It may not be obvious - or it may even seem doubtful thanks to its 1-11 record in its last 12 games - but things may be looking up for Penn softball. Although their record doesn't indicate it, the Quakers have been showing steady improvement - and the time may be right for the slump to end.

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Tomorrow, for at least one reason, the Penn men's tennis team is hoping that this year isn't like the last. In their 2008 Ivy opener, the Quakers fell, 5-2, to Princeton at home in a contest that coach Nik DeVore called "a bitter, bitter one." The Quakers will have a chance for revenge this year when they open their 2009 Ivy League slate with a 2 p.

By ARIELA ROSENBERG Contributing Writer gamail@dailypennsylvanian.com The King visited Penn yesterday, exposing the true meaning of the word "gimp." As the documentary King Gimp says, "Gimp" can mean "lame walk" or "fighting spirit, and Dan Keplinger, a victim of cerebral palsy, has proven himself the latter.

Penn's Big 5 rival Villanova advanced to the final four tonight by outlasting No. 1 seeded Pittsburgh, 78-76, in Boston tonight. After Pitt G Levance Fields nailed two clutch free throws to tie the game by with 5.5 seconds remainining, Villanova G Scottie Reynolds took the inbounds and drove the length of the court for a game-winning layup as time expired.

If history is bound to repeat itself, the Princeton women's tennis team better not underestimate the Quakers. Last year, then-No. 72 Penn defeated then-No. 64 Princeton, 5-2, on the Tigers' home court. This year, the Red and Blue will have home-court advantage when they take on the Tigers in their first Ivy League match of the season.

Daniel Schwartz is a College junior from Decatur, Ga. His e-mail address is dschwartz@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Princeton's women's tennis team defeated Penn, 7-0, at Levy Tennis Pavilion Saturday. The 48th-ranked Tigers played very well top to bottom. However, the scoreline did not tell the whole story of the match. Juniors Maria Anisimova and Ekaterina Kosminskaya had a chance to secure the doubles point for Penn in their number one doubles match.

"I've killed two people, I have a great personality and I've been skydiving," Gee said as he introduced himself to his fellow Political Science 435 students in an icebreaker exercise. Not your typical introduction, but then again, nor is this your typical Penn class.

Penn baseball's early-season play has been one of mixed success. The young guys have played beyond their years, but the lack of veterans has sometimes been apparent. The starting pitching has been rock-solid, but the bullpen has been erratic. The defense was shaky early on, but it has started to come around.

In the near future, surgeons might be able to repair injured human nerves. Penn researchers have found a way to grow transplantable nerve tissues which fix damaged nerves and help regeneration in animals. Led by Neurosurgery professor and director of the Penn's Center for Brain Injury and Repair Douglas Smith, the study and the results were published in the journal Tissue Engineering earlier this month.

Philly Diner is a safety issue To the Editor: In response to Monday's "Winnowing Options" editorial, I would contend that shutting down Philly Diner's late-night hours is the right choice. As a bartender at Cav's across the street, I'm often outside the Diner in the early morning hours, and while the atmosphere is festive, the late-night hours created a serious accident waiting to happen.

If all goes as planned, tokens and dollar bills will no longer weigh down SEPTA transit. A proposed 'smart card' system will employ card sensor readers that will work on SEPTA buses, subways and trains, SEPTA representative Gary Fairfax said. It would take about three years to develop the system.

The Penn softball team cannot seem to catch a break. Coming off of four straight losses to Saint Joseph's and Monmouth and a 10-7 loss to Lehigh earlier in the day, the Quakers seemed poised to finally snap their skid in the second game of a doubleheader. However, a questionable call by the umpiring crew forced the squad to settle for a tie in its final tune-up before plunging into the Ivy league portion of its schedule.

I didn't shed any tears when they shut down Koko Bongo. And when Wizzards closed, Atlantis moved in, lunch buffet and all. But forcing Philly Diner to close at 2 a.m. on weekends and 1 a.m. on weeknights? That's more than I can take. It isn't even because I'll no longer have a place to go at four in the morning for a milk shake and a sampler platter - the fact that Philly Diner is closing early in response to a February shooting as part of an effort to reduce crime is what really bothers me.

Wharton-style dodgeball is back - but this time it's called Hostile Takeover. Hosted by the Wharton Council for the sixth year, the event is a version of the game Assassins. Registration ended Tuesday, and the game began yesterday. Those who signed up received a small green ball and the name of a target.