It was a miracle comeback that not even a Big 5 game could produce. Villanova's defensive intensity and fullcourt pressure in the opening minutes rattled the Quakers. By the time Penn finally settled down to outscore Villanova in the second half, the Wildcats had already removed their full-court press.

VILLANOVA, Pa. There are many different things that can explain the Quakers' early-season struggles - perimeter defense, rebounding and turnovers to name a few. But it's what happens before tipoff that's the real killer. "We came out, and we had some jitters in the first half," freshman starting point guard Harrison Gaines said.

Would you like some caviar on your latkes? How about chipotle mayonnaise? Those are just a few examples of the twists local restaurants put on the popular Hanukkah dish at the fifth-annual Latkepalooza, held yesterday afternoon at the Gershman branch of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Philadelphia.

Wharton junior Jason Myers was arrested Thursday for 10 burglaries committed inside Harnwell College House over Thanksgiving break. Between Nov. 21 and Nov. 26, Myers, then a Harnwell resident, allegedly stole items from 10 different dorm rooms on various floors of the college house.

VILLANOVA, Pa., Dec. 1 - The Big 5 season opener is always a highly anticipated event and is almost always a hard-fought battle. This year's edition was pretty much over from the minute the opening tip was tossed. In front of a packed Pavilion crowd, Villanova was in control from the start en route to an 87-61 dismantling of Penn.

The men's swim team is supposed to peak twice in the season, according to coach Mike Schnur. The first of those two peaks came this weekend at the Nike Invitational, where the Quakers took second place behind host Kenyon, the favorite. The 400 free relay team of Devon Carr, Pat Gallagher, Chris Buckand Kyle Loughran took first and set both a Penn and Kenyon pool record.

First place in the triple jump just wasn't enough at the Bucknell Invite on Saturday. Penn athletes swept the event, taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. Junior Camille Richard won the event with a jump of 11.71 meters. Although the effort was not a personal best, Richard was pleased with the result.

Squash is thought of as a gentleman's game, associated with while polo shirts and Northeastern prep schools. But there was very little gentlemanly behavior on display when Penn split a weekend doubleheader at Ringe Courts yesterday. Ed Cerullo, playing as Brown's No.

The women's squash team was nothing short of dominant this weekend against two of its Ivy League foes. But according to Penn, there is still room for improvement and much more work is needed. On Saturday, the Quakers took on Yale, winning 7-2. And in the encore, they came back yesterday to face the Bears and were a perfect 9-0 for the day.

Three students have been arrested or indicted in the past week. The north side of campus has seen two shootings in a month. A female student was sexually assaulted in her off-campus apartment, and suspects have flashed students in two separate incidents.

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

The youth of America are looking to the 2008 presidential candidates for a change in policy and fiscal responsibility. We will no longer support the culture of deficit spending and pork-barrel legislation, as we will have to bear that burden, crippling our future and America's economic might.

In the world of higher ed, hosting a presidential debate is like hosting the Olympics. That's why many students on campus were disappointed a month ago when the Democratic primary presidential debate went to Drexel instead of Penn. As for the reason why, the University continues to fall back on the Irvine excuse.

The Penn wrestling team had hoped for success in the desert, but it came home with a valuable lesson instead of hardware. The No. 22 Quakers placed two wrestlers at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational en route to a 14th-place finish after taking third at the event last year.

It's not often that Penn is called a "real underdog" at anything. But those are the words members of the Penn Environmental Group use to talk about the University in next semester's RecycleMania, a 10-week contest sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency, designed to promote waste reduction.

At the last Undergraduate Assembly meeting of the semester, members tied up loose ends on housing, course offerings and free newspapers before winter break. Major topics from yesterday night's meeting include: n Engineering sophomore Charles Slominski and Wharton senior Azim Munivar gave an update on the returning students housing application process.

'Let's just calculate the discount rate and then we can dance." My Advanced Corporate Finance group minimizes the Excel worksheet and lets loose. It's 2 a.m. in Huntsman and passersby stare. (Yes, it is weird that we're breaking it down in a study room, but it's also weird that you're 19 and pretend you're Gordon Gekko.