In its season opener - head coach John Ceralde's first at the helm - the Penn gymnastics team finished last in a three-team meet behind Maryland and Towson. The Terrapins finished with 191.750, while the Tigers ended up with 189.225. Penn finished over eight points behind, at 181.

The two women's basketball games this weekend started off similarly. Their endings could not have been more different. One night after blowing a 16-point lead in a heartbreaking 67-58 loss to Cornell (6-9 2-0 Ivy), the Quakers (5-9, 1-2) played strong for all 40 minutes and cruised to an 80-62 victory over Columbia (3-12, 0-2).

By Fred David Staff Writer fredd@sas.upenn.edu ITHACA, N.Y., Jan. 12 - Last year, Penn's Achilles' heel came in the form of a zone defense. In the second half on Friday evening, when Cornell switched from a man defense to a zone, the Quakers turned their old weakness into a newfound strength.

Despite residing in different conferences, the women's basketball programs at Penn and Manhattan have more in common than one might think. The Quakers (5-9, 1-2 Ivy) have underperformed thus far, most recently dropping five of their last six games. Similarly, it has been a season full of mishaps for Lady Jaspers (4-13, 1-5 MAAC), characterized by the eight-game skid they are currenty trying desperatly to break.

After his team's win over Columbia, Quakers coach Glen Miller offered the usual accolades that a coach gives his team after such a dominating performance. "We played good team defense, closing down and not giving them good looks," Miller said. "Good" is an understatement.

By Brandon Moyse Staff Writer bmoyse@sas.upenn.edu Going into Saturday's dual match against Williams, women's squash coach Jack Wyant felt the Quakers needed to be at their best to win and maintain their No. 1 ranking. After all was said and done, Penn left no questions unanswered about its newly earned status as top dog by blanking the No.

Steve Donahue is in his seventh year coaching Cornell. In that time, Penn has lost 15 Ivy League games, but none to its former assistant Donahue.

This weekend could be make or break for the Penn women's basketball season. The Quakers (4-8, 0-1 Ivy) are in the midst of a four-game slide, and already dropped their Ivy League opener. While the conference slate is just beginning, home losses to Cornell (4-9) and Columbia (3-10) would be difficult setbacks to overcome.

ITHACA, N.Y., Jan. 12 - Playing against a zone defense was Penn's Achilles heel last year. In the second half on Friday evening, when Cornell switched from a man defense to zone, the Quakers turned their old weakness into a newfound strength. Brian Grandieri's 18 points, including 10 in the second half paced Penn (8-6, 1-0 Ivy) to a 74-56 thumping of Cornell (7-8, 0-1 Ivy) at Newman Arena in the Ivy League opener for both teams.

The track teams, who have not competed in over a month, kick into high gear this weekend. The men's team will head to Annapolis, Md., while the women's team will make the trip to West Point, N.Y.

Last time the Penn men's basketball team took the floor at Columbia's Levien Gymnasium, it was 7-0 in the Ivy League, having just completed a perfect run through the first half of the conference slate. Forty minutes later, the Quakers were 7-1 after a shocking 59-57 loss to the 1-7 Lions, in which Penn didn't score a point in the final 4:42 of the game.

At this point last season, both the men and women's squash teams were holding down the status quo, doing nothing exceptional by beating lower-ranked teams and losing to higher-ranked ones. This time, it's a different story. Both teams have impressed early on, with the women's team currently ranked No.

K.J. Matsui was only 14 years old, but he was already on his own. The only English he knew was from textbooks, but he was expected to take junior high classes just like the American kids. He had just left his family, friends and home 7,000 miles away in Japan, but there was one thing that was familiar - the very reason he had come to the states - and that was the game of basketball.

Nearly two months after facing the top team in the nation, the Penn wrestling team will head to Cedar Falls, Iowa, with the opportunity to gauge how it has grown as a team and on an individual level this Saturday at the National Duals. The No. 14 Quakers (2-2) will make their first team appearance since wrestling toward a third-place finish in the Las Vegas Duals in early December.

Ibrahim Jaaber and Brian Grandieri paced the Quakers with 17 and 14 points, respectively, as Penn defeated Columbia 69-43 in New York last night. The Quakers held the Lions to a 27.9% clip from the field, effectively thwarting their one-two punch of John Baumann on the perimeter and Ben Nwachukwu inside.

When the buzzer sounded, Fran Dunphy and Temple were 0-2 in the Big 5 and 0-2 in the Atlantic 10, and he seemed to be the only one who knew why. The former Penn coach fell victim to a little of everything on both ends as St. Joseph's came into the Liacouras Center and left with an emphatic 80-67 victory.