W. Track to face fierce competition in Raleigh, N.C.

The grumbling students on Penn's campus are not the only ones that are unhappy with the recent weather patterns.

With a shortened spring season due to the University's academic calender, the Penn women's track team has been flung -- full-fledged -- into its outdoor season.

So, to evade the depressing rains and chilling temperatures in Philadelphia, the Quakers are headed to the balmy south.

This weekend, Penn will compete in the Adidas Raleigh Relays, held at North Carolina State's Paul H. Derr Track.

"As an athlete, you want to feel comfortable," Penn coach Tony Tenisci said. "When its cold, its hard to feel your body. We use the Raleigh Relays to go fast where its warm."

The two-day competition will include a host of relays, as well as all of the usual individual events.

All 33 members of the women's squad will be heading to North Carolina to compete in the meet that Tenisci calls "a mini Penn Relays."

"Its a real big mix of everybody," Tenisci said. "All of the southern schools, all of the very fast schools will be there."

The meet will host around 3,000 athletes that represent over 110 schools.

Therefore, the Quakers are not looking to notch a team victory at the immense meet. Instead, the squad is focusing on their own performances. They plan to take advantage of the experience and the sun rays.

Setting individual and team bests, -- not an overall victory -- will be the primary objective for the Quakers in Raleigh.

"There are a lot of people there -- its a little overwhelming that way," Tenisci said. "We're all striving for our very best. The placing takes care of itself."

The Quakers will be trying out a variety of relay lineups this week, hoping that the meet will serve as a good warmup and test for the remainder of the season.

"There's a lot coming up," Tenisci said, in reference to Penn's upcoming meets. "This meet is nice to pace our training and our energy... we don't feel any pressure, and we want to just do the best that we can."

After an impressive start to the outdoor season at the Quaker Invitational last weekend -- in which the Quakers had 18 top-five finishes -- the squad is welcome to the challenging competition.

"We're just hoping to continue the tone that we set in our first meet," Tenisci said.

By running against tough, quick teams at this point in the season, the Penn hopes to be more prepared for its Ivy league foes.

Last season, the Red and Blue managed to place a few athletes in the top 25 against an equally rigorous field of competitors.

Then-freshman Caroline Rebello claimed sixth in the pole vault, an impressive feat for a first-year. Fellow rookie Kai Ivory grabbed the 13th slot in the javelin throw. Both athletes will look to improve on their past performances this weekend.

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