The top 10 moments in 2009

This year might not have been the best for Penn sports. But that's not to say that it wasn't an exciting year, with plenty of big news stories. So here is my personal top 10 moments ("moments" loosely defined) of the year. And yes, some are positive, while some are negative. So continue after the jump for the picks.

10. Coaches leave. This could go much higher. But since coaches leaving Penn was a big theme of the 2009 calendar year, I thought I'd start the countdown with it. This year the following sports saw head coaches leave, resign, retire or get fired: Both heavy and lightweight rowing, W. Tennis, the fencing program (one coach for the two teams), Field Hockey, W. Basketball and M. Basketball. Included in that group were Dave Micahnik (Fencing) and Val Cloud (FH), two coaches who had a combined 65 years of experience at Penn before announcing their retirement in April and December, respectively. (Some specific coaching moves warrant their own entry in the countdown later.)

9. Phillies lose to the Yankees. OK not a Penn sports story. But it still had a big impact on the Penn community, as two of the biggest cities that Penn students call home were represented in the World Series (if only the Nationals had played the Phillies in the NLCS). Sure it didn't match the fervor of the 2008 win, yet still was an important moment.

8. M. Fencing goes undefeated. In Micahnik's final season, the Quakers went an impressive 17-0 including 5-0 in the Ivy League. It was the team's first Ivy title since 2000-01. And all this despite the outbreak of a meningococcal infection that affected the team. In the end, we awarded Micahnik Penn Men's Coach of the Year.

7. Kevin Egee's buzzer beater. The Quakers might not have been playing for much back in March when they traveled to Columbia, but that doesn't mean they weren't going to give their all to beat the Lions. So when they found themselves down 50-48 with just 1.9 seconds to go, coach Glen Miller designed a play on the spot. And boy did that play work, as senior Kevin Egee hit a 35-foot buzzer beater to earn the 51-50 win. The play even made it to YouTube, before it was pulled. It arguably was the best piece of coaching Glen Miller did in his three plus years at Penn.

6. Three wrestlers arrested then cleared. This story definitely would've ranked higher had Matt Dragon, Cesar Grajales and Rollie Peterkin been convicted of assault and/or other charges. However, they were cleared, and have since competed in the Southern Scuffle. In fact Grajales made the final of the 149-pound weightclass.

5. Pat Knapp sacked. The coach well-known for his in-game antics and quotes, was finally fired after five years at Penn that saw the team go 48-90, 28-43 Ivy. His final year saw the team start off on a six-game losing streak. Then again this year the team is off to an 0-9 start, so Knapp's replacement, Mike McLaughlin, isn't doing too much better so far.

4. Volleyball's tournament win. Though the Quakers won their eighth Ivy League volleyball title this season, they had never won a match in four previous trips to the NCAA Tournament. But they finally broke through to the second round with a 3-1 win over Army this year. Although the team would fall 3-0 to No. 1 Penn State the next day, the season was arguably the most successful in team history.

3. Women's lacrosse Final Four overtime loss. Perhaps the Volleyball team's accomplishment was more impressive since it was unexpected. Meanwhile, the women's lacrosse team was the favorite to repeat as Ivy League champions and make a run in the NCAA Tournament. And this year's team was not the most successful in program history since they failed to match the 2008 team's championship game appearance. But the national semifinal game against rival Northwestern was by far the best Penn sporting event I attended all year long. Just look at my live blog of the event. It gets really crazy in the end when Penn scores four goals in less than eight minutes to tie up the game. Even crazier when Penn scores the go-ahead goal in non-sudden death overtime. Then really crazy when Northwestern ties it up on a freak goal. Eventually it went to sudden death double overtime and Northwestern won 13-12. Despite the loss, it was a great game.

2. Football beats Harvard to clinch Ivy title. The biggest on-field story of the year in my mind was football's Ivy League championship. For the first time since 2003 -- an eternity for coach Al Bagnoli -- the Quakers won the conference. And if I had to choose a specific game it would be the de facto Ivy League title game at Harvard that best embodied the season. The Quakers played a nearly flawless first half, sprinting out to a 17-0 lead. The amazing Penn defense -- the best in the Football Championship Subdivision -- limited one of the best offenses in the League to just seven points. They'd eventually finish ranked 20th in the media poll.

1. Glen Miller fired. This was briefly mentioned in No. 9, but let's face it, this was the No. 1 sports story of 2009. As the team got worse and worse, fans clamored for the coach's firing. And eventually their protests were answered as athletic director Steve Bilsky fired Glen Miller Dec. 14. A midseason firing of an Ivy coach gained national recognition, as rumors of possible replacements emerged. (Speaking of which, I'll guarantee you that Steve Donahue is not the next Penn coach.) Jerome Allen was hired as interim coach, though it remains to be seen if he'll be considered a long-term solution by Bilsky.

I'm sure you guys have your own moments, or at the very least disagree with my rankings. So post your own thoughts in the comments, and have a great new year.