Coming off of an Ivy League title, the Penn women's basketball team entered last season with high hopes.
Those hopes were dashed, as the Quakers finished 12-15 overall and 8-6 in the Ivy League.
This year, however, will be different. The Red and Blue are returning four of last year's starters and 11 letterwinners, all of whom bring more experience to the court.
"I'm really excited about this year," Penn coach Kelly Greenberg said. "We have some good players on our team."
Though an Ivy title may be the ultimate goal, the Quakers are currently focusing on the short term.
"We certainly know in the back of our minds that we want to win the Ivy League," Greenberg said. "We're going to take each game at a time and get better."
The Quakers bring a young team to the court this year, but many of the players received a lot of playing time last season, so they are prepared for any competition they may face.
"We're young in a lot of ways," Greenberg said. "But we are an experienced young."
The starting five brings a lot of experience to the court. Senior co-captain Tara Twomey is a three-year starter at the point guard position.
The other starting senior, co-captain Jenn Jones steps in at one of the guard spots, while junior Jewel Clark takes the other side.
Last season, Clark wowed Penn fans by averaging a near double-double over the course of the season.
She was first-team All-Ivy last year and first-team All-Big 5. She earned Ivy League Player of the Week twice and finished the season with 16.3 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game.
Greenberg will look to Clark this season to lead the team in their pursuit of the Ivy Crown.
"Jewel Clark's got to be our go-to person," Greenberg said. "She has to step it up, not just on some nights, but every single night, whether it be practice or a game."
Closing out the starting five are sophomores Karen Habrukowich and Katie Kilker.
As a rookie last season, Habrukowich played a leading role in the Quakers' lineup.
"Last year she started most of our games, and she has the potential to be a very, very good player," Greenberg said.
Kilker will step in and fill the No.5 position left vacant with the loss of last year's lone senior, Julie Epton.
Though Epton's departure leaves a hole in the starting five, the loss is more noticeable in regards to the team's spirit.
"She was a big emotional leader," sophomore Cat Makarewich said. "So what we're missing is a little bit of that right now, but a lot of people are stepping up."
In addition to sporting an experienced starting five, the Quakers are going to be able to rely on the depth of their bench this season.
Junior Mikaelyn Austin leads the pack. Last season, Austin showed opposing teams a lethal long-range shot, scoring at least one three-pointer in 18 of 25 games.
Additionally, sophomores Amanda Kammes and Makarewich are proving themselves in preseason practices and, according to Greenberg, will prove to be essential to the Quakers' success this season.
Finally, seniors Ima Abia and Sunny Pitrof have proven that they are important members of the team that will come in to the game at crucial situations.
"We have our two solid senior off the bench," Greenberg said. "Sunny Pitrof is getting better and better and as a senior we are definitely going to be playing her this year, and Ima too."
Add that experience to the Quakers' crop of talented new freshmen, and the team could prove to be a top competitor in the Ancient Eight this year.
Preseason rankings have Penn ranked in the No. 2 spot in the Ivy League, but Greenberg does not give these rankings much merit.
"We're picked second, which doesn't mean anything to us," she said. "They could pick us fifth and we would feel the same way or they could pick us first."
Harvard has earned the top spot in the pre-season rankings after finishing first last season with a 13-1 conference mark.
"Talent-wise, they are heads and shoulders above everyone else," Greenberg said. "They're definitely talented, but I believe we can beat them."
In order to prepare for the season, they Quakers have changed their strategies and stepped up the intensities of their practices.
"We put in all new offenses this year," Makarewich said, "So it's a lot of learning for everyone, but we're getting a lot more comfortable."
As for the practices, each day proves to be a test to the Penn players' ability and will.
"We're going at each other in practices everyday," Habrukowich said. "We're all fired up and we're all excited and everyday we come to play, always picking each other up."
The Red and Blue will take this practice experience into their first game Friday night against Temple.
"We're hoping to come out really strong against Temple," Habrukowich said. "I think this year we have a lot of potential and we've been practicing really hard and it's going to boil over into games."
After the Temple game, the Red and Blue will play out their Big 5 and non-league games, including a trip to Berkeley, Ca., to face Cal and Colorado-Evansville.
Penn's Ivy League season starts on Jan. 31 at Dartmouth.
As the Ancient Eight games loom in the future, Greenberg insists that her focus is to concentrate on each individual game.
"Our goal is to go hard, to really compete and to not settle for mediocracy," she said. "If we do that everyday, we will be good."
