The top 10 moments of 2010

On this last day of the year, it seems appropriate to look back at the top 10 moments in Penn sports in 2010. So join The Buzz as we look back at a memorable year:

10. Sprint football snaps Navy's 25-game winning streak — Oct. 2

Heading into the 2010 matchup with Penn, Navy had not lost a CSFL game since 2006 — a 25 game winning streak — and the Midshipmen had beaten Penn for 10 straight meetings. But that all changed when the Quakers dropped Navy 24-14 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., ending the Midshipmen’s reign on the league. It was a key win for Penn on the way to taking a share of the CSFL title, its first since 2000.

9. Women's golf rises to first-ever Ivy championship — April 25

After finishing fifth in both the 2008 and 2009 Ivy championships, Penn women’s golf catapulted to the top of the Ancient Eight in April 2010, in large part due to the talented duo of then-freshman Isabel Han and sophomore Tiffany Cheung, who finished second and third, respectively, at the tournament. It was the program's first ever Ivy title.

#8: Women's soccer grabs Ivy Championship — Nov. 6

Though a tie would rarely count as a top moment in any sports countdown, when the Penn women’s soccer team tied Princeton, 0-0, they secured an Ivy title, their first since 2007, and a spot in the NCAA tournament. The women then traveled to Morgantown, W.Va. where they lost in the first round to Penn State. The tie at Princeton was part of an action packed Saturday at Princeton where football routed the rival Tigers, while men's soccer lost in a game with title implications.

7: Usain Bolt electrifies Penn Relays — April 24

It might not be a Penn Sports moment per se, but the World’s Fastest Man’s appearance at the Penn Relays was a highlight of the sporting year on campus. A sellout crowd of 54,310 packed the Franklin Field stands to see Bolt’s anchor leg of the 4x100 relay — in which the Jamaican team set a Penn Relays record.

6: Men’s soccer overtime win over Bucknell in NCAA first round

Penn men’s soccer missed out on a share of the Ivy League title when they lost at Princeton in the penultimate week of the season, but after a solid season, the NCAA awarded the Quakers an at-large bid into the tournament. To ice that cake, the game was played at Penn.

“I’ve been here 13 years, I’ve never seen anything like it," coach Rudy Fuller said. "The students were fantastic. The energy and the spirit really pushed our boys on.”

Penn topped Bucknell 1-0 in an overtime thriller. The golden goal came off the boot of junior Christian Barreiro, and it sent the Quakers to Maryland where they fell in the second round.

5. Men's hoops ousts No. 22 Cornell at the Palestra — Feb. 12

In a season with little to write home about, Penn men’s basketball gave the fans one memorable moment when the Quakers upset No. 22 Cornell — a team that went on to the NCAA sweet sixteen — handing the Big Red their only Ivy loss of the year.

Then-sophomore Zack Rosen was moved to tears after the win — whether they were from joy or pain we may never know. Besides Rosen’s 22 points, Jack Eggleston had a career night for Penn with 24 points on 4-for-5 shooting from three. Of Penn’s six wins last season, this was by far the most memorable, as the Quakers faithful stormed the court. It was also Penn's first home win in nearly a year.

4. Volleyball tops Yale in play-in match — Nov. 21

Defending Ivy League champion Penn volleyball suffered early setbacks in Ivy play with losses to Princeton and Yale but battled the rest of the season to secure a share of the Ivy title with the Elis. But the Quakers got a chance to settle the score at an NCAA tournament play-in match when they traveled to Yale looking for an automatic bid into the championship tourney.

After going up two sets to zero, Penn let the next two sets slip away. But the Red and Blue held on for the fifth set, winning a spot in the tournament (where they lost in the first round to Ohio). More importantly, they proved, at Yale no-less, who was tops in the Ivy League.

3. Penn hires Jerome Allen as head coach of men's basketball — March 31

It was expected, but the hiring of Jerome Allen ushered in a new era for the storied Penn basketball program. Allen’s merits as a coach were mostly untested — and the Penn basketball community is still getting its first look at Allen as head man. But as a player he led the Quakers to three-straight Ivy titles between 1993-95.

While he lacks coaching experience — he spent half a season as an assistant coach before he was thrust into the position of interim head coach — he was hired by Athletic Director Steve Bilsky for his understanding of the Penn community and tradition.

“Jerome’s talents and accomplishments in life are noteworthy and familiar to the Penn community,” Bilsky said in a statement. “What isn’t as well known, until you spend time with him, is the humility that coincides with his pride. It is the combination of these qualities, plus his vision to return Penn to glory, that makes me so pleased to name him the John R. Rockwell Head Coach of Men’s Basketball.”

2. Women's Lacrosse wins 4th straight championship — May 2

The dominant Penn women’s lacrosse team won its fourth straight Ivy League title — this time in the inaugural Ivy League tournament — with a 9-8 victory over Dartmouth at Franklin Field. The Quakers had a comfortable 7-2 lead, but let the Big Green back in the game, barely holding on for the win. It marked the last Ivy game for a talented senior class that didn't lose a single conference game in four years.

1. Back to back Ivy Football championships — Nov. 13, 20

There’s nothing like a repeat league title to assert one’s dominance. And after a season of scraping by Ivy opponents in 2009, the Quakers said ‘we’re here to stay' in 2010, beating Ancient Eight teams by an average of 18.7 points. Penn first clinched a share of the title by downing Harvard, then the Quakers sealed the outright title with a 31-7 win over Cornell to end the season.

The second-straight undefeated Ivy season carried significant weight this year as the team looked to honor their fallen teammate Owen Thomas, an elected captain, who committed suicide in April, as well as team leader Dan ‘Coach Lake’ Staffieri, who lost his battle with bladder cancer earlier in April.

The season was rife with record-breaking moments as well. Coach Al Bagnoli steered the program to its 800^th win, joining an elite club of Division I teams, and he broke the Penn program record for wins as a coach. Kicker Andrew Samson broke a bunch of Penn and Ivy scoring and kicking records, though his perfect PAT streak fell when he missed a kick against Yale.

And when the Quakers clinched the title, they broke out the celebratory cigars: