It's a busy weekend for Penn Athletics as sprint football, field hockey, and volleyball all have competitions scheduled.
Credit: Julio Sosa , Ananya Chandra, File Photo, Ilana WurmanDP Sports released its Soccer Issue on Thursday, previewing the season ahead and the matchups on tap this weekend. But what about the rest of Penn Athletics? Here's what the other squads who don the Red and Blue will be up to over the next few days:
Volleyball
Penn volleyball will be looking to build on a strong start last weekend in Virginia, and this weekend they'll be playing in more familiar territory. Participating in the Valley Forge Sports Invitational, Penn (2-1) will host Siena on Friday and Navy on Saturday at the Palestra before visiting La Salle on Sunday.
Siena (0-5) enters the tournament looking to break into the win column, while Navy (6-1) and La Salle (7-1) both enter the weekend with serious momentum— the latter has won seven straight games since dropping its opener. But the top team on Penn's schedule this weekend is also the only squad Penn faced last season, and that matchup resulted in a 3-0 sweep for the Quakers over La Salle.
Cross Country
After both the men and women competed in the Blue/Gold Classic in Pennington, New Jersey last weekend, both teams have this weekend off to train and rest before the Main Line Invitational next Saturday at Haverford College.
Field Hockey
Penn field hockey will be hoping to rebound from a pair of losses last weekend. The Quakers (0-2) dropped a 1-0 contest against Rutgers before losing 3-1 to UNC, the top-ranked team in the country. This weekend won't get much easier, as they'll host the reigning national champion Delaware on Friday in addition to Villanova on Sunday. The Blue Hens (3-1) will be looking to repeat last year's result, a 3-2 overtime win over the Quakers. The Wildcats (0-4), on the other hand, will be looking to avenge a 6-4 defeat at the hands of the Red and Blue last year.
Sprint Football
In a less formal setting, Penn sprint football will be taking on its own past in the annual Alumni Game on Franklin Field. Active members of the Red and Blue will suit up against graduates who once wore the same uniform. While an old-versus-new battle usually favors the current, more youthful squad, the active Quakers will have to fight hard to earn the win on Saturday.
Last year, the active squad barely managed to avoid defeat, winning 26-21 on the strength of a last-minute Hail Mary touchdown pass from then-backup quarterback Eddie Jenkins. Jenkins is now the starter, and on Saturday he'll face a very formidable counterpart and a former mentor in Mike McCurdy, the 2017 graduate who won the League MVP award twice. McCurdy is one of several stars from the Class of 2017 who will suit up against players he just months ago called his teammates. The alumni will also have multiple current coaches playing for them, and they could very well be the favorite to win on Saturday and end a four-year losing streak.
Ivy League competition hasn't started yet, but teams will certainly be giving it their all this weekend. With one team looking to keep up a strong start, another team looking to get in the win column and a third team looking to disrespect its elders, sparks are going to fly.
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