Buoyed by a boisterous crowd in Newman Arena, the Cornell men's basketball team clinched its second-straight Ivy League title March 6 by defeating the University of Pennsylvania, 83-59. The victory earned the Big Red an automatic berth to "March Madness" -- the NCAA tournament.

"It's something you really can't explain. It's the greatest feeling," said junior forward Ryan Wittman, who scored a game-high 25 points against Penn.

Cornell's Ivy League championship came with help from Columbia University, as it defeated Princeton University, 58-44, that same night. Princeton, a perennial league contender, had entered weekend play in second place behind Cornell.

To cap the regular season, Cornell then beat Princeton, 60-51, March 7. Although the pressure was off, the victory could be seen as payback for a 41-61 loss to Princeton earlier in the year. The Big Red finished its season 21-9 and 11-3 in the Ivy League. They were undefeated at home this year and have had 21 consecutive home victories.

The team will find out where and who they play in the first round of the NCAA tournament March 15 during the nationally televised "Selection Sunday" show on CBS at 6 p.m.

In 2008 both the men's and women's basketball teams made history by winning their respective Ivy League titles and representing Cornell at the Big Dance. The men lost to Stanford University in the first round, while the women fell to University of Connecticut. It was the first-ever NCAA tournament appearance for the women, and the men's third -- the first since 1988.

The explosive atmosphere of Newman Arena during the March 6 matchup with Penn helped fuel the Big Red to victory. The Newman Nation student section brimmed with crazed fans, and the venue as a whole hosted a near-sellout crowd. And despite a polite overhead announcement asking fans to stay in their seats, the students had already started jumping over barriers to storm the court before the final buzzer sounded.

"Ivy Champs," chanted the crowd with about two minutes left in the game, and Cornell ahead 26 points. By then, wireless Internet access in Bartels Hall had allowed word to spread that Princeton had lost to Columbia, ensuring Cornell's league victory.

Head coach Steve Donahue said there were barely two minutes left in the game before he found out that Columbia was beating Princeton in New York City. His wife ended up shouting him the results, he said with a laugh.

Though it was last year's team -- undefeated in the Ivy League -- that broke Cornell's 20-year dry spell from the NCAA tournament, Donahue said this year's team is "way better" than last year's, both individually and collectively. They played a tougher schedule this year, with road games at Indiana, Minnesota and Syracuse. The team also competed in the Preseason NIT Tipoff tournament, where it faced Big East Conference school St. John's University. The challenging schedule produced some bumps in the road, but the adversity brought the team closer together, Donahue said.

"We are way more prepared to play a high-level team," Donahue said.

Before the March 7 game again Princeton, the team honored its five graduating seniors, Jason Battle, Conor Mullen, Adam Gore, Brian Kreefer and Khaliq Gant, as well as four graduating cheerleaders.

While men's basketball has impressed on its way to a second-consecutive Ivy League title, it's not the only winter sport the Big Red has excelled in.

Cornell has captured four Ancient Eight titles as the squads prepare for NCAA tournament play. The men's and women's indoor track teams brought home Heptagonal titles, while wrestling won its seventh straight conference crown.

Men's track won its fifth indoor Heps title in the last seven years, propelled by middle distance and distance runners. Senior Jeomi Maduka was named Most Outstanding Performer for the second year in a row.

Wrestling went a perfect 5-0 against the Ancient Eight and spent much of the winter season ranked a school-best No. 2 in the country. Troy Nickerson and Mack Lewnes hold the top spot in their respective weight classes. Eight Big Red wrestlers were named All-Ivy this season, with Lewnes capturing Wrestler of the Year and Cam Simaz bringing home Rookie of the Year honors. Cornell won its third-straight EIWA team title and crowned four individual champions while having a 2009 championship-high seven wrestlers in the finals. Men's hockey finished in second place in ECAC Hockey and had five players earn All-Ivy honors. The Big Red is set to enter post-season play to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament.

Women's ice hockey continued its upward rise in the ECAC Hockey standings with an eighth-place finish behind All-ECAC and All-Ivy players Rebecca Johnston and Catherine White.

Men's and women's squash teams were nationally ranked throughout the season. Both teams finished in sixth place at the CSA National Championships. Women's squash captain Alex Cornett won the consolation bracket that CSA Individual Championships.

Women's polo is a perfect 18-0 for the 2008-09 season. The men's team is 12-4 overall as both teams head to the Eastern Regionals on March 13-15 to qualify for the National Championships.

Despite the loss of its top three scorers from last year's Ivy League championship team, women's basketball finished in a tie for fourth in conference play.

The men's swimming and diving team finished third at the first-ever true Ivy championships. Meanwhile, the women's team broke two school records at the Ivies and had eight swimmers place in individual events.

Lindsey Mechalik is assistant director of Athletic Communications.