I admit it: The predominant reason I stayed on campus this spring break was that I'm cheap. I couldn't deal with the $300 plane fares and couldn't handle wasting two days dealing with the delays that characterize our airport system. It's a personal preference.

Over spring break, the University lost one of its closest friends when philanthropist Leonore "Lee" Annenberg died at her California home at the age of 91. Annenberg, as many now know, had a long and storied connection to Penn and Philadelphia. Annenberg was noted for her interested in arts, culture and education, and she served on the boards of many like-minded Philadelphia area institutions, including Penn, where she was an emeritus trustee and held an honorary degree.

After winning the Ivy League and IFA championships in dominating fashion, the Penn fencing team entered the NCAA Regionals in an already enviable position. And after maintaining its success at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals at Drew University on March 7, the squad's outlook was even better.

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Former Wharton finance professor Anthony Santomero was just announced as one of four nominees to serve as directors of CitiGroup. The bank, once the largest in the world, is struggling to fix itself after posting a $37.5 billion net loss in the last five quarters.

After five seasons at the helm, women's basketball coach Pat Knapp will not return in 2010. His contract expired and will not be renewed, Penn Athletics announced last Thursday. "We are disappointed that we did not attain the levels of success we anticipated," Athletics director Steve Bilsky said in a press release.

Despite shifts in the economy, Penn continues to push ahead with its capital campaign, to date raising $2.3 billion - or 66 percent - of its $3.5 billion, seven-year Making History campaign goal. However, the school is seeing increased slowdowns in giving and expects that trend to persist until the economy picks itself up again.

Ilana Millner is an College junior from Washington Crossing, Pa. Her e-mail address is millner@dailypennsylvanian.com.

The undergraduate student hospitalized with meningococcal meningitis March 7 remains in critical condition but is stable and improving, University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman said yesterday. There are no new cases.

There is only one word to describe freshman breaststroker Brendan McHugh - fast. After the Ivy League Championship meet two weekends ago, McHugh broke four school records, made the NCAA B cuts, qualified for World Championship trials, was named first team All-Ivy and is now the fourth fastest 200-yard breastroke swimmer in the 17-18 age group in American history.

For the Penn women's basketball team, spring break started with a bang, but the careers of coach Pat Knapp and the team's four seniors ended with a whimper. The Red and Blue followed an uplifting weekend sweep of Cornell and Columbia with a disappointing 72-55 loss to Princeton in the season finale.

For the past four years, spring break for the Penn women's tennis team has meant a one-week excursion to the West Coast to battle against some of the country's premier tennis competition. Historically the trip has been a tough one for the Quakers as they have compiled a 7-10 record in the past four seasons.

Restaurant and bar Tap House is expected to open in the Radian Apartments Aug. 1, according to Brian Harrington, founder of Public House Investments, which owns the restaurant. He said he hopes it will be up and running before the bulk of the University community returns for the fall semester.

By DAVID BERNSTEIN Senior Staff Writer bernstein@dailypennsylvanian.com A year ago, on Penn's spring break trip to Florida, Jeremy Maas was learning the ropes as a rookie pitcher. He was getting on-the-job experience, adjusting to the speed of the college game and trying to win a spot in the Quakers' rotation.

Spring is in the air, finally. Lovey-dovey couples will soon stroll hand-in-hand along the daffodil-lined Locust Walk giggling in their happiness. Cue the music, if you please. But appearances can be deceiving. As anyone with an Internet connection knows, even the most seemingly happy relationships can have a dark side.

ITHACA, N.Y., March 6 - Penn might have gotten out to an early 20-12 lead against Cornell, but by the end of the night there was no doubt who was the class of the Ivy League. The Big Red took over the lead by halftime, then used a 29-10 run midway through the second half to finish off the Quakers, 83-59.

Sophomore guard Harrison Gaines has filed papers to transfer from the Penn men's basketball team, his father, Harry Gaines, wrote in a press release on March 11. According to the press release Penn "wasn't a good fit" for Gaines, whose statement went on to say "I believe my long-term satisfaction lies in joining another university team.