With every winter workout, every early morning and every stroke in the water, the men's heavyweight and women's rowing teams are combatting uncertainty with confidence. Confidence. That's the key word that's been offered up by both men's coach Fred Honebein and women's coach Mike Lane.

If you haven't had it happen to you yet, it's probably because you just haven't been around here long enough. It's a question I dread, even home in Penn-centric Long Island. "Where do you go to school?" Often, it takes a long time to explain what exactly the University of Pennsylvania is, and where it is located, and most importantly, that it is not the same place as the very large school in State College, Pa.

After the firestorm that characterized the removal of former heavyweight rowing coach Stan Bergman and the hiring of Fred Honebein to the position, things have seemed to cool off around Boathouse Row.

Fred Honebein learned everything he needed to know from Mike Spraklin in 16 words. "Technique will get you inches, training will get you meters, and motivation will get you miles," Spraklin, who was Honebein's coach during his time on the national team, said.

During the final rounds of the last two NCAA 133-pound championships, one area made the difference for Matt Valenti. It was the senior's ability to ride his opponent in both of the bouts to garner the same result - a national title. "When you're able to ride somebody like I did for a full period, it really starts to take the wind out of the guy," Valenti said.

LEXINGTON, Ky. 'Relax, I'm taking over." Texas A&M; guard Acie Law was overheard to say those words Thursday at a critical time. During a media timeout midway through the second half, Penn had come back from a 16-point deficit to finally take a 39-37 lead.

LEXINGTON, Ky., March 17 - On Thursday, Acie Law and Texas A&M; had to reach back for a little extra to hold off an upset bid from 14th-seeded Penn in the first round. Saturday, it was even tougher for the third-seeded Aggies, playing what essentially was a road game in Rupp Arena against sixth-seeded Louisville.

Sophomore Garvey Heiderman backed down his defender around the right side of Yale's goal, turned back to his left and ripped a shot past George Carafides late in the second overtime, as Penn hung on to beat the Elis, 10-9. Heiderman's goal saved a second-half collapse by the Quakers, who led 7-4 at halftime.

Senior Matt Valenti, defending last year's title at 133 pounds, was down 0-2 after a takedown by Oklahoma State's Coleman Scott in the first round of the finals. But as the whistle sounded to restart play after a reset in the second period, Valenti wiped doubts from anyone's mind that he would be able to repeat his national title, shutting out Scott for the rest of the match.

With her team leading 4-2 at halftime, women's lacrosse coach Karin Brower had no trouble identifying who needed to step up. "I told them that the attack better win the game since the defense was playing so great in the first half," she said. Using a 5-0 run in the second half, the No.

Hartford, Conn. - (AP) Maryland coach Brenda Frese thought Kristi Toliver was trying too hard. So the coach decided to have her star guard come off the bench for the first time so far this season - and it worked. Toliver scored 13 points and added nine assists to help second-seeded Maryland beat No.

The story for the Penn men's tennis team has become quite familiar: The squad has challenged itself with tough road matches against top-tier teams and repeatedly come up short. The 68th-ranked Quakers experienced a similar result this weekend when they fell at No.

LEXINGTON, Ky., March 15 - Virginia Commonwealth did it, and the Rams moved on. Penn didn't do it, and the Quakers went home. Penn, in its loss to third-seeded Texas A&M; Thursday, failed to do what so many underdogs fail to do in chalky first rounds. They couldn't capitalize at the tipping point of the upset.

For fifteen and a half innings, Penn's doubleheader at Georgetown went exactly as baseball coach John Cole scripted. The Quakers won the seven-inning opener 8-0 behind the arm of freshman stud Todd Roth, and, up 2-1 in the ninth inning of game two, Cole signaled for ace reliever Doug Brown.

LEXINGTON, Ky., March 15 - Stephen Danley's mark was felt in his absence, as the Quakers, sans big man, had a hard time dealing with the size of Texas A&M; forwards Antanas Kavaliauskas and Joseph Jones.

The Penn softball team (7-5) still doesn't know who it's playing during Saturday's doubleheader at Warren Field. It could be the St. Joseph's team that has thrown a perfect game, or it could be the other version of the team, which has gone 7-15. The Quakers lost to the Hawks in the fall during the preseason and didn't play well, according to coach Leslie King, but they think they will match up better this time.

LEXINGTON, Ky., March 15 - The clock at Rupp Arena showed 11 minutes and 42 seconds remaining in the game. Penn had gone on a 19-3 run to take its first lead of the afternoon at 39-37. On Texas A&M;'s next trip down the floor, senior guard Acie Law missed a runner, but Joseph Jones slammed home the rebound to tie the game. And A&M;'s next same play saw the same result: Law missed a runner and Jones dunked the follow.