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.

As the country prepares for the Rio Olympics later this summer, an unprecedented delegation from Penn fought for places on the United States’ swimming roster. 14 Quakers flew to Omaha, Neb.

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.

As the country prepares for the Rio Olympics later this summer, an unprecedented delegation from Penn is in currently trying to fight for places on the United States’ swimming roster.

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.

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.

Penn men’s heavyweight and lightweight rowing competed at the IRA National Championship Regatta on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.

They made the cut. Seniors Tommy Awad and Sam Mattis are going to Eugene, Ore. to compete in the NCAA championships next week.

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.

The University of Pennsylvania football team will be welcoming 29 members of the Class of 2020 onto their team this coming fall. The new student-athletes — sixteen defensive players, 12 offensive players and one kicker — hail from 13 different states. 

Now that all of the times and marks have been recorded for the regular season, berths for the postseason have been confirmed — 16 track and field stars will be representing the Red and Blue in the first round of postseason meets, the NCAA East Prelims. 

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.

On Thursday, junior catcher Tim Graul was announced as the Ivy League's Player of the Year.

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.

Following 30 years of service to the Penn track and field program, women’s head coach Tony Tenisci has officially announced his retirement, effective at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season.

While all of Penn spent its weekend trying to end the semester with a bang by studying hours on end, one group of students spent its time seeking to go out with a bang by throwing things, jumping around, and running in circles.

Penn men’s lacrosse came in as the underdogs, and they almost pulled off the upset. Taking on second-seeded Yale as the No. 3 seed in the Ivy League Tournament, the Quakers fell in their first-round matchup with the Bulldogs, 7-6, on Friday.