The baseball team was in no mood to stretch. It was the top of the seventh inning, and the Quakers led Dartmouth, 8-3, and were seemingly cruising on their way to victory over an inferior opponent. Then the Big Green rallied for five runs, including a three-run homer, and the Penn players sat disheartened in their dugout in the middle of the inning.

In an e-mail to "Penn Basketball Alumni, Family and Friends," senior associate director of athletics Mary DiStanislao announced that Penn Athletics will host a "town hall" meeting April 26 at 10:30 a.m. at the Inn at Penn in which basketball coach Glen Miller will field questions. The event "is intended to bring together season ticket holders, former players, alumni and select student supporters as well as long-time friends of the program for an extended answer session about Penn Basketball with coach Miller," the e-mail said.

The Penn women's lacrosse team controlled every aspect of its game at Columbia - in the first half, that is. Despite a second half dominated by its unranked Ivy League opponent, the No. 2 Quakers pulled out a 16-11 victory over the Lions Friday afternoon in New York.

Penn men's tennis senior captain Jonathan Boym may be physically rusty, but his veteran perspective remains sharp. "Obviously I'm extremely distraught that I couldn't close that match out . but I think the test of a true athlete or a true competitor is how well you bounce back the next time," Penn's No.

When a team is struggling, a matchup against the fourth-best team in the nation generally is not the cure. The men's lacrosse team showed that Saturday, continuing its season-long defensive struggles in a 21-11 loss to No. 4 Cornell. "Going against the [No.

Penn softball kicked off Ivy League play with a split against Dartmouth. The Quakers dropped the first game, 8-7, but bounced back in the nightcap with an impressive 8-0 rout. Dartmouth (8-11, 1-1 Ivy) dominated the first game from the outset. Second baseman Kirsten Costello drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on two groundouts before being knocked in on a double by Molly Khalil.

By JOE SANFILIPPO Staff Writer sanfilippo@dailypennsylvanian.com Tomorrow's contest at Cornell is of huge importance to Penn men's lacrosse, but it may be for the wrong reasons. A loss against the No. 4 Big Red - which would be the Quakers' sixth loss in a row - all but guarantees Penn will be on the outside looking in for this year's NCAA tournament.

While the No. 2 Penn women's lacrosse team boasts a balanced offensive attack, Columbia relies mainly on two threats: senior Holly Glynn and junior Brittany Shannon. When the Red and Blue (6-0, 2-0 Ivy) travel to New York to face Columbia (5-2, 0-1) at 3:30 this afternoon, the dynamic Lions duo will surely be on their minds.

Penn baseball's early-season play has been one of mixed success. The young guys have played beyond their years, but the lack of veterans has sometimes been apparent. The starting pitching has been rock-solid, but the bullpen has been erratic. The defense was shaky early on, but it has started to come around.

Princeton's women's tennis team defeated Penn, 7-0, at Levy Tennis Pavilion Saturday. The 48th-ranked Tigers played very well top to bottom. However, the scoreline did not tell the whole story of the match. Juniors Maria Anisimova and Ekaterina Kosminskaya had a chance to secure the doubles point for Penn in their number one doubles match.

If history is bound to repeat itself, the Princeton women's tennis team better not underestimate the Quakers. Last year, then-No. 72 Penn defeated then-No. 64 Princeton, 5-2, on the Tigers' home court. This year, the Red and Blue will have home-court advantage when they take on the Tigers in their first Ivy League match of the season.

Penn's Big 5 rival Villanova advanced to the final four tonight by outlasting No. 1 seeded Pittsburgh, 78-76, in Boston tonight. After Pitt G Levance Fields nailed two clutch free throws to tie the game by with 5.5 seconds remainining, Villanova G Scottie Reynolds took the inbounds and drove the length of the court for a game-winning layup as time expired.

Tomorrow, for at least one reason, the Penn men's tennis team is hoping that this year isn't like the last. In their 2008 Ivy opener, the Quakers fell, 5-2, to Princeton at home in a contest that coach Nik DeVore called "a bitter, bitter one." The Quakers will have a chance for revenge this year when they open their 2009 Ivy League slate with a 2 p.

It may not be obvious - or it may even seem doubtful thanks to its 1-11 record in its last 12 games - but things may be looking up for Penn softball. Although their record doesn't indicate it, the Quakers have been showing steady improvement - and the time may be right for the slump to end.