Five members of the Penn wrestling team began the NCAA Championships Thursday with high hopes and championship aspirations.

The Quakers head to North Carolina for the Wake Forest Invitational this weekend for the meet that marks the beginning of the outdoor season.

The faculty and staff are just as much a vital part of this community as the students are, but are rarely seen at Penn basketball games. They should come be a part of a part of the Penn community Monday night at the Palestra.

Harvard entered the NCAA tournament as a media darling. But the Crimson’s loss to Vanderbilt on the first day of March Madness was especially sweet for Penn fans.

The atmosphere at the Palestra and the circumstances surrounding Penn’s 74-63 victory over Quinnipiac Wednesday night in the College Basketball Invitational were just bizarre.

For spectators, it was a great day to go to a Penn baseball game with perfect weather and an exciting game. But, the Quakers couldn’t help but feel disappointed after a tough extra innings loss.

The Quakers won their opening game at Penn Park, but lost their second as part of a doubleheader against St. Joe’s at Penn Park.

Seniors Zack Kemmerer and Bryan Ortenzio, transfer senior Erich Smith, junior Micah Burak and freshman Steve Robertson will compete this weekend at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis.

Playing in its first postseason appearance since 2006-7, Penn continued what they have done much of the season and found a way to fight another day.

Four rookies were among the top six players in minutes for the Quakers this past season: guards Renee Busch and Jackie Kates and forwards Katy Allen and Kara Bonenberger. The four freshmen had 62 starts combined.

Three members from last year’s graduating class have been playing professional basketball around the globe, from Germany to Spain to Mexico.

Harter grew up in Pottstown, Pa., only 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia and enrolled at the university in the School of Education. He was a reserve guard on the men’s basketball team before graduating in 1953.

Wednesday afternoon the beautiful weather will provide Penn softball with a picturesque backdrop in its home opener against Saint Joseph’s in the first game at the new Penn Park stadium.

It may not be the NCAA Tournament, and it may not be the NIT, but the Quakers begin their postseason Wednesday in the College Basketball Invitational against Quinnipiac at the Palestra.

The Quakers, who played eight games in Florida over Spring Break, are 3-5, and have been blown out in four of their losses. The coaches have been shifting its starting lineup, and three separate players have been used as cleanup.

Midfielder Christian Barreiro, who was cut by the New York Red Bulls in early February, has been on trial with the Harrisburg City Islanders of the United Soccer League Pro in the hopes to continue his journey as a professional soccer player.

For Jerome Allen, the word that sums up the Penn men’s basketball season is “disappointing.” But in my time at Penn, I have never seen so much excitement generated by a Penn sports program as the men’s basketball team did this year.