The Penn men’s lacrosse team is off and running in its season, grabbing a 12-10 home win against Michigan this past Saturday at Franklin Field to open play. This week, however, the Quakers will face their first road test of the season, traveling down to Charlottesville, Va., to take on a traditional powerhouse program in No. 11 Virginia.

For Penn women’s lacrosse, it is time to write a new story. Last year’s once in a lifetime senior class is gone and their departure came without renewing Penn’s claim on the Ivy League championship.

On a day marked by inexplicably high temperatures, Penn men’s lacrosse generated some heat of their own.

After losing a talented senior class featuring three All-Americans coming in to the year, some were doubting that Penn women’s lacrosse could see the same success this year that they had before.

Winning is a state of mind. And for Penn women’s lacrosse, it’s the only state of mind the members of the team have ever known.

Performing under the weight of expectations is no easy task. Just ask Penn women’s lacrosse. Heading into the 2015 season, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Quakers would end the season with an Ivy League Championship.

But now, Ferguson’s 2015 graduation leaves a gaping hole in the net as Penn women’s lacrosse seeks to bounce back from a disappointing season in which saw the Quakers fail to win the Ivy League for the first time since 2006.

It’s bad enough losing one all-time talent. Penn women’s lacrosse coach Karin Corbett has to find a way to handle losing three.

With a highly touted recruiting class headlined by an astonishing five U.S. Lacrosse High School All-Americans, the building blocks are in place for the program to prove that last year was a fluke and return to national prominence once again.

Over a decade and a half later, Doktor is readying for his senior season wearing the Red and Blue and leading the offense for Penn men’s lacrosse. The memories of 15 years ago remain salient in the attacker’s mind as he readies to turn a new chapter in his career in the sport.

Penn men’s lacrosse had an up-and-down season in 2015, failing to defend the Ivy League Tournament Championship it had earned the year prior.

This summer, however, three members of the men’s lacrosse team will add white to their color scheme and play for a different and perhaps more meaningful purpose.

With the season opener on Feb. 20 against Michigan around the corner, Penn men’s lacrosse is back to work and has already seen its first live action of 2016 against other teams.

On Friday afternoon, Penn men’s lacrosse practice concluded with some welcome news as senior attackman Nick Doktor learned he had been taken by the Charlotte Hounds with the 18th pick of the 2016 Major League Lacrosse draft.

Penn President Amy Gutmann helped announce the launch of the Young Quakers Community Athletics Program on Franklin Field Thursday evening.