babson
entered the conference tournament as the fourth seed but defeated top-seeded
Wheaton and second-seeded MIT to win the NEWMAC title. Despite finishing
undefeated in conference action throughout the 2003 regular season, MIT
(6-0) couldn't hold off Wheaton in the conference final. With the win, Wheaton
earned the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, and because of MIT's strong
regular season finish, the NCAA granted MIT an at-large bid.
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