Last Sunday was the fifteenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. It was also the inaugural week of the 2016 NFL season. Oddly enough, it seems like patriotism and what our flag stands for – and whether we choose to stand for it – is at the forefront of the nation’s conscience.

Coming off an 0-4 trip to Houston, Penn volleyball needed a strong showing at home in the Penn Invitational. The Quakers answered the call.

It was a tale of two contests for Penn field hockey this weekend. After splitting their first two games last weekend, the Quakers handily defeated LIU-Brooklyn on Friday, but needed an extra frame to do the same to Saint Joe’s on Sunday.

Whitney Stewart, who was named National Youth of the Year by Boys & Girls Clubs of America last fall, was flown to Rio de Janeiro to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the programming production set for the Summer Olympics. 

There are nine days until Penn football kicks off its 2016 campaign. That’s 22 days after the first college football game of the season. Sports buffs out there will know that the first game, a matchup between Cal and Hawaii on August 26 in Sydney, Australia, is in the FBS division whereas the Quakers' first game against Lehigh on September 17 at 5 p.m.

After a Labor Day weekend of lessons learned at the hands of the then-No. 1 team in the nation, Penn field hockey is looking forward to a different type of weekend starting this Friday. After a fairly dominant 2-0 win in their season opener against Lehigh, the Quakers (1-1) took on North Carolina in an early-season test against the national runner-up from 2015.

A week into the year, it's time to say definitively who is good and who is not. What has impressed you most so far from Penn Athletics?

It’s become nearly as much a staple of Penn sprint football as longtime coach Bill Wagner himself.

Off to an 0-4 start for the first time since 2006, it’s been a long week for Penn volleyball. But if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, there’s no better place than the Palestra to provide it. Following a frustrating performance in Houston, the Quakers will return home in an effort to snatch their first win of the year.

If you plan on going to a Penn women's soccer game this season, make sure you get there on time. So far in their young season, the Quakers (1-1-0) have seen much of the goal scoring action, both for and against them, happen within the opening minutes of their matches.

It’s good to be back. Penn cross country will get its first taste of competition on Friday at the Big Five Invitational at Belmont Plateau.

About a month into her new role as assistant cross country coach, Juli Benson calls the position “a dream come true.”

Ask any member of the Penn cross country team and they will tell you that their focus lies on the months ahead.

Collegiate athletics always brings challenges to teams who have to deal with radically different rosters every year. But this year, Penn women's cross country caught a break.

It’s not uncommon for graduating seniors to leave holes in a team’s roster -- but this particular one is about the size of the Grand Canyon. With the departure of all-world runner Tom Awad, Penn men’s track and field will look to adjust to life without the two-time defending Ivy Heptagonal champion.

Penn men’s soccer, still nursing the wounds of last season, nevertheless enters a new year with optimism and a set of fresh, young faces who will look to make their mark on the field.

Two games into the 2016 season, Penn men’s soccer is undefeated. It’s also winless.