OTHER WEEKEND EVENTS AROUND THE PENN SPORTS WORLD: Gymnastics, W. Fencing, M. Fencing, M. Squash, W. Squash

After returning home late from their meet at Ursinus on Wednesday night, the Quakers were back on the floor at Hutchinson Gymnasium going their paces before today's long awaited day off. This evening however, they travel south for their annual excursion to the nation's capital for the prestigious George Washington Invitational. Despite the fact that the meet will be Penn's fourth in nine days, senior co-captain Nicole LeBrasseur echoed team sentiment, saying "We're going down [to Washington] with a positive attitude." Saturday's Invitational will be a cross-roads of sorts the squad. They'll go up against some familiar and not-so-familiar foes. The Quakers meet the same Temple squad that gave them their second loss of the season at Ursinus on Wednesday and Yale, a major hurdle in their path to repeating as Ivy League Champs. Penn welcomes the Elis to Hutch next Saturday in what should prove to be a pivotal dual meet. "The GW meet will almost be a warm up for next week against Yale," said co-captain Monique Burton. Of course, it will be much more than that and the Quakers will enter the weekend's action with something to prove. Senior Staci Standen summed up their chances for the weekend saying, "We could conceivably finish second or third." A finish near the top of the eight team field this weekend would certainly place the Quakers where they want to be as they go into February, a month which will be capped by the Ivy Classic. The defending Ivy League champion Penn women's fencing team begins its quest to defend its crown tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Yale. The first step in that path will not be easy. Yale has a new and improved foil squad and is a consistent contender in the Ancient Eight. The Quakers agree that Yale will provide a strong early-season test and the result of their matchup might possibly be a harbinger of how the Quakers fare in the conference this season. After a year-long absence from all fencing, Cornell returns to action fielding only a women's team in New Haven. Assorted troubles with the program grounded the historically successful Big Red and they are now attempting to rebuild. Although it is the first conference action for the teams, Penn already feels the tension. "We have a lot of pressure on us because we're Ivy League champions. We have high expectations for ourselves this year," co-captain Megumi Sakae said. By Brian Gondos Daily Pennsylvanian Sports Writer The Penn men's fencers find themselves in an opposite position. As far as the Ivy League goes, they are on the outside looking in. Last year was a disappointing Ivy League season for the Quakers as a 1-4 record put them in fourth place. Losing two matches by 14-13 counts was painful but also gives Penn hope this year that with any luck they could be sitting on top again. Defeating Yale in this first Ivy League match of this year would help greatly in bolstering the Quakers' confidence. The Elis have been a recent thorn in the side of Penn, winning the past three meetings including a 20-7 beating last year. Seniors like Edward Skyler have extra incentive in winning tomorrow. "In our three years here, we've never beaten Yale and this is our last chance. I'm looking for revenge." Brown which was originally scheduled to compete Saturday has withdrawn from the event. The Penn men's squash team (6-1) continues to be the consummate road warriors as it travels to Trinity and Amherst this weekend to play three matches in two days. At Trinity tomorrow, the Quakers first face the host Bantams at 3 p.m. Then at 7 they square off against Williams. In addition to being undefeated at 15-0, Williams has beaten four Ivy League teams in Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia and Cornell, so there won't be any sort of Ivy League intimidation factor going for Penn. The Quakers will be in Amherst, Mass. at 11 a.m. Sunday to play the Amherst Lord Jeffs, who are also undefeated at 11-0. They are ranked third in the country and feature standouts Sam Bartlett and Alex Eiteljorg. Amherst may well be the toughest challenge of the weekend. Penn needs to fare as well as possible this weekend in order to help ensure a top-eight ranking in the postseason squash tournament. With juggernauts Harvard and Princeton looming on the horizon, there is very little margin for error.