The Palestra, like many sports arenas, frequently plays the song "Jump Around" to get the home crowd into the game. But in the Penn men's basketball team's 85-73 home loss to Penn State last night, it looked like the visitor, not the host, had taken the s

By ARI SEIFTER Staff Writer aseifter@dailypennsylvanian.com When the women's basketball team faces Saint Joseph's tonight at the Palestra, recent history will not be on Penn's side. Even though the Quakers (0-3) haven't defeated the Hawks since 2004-05 - and are just 1-32 against them all-time - and none of the players on this year's squad has experienced a Big 5 win, Penn coach Pat Knapp hasn't talked to his team about its past struggles.

For all the Penn students who have ever received Penn State gear as a graduation gift, Quakers basketball can be a source of retribution. Coming into tonight's matchup at the Palestra, Penn holds a commanding 31-12 edge over the school that has plagued its name recognition for so long.

Minutes after the clock had run out and George Mason's soccer team had rushed the field to celebrate, Omid Shokoufandeh still lay on the ground. The rest of the Quakers were shaking hands with their opponents, but Shokoufandeh couldn't get up. The senior did not move from the opposing penalty box - where he had done so much damage this season - and allowed the reality of his final collegiate game to sink in.

The Penn football team was barely past its mandatory 10-minute cool down when the post-mortems began. Al Bagnoli cast the Quakers' fifth straight title-less season as a case study in resolve - a true statement, but an incomplete one. It was also a disappointment, as any year that doesn't end with a ring should be for Penn.

The season's first three games have provided three fundamental takeaways: UNC without Hansbrough is still UNC, Drexel coach Bruiser Flint should have his own reality show and the Red and Blue still haven't found that one, central voice to lead their young squad.

ITHACA, N.Y. - To the names Irvin, Olson and Garton, add McNally. The Penn quarterback position seems to have an injury hex on it, but Brendan McNally stepped into the role on Saturday and avoided disaster. McNally spelled the injured sophomore starter Keiffer Garton in the first quarter of Penn's 23-6 victory over Cornell and hardly missed a beat, even if he did resemble a tailback more than a signal caller.

A little friendly competition never hurt anyone. In fact, it may even have helped the Penn women's swimming team this past weekend. In the 200-yard freestyle relay of the Quakers' tri-meet on Friday against Cornell and Princeton, coach Mike Schnur initiated a competition between the freshman class and their upperclassman teammates.

ITHACA, N.Y. - So this is how it ends, with a sober and shivering postgame celebration and no Ivy League trophy to hoist. But the Quakers closed out their 2008 campaign with a win to be proud of on Saturday, 23-6 over Cornell in 10-degree weather and swirling wind.

By ELI COHEN Staff Writer coheneli@dailypennsylvanian.com In sports, 'back-to-back-to-back' is usually a good thing. Except when the three events are two dual meets and an all-day tournament over just two days. In return for making it through grueling preseason practices and weight lifting sessions, Penn wrestling coach Rob Eiter rewarded his team with a smorgasbord of competition on which to feast.

Tyler Bernardini, in his short time at Penn, has made a habit of carrying the Quakers on his back. He's been the subject of heavy praise and, for opposing coaches, the cause of much frustration. But on Saturday night, during the Red and Blue's 83-62 win over Monmouth at the Palestra, the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year took that frustration to a whole new level.

By HANNAH GERSTENBLATT Sports Editor-elect hannahgb@dailypennsylvanian.com Pat Knapp is sick of watching his women's basketball team play nice. In a 78-45 loss at Duquesne on Saturday, the Quakers watched the Dukes snatch 22 offensive rebounds and score 21 second-chance points.

When a team adds another notch to the loss column, the coach isn't usually smiling. But after the Penn men's swimming team went 1-1 in its dual meet against Princeton and Cornell in New Jersey on Saturday, coach Mike Schnur could not have been more excited.

By MAX WEISS Staff Writer weissmax@dailypennsylvanian.com Britt Hebden and Katie Corelli both know what it's like to play squash for the Quakers - they were teammates on the Quakers of Penn Charter, and were on their 2006 national runner-up squad. Hebden and Corelli are still playing squash together, but now as opponents.

With Penn struggling to find an offensive rhythm early in the first half on Saturday against Monmouth, Tyler Bernardini put the team on his back, scoring all but two of the Quakers' first 14 points. But a young and weaker Monmouth squad crept back anyway, refusing to be silenced by a single player.

With the bulkhead that divides Sheerr Pool broken and stuck underwater for at least a month, members of the men's swimming team will be forced to practice in a tiring long-course style: good for the long run, bad for the near future. "They'll kick butt, but right now, they will be a little tired," coach Mike Schnur said.

In the wild buildup before the Penn men's soccer team's historic 1-0 win over Harvard last Sunday, senior midfielder Kevin Unger said to "interview me on Monday after we win." Unger's guarantee was bold, but ultimately correct. So what did soccer's resident psychic have to say about this evening's first round NCAA matchup against George Mason? "I think we're the better team," Unger said.