It seems that the Quakers have run into a hiccup on their path of development. Hopefully a Halloween road trip weekend can scare them into shape. Staring down yet another middle of the pack Ivy finish, Penn volleyball will try to finish strong in the second half and put a scare into their Ancient Eight counterparts ahead of them in the standings. The last time the Quakers (8-12, 3-5 Ivy) tangled with the two northeastern schools, it resulted in a 2-0 homestand for Penn as they eked out a close five-set victory over Dartmouth (8-11, 1-7 Ivy) before taking down Harvard (6-11, 4-4 Ivy) in four sets on national TV. Since that weekend, the Red and Blue have been reeling, losing four of their last five.

This Homecoming weekend, the 1986 Penn football team will return to Franklin Field in honor of its 10-0 campaign 30 years ago. As today’s Quakers keep the hope of an undefeated Ivy season alive, the visitors may be able to offer some inspiration.

Home sweet home. After a long journey, Penn women’s soccer will come back to Rhodes one last time to wrap up their 2016 campaign.

Another big ivy weekend is upon us here to take place at Rhoad’s field for Penn men’s soccer.

On the heels of the Quakers' 2015-16 Ivy title, media voters unanimously predicted Penn would win the Ivy title for a third time in four years in the preseason media poll, which was released Tuesday.

Penn wrestling is still more than three weeks shy of its home opener, but Philadelphia has already gotten a sneak preview of the Red and Blue’s talents. Last Friday, the Quakers participated in the program’s inaugural “Grapple on the Green” event, setting up a practice session on College Green from 9 A.M.

The new members of Penn wrestling’s freshmen class boast sterling resumes, ranging from academic honors to athletic success.

Gut check. After enduring a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to Ivy foe Yale this past Saturday, Penn Field Hockey (10-5, 3-2 Ivy) took down crosstown rival Villanova in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night, cementing a 5-0 record against Philadelphia-area schools this season. The Quakers did not get off to the start they wanted; the Wildcats scored a goal in both the 32nd and 33rd minutes of play to take a sudden 2-0 lead.

Despite what was described by Coach Fuller as “arguably the team’s best performance of the season,” the men’s soccer team still lost 1-0 to West Virginia (8-5-1) on Tuesday night. The Quakers (4-5-5) came into this game riding high after the decisive 3-0 victory against Yale.

If at the beginning of 2015 season you told Penn wrestling that they would have an All-American wrestler no one would have blinked.

Been there, done that. As Penn wrestling readies for the 2015-16 season, the Quakers have the security of four returning NCAA qualifiers in Caleb Richardson, May Bethea, Brooks Martino and Casey Kent. “I’ve been there three times and I’ve come up short three times,” Richardson said.

A person like Van Dyke needs no artificial stimulant to prepare for an Ivy League matchup. She feeds off the pressure. But even for a tenured coach with her track record and experience, a little pre-match anxiety can show up every once in awhile.

It was a good weekend on the field for Penn Athletics, and that's translating to hardware off the field as the Quakers enter the week. On Monday, football's Justin Watson was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, while men's soccer's Dami Omitaomu won City Six Rookie of the Week honors.

All that matters is going one game at a time. Interview a coach or player from any sports team and you’ll hear words like these. Who’s going to admit that his team can completely overlook the team it’s about to face? That the next game isn’t as emotionally significant as matchups later on might be?

There’s something in the psyche of the athlete that’s unleashed when the rain starts falling, the sun disappears, the temperature plummets, and the field lights illuminate puffs of breath from red-faced players.

With the final exam looming, Penn men’s soccer gets one more practice test. On Tuesday, the Quakers will play host to West Virginia in their final non-conference tilt of the year.

After conceding four goals to both Villanova and Dartmouth during a three-game losing skid, Penn men’s soccer righted the ship on Saturday against Yale. The Quakers (4-4-5, 2-2 Ivy) blanked the Bulldogs (2-7-2, 1-2-1 Ivy) by a score of 3-0 on goals from Dami Omitaomu, Gideon Metrikin and Alec Neumann.