In a season like this one, it was hardly surprising that the perfect ending was not to be. Penn closed out a forgettable rebuilding season with a 59-56 loss to Princeton at the Palestra Tuesday. There was little to do afterward but mull over the wreckage.

Although the men's tennis team is traveling to the West Coast next week, it will not be spending the time wandering on the beach, watching the sun set and relaxing before the upcoming Ivy League season. The Quakers (5-4) will have to leave the comforts of Levy Pavilion - where they remain undefeated so far this season - to take on four competitive California squads, two of which are nationally ranked.

Updated March 8, 5:20 p.m. NEW YORK -- The Quakers had never even seen this play before, let alone practiced it. But trailing by two with 1.9 seconds remaining, Glen Miller and his coaching staff whipped out a dry-erase clipboard and crafted a setup to down Columbia.

Far from any tropical beach, the men's lacrosse team still has the chance to make waves this spring break. With two home games on the docket in between classes, Penn has an opportunity this afternoon to knock off a top-20 team in No. 18 Denver (3-1) and win its first league contest next Saturday against Yale (1-2, 0-0 Ivy).

The Quakers fell to the Tigers, 59-56, at the Palestra in the last game of the season. Despite outrebounding Princeton 20-9 in the first half, the Quakers trailed, 27-25, at the break. The second frame was no better for the Quakers, who fell to 6-8 in Ivy League and 10-18 overall at season's end.

Updated March 9, 5 p.m. Only one Quakers wrestler, Rollie Peterkin at 125 pounds, was able to reach the finals of this weekend's Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Associatoin Tournament as the Penn wrestling team finished in a disappointing tie for third with Bucknell, despite the Palestra hosting the event.

College sports are all about recruiting. Coaches need to plan for the future and build their teams on a strong foundation of young talent. And that's exactly what Penn swimming coach Mike Schnur has done. The Quakers showcased their freshman talent yesterday during the first day of the Ivy League Championships in Princeton, N.

Sophomore Harrison Gaines has filed papers to transfer away from the Penn men's basketball team, his father, Harry Gaines, wrote in a press release. According to the press release Penn "wasn't a good fit ... I believe my long-term satisfaction lies in joining another university team.

North Carolina has the speed, Boston University wants revenge and Yale is a whole new team. As the rest of Penn heads off to spring break, the women's lacrosse team looks forward to a set of tough games against a myriad of opponents. Today the No. 6 Quakers will play the No.

When the final seconds expired in the Penn men's basketball team's 83-58 loss to Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y., tonight, the Ivy League had its 2009 champion. Thanks to a Princeton loss at Columbia, the Big Red's win gave them the outright Ivy League crown and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

For senior 149-pounder Cesar Grajales and the Penn wrestling team, home cooking isn't always a good thing. But not because of making weight. The No. 24 Quakers (12-7, 6-3 EIWA) will be worried more about complacency at home than tipping the scales when they host the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Tournament this weekend at the Palestra.

With Dartmouth and Harvard the last two contenders standing for the Ivy crown, it may be tough for the women's basketball team to draw fans to the Palestra for its final three home games, with nothing but pride at stake for either side. But tonight's opponent, Cornell (10-14, 6-6 Ivy), has two local players on the roster, including junior guard Allie Fedorowicz, who is close friends with Penn junior Caitlin Slover and maintains many ties to her hometown.

Penn fencing has already had a historic season. After the men's team captured its 16th Ivy League championship on the heels of an undefeated season, the team combined to win the overall Intercollegiate Fencing Association championship last weekend for the first time in school history.

Yes, Temple squandered its chance to become an at-large NCAA Tournament selection when it lost to La Salle and Dayton last week. Its only realistic hope to make the Big Dance is to win the Atlantic 10 tournament in Atlantic City next week. But by beating Saint Joseph's, 68-59, at home last night, the Owls (18-11, 10-5 Atlantic 10) made that task a shade easier.

March 12, 12:54 p.m. Women's basketball coach Pat Knapp will not have his contract renewed by the University, a Penn Athletics press release stated. "We are disappointed that we did not attain the levels of success we anticipated," athletic director Steve Bilsky said in the release.

With No. 39 Princeton looming after spring break, the women's tennis team will need all the preparation it can get for that match. Good thing the Quakers (1-5) are going on a trip to California during the break.

This wasn't how Kevin Egee imagined his senior year ending. Considering Penn made the NCAA Tournament in both his freshman and sophomore years, the Quakers' 9-16 (5-6 Ivy) record isn't exactly what Egee - and fellow active seniors Cam Lewis and Brennan Votel - had in mind for their final season in Red and Blue.