Exceeding expectations has been a familiar theme for the seniors on the women's squash team. When they started as freshmen, they joined a team that was coming off a 5-7 season and was an afterthought in Ivy League competition. Over their four-year careers, the squad compiled a combined 44-10 record (20-9 Ivy) and emerged as one of the most formidable threats in the nation.

Penn fencer Zane Grodman accomplished an amazing feat yesterday. The freshman foil defeated Columbia's All-American Kurt Getz in 30 seconds by a score of 5-0. "He set an incredible tone for the match," coach Dave Micahnik said. "We went on to defeat Columbia for the first time in the last 10 years.

Wrestling absolutely demolished the Crimson and Bears, winning 35-12 and 34-6, respectively.

It's that time of the year again. I have the dubious honor of penning my second annual "Penn is rebuilding and will not compete for the league title" column. And this second rebuilding season has brought with it a unique challenge that needs to be addressed.

And so the streak continues. As has been the case for the past five years, the Penn women's swimming team emerged triumphant in its meet against La Salle, this time winning, 169-130, last night.

Against top-ranked Princeton last week, Penn women's squash lost its captain, Emily Goodwin, early on in the match to a knee injury. It was a devastating blow for the Quakers, who are still feeling the effects of the senior's absence. As a result of the senior's injury, the Red and Blue are short-handed heading into this weekend's matches.

It is a widely known sports philosophy that players "learn from the best." Men's squash coach Craig Thorpe-Clarke and his team have taken this adage to heart. After the humbling experience of getting shut out, 9-0, against the top two teams in the nation - No.

Men's basketball fell, 88-73, to defending champion Cornell at the Palestra Saturday night. In a surprising move, Glen Miller went with a completely new starting lineup: Harrison Gaines, Kevin Egee, Rob Belcore, Justin Reilly, and Conor Turley. The new-look Quakers jumped out to an 11-5 lead behind five quick points by Belcore.

The importance of beating Cornell tomorrow night is crystal clear. Figuring out how is a much trickier proposition, or at least it has been for the Ivy League opponents Cornell has faced so far. The first-place Big Red (14-6, 4-0 Ivy) have comfortably beaten Yale, Brown and Columbia (twice), and during their current nine-game win streak have compiled an average margin of victory of 22.

Not a single member of the Penn women's tennis program is old enough to rent a car from most companies. Although that may cause travel obstacles, it may be a good thing for the Quakers. The relative youth of the coaching staff - both interim coach Sara Schiffman and assistant Erin Katims are under 25 years old - could provide a necessary boost for the Penn women's tennis squad as it seeks to rebound from a 7-0 loss to Old Dominion and land its first victory of the season this weekend against Virginia Commonwealth and Richmond.

Though the Quakers' Ivy home-opener against Columbia tonight may seem like a mere distraction before Saturday's matchup against defending champion Cornell, Penn coach Glen Miller swears that the Goliath that is Big Red basketball isn't overshadowing a potential David in the foreground.

The men's tennis team does not typically travel very far for its matches, but it made an exception to face a talented team in No. 23 Miami. "I know the coach there and they are a very good team," coach Nik DeVore said. "We just couldn't pass up an opportunity to play there.

Judie Lomax hardly seems like an intimidating figure. The Columbia sophomore stands at a pedestrian 5-foot-11 - if anything undersized at her forward position - and plays for a historically meek Lions squad that has never posted a winning record in the Ivy League.

The schedule said Penn versus La Salle, but swimming coach Mike Schnur noticed another, more personal, competition occurring. "We have a lot of guys who know some guys from La Salle and had a lot of local bragging rights on the line," the coach said of his men's team.

Streak ended - two words that the Penn women's swimming team would not like to see in the recap of its meet with La Salle tonight. The Explorers (5-3) will be trying to do something they haven't in five years -- beat Penn - when the two teams meet at La Salle's Kirk Pool.

After helping Cornell win its first Ivy League title in 20 years while earning league Player of the Year honors, what can Louis Dale do this year for an encore? How about increase his average by 1.0 to 14.8 points per contest while shooting .548 from the field (.

Mike Schnur is getting bored. In the men swimming team's final dual meet of the season, the coach is making his distance swimmers sprint and his breaststrokers swim freestyle. Schnur's explanation? Just for the hell of it. Today, the Quakers (6-5) will finish up their regular season at LaSalle (3-5) before the ECAC, EISL and NCAA championships.