Softball
was sponsored as a conference sport for the first time in 1988. Wheaton
College defeated Brandeis University 4-0 to win the inaugural conference
tournament. In 1989, Mt. Holyoke College won the championship with a 4-3
victory over Brandeis. In 1990, Brandeis defeated Smith College 5-3 to win
the tournament finals. WPI won the 1991 conference tournament with a 2-0
win over Brandeis to become the fourth team in four years to win the championship.
In 1992, Wheaton won their second conference championship with a 3-1 victory
over MIT. In 1993, Brandeis defeated Wheaton 8-7 to win their second conference
championship. Wheaton won the 1994 championship with a convincing 9-0 victory
over WPI. In 1995, Wheaton repeated as the tournament winner by defeating
Babson 9-1 in the finals. Wheaton won their third consecutive conference
title with a 7-2 win over Clark University in the 1996 tournament finals.
The 1997 tournament was not completed due to weather and Wheaton, the regular
season leader, was named champion. In 1998, Smith ended Wheaton's run by
defeating the Lyons 2-1 in the tournament finals. In 1999, the conference
began sponsorship of men's sports and changed the name to the New England
Women's and Men's Athletic Conference. Wheaton won the first NEWMAC championship
with a 2-1 victory over Clark. In 2000, Springfield defeated Wheaton 5-0
to win their first conference tournament and earned the automatic bid to
represent the conference in the NCAA Tournament. In 2001, Wheaton was crowned
as NEWMAC Champion after winning the regular season and won the automatic
bid to the NCAA Tournament by defeating Springfield 1-0 in the tournament
finals. Wheaton won the 2002 regular season to earn the title of NEWMAC
Champion and defeated Springfield 10-1 in the tournament finals to earn
the right to represent the conference in the NCAA Tournament for the second
consecutive year. Wheaton captured its third consecutive conference title
in 2003 with a 5-0 win over Springfield in the tournament final. In 2004,
Wheaton needed to battle through an elimination game before having the chance
to defeat the U. S. Coast Guard Academy to win the tournament championship.
Wheaton pulled off two close victories, 1-0 and 2-1, to win the tournament
and secure the NEWMAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
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