Dave Zeitlin: An incredible season

It's hard to believe it all happened in one season. The Penn women's basketball team had never tallied more than 18 wins in a season. The Penn women's basketball team had never gone on a win streak longer than nine games. And the Penn women's basketball team had never achieved Ivy perfection. Until now. With a 78-69 victory over Princeton last night in their regular season finale, the Quakers capped their perfect Ivy season and put the finishing touches on what has truly been a year to remember. The Red and Blue's 2000-2001 campaign has been a year where records were shattered and history was made. And for the team's incredible accomplishments, everyone deserves proper recognition. Give credit to second-year coach Kelly Greenberg, who has done a phenomenal job turning the Penn tradition into a winning one in such a short period of time. Give credit to the "Chargers," the Penn reserves who give all they have during practice to prepare the starters for battle. Give credit to Tara Twomey, who has done a superb job filling Mandy West's large shoes and being the floor general that the Quakers need. Give credit to Julie Epton, Jennifer Jones and Jewel Clark for adding scoring, rebounding and athleticism to the Quakers' lineup. But most of all, give credit to the backbone of the team, the cornerstone of Penn's unprecedented success, the leaders, the captains, the seniors -- Diana Caramanico and Erin Ladley. Not enough can be said about what these two women have meant to this program. In the Quakers' Ivy-clinching win over Harvard the weekend before last, the two seniors fittingly both reached milestones. Ladley hit the career 1,000-point plateau, while Caramanico became the Ivy League's all-time leading scorer. More records to add to this record-breaking season. But putting numbers aside for a second, Penn's two captains have done so much for the Quakers. For the past four years, they've shown tremendous heart and desire in helping the Red and Blue transform into a winning program. They've left everything on the Palestra floor. "It's been a great four years," an emotional Caramanico said after her final game at the Palestra. "This building has been really good to me." But now it's time to look ahead. For the Quakers, the regular season is done, their miracle Ivy run is over, their 21-game winning streak has been put on hold. The question now is whether the Penn women's basketball team can keep it going. Despite the team's stellar record, the Quakers have a relatively low RPI (93), and the Ivy League is one of the bottom five conferences in the nation. Thus in all probability, Penn will be looking at a 13 or 14 seed come tournament time. And that means the Quakers will not only be pitted against one of the top teams in the nation but on their opponent's home court, too. One current projection has Penn as a 14 seed squared off against Louisiana Tech. Sure, I'll admit. The Lady Techsters are a good team. Sixth in the nation, a 28-14 overall record, Sun Belt champions. But it's March right now. That means the NCAA Tournament is here. And that means threes will be flying, athletes will be soaring and top seeds will be falling. Feel the madness. Of course, its tough for the bottom seeds to knock off the nation's top teams. But it happens every year. This year will be no different. And what team is better suited to pull off the upset, to be the Cinderella, than the Penn Quakers. Fresh off a 21-game winning streak, the Quakers haven't lost a game since mid-December. They will go into the tournament as hot as hot gets. And there's no telling what will happen from there. After the game last night, Ladley tried to put into words what she was feeling. "It's awesome, I can't even describe it," the senior guard said. "I couldn't ask for anything more. "Except to win the NCAA Tournament," she added with a smile. Hey, in a season like this, anything could happen.

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