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UNRIVALED SUCCESS a look back at ivy league athletics in 2018-19

Championships, All-Americans and Academic Honors: The Ivy League Concludes Another Successful Season

On the field and in the classroom, on national and international stages, the Ivy League excelled in 2018-19, with National Championships, Academic All-Americans, newly drafted professional players, 76 nationally-ranked teams across a number of sports and a No. 6 ranking out of 32 conferences in the final Learfield IMG Directors' Cup Standings.

The list of accomplishments include:

15 National Championships

The Ivy League experienced another successful season in the national spotlight with five team championships, 10 individual NCAA championships, and three Final Four appearances.

TEAM SPORTS

NO. 1 HARVARD SWEEPS TRINITY EN ROUTE TO 26TH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

The undefeated top-ranked Harvard men's squash team was crowned national champions after sweeping No. 3 Trinity, 9-0, at Yale on Sunday afternoon. This is the 26th Potter Cup for the men's program and the Crimson's first Potter Cup since the 2013-14 season.

NO. 1 HARVARD SWEEPS TRINITY TO EARN 20TH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

The top-ranked Harvard women's squash team (13-0) finished the season undefeated, capturing the program's fifth-consecutive national championship, sweeping No. 3 Trinity, 9-0, at the Ferris Athletic Center Sunday. The Crimson, fresh off their 23rd Ivy League crown, claimed their 20th Howe Cup. Harvard ends the season with an unblemished 13-0 record—running its unbeaten streak to 65-consecutive matches.

COLUMBIA CROWNED NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Columbia Fencing claimed its 16th national championship title and its first since winning back to back titles in 2015 and 2016 Sunday at the NCAA National Fencing Championships at Wolstein Center on the campus of Cleveland State University. An overall combined score between the men and women determines who is crowned the NCAA National Champions.

YALE WINS 3RD STRAIGHT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Yale claimed the men’s heavyweight rowing national championship at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Regatta for the third-straight year as all boats medaled for the first time in Yale's history. The first varsity eight won gold, while the second varsity eight claimed bronze and the third varsity eight took home silver.

CORNELL WINS FOURTH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS

Cornell men's lightweight rowing captured its fourth national championship since 2014 after an impressive race at the 117th edition of the IRA Regatta, on Lake Natoma in Gold River, California

Individual National Champions:

HARVARD'S DEAN FARRIS CAPTURES TWO INDIVIDUAL TITLES AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP

  • 100-yard backstroke- 43.66, second-fastest performer ever in the event
  • 100-yard freestyle-40.80, third-fastest performer all-time
  • Crimson’s first double victor since Dave F. Hawkins won the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke in 1954
  • 3rd time a Harvard student-athlete has won a pair of NCAA events, with Farris joining Hawkins and William Kendall, who proved victorious in the 220-yard and 440-yard freestyle in 1938

NCAA Sports:

  • Sylvia Binder - Columbia Women’s Fencing (foil)
  • Anne Cebula- Columbia Women’s Fencing (epee)
  • Yianni Diakomihalis- Cornell Wrestling (141-pounds)
  • Katherine Ogden -Dartmouth Skiing (15K classical)
  • Tanguy Nef - Dartmouth Skiing (giant slalom)

Non NCAA Sports:

  • Sophia Strachen- Columbia Archery (compound)
  • Henry Marshall- Harvard Sailing
  • Georgina Kennedy- Harvard Women's Squash
  • Victor Crouin- Harvard Men's Squash

Final Four Appearances

YALE FALLS TO VIRGINIA IN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE GAME

Making their second straight appearance in the NCAA Championship Game, the fifth-seeded Yale fell to No. 3 Virginia, 13-8, in front of 31,528 at Lincoln Financial Field. The Bulldogs, which knocked off top-seeded Penn State, 21-17, in the semifinals, finished the 2019 NCAA Tournament with 68 goals, to set a new NCAA record. With today’s loss, the League is now 10-7 in the final game. Yale, which won its first-ever national title in 2018, joins Princeton (6) and Cornell (3) to win national championships since 1971.

