The men's hockey team gets the nod easily after winning the school's sixth NCAA hockey title by defeating Boston College 2-1 in Milwaukee. The victory marked the first time a school has swept both the men's and women's NCAA hockey titles.
The men's team jumped out to an 18-2-2 start before an injury to All-American goaltender Brian Elliott looked as if it could derail a championship season. The team went just 3-7-1 in its next 11 games, but rebounded nicely with a championship march through the state of Wisconsin following Elliott's return. Robbie Earl's three goals and one assist in Milwaukee earned him the Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player Award.
In addition to Elliott, who was named a first-team All-American by the American Hockey Coaches Association, senior defenseman Tom Gilbert and sophomore forward Joe Pavelski both took home second-team honors.
Honorable Mention:
Cross Country
When you win a national title, you would expect to be the team of year, but when a school wins three national titles in one year, somebody has to settle for runner-up. The Badgers won their seventh- consecutive Big Ten title, and the NCAA team championship was the first for men's cross country since 1988. It was also the first NCAA championship for UW in any sport since 1995, when the men's soccer team took the title.
In addition to the team title, UW senior Simon Bairu won his second-consecutive individual championship. The Badgers' top six runners (Bairu, Chris Solinsky, Matt Withrow, Anthony Ford, Stuart Eagon and Tim Nelson) all placed in the top 20, each of them earning All-American Honors.
