Last year, the Penn women's cross country team crossed the finish line ninth out of nine schools at the Heptagonal Championships.
The Quakers don't expect to finish dead last again this year.
"We are not a last-place team," Penn coach Cricket Batz-Shaklee said.
The Red and Blue will face their first challenge of the championship season at tomorrow's Heps.
The race, which will be held in Van Cortlandt Park, N.Y., will feature all eight Ivy League teams, as well as Navy.
The Quakers, who are coming off of a victory at the Leopard Invitational two weeks ago, are seemingly justified in their elevated aspirations. In addition to its latest win, Penn took second at the La Salle Invitational and eighth at the highly competitive Paul Short Invite.
"Such a positive result is a big confidence booster going into Heps," Penn junior Kristen Koch said, referring to the win at the Leopard Invite.
Although it has been a season full of high points, the Quakers are realistic about their chances at Heps. In the field of nine, Batz-Shaklee sees the team being somewhere in the mix of the lower half of the draw, along with Brown, Harvard and Navy.
"We will have our hands full with Harvard," Batz-Shaklee said. "[But] Brown better watch out."
The Penn effort will be led by Abbi Gleeson. With a handful of individual crowns under her belt, the sophomore stand-out will aim to be among the first 10 to cross the finish line.
After Gleeson, captain senior Sam Desposito, Claire Duncan, Elaina Lord and Koch will round out the Quakers squad.
The consistency of its core has been Penn's strength throughout the season, and the Quakers hope that same attribute will allow them to improve their standing in the Ivy League at this year's meet.
"I think they're ready to run," Batz-Shaklee said. "I think they're ready to beat some teams."
Defending champion Yale is heavily favored to take the meet. The Elis feature one of the best one-two combinations in the country in twin sisters Kate and Laura O'Neill.
Cornell, which features a more balanced talent pool, will also be in the running for the title.
"Yale is strong up top, but Cornell has the tougher pack," Batz-Shaklee said.
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