When the final buzzer sounded, the team stormed the field in excitement. The league title-clinching win was particularly sweet after the 1-5-1 start that the team had.

“[It’s] unbelievable,” Nichols said. “After the BU game in the middle of our season, we had to come together because we were having a rough start. We just looked each other in the eye to say, ‘I believe in this team, and we’re going to do it this year, and we fought through every game’…I’m so proud of this team.”

“Once we started doing bad, it kind of snapped them out,” Leone added. “Day by day they got better and better. We were starting from scratch when we were starting the Ivy League [schedule].”

The Crimson is Ivy League champion for the second year in a row and for the ninth time overall.

“Last year was the first time in a long time that we’ve won,” Nichols said. “This time really shows our character because we were able to repeat.”

With a game left in the league schedule, the team is guaranteed at least a tie for the Ivy championship as well as the accompanying NCAA tournament berth, since it holds the tie-breaker over Yale.

Harvard now has an extra week to focus on preparing for the post-season—a luxury compared to 2008, when the championship was decided in the final game of the year.

“To do it in game six is really a dream come true,” Leone said. “Now we have to put this game behind us and focus on just improving.”