All it took was one misplay. One loose ball near the Penn goal, one touch past diving goalkeeper Cailly Carroll and one more notch in the loss column for the women's soccer team.

Injury and little familiarity with college-level tennis did not stop Maria Anisimova last weekend at the National Tennis Invitational in New York, where she advanced to the finals in singles and doubles, both to be played today.

As sophomore Mike Klein streaked down the right side of the box in the 105th minute, feelings of deja vu started to set in. Only one year ago at Columbia, he had buried a game-winning goal in overtime to end a most physical and hard-fought match. But Saturday at Rhodes Field was different.

Penn volleyball coach Kerry Carr still cannot figure out her team. After a roller coaster ride through another weekend of league play, the Quakers have both progressed and regressed.

If you watch the Summer Olympics, you've probably seen an enchanting water sport in which speed and strength take a backseat to style and choreography.

When Bucknell's A.J. Kizekai rushed into the end zone nine minutes into the first quarter on Saturday, the Bison looked ready and able to notch their first win over Penn since 1999.

When Penn visits Bucknell tomorrow, the game plan will be relatively simple: stop the Bison running game.

In one of two matchups of 1-0 vs. 0-1 teams, Yale has a chance to set itself up to contend with a win at Dartmouth. To do it, the Elis will have to overcome a strange off-field distraction, a problem that may seem familiar to fans who have been following the issues regarding Harvard's linebacker.

This weekend, much is at stake for both the Penn men and women's golf teams, as both play for more than a 'W.' The men will be competing for a bid to the regional collegiate tournament while the women will take part in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.

For the second match in a row, the women's soccer team gets a crack at a team that it feels it should have beaten last year. The Quakers (6-2-1, 1-1 Ivy) are looking to avenge last year's heartbreaking loss to Columbia. In their wet and windy 2005 matchup, Penn had eight shots on goal to double Columbia's tally, yet the Lions scored the 1-0 winner in the 89th minute of play.

Saturday, the Quakers travel to Lewisburg, Pa. Where, you ask? A quaint town lost somewhere in the mountains between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. Along the banks of the mighty Susquehanna lies the home of the not-so-mighty Bucknell Bison. (Much unlike the Buffalo, native only to Asia and Africa).

What field hockey coach Val Cloud doesn't know could definitely hurt her. In Penn's first home game since beating Harvard 2-0 back on Sept. 9, the Quakers will play host to a relative unknown in Lock Haven on Sunday at 1 p.m. In between those two games, the Quakers have taken some steps forward (with wins over Lafayette and Rutgers) and one big step back (a 2-1 defeat at Dartmouth that severely damaged the team's Ivy League title aspirations).

As far as Mike Klein is concerned, tomorrow's game against Columbia could be a soap opera in the making. When asked about the Quakers' intense rivalry with the Lions, the sophomore forward seemed concerned about the possibility that Columbia may have some insider information on the Red and Blue.

The duo of Yulia Rivelis and Julia Koulbitskaya are held to high expectations this weekend at the National Tennis Invitational in New York. Both players are first-team All-Ivy honorees who last year led the women's tennis team to a second-place finish in the ECAC Championships in addition to qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.

When the Quakers walk off the bus in Cambridge, Mass., they will be focused one thing: defense. The Penn volleyball team's first Ivy League victory hinges on its ability to defend a much-improved Harvard team. Much of this defensive responsibility rests with senior libero Liz Hurst, who has the team focused in the right direction.

With 36 seconds remaining in the first half of last weekend’s football game against Dartmouth, coach Al Bagnoli was presented with a decision. The Quakers had the ball at the Dartmouth 9-yard line on 4th-and-1. Should Penn go for the first down or try to kick a 26-yard field goal?Bagnoli decided to call in his kicker — and he shanked it.

Bucknell football coach Tim Landis is certainly happy to have Andrew Lair on his team, but the circumstances in which the sophomore got there were hardly cause for celebration. Just over a year ago, Lair was in the thick of training camp as a freshman quarterback at the United States Naval Academy.