Around the Water Cooler: Wherein the Ivy League Finds Success

Winter just might be the best sports season for an Ivy League fan. To start, if you want to keep dexterity in your fingers and toes, there just aren’t a whole lot of options for outdoor fun. But maybe more importantly, the Ancient Eight’s winter teams can compete on a national level. Harvard’s women’s squash tops the national rankings, as does Yale’s men’s hockey team (we need not discuss that any more), and men’s basketball doesn’t look too bad either. And as we’ll show you in a little chat Around the Water Cooler, we have an exciting few days ahead of us.

After the Cornell men’s basketball team’s run to the Sweet Sixteen during March Madness last year, something dawned on Ivy League sports fans: the Ancient Eight’s guaranteed spot in the Big Dance is no longer a meaningless gesture. Nope. The Ivy League can play.

And so, that lone tournament berth holds more promise this year than in recent memory. With eight Ivy League matchups in men’s basketball over the weekend, the hunt for the league title begins in earnest this weekend.

Princeton hosts Brown and Yale Friday and Saturday nights, respectively, to kick off its Ivy League season. The Tigers have had a strong campaign so far, boasting a 12-4 record, with two of those losses coming against ranked teams: Duke and Central Florida (which Princeton nearly beat). The Tigers should make a strong push for the league crown.

But the Crimson looks strong as well. At 13-3 overall, Harvard hasn’t lost a game at home and is currently on a six-game winning streak, which includes two league victories against Dartmouth. In fact, the Crimson’s play earned it a vote in the AP Poll for the first time this year and the third in as many seasons. Harvard will look to accrue more votes this weekend, as the men face off against Columbia and Cornell at Lavietes Pavilion.

While men’s basketball might get more attention, other Ivy League sports teams certainly compete on a national level as well. No sport proves that better than squash, with Ancient Eight teams occupying four of the top five spots in the women’s rankings, and four of the top six in the men’s.

But, the No. 1 Trinity College men’s squad has been securely at the top of the charts for over a decade now, not having dropped a match since 1998. No. 6 Harvard will try to change that on Feb. 9, as the two squads face off at the Barnaby Courts. Meanwhile, the No. 1 Harvard women will try to keep their unbeaten streak going against No. 3 Trinity.

And the Ancient Eight isn’t too bad at Lacrosse, either. After nine Ivy Leaguers were selected in Major League Lacrosse’s Supplemental draft, two more were taken in this past Friday’s 2011 MLL draft. With the 27th overall pick, the Denver Outlaws selected Princeton’s Jack McBride, and two rounds later, the Boston Cannons took Brown midfielder David Hawley.

McBride led a solid Princeton attack last year, scoring 35 goals en route to earning an honorable mention for the All-America team. For the Bears, Hawley found the back of the net 27 times in the 2010 campaign, earning him a spot on the All-Ivy first team.