PRINCETON FALLS IN OVERTIME TO MARYLAND IN THE NATIONAL SEMIFINAL

Princeton Field Hockey made its second trip to the NCAA Final Four in three years, after beating No. 6 Harvard in the quarterfinals. The Tigers fell to No. 2 Maryland, 1-0, in overtime as the Terps found the back of the net with 2:06 left in extra time to end Princeton's 2018 season. It was the first national semifinal game or finals contest to end scoreless in regulation since 1989.

NO. 6 CORNELL FALLS TO NO. 2 MINNESOTA IN FROZEN FOUR

No. 6-seeded Cornell saw its NCAA Tournament run end in the national semifinals, falling 2-0 to No. 2-seeded Minnesota at People’s United Center in Hamden, Connecticut. The Big Red had advanced to their fourth Frozen Four all-time (2010, 11, 12, 19) by taking down No. 3-seeded Northeastern, 3-2 in overtime, on March 16.

Academic All-Americans

Sixteen Ivies were named Academic All-Americans during the 2018-19 season, the second-highest single-season total in conference history, trailing only the 18 honored in 2006-07. The award annually recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.

Thirteen of the Ivy League student-athletes receiving Academic All-American honors held a GPA of 3.9 or better, with seven at a perfect 4.0.

Making History

The Ivy League saw a trio of historic hires in 2018-19.

Former Brown women's basketball player and Cal women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Gottlieb was named assistant coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, breaking boundaries by becoming the first-ever women’s collegiate head coach to join an NBA staff and the eighth woman to share either an assistant coaching or player development role in the NBA.

Dartmouth football hired Callie Brownson (left) as offensive quality control coach, making her the first full-time female coach in the history of Division I football. Brown football also announced the hiring of Heather Marini as offensive quality control coach heading into the 2019 season.

National Championships in Professional League

Jeremy Lin, a 2010 Harvard graduate, became the seventh Ivy League player in conference history to win an NBA Championship as the Toronto Raptors won their first NBA title in franchise history.

Patriots fullback and Brown alum James Develin became the first-ever Ivy to win three Super Bowls as a player (XLIX, LI, LIII).

Notable National Honors

Yale's TD Ierlan (left) and Princeton's Michael Sowers (right).

A pair of Ivy League men’s lacrosse standouts – Princeton junior attackman Michael Sowers and Yale junior faceoff specialist TD Ierlan – are among the five finalists for the 2019 Tewaaraton Award. With the selection, the Ivy League has cultivated nine finalists over the past seven seasons. The League has had 14 finalists since the inception of the award in 2001 with four Ivies

Harvard junior defenseman Adam Fox has been selected as one of three finalists for the 2019 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, the organization announced April 4. This marks the fourth time over the past five seasons that the Ivy League has produced a Hobey Hat Trick finalist for college hockey’s highest honor—and the ninth time in program history for Harvard.

Former Harvard diving standout Jing Leung ‘18 was named one of the 30 finalists for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, given for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership.

Yale lacrosse’s Brendan Rooney was the recipient of Elite 90 award for his role in the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship. Rooney is the first Yale student-athlete to earn the honor, and the first men’s lacrosse player in League history.

Yale lacrosse alum Ben Reeves, was named one of the NCAA Today’s Top 10 Award recipients. Reeves, a three-time All-American, became the 10th Ivy League student-athlete to earn this honor, awarded for leadership both on the field and in the community.

Princeton freshman Sarah Fillier was named the National Rookie of the Year by the AHCA and USCHO, while Cornell head coach Doug Derraugh was dubbed the national Coach of the Year by the AHCA.

Following a 37-year career that saw him bring home 14 Ivy League titles and 510 wins, Columbia men’s tennis head coach Bid Goswami was named the 2019 Wilson/ITA National Men's Tennis Coach of the Year. After announcing his plans to retire at the conclusion of the 2019 season, Goswami led the Lions to their sixth-straight Ivy League title and second-straight Sweet 16.

