Football
The 2025 season for Penn football was one marked by both high highs and low lows. The Quakers finished with an overall 6-4 record and 4-3 conference record, placing them third in the Ivy League, an improvement from last season but short of the title.
The season started with the Quakers looking like surprise contenders after a 4-1 start, including back-to-back conference wins over Dartmouth and defending champions Columbia, where senior wide receiver Jared Richardson topped 2,000 career receiving yards. Penn looked like it was been on a revenge tour, but September’s success halted with senior running back Julien Stokes’ mid-season leg injury after he had led the nation in punt return average.
In their game against Harvard, the Quakers fought hard — with senior quarterback Liam O’Brien having an 80% completion rate and Richardson putting up three touchdowns — but ultimately lost to a heartbreaking last-second field goal, putting them out of contention for the Ivy League title and the FCS playoffs. A week later, Penn secured a win over rival Princeton to close their season.
The season concluded with Richardson breaking 1,000 receiving yards, the sixth Quaker to achieve this record in a single season. Soon after, six key players — including Richardson, O’Brien, and senior wide receiver Bisi Owens — entered the transfer portal. Coach Ray Priore also stepped down from his position after 39 years with the program and two Ivy League titles.
With a massive upturn in the roster and a head coach spot to fill, the Quakers’ future stands uncertain as they seek to rebuild the roster and contend for the title next season.
Sprint football
The 2025 season for sprint football was a struggle, as it finished with a 5-2 overall record and 3-0 in the CSFL South Division.
Penn suffered from blowout defeats against top competitors Army and Navy despite an impressive performance by junior quarterback Josh Johnson. The Quakers were able to end this three-game losing streak with a 14-0 blowout against Molloy led by Johnson and a dominant defense. Ultimately, their season closed with a 31-14 loss against Cornell and a 2-5 record, a massive decline from last year’s 5-2 season.
Many players received honors this season, with the team notching eight total CSFL honorees and three Player of the Week winners. Johnson earned himself first team defensive honors for leading the team in pass breakups and interceptions; offensive linebacker Luke Pajovich and wide receiver Jake Wang were both awarded first team offensive honors. Many more players also received second team and honorable mention recognitions.
With many postseason recognitions and as young talent develops, there is hope for next season to potentially compete for a title.
Men’s soccer
This season was a new start for Penn men’s soccer after former forward Stas Korzeniowski and former defender Leo Burney, who had anchored the team last season, graduated in the spring, leaving an opportunity for others on the team to step up. Senior midfielder Patrick Cayelli and senior defender Oliver Pratt rose to the occasion to keep the team competitive, with Cayelli winning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week in November.
Ranked No. 3 in the Ivy League, the team ended its season with eight wins, five losses, and four ties. Though it was able to play in the Ivy League tournament, the team fell to Cornell in the semifinals. It was the first time the Ivy League tournament was not held at home at Rhodes Field, since the tournament will now take place at the top-ranked university each year. This fall’s tournament was held at Princeton.
The season may not have ended with as many wins as in years past, but it did prove that men’s soccer can rise to the challenge when key players move on. The question going into next year is whether the team can do that again. Seniors Cayelli and Pratt will not be on the team come fall, and it will be standout goalkeeper Phillip Falcon III’s final year at Penn.
Women’s soccer
The Penn women’s soccer season started promisingly, with the team not losing a game until its seventh of the season against Villanova. But the team then hit a rough patch from that loss until mid-October, when it picked up one more win for the season against Harvard. With more ties than wins or losses, a season-ending tie with Yale at home was representative of women’s soccer’s mediocre season. The team ended with the same conference record as last year but demonstrated strong non-conference play.
Senior goalkeeper Annabel Austen won another first team All-Ivy and recorded multiple career highs, including 10 saves against Harvard in October. Austen will transfer to USC and continue showcasing her talents in California for her final year of eligibility. Junior forward Abbey Cook has continued to anchor the team with her offense, and next fall, she will be the one to look for as the team hopes to improve its conference record.
Penn field hockey
Penn field hockey entered the season excited and hopeful under new coach Scott Tupper, who came to Penn after serving as an assistant coach for Maryland. A former Olympian, he holds the Canadian record of 126 goals. With his playing, coaching, and recruiting experience, the team was looking for change under new leadership, and Tupper brought it.
The team ended its season with a 9-7 record overall, its highest total wins since 2021. The last game of the season was against Delaware, which Penn won in double overtime, representing the team’s renewed commitment to grit and precision. Three seniors, including midfielder Julia Ryan and defender Philine Klas, were named to the All-Ivy team. Ryan led the team in goals and points, and Klas in shots. Even though field hockey will lose four seniors who have started every game next season, the team hopes to improve from here. Next fall will be an exciting season to watch for this team.
