Competition in women's tennis began in 1987 when the NEW 6
conference expanded to include WPI and Mount Holyoke College making it the
NEW 8. From 1987 to 1993 there was a tournament held to determine the conference
champion. In 1994, the conference did not conduct a tournament and awarded
the conference title to the winner of the regular season round-robin play.
Smith College won the first two championships in 1987 and 1988. Brandeis
University won the first of their three total titles in 1989. Wellesley
College won back-to-back trophies in 1990 and 1991. MIT won their first
championship in 1992. Brandeis returned to the top of the conference in
1993 and followed it up in 1994 with another title. Wellesley completed
the deuce again in 1995 and 1996 before Smith finished the NEW 8 the way
they started, on top. In 1998, the conference began sponsoring men's sports
and changed the name to the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference.
The first champion as a result of round-robin play was Wellesley as they
finished undefeated. In 1999, MIT was crowned the NEWMAC Champion after
winning the conference tournament. The following year, MIT repeated as the
conference tournament winner and was named conference champion for the third
time. In 2001, the winner of the regular season was named conference champion
and Babson, Wellesley, and MIT finished tied for the top spot all ending
the season with 7-1 records. The 2002 conference champion was determined
in the NEWMAC tournament with MIT claiming the title with wins over Smith
and Wellesley. Babson College finished the 2003 season undefeated in conference play, and completed their sweep
with a win over host MIT in the 2003 NEWMAC tournament finals.
|