Some students have been opposed to it for years, but general-admissions seating is coming to Penn basketball this fall, no doubt about it. The first 500 students who participate in The Line will still have access to the best seats, but none will be reserved, a policy that Athletic Department officials hope will encourage students to arrive before tipoff and centralize the section.

The best cross-country distance runners push through the pain at around the three-mile mark. They ignore the numbness in their calves, the burning in their lungs and the queasiness in their stomach. When they finally get to the finish line, they collapse to the ground, frequently helped off by coaches and sometimes, stretchers.

If the Penn men's soccer team --had any doubt about who would mind the net, it need look no further than the man currently occupying the starting role. After splitting time with two other goalkeepers last season, senior Drew Healy has staked a strong claim to the starter's role, playing all of both games this weekend and letting in no goals.

During Saturday's game with Rutgers, the Penn field hockey team had trouble winning loose-ball battles. Coach Val Cloud set out to remedy the problem in this week's practices, and the Red and Blue (1-1) will be immediately tested, as they host a speedy Saint Joseph's squad tonight at Franklin Field.

As freshman Ursula Lopez-Palm watched her rebound soar over Pittsburgh goalie Morie Kephart's head and into the back of the net, she started jumping up and down during what she called a "surreal" moment. "[My teammates] made fun of me a little for my celebration dance," Lopez-Palm admitted.

Scan through the Penn women's track records from the past few years and you'll see a pair of names repeat themselves over and over: Claire Kim and Stacy Kim, usually with either a "1." or "2." next to their names. The now-graduated twins were not only the Red and Blue's leading finishers, but were also their heart on and off the track.

Penn Football went 4-6 last year. It graduated a sort-of starting quarterback, its running back, fullback and two best wide receivers, plus three starting linemen. (This is just the offense.) And yet, somewhere between New Hampshire and New Jersey, someone out there knows how Penn can win the Ivy League.

If Penn's volleyball team wants to improve upon last season's second-place Ivy League finish, it needs to fill the hole in the middle of its defense. On Friday, Bowling Green exposed it as ball after ball dropped - as if in slow motion - between two or three players who stood by idly watching.

There are some things you see in life that you can be absolutely certain you will never witness again. Watching a 10-foot-tall papier mache woman give birth would qualify. So would seeing the King of Pop hurdle and flip at 40 miles per hour or hearing someone say, "No, I think the other cheesesteak mobile was faster."

With Hurricane Hanna wreaking havoc on the Northeast as the Penn field hockey team readied for its contest against Rutgers, the Quakers had a decision to make. Instead of canceling the game - and likely never facing the Scarlet Knights this year - they opted to play through torrential rain on Saturday.

Facing match point against Bowling Green on Friday, junior Anne Magnuson rose high above the right side of the net and slammed a cross-court kill to keep the Penn volleyball team alive. The Quakers had already turned a 22-17 first-set deficit against Fairfeld into a straight-set win earlier that day.

In 15 matches last season, Penn midfielder Natalie Capuano tallied only three goals on 16 shots. But with juniors Jessica Fuccello and Jess Rothenheber - the team's leading scorers last season - absent due to injury, senior captain Capuano stepped up with two goals on Sunday and led the Quakers to a 3-0 win over Robert Morris.

Just 23 minutes into the Penn men's soccer season opener on Friday night, Quakers sophomore Loukas Tasigianis set off a scuffle when he took down Marquette's Matt Stummer . Penn captain John Elicker and Marquette forward Anthony Colaizzi ran in to break it up.

What a difference an extra week of preseason makes. With the Ivy League loosening its restrictions on preseason men's soccer practice from seven days to 14 this year, the Quakers appeared confident and ready to embark on their road trip against Marquette and DePaul.

Megan Tryon will make her presence known at the Palestra today, when the Penn volleyball team opens its season. But her prowess stems from other playing surfaces: Over her long athletic career, the sophomore setter has also demonstrated her skills in the sand and on the pitcher's mound.

No wonder Penn volleyball captain Kathryn Turner is talking about a steep learning curve. Not only does the Ivy League have an abbreviated preseason schedule - a disadvantage against non-conference opponents who have already played matches by now - but the Quakers haven't won a season opener since 2004.

Tri-captain Eileen Larkin said that this season, the women's soccer team is focused on improvement. She and her teammates seem to have forgotten that they're the Ivy League champs. It also must have slipped the Quakers' minds that they did not lose a single player from last year's squad, whose 13 wins were the second most in in program history.