In a span of only a couple of days, former Quaker star Alek Torgersen’s NFL dreams were dashed, and — just as suddenly — resurrected.

The Penn Cross Country program has never been more successful than it was in 2016. So much so that Coach Steve Dolan said that their accomplishments “raised the bar in terms of what’s possible.” While the team has entirely new leaders this season, the mindset remains the same: the Quakers are the team to beat in the Ivy League.

Now with a couple of weeks of practice under its belt, the team will kick off its season on Friday night with a trip to Monmouth in New Jersey, before they come home to open things up at Rhodes Field on Sunday against Bowling Green.

While the 82-year-old spent much of his career at Villanova, he was no stranger to Penn. The season before he took the helm with the Wildcats, Massimino was actually an assistant coach for the Quakers. 

The Red and Blue (0-2) will head to Southern California for a pair of non-conference games this weekend, as the Quakers will take on UC Irvine (1-1-1) on Friday before facing UC Riverside (1-2-1) Sunday night.

On Sunday, the Quakers (0-0) will host top-ranked North Carolina, but just two days before that they will play at home against Rutgers. While the Tar Heels (1-1) clearly present a more challenging matchup, the Red and Blue are resolved to approach both games with the same preparation and mentality.

With fall athletics underway, many Penn teams will be vying for Ivy League and even national glory. Which team has the best chances of claiming or defending a trophy? Three of the Daily Pennsylvanian sports editors talked it out.

Taking place in a southeast Mexican region called the Riviera Maya, Morales showed off her aquatic abilities in the area’s cenotes — underground sinkholes that some Mayan natives consider a gateway to the Underworld — giving the wakeboarding phenom a new opportunity to showcase her sport and her country.

We’ve established that the Quakers can be dangerous when labeled an underdog. So following that logic, the poll did them a favor by making them one again in 2017.

The Quakers opened their season on Friday at Rhodes Field with a 1-0 loss to Lehigh and repeated that scoreline two days later on Sunday against La Salle. The Quakers (0-2) showed promise in both games, but ultimately, they failed to convert on their opportunities.

There's a lot to catch up on, but here's an overview of the seven Penn Athletics programs in competition this fall:

McMahon, in only his second full MLL season, has developed into one of the best lacrosse players in the world. The rangy six-foot-four cover man who led the 2014 Quakers to an Ivy League Tournament title has since become a takeaway artist and the backbone of the Machine Defense, and as such, he was named to the All-MLL Team.

This fall season will feature 25 Ivy League matches on ESPN’s live internet streaming network, ESPN3. Penn will feature in six of these games across four different sports. Here is a look at the Quakers' matchups to be featured on the ESPN channel throughout this fall.

Read about Penn football’s win against Marist, volleyball, and more.

Read about Penn football’s win, field hockey, and more.

Read about cross country, Penn football at Lehigh, women's soccer, and more.

Read about football's season opener, NIL, and more.