Volleyball
Similar to field hockey, Penn volleyball also started this season with a new coach, Tyler Hagstrom. Hagstrom found a lot of success at Bucknell, where he coached previously and became their all-time winningest coach.
The season started strong, with volleyball notching an 8-6 record in non-conference action, which included three consecutive 3-0 sweeps for the first time since 2009. Following this momentum, Penn opened up Ivy League conference play against Princeton and Yale with two straight-sets losses. The Quakers did see a mid-season boost with a sweep against Columbia and No. 1 Cornell, both at home. But the highlight of the season was their win against three-time defending champion Yale, where their 3-2 comeback win ended Penn’s home-court losing streak against the Bulldogs. Junior outside hitter Zada Sanger exploded with 21 kills alongside sophomore outside hitter Jenna Garner, who hit a career-high of 21 digs.
As the team practices and continues to work on developing offense, next season will be a promising one.
Men’s cross country
With former stars Luke Johnson and Dylan Throop gone, Penn men’s cross country struggled a bit this season. It started the season on a high note, winning the Main Line Invitational in September. Junior runner Kofi Fordjour led the way for the team throughout the competitions, earning a personal-best time of 24:12.0 in the 8-kilometer. Fordjour paced the team in the following competitions, which proved to be challenging for the team. The men’s team finished seventh out of eight teams that competed at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championship and 10th out of 28 teams at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. Discipline and running together was the focus this season, and hopefully next season will bring forth better results as the team tries to find its footing.
Women’s cross country
Penn women’s cross country had a stronger season, opening its season with a victory at the New Jersey Jam. Each competition was a chance for improvement, and the team took on the challenge. It placed eighth out of 40 teams at the Paul Short Run, improving six places from last year. For the last two competitions of the season, the Ivy League Heptagonal Championship and the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship, the team placed fourth and sixth, respectively. Seniors Lara Cota and Anna Weirich and juniors Gabrielle Jones, Sarah Fischer, and Lily Murphy, among others, recorded personal bests throughout the season, showcasing the balanced strength throughout the team.
Men’s rowing
After a three-meet schedule, the heavyweight rowing team completed its fall season. In the season opener at the Head of the Charles in the Men’s Championship Eight Division, the Quakers placed 23rd in a field of 29 with their Club Eight A boat.
Despite a disappointing start, Penn quickly rebounded at the Head of the Schuylkill regatta with wins across Pairs, Frosh/Novice Fours, and Championship Fours, notching 2-1 in Championship Eights and second in the Club Eights A field.
The Princeton Chase concluded the Penn team’s fall season, with the Quakers taking third place in the Men’s Eight — which consisted of 42 boats.
Women’s rowing
Women’s rowing only had a two-meet fall schedule after the Navy Day Regatta, which typically opens the fall season, was canceled due to poor weather conditions. Despite this initial setback, women’s rowing dominated in its next regatta at the Head of the Schuylkill, where the team won gold and silver in each event across the five divisions.
Penn proceeded to close its fall season with the Princeton Chase. The Quakers’ A boat placed 10th in a deep 60-boat field, with other Penn boats placing 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, respectively.
With great momentum, the women’s rowing team will head into preparations for the spring to reclaim the varsity eight national championship title from Yale.
Men’s golf
The Quakers opened their season at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial, completing ninth overall. In their first game, sophomore Ryan Chang led the team, finishing with a 2-over 218 for 11th place. In the strongest competition of the season, Penn finished in 11th at the Hamptons Intercollegiate, where it competed against four of the top 25 programs. The men’s team closed its season at the Big 5 championship in hopes of defending the Big 5 team title but ultimately fell short after finishing sixth.
Looking ahead, both the men’s and women’s teams will be in full-preparation mode as they head to compete at the esteemed St. Andrews Links Collegiate next year, which will be streamed on national TV.
Women’s golf
Women’s golf started its season at the Nittany Lion Invitational, where freshman Mi Li came in third place at her first collegiate event, helping the team with a strong finish in sixth place. At the Princeton Invitational with fellow Ivy League competitors, the Penn team secured fifth place, with Li once again leading the leaderboard at first until the final round, in which she finished seventh.
To close out the fall season, the women’s team just barely missed out on a title at the two-day Lehigh Invitational. Penn finished second out of the 15 participating teams, missing the team title by one stroke. Freshman Adrienne Ahn-Upton had a top-three individual finish at the invitational with the lowest round in the field.
With the upcoming St. Andrews Links Collegiate, the women’s team will have time to prepare for one of the most prestigious events in collegiate golf.
