Concerns about the decisions of Harvard and Princeton universities to discontinue their respective early-admissions policies extend beyond the academic world - the recent changes have raised questions on the athletic scene as well.

After beating No. 22 Lafayette on the road in their season opener, the Quakers were satisfied - and understandably so. A victory over a ranked team could have signaled an end to the problems that plagued them during their season-ending slump the year before.

Unlike his counterpart in Philadelphia, Jack Siedlecki may not have had many tough decisions to make before his Yale squad kicked off the 2006 season. Matt Polhemus came in as the clear starter at quarterback, Mike McLeod returned as a proven threat at running back, and the entire offensive line emerged from graduation unscathed.

The Cornell football team only dresses two captains on game day, but anyone associated with the team will tell you that it has three. The late Jaime McManamon would have been a senior for the Big Red, but he passed away after a car crash following his freshman season in May 2004.

Truthfully, I was not too excited about this year's football season. I understand that the circumstances of last year, on and off the field, were unique and should not really be an indictment of the team and players, but it was more of a personnel issue that led me to my beliefs before this season.

Junior Jason Pinsky won the A-Flight at the Farnsworth/Princeton Invitational tennis tournament yesterday in Princeton, N.J., according to Penn head coach Mark Riley. Freshman Adam Schwartz lost in the consolation match. Other top Quakers, including senior Mikhail Bekker, took the weekend off to allow the freshmen on the team to get some playing time.

This wasn't supposed to happen to the Penn offense - not after the test it passed in its opener against Lafayette. It looked as if quarterback Robert Irvin had already proven himself capable of getting the ball to his receivers, and Joe Sandberg had shown that he is the type of running back that can carry an offense.

The Penn volleyball team came into this weekend's Sheraton-Penn Invitational at the Palestra having spent the past two weekends at tournaments in North Carolina and California. Tired and with a losing record, the team was in desperate need of some home cooking.

Sophomore Lauren Sadaka unexpectedly came out as one of the top competitors for the women's tennis team this weekend at the Cissie Leary Invitational. Last year, Sadaka was forced to cheer for her team from the sidelines due to a tendonitis injury in her wrist.

If there were any doubts about the intensity of the cross-town rivalry developing between Penn and Villanova, last night's game should have silenced them.

After beating Rutgers by a combined score of 7-0 in the last two years, Penn junior Meghan Rose found out yesterday that a third victory against the Scarlet Knights would not come with such a lopsided score - if at all. That lightbulb likely went off even before the field hockey team found itself headed into overtime when the frustrated Quakers found itself tied 1-1 with its unspectacular opponents - despite nearly outshooting them by double digits.

Despite losing the battles of possession time and shots on goal, Harvard women's soccer managed to continue its dominance over Penn. The previously winless Crimson (1-6-1, 1-0 Ivy) improved to 12-2-2 all-time versus their Ivy rivals, escaping Rhodes Field with a 2-1 victory yesterday afternoon.

The score of Saturday night's game was just an illusion. If someone walked into Franklin Field during the last two-and-a-half minutes of the game and saw the scoreboard, they might assume that this had been a neck-and-neck contest all the way. They would be wrong.

The men's soccer team wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. After taking a lead against Harvard, the Quakers didn't wilt like they did against La Salle last Wednesday - they came back for more. Penn ended up a 3-1 winner, putting itself at the top of the Ivy League standings after the first weekend of league play.

Philadelphia soccer fans aren't likely to see Major League Soccer at Franklin Field - or any other local area venue - anytime soon. Rowan University and the Milestone Group - a New York-based development group - jointly proposed to build a soccer stadium on Rowan's West Campus in Harrison Township, N.

The last time the Villanova football team was on Franklin Field, the Wildcats had just sacked Quakers' quarterback Pat McDermott inside the 5 at the buzzer to put the finishing touches on a 28-24 comeback victory.

If there were ever a time for a wake-up call, this might have been it. On Wednesday, the men's soccer team saw its four-game winning streak cruelly snapped by La Salle. After going 2-0 up against the Explorers, Penn (4-2-0) conceded three straight to its city rival and fell, 3-2.