Some people wonder how we here at IvyGate Sports come up with our rankings each and every week. Specifically, why do we include some athletic results and ignore others. Truth be told, it’s all based on a complex formula. We use a weighted average that assigns more value to the sports that are: (a) major sports nationally, (b) traditional Ivy League sports vis-a-vis preppiness, (c) sports that the Ivy is nationally competitive in (so not football), and (d) profit. Once the average is computed, we adjust for quality wins, upsets, and conference championships. Finally, we ignore all the data and base everything on lacrosse, like we have done here.

1. Cornell

Holds bragging rights over: Princeton

After last week’s Princeton domination, it didn’t take long for the Tigers to fall back to earth. Most notably among the earth-falling is Princeton’s men’s lacrosse team, who after earning their first number 1 ranking since 2001 last week, lost to the fourth-ranked Big Red 10-7. With the win, Cornell clinched a share of the Ivy League title for the seventh straight year and will have a chance to win it outright next week at Brown. Other Cornell sports teams having good weekends include softball, who won the Ivy South Division title; women’s lacrosse, who won at Yale; and Evan Starkman, who won the first week’s event on the Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Duel 2.

2. Penn

Holds bragging rights over: Brown

While there’s still room for shake-ups in the race for the Ivy men’s lacrosse title, the women’s title is all wrapped up. The Quakers pounded Brown 14-4 to solidify their third-straight Ancient Eight title and third-straight undefeated Ancient Eight campaign. Next weekend, Penn travels to Evanston to lose to No. 1 Northwestern. The game is a preparation for the upcoming NCAA Tournament, where Penn is the favorite to lose to Northwestern in the finals.

The rest follow the jump.

3. Princeton

Holds bragging rights over: Columbia

Although many were happy to see Princeton’s men’s lacrosse team lose–and by “many”, we mean anyone who has ever around the Princeton band for 10 minutes or more–the Tigers still had a successful weekend overall. Women’s tennis swept Columbia to clinch their first Ivy League title and tournament berth since 2000. Women’s golf beat most of the conference at Colubmia’s Roar-EE (Because they’re the Lions! Pun!) Invitational. And men’s lightweights breezed past Penn to retain the Evan Rachel Wood-Darrell Hammond trophy.

4. Columbia

Holds bragging rights over: Harvard

After spending the last few weeks at the bottom of the rankings, the Lions get a well-earned boost to the top half as men’s tennis shut out Princeton to seal the Ivy League title. It’s the Lions’ second conference title in three seasons and the seventh in head coach Bid Goswami’s career. The coach credited his success to focusing his recruiting towards athletes with first names as weird as his. In other positive news for the Lions, women’s lacrosse topped Harvard 11-10 to pick up its first Ivy win since–get this–2005! It is also Columbia’s second Ivy win–get this too–ever! Kudos for perseverance, I guess.

5. Dartmouth

Holds bragging rights over: Yale

Big Green baseball went off on Yale Sunday by scoring 30 runs in a doubleheader sweep. The wins keep Dartmouth two games free of Brown in the Ivy League’s Rolfe Division with four conference games to go. Meanwhile, Dartmouth’s men’s and women’s track teams both won the Dartmouth Outdoor Invitational thanks to the strategy of inviting Tufts, Middlebury, and RPI to make up half the field.

6. Brown

Holds bragging rights over: Harvard

Bears baseball swept all four games against Harvard this weekend, while women’s water polo topped the Crimson in double overtime. Also, the Bears equestrian team advanced to nationals in thrilling fashion when another team was disqualified, apparently for intentional whispering.

7. Harvard

Holds bragging rights over: Brown

Crimson softball knocked Brown for 23 runs on Sunday to move only a game behind Dartmouth in the Ivy League North Division. Harvard meets the Green for four games next weekend to decide the champion. One Harvard team that wasn’t so successful this weekend was men’s volleyball, whose loss to Rutgers-Newark cost them the outright EIVA Hay Division title. The result is shocking, as who knew there was even a Rutgers-Newark?

8. Yale

Holds bragging rights over: Styx

Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me…