He may be 6-foot-6, but Hicham Laalej does not have a devastating jump shot - he has a wicked forehand instead. The junior transfer from Stetson and Morocco native plays No. 1 singles for the Penn men's tennis team and has lived up to his ranking. Ironically, his Quakers teammates dubbed him "Hicham the Dream," due to a pronunciation error, confusing "Hicham" (pronounced He-sham) with the first name of NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon.

Penn softball players and coaches have persistently claimed that they are a far better team than their losing record shows. Yesterday they finally proved that with a drubbing of cross-town foe La Salle. The Quakers won, 9-1, at La Salle in a game that was ended after five innings due to the mercy rule.

By ZACH KLITZMAN Sports Editor klitzman@dailypennsylvanian.com Jon McLauhglin, Penn's offensive line coach for the last three years, has officially been named offensive coordinator, the Athletic Department announced yesterday. The promotion was first reported by Daily Pennsylvanian senior staff writer Andrew Scurria on Feb.

BALTIMORE - Her teammates praise her offensive repertoire. But for whatever reason, women's lacrosse midfield Samantha Bird never developed much of a scoring touch. In 27 games over her first three seasons, she managed just six points. Her numbers were slightly better to start this year, with seven points in the team's first eight contests, but coach Karin Brower said the senior is still more of a role player.

BALTIMORE - Samantha Bird - who entered the night with just nine goals in 35 games - notched a hat trick and added two assists as the women's lacrosse team cruised to an 11-3 victory over Johns Hopkins. So one day after dropping a slot to No. 3 in the latest IWLCA rankings, the Quakers extended their season-opening winning streak.

Penn softball is anxious. Anxious to notch a few more marks in its win column. After suffering two disappointing defeats to Harvard on Monday, the Quakers (5-17-1, 1-3 Ivy) will look to rebound when they make the short trip to La Salle (3-13) today for an afternoon doubleheader beginning at 3 p.

Penn began the seventh inning trailing the Delaware Blue Hens 4-3, with Delaware's bottom three hitters coming to the plate. Freshman pitcher Chris McNulty walked the seventh-place hitter, gave up a double to the eighth, walked the ninth and the first, and then gave up a grand slam to Delaware's Ryan Cuneo.

So, you're a Penn sports fan. Tough sledding, eh? No football titles since 2003, the worst basketball season in nearly two decades, and if Glen Miller has to wish one more departing hoopster "well on his future endeavors," you might just burst out of your Red and Blue Crew T-shirt like some sort of Incredible Ivy League Hulk.

The Penn women's golf team thought they had finally edged past one of their top Ivy rivals, Columbia, at the annual Hoya Invitational yesterday at The Members Club at Four Streams course in Beallsville, Md. But by some stroke of fate - and some good strokes from the Lions - the Quakers were leapfrogged on the leaderboard.

The Blue Jays know how to put up a fight. So as the No. 2 Penn women's lacrosse team enters its ninth game of the season against unranked Johns Hopkins, they expect to hear the foul whistle a lot. "They're very physical so we're going to have to be able to handle that," coach Karin Brower said.

Heading into the top of the ninth inning with an 11-8 lead in the second game of a doubleheader against Harvard yesterday afternoon, it looked like the Quakers were finally ready to put a close on their first Ivy League win. But their fortune changed quickly as the Crimson's Matt Rogers homered to left center to pull Harvard within one.

After a heartbreaking loss to rival Princeton, the men's tennis team was able to bounce back for a convincing 6-1 win against Army at Levy Tennis Pavilion yesterday - but suffered a casualty in the process. Junior Alex Vasin - who has had a turbulent history with coach Nik DeVore that included a leave of absence for two months last season - confirmed that he has quit the team.

It's almost hard to take him seriously, this skinny fellow in pink and turquoise spandex. He is shirtless, his hair is spiked with gel and he boldly claims to hail from "the projects of Neverland Ranch." But in the South Philly venue known simply as "The Arena" - a hotbed of that blue-collar, indulgent but damn-if-it-ain't-entertaining art form known as professional wrestling - the man called Pinkie Sanchez takes a tone that belies his flamboyant persona.

With their teams struggling to accumulate Ivy League championships, Penn athletes combined forces for a greater cause at the Pride Games on Hill Field Sunday - and still didn't come away with first place. That honor, along with a celebratory ice cream party, went to Team Philadelphia, which was comprised of board members of the Federation of Gay Games, "We're delighted and kind of surprised," team member Rick VanTassell said of the win.

Down 7-4 and facing match point, juniors Ekaterina Kosminskaya and Maria Anisimova were on the brink of losing the doubles point in their match against No. 48 Princeton Saturday. Kosminskaya extended the match by rifling a cross-court return to set up a strong volley down the line for a winner.

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.