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Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025
The Daily Pennsylvanian

Men's Soccer


Though the Penn men’s basketball Class of 2020 has been more or less set for a while now, head coach Steve Donahue made things official when he unveiled the newest Quakers last week. “These young men possess the type of talent and character that good programs are built upon,” the second-year coach said in a statement.

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For most of Penn’s undergraduate population, the end of the final exam period signals the time for kicking back, relaxing and fondly looking back at the previous year. But for a very lucky, very small fraction of the student body, the onset of summer simply means business as usual. Playing on a varsity spring sport inherently carries the risk of playing past the school year’s conclusion, and 2016 was no exception.



Having brought in a handful of guards and a couple of talented forwards, Penn men's basketball will be looking to have a strong 2016-17 season.

Though the Penn men’s basketball Class of 2020 has been more or less set for a while now, head coach Steve Donahue made things official when he unveiled the newest Quakers last week. “These young men possess the type of talent and character that good programs are built upon,” the second-year coach said in a statement.




The Copa America, despite its international brand, had deep local ties this week, with the U.S. playing Paraguay in a crucial group stage match at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly. 

The Copa America is now in knockout mode, with the preliminary stages of the competition now finished. But last weekend, the tournament certainly had knockout vibes running throughout Philly as three teams said goodbye to their Copa America dreams.


On Friday night under the lights in Eugene, Ore., senior superstars Tommy Awad and Sam Mattis finished 22nd in the 5,000-meter run and 2nd in the discus, respectively. This was the last time they will don the Red and Blue. 

It’s the end of an era for Penn men’s track and field. After years of service leading the rebuild of the Quakers’ men’s program, senior superstars Sam Mattis and Thomas Awad donned the Red and Blue for the final time on Friday evening, competing in the discus throw and 5000-meter run, respectively, at the 2016 NCAA Track and Field Champions in Eugene, Ore.  Mattis finished in second place in the men’s discus throw earning his third consecutive first team All-American honors, while Awad took 22nd place in the men’s 5000m to secure an honorable mention All-America spot. Penn’s evening was opened by Mattis, who was the presumptive favorite in his signature event all season after setting a still-standing American-born collegiate record with a gargantuan toss of 67.45 meters back at the Philadelphia College Classic in March – a full sixteen feet further than the next farthest throw by an NCAA athlete in 2016, courtesy of Kansas’ Mitchell Cooper. But Mattis – attempting to become Penn’s first two-time national champion since Bruce Collins won the 400m hurdles in 1972 and 1974 – struggled early on, barely advancing into the final flight with a first round mark of 57.98 meters.



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The stage is set in Philadelphia. The United States Men’s National Team has played in some pretty important and memorable games in recent history, notably including the last game of the group stage at the 2010 World Cup, which featured a famous last-minute winner from Landon Donovan to send the Americans through to the knockout rounds.


Besides all her work on the solar power and clean water team, sophomore midfielder Erica Higa also taught volleyball and soccer.

As spring semester ended and students prepared to embark on their various summer journeys, one women’s soccer player had reason to be especially excited. Erica Higa, a sophomore midfielder for the Red and Blue, traveled to Rwanda alongside fellow Penn Athletics representative coach Kerry Major Carr of women’s volleyball and around ten other Penn students and faculty as part of the School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Rwanda Gashora Program. The program was created to explore the possibilities of using solar energy and information communication technology in low-resource communities in developing countries.



Even though Penn football's defensive backs unit is returning most of its starters, rookie-to-be Conor O'Brien is shooting to break into the starting lineup and contribute as much as possible, as soon as possible. 

A lot of athletes might say they were born to play their respective sport. But a kid related to both the NCAA’s Division I-A single-season touchdown passing record holder and the winningest quarterback in Stanford history might have a slightly better argument. Such is life for California native and safety Conor O’Brien, who is one of 29 recruits joining Penn football’s Class of 2020 looking to help the Quakers begin their title defense. Needless to say, O’Brien needed no help being introduced to the sport.




Although graduation has passed, Penn rowing has been competing on into the summer — and the lightweights have even qualified for the IRA National Championships in June.

Classes may have ended, but some students are facing finals of a very different variety. With the season coming to a close, Penn rowing has been competing in a host of monumentally important events, notching impressive results along the way.



Senior track star Tommy Awad booked his place at the U.S. Olympic Trials this summer with a trail-blazing time of 3:37.75 — placing him second all-time in the Ivy League record books.

With a quarter of a second to spare, senior distance runner Thomas Awad took a colossal step towards representing the United States in the Rio Olympics this August. Last Monday at the Swarthmore Final Qualifying meet, Awad recorded a personal best in the 1,500 meter race with a historic time of 3:37.75, narrowly giving him an automatic qualification to compete in this July’s United States Olympic Trials.




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