This early in the season, the mound is no place for freshmen. Tell that to the trio of young right-handers who stifled Penn's opponents this weekend. Freshmen Jeremy Maas, Paul Cusick and Sam Gilbert combined to pitch 20 innings over three games and gave up zero earned runs - one unearned run on Maas against Yale the only blemish.

Midway through yesterday afternoon at Meiklejohn Stadium, the Penn baseball team was staring a completely fruitless weekend dead in the face. Having lost and tied in their two Saturday games against Yale - the nightcap was suspended due to darkness in extra innings - the Quakers had started off the Sunday twinbill with yet another loss to Brown.

Without a clear-cut favorite, Penn gymnastics' chance of winning is as good as anyone's. After finishing third in the Ivy League, the Quakers have a chance to win the conference. Tomorrow, they will compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships at William and Mary.

Against Cornell on Saturday, the Penn men's lacrosse team is out to settle a score - an odd thing for a team that gave the Big Red their only Ivy League loss in the last three years. In 2006, Penn stunned No. 2 Cornell 8-6 at Franklin Field. It was the Big Red's only conference defeat since 2004, when they also lost to the Quakers.

The last time the Penn baseball team shared a field with Brown, the Bears dumped 20 runs on the visiting Quakers to complete a two-game sweep in the Ivy League Championship Series last May. This time around, the defending champs come to West Philly to renew the rivalry.

Women's tennis meets against the Tigers have always been a little special. "There's a certain rivalry with Princeton," senior Julia Koulbitskaya said. For the four seniors on the team, Saturday's trip up I-95 will be extra special: It will be a chance for them to go out as winners against the Tigers.

For the Penn men's tennis team, relief is coming at the right time. After spending the better part of its season with a rash of injuries, the team looks to return to full strength tomorrow when it faces No. 64 Princeton (8-5) at Lott Courts in both teams' Ivy opener.

Softball freshman Taylor Tieman knew that college was a place to try new things. But she didn't think that would apply on the field, too. A pitcher in high school, Tieman has seen most of her action at third base for the Quakers. This weekend, the team will need relief from her right arm - along with solid infield play and offensive production - if it wants to emerge victorious in its first Ivy League games.

With five games in 15 days, the women's lacrosse team needed a break. S=ix match-free days following its Cornell match on Sunday allowed the Quakers to catch their breath. But now that time is up, as No. 8 Penn (6-1, 2-0 Ivy) will take on a middling Columbia team (3-4, 0-2) tomorrow at Franklin Field.

Jason Pinsky left no doubt about the importance of yesterday's No. 1 singles match against Saint John's Artem Vlasenko. He drove the message home on the very first point. A high-arcing Pinsky forehand sailed just a little longer than desired. Vlasenko let the ball bounce without a return, signaling that the ball landed out.

It took Corey Winkoff less than eight minutes to prove that he belonged in the men's lacrosse starting lineup. The freshman attacker scored in the first 7:41 of his career and 27 minutes later, he ripped the net again in the Feb. 23 game against Drexel. Now, six games into the season, Winkoff is second on the team in points, behind only captain Craig Andrzejewski.

"Come on! Right here!" Jason Pinsky yelled to himself when a break point presented itself in the second set. The senior captain, playing at No. 1, was up 6-3, 3-3, before winning that point to take the lead. "I knew eventually I was going to convert it, but I just had to be patient," he said.

It's been a good few days to be a Penn hitter. The Quakers are batting .344 in their last five games and .295 overall, nearly 50 points higher than their opponents. The outlier has been Adrian Lorenzo. The freshman outfielder entered Friday's doubleheader against Mount Saint Mary's as Penn's leading hitter but departed from the Quakers' loss to Lafayette under less auspicious circumstances.

In a contest riddled with walks, balks, hit batters and wild pitches, the only thing Penn's hurlers couldn't tally was a win. Lafayette rallied from 5-1 down to upend the Quakers 6-5 at Meiklejohn Stadium, eliminating the Red and Blue from the eight-team Liberty Bell Classic.

When none of the gears are turning, it's time to evaluate to the assembly of the whole machine. And after Penn softball's two disheartening losses against Lehigh yesterday, that's all head coach Leslie King could do. "I take full responsibility as a coach," King said.

For the Penn men's tennis team, today's match against St. John's marks the last non-conference tune-up before the Princeton match on Saturday. But after losing six of their past seven matches, the Quakers know better than to look past their next opponent. "St.

For seven innings, Penn's makeshift pitching operation bent but didn't break, allowing just three runs despite 13 baserunners. But in a madcap eighth inning, the Quakers rickety bullpen finally collapsed. Ironically, Lafayette's three-run rally started with a strikeout.