Other Notable Honors

  • Four Ivies were among the 47 football players from FCS institutions to receive the honor of the FCS Athletics Directors Association Academic All-Star Team, including Columbia’s Ryan Gilbert, Dartmouth’s David Emanuels and Jack Traynor, and Penn’s Cooper Gardner.
  • A total of 34 Ivy League wrestlers, making up 40% of the overall EIWA Academic Achievement Award honorees, earned the honor.
  • Yale basketball’s Trey Phills, who helped lead the Bulldogs to a share of Ivy League title and the tournament championship, was one of 10 men’s college basketball players to be named to the 2019 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Give Back Team.
  • Princeton field hockey senior Elise Wong was selected as one of four finalists for the 2018 Honda Sports Award, becoming the 18th student-athlete in Ivy League history to be named a finalist.
  • The USCSCA Male Alpine Skier of the Year and Female Nordic Skier of the Year both came from Dartmouth, given to junior Tanguy Nef and sophomore Katharine Ogden, respectively.
  • After sending four teams to the NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships, the Ivy League concluded the 2019 campaign by totaling 15 CRCA All-Americans while adding 47 CRCA Scholar-Athletes. To be eligible for a scholar-athlete award, student-athletes must be in their second, third, or fourth year of eligibility, rowed in 75 percent of the team's spring races in an NCAA eligible boat, and maintained a 3.5 cumulative grade point average.
  • Seventeen Ivy League field hockey players were named Division I Scholars of Distinction by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association, which recognizes student-athletes who achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.9 or higher through the first semester of the 2018-19 academic year. For the third-straight year, Brown field hockey recorded the nation’s highest team grade point average, a 3.70 cumulative GPA. Harvard and Yale posted team GPAs of 3.64 and 3.62, respectively, to rank third and fourth in the nation. All eight Ivy field hockey programs were among the 76 Division I teams to receive NFHCA Division I National Academic Team Awards.

Ivies in the pro

NFL

21 of the record 28 Ivies who received NFL training camp spots earned roster spots entering the 2018 season.That number grew to 24 throughout the NFL campaign. Following the 2019 NFL Draft, 12 Ivies received NFL opportunities, signing as undrafted free agents or accepting tryout invitations.

After being with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 2 seasons, Ryan Fitzpatrick (Fitzmagic), was traded to be quarterback for the Miami Dolphins and had quite the season.

NBA

Yale basketball’s Miye Oni was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 58th pick in the 2019 Draft, then traded to the Utah Jazz, becoming the first Ivy League player to be drafted since 1995 and the first Yale player since 1987. Oni, the 2019 Ivy League Player of the Year, received a three-year contract to join Jeremy Lin as the second Ivy League alum in the NBA.

Three other Ivies on NBA Summer Teams: Cornell’s Matt Morgan (Toronto); Princeton’s Devin Cannady (OKC); Columbia’s Luke Petrasek (New Orleans).

NHL

Twenty-two former Ivy League men’s ice hockey players made their way into the NHL during the 2018-19 season. Three Princeton athletes joined NHL teams during their last semester of college, while Harvard’s Adam Fox signed with the New York Rangers at the end of the season.

MLB

Nine baseball student-athletes representing five institutions – Columbia, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale – heard their names called during the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft.

Other Pro Leagues:

ALL-AMERICANS

Ivy League student-athletes took home 219 All-America honors during the 2018-19 season.

  • Ivy League student-athletes took home 219 All-America honors during the 2018-19 season.
  • 46 lacrosse (31 men, 15 women)
  • 27 outdoor track & field (14 women, 13 men)
  • 26 fencing (14 men, 12 women)
  • 23 squash (12 women, 11 men)
  • 22 football
  • 15 women’s rowing
  • 12 men’s swimming & diving
  • 10 archery (9 women, 1 man)
  • 9 hockey (4 men, 5 women)
  • 8 skiing (4 men, 4 women)
  • 7 wrestling
  • 5 field hockey
  • 5 indoor track & field (3 men, 2 women)
  • 3 basketball (2 men, 1 woman)
  • 1 women’s cross country

Ivy league on espn

Prior to the 2018-19 season, ESPN and the Ivy League reached a comprehensive, 10-year deal for ESPN to become the exclusive national media rights partner for the conference. As part of that deal, more than 1,100 events from more than 35 sports were broadcast on ESPN media platforms this past season, with the majority of those exclusively on ESPN+. The Ivy League also had 26 events air on ESPN’s linear networks, highlighted by the football package culminating with the Harvard-Yale game at Fenway Park, the basketball package featuring the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, the men’s lacrosse tournament and various Olympic sports throughout the year.

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