The DP was forwarded an email sent to Penn softball alumni from Penn Athletic Director M. Grace Calhoun.

While it will be just the eighth game of the season for both these teams, Tuesday’s game will likely decide the league. The top seed is up for grabs.  And Penn should win it.

Penn had been rolling coming into this game, reeling off five straight conference wins, including a 65-47 drubbing of Dartmouth, but the latest, by a score of 69-49 over Harvard (13-8, 5-3 Ivy), is more than just another solid conference victory. 

The dream of an undefeated season is gone, and the cloak of invincibility for Penn men’s basketball has disappeared with it. And that’s one of the best things that could’ve happened to the Quakers.

All good things must end. Penn men’s basketball dropped its first Ivy League contest of the season Saturday night, falling, 76-67, to Harvard in a contest that it trailed in since the beginning.

This group of 11 female juniors combines to form a house — and in the process, perhaps one of the more unique bonds Penn Athletics has ever seen.

Penn women’s basketball easily handled Dartmouth in a 65-47 win at the Palestra. The Quakers lead comfortably for the majority of the game, leading to an expanded bench, particularly in the second half. 

Rather than resting on their laurels, Penn came into this game with a fire, shutting the Big Green down early and holding onto the lead throughout in a game that stopped being close sometime in the second quarter. 

Putting its undefeated Ivy League record on the line against last-place Dartmouth, the Red and Blue struggled throughout the night, but a tiebreaking AJ Brodeur bucket in the last minute and a Max Rothschild steal on the Big Green’s last possession allowed the Quakers to hold on in a wild 64-61 win.

Penn wrestling has raced to a fast start this seasons thanks in no small part to freshman standout Gianni Ghione. 

This is an especially pivotal weekend for the Quakers, as they have the opportunity to dictate how the remainder of their season will go. Building their momentum will not be easy, though, as Cornell (9-2, 4-0) is proving to be a powerhouse yet again this season.  

 Now, the Quakers are set to host Dartmouth (12-7, 4-2 Ivy) on Friday and Harvard (13-6, 5-1 Ivy) on Saturday. Despite the team’s recent success, these matches should not be taken lightly.

Still, this is a monumental occasion, and many teams have already reconfigured their schedules to accommodate the ticker-tape parade on Thursday morning. 

The outlier there, the 6-5, is Penn women’s squash's record this year — a stark departure from the years of dominance seen in those prior three records. After consistently leading the pack in the Ivy League, what accounts for the struggles that this team has faced?

This Sunday, Penn gymnastics will face Temple, Bridgeport, and Ursinus in a home meet at the Palestra. It’s the Quakers' senior meet, so the team will honor the contributions of the team’s seniors in a pre-meet ceremony. 

The Philadelphia Eagles will march down Broad Street on Thursday to celebrate their Super Bowl championship over the New England Patriots.  And Penn men’s basketball is making the most of it. 

It's a beautiful thing to see, particularly when that person has just led your team to a conference title and has the remnants of the hoops adorning him like a necklace of basketball royalty.