NCAA bids likely for eight Penn fencers It was a weekend of mixed results for the men's and women's fencing teams. They competed in the NCAA Regionals on Saturday in Madison, N.J., along with Princeton, Temple, Penn State, Haverford, North Carolina, Drew, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Stevens and Fairleigh Dickinson.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - On another night, it might have been a setback. But when leading scorer Tyler Bernardini fouled out after just 18 minutes on Saturday night, Penn had already disappointed in so many ways that one more hardly mattered. Brown shredded Penn's defense, shot a remarkable 64 percent from the field, led by as many points as 39 and put a 75-43 beatdown on the Quakers (11-17, 6-5 Ivy), producing the largest margin of defeat Penn has ever endured in an Ivy League game.

By David Bernstein Staff Writer davidkb@dailypennsylvanian.com NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Even amid Penn's elite teams and Ivy titles of the past few years, Yale's John J. Lee Amphitheater has carried a bit of mystique for the Quakers. Before this season, four of the past six contests there ended in upset victories for the Bulldogs.

It's not often that the Penn men's tennis team faces a former Israeli champion, the No. 40 singles player and the No. 23 doubles team in the nation, all in one weekend. But in matches Friday and Saturday against Maryland and No. 43 Louisville, the Quakers saw their toughest competition all year.

It's time for Campus Inn to check in to its new home at 40th and Pine streets. Plans by developers to build an 11-story hotel at the corner of the two streets - on land leased to them by the University - have faced strong opposition from some community members.

When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, causing the failure of New Orleans' levees, I had no appreciation for the severity of the crisis. What do terms like mandatory evacuation, flood zone, storm surge and levee breach mean? What would they look like in your hometown? Coming from a place where streets are blanketed in snow instead of flooded with water, I couldn't picture any of these things.

It looks like no one can stop Sara Coenen. After going undefeated in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke in league competition this season, Penn's star sophomore won both titles at the Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. The Quakers (7-5, 4-3 Ivy) finished fifth overall, but they broke seven school records in the process.

In preparation for next month's Pennsylvania primary, Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both set up Philadelphia campaign headquarters this weekend. Obama, an Illinois senator, opened his headquarters at 15th and Sansom streets on Saturday.

Penn's Police can now send you text messages. On Friday, The Division of Public Safety conducted a comprehensive test of its new emergency alert system. Taking a page from PhillyCarShare's ComprehensiveFieldGuideAboutHowToNameThings, UPennAlert decided in its message that putting spaces between words just takes too long.

Dental students had something to smile about last month when Penn's School of Dental Medicine opened its new periodontal clinic. The new clinic for periodontics - the branch of dentistry dealing with gums and the supporting structures for teeth - was long overdue.

For four years straight, the Quakers have blown out Yale at the Palestra, winning by an average of 22 points. But when they take on the Bulldogs at the John J. Lee Amphitheater - as they will tonight - nothing comes easy. In two of the last three seasons, the Quakers' lone Ivy League loss came in New Haven, Conn.

There's nothing like opening day in the springtime. Soon enough, the baseball team will be soaking up the rays on its annual trip to the Sunshine State to kick off the season. But before that happens, the Quakers will play their first game right here in Philadelphia, when West Chester makes the short trip to Meiklejohn Stadium.

Engineering junior Ryan Goldstein admitted in federal court Feb. 29 that he helped hack into a computer network, causing the School of Engineering and Applied Science's server to crash in February 2006. Goldstein pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting another person to gain unauthorized access to a protected computer, a federal misdemeanor.

Adrian Williams won't be the second African-American quarterback to win the Super Bowl. The son of former Washington Redskins quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams, Adrian went down a different path. Or, at least, chose different sport - he's now Brown's backup point guard as a freshman.

There won't be any room for error in Chapel Hill, N.C. Saturday as Penn prepares to face off against North Carolina for the first time ever. The Quakers' No. 2 ranking last season earned them the right to compete against the top lacrosse squads in the country, and that includes perennial powerhouse UNC.

Penn women's basketball has beaten just one team since November. That team visits the Palestra tonight. The Quakers (4-20, 1-8 Ivy) lead only one team in the Ivy standings. That team comes to the Palestra tomorrow. With Yale (7-16, 5-5 Ivy) and Brown (2-22, 1-9 Ivy) visiting West Philly this weekend, the Quakers couldn't ask for a better chance at getting a pair of wins in their final home stand.

Whether you're looking to "jazz it up" or simply to dispel the winter blues, the Philadelphia Flower Show with this year's "Jazz It Up" New Orleans theme offers classical jazz music, the largest indoor garden exhibit of its kind and a worthy cause. From this Sunday, March 2 to March 9, the Philadelphia Convention Center will host the 179th -annual Philadelphia Flower Show.