At the U.S. Amateur Championship this past summer, a very familiar face was there to support senior men's golf captain Dean Merrill. And if onlookers couldn't tell golfer from caddy, they couldn't be blamed. That's because Dean's younger brother Ross, a freshman and Penn golf teammate, was the one lugging his bags.

It has been a painful month for the men's tennis team - in more ways than one. Not only have the Quakers lost six consecutive matches, they have also suffered a litany of injuries to several top players. The Quakers (7-7), who are hoping to reverse their fortunes and get their season back on track, will travel to Annapolis, Md.

With Cornell returning nearly every player from this year's undefeated squad, you would have to be crazy not to pick the Big Red to repeat as champions. Call me crazy, or call me partial, but Penn will win the Ivy League next season. The Quakers finished the season with six Ivy League losses; to contend for the title next year, that number will probably have to fall to no more than one.

Sunday marked the end of a season for Penn fencing and the end of an accomplished career for men's captain Ron Berkowsky. In front of a hometown crowd, Ohio State's Andras Horanyi permanently dashed Berkowsky's hopes of a national championship for the second year in a row.

Led by senior runner Jesse Carlin, four Penn women entered the history books when they were named All-Americans at the NCAA Spring Indoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend. Carlin advanced to the 800m finals at the University of Arkansas track on Sunday, finishing with a season-best time of 2:06:48.

Coach Glen Miller said that, at Penn, "it's first place or last place." But with two straight wins to close the season, the Quakers at least avoided their first losing Ivy campaign in 17 years. After losing a heartbreaker to Cornell, Penn defeated both Columbia and Princeton to finish with an 8-6 league record, good enough to stand alone in third place.

Thus far, the men's lacrosse team has seen its share of ups and downs, and its spring break road trips proved to be no exception. At the two-day Pioneer Faceoff Classic, hosted by Denver, the Quakers dispatched Air Force 13-10 on March 8 before failing to upset the host school, losing 12-11 in overtime.

The Penn men's tennis team battled Saturday against No. 8 Michigan, but when the final point had been decided, they were left with an all-too-familiar feeling. The Wolverines dispatched the Quakers 7-0 at Lott Courts for the team's fourth loss over spring break, and sixth straight overall.

When the Penn baseball team embarked on its spring break trip to Boca Raton, Fla., it had just a single game under its belt. So, with the Quakers still making adjustments to new roles and new faces, their seven-game slate probably felt more like spring training than a crucial chunk of the regular season.

Softball head coach Leslie King can now check another accomplishment off the ol' to-do list. Last year's record-breaking season - the team's first winning campaign since 1984 - could not satiate the squad's newfound competitive streak. After the Quakers' unprecedented 8-2 run over this year's spring break, King's players feel they're on their way to having their best season ever.

Entering the conference tournaments, the Big 5 was in danger of being shut out of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977. One week later, it sent three schools for the first time since 1999. The Big 5 ensured its 30-year streak would continue when Temple beat Saint Joseph's for the Atlantic 10 title, and a day later the Hawks and Villanova took two of the final at-large spots in the tournament.

LANCASTER, Pa., March 9 - Penn last won the team portion of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association's conference tournament in 1999. And despite three weightclass champions at this year's tournament, the Quakers' drought continued, but only by the smallest margin possible.

Better late than never. To cap off a trying season, the Penn women's basketball team finally found some measure of consistency over spring break. The Red and Blue traveled to the Empire State on March 7. There, they lost to eventual Ivy champion Cornell, 73-58 on Friday night and beat Columbia 74-71 on Saturday.

In its previous 22 games, the Penn women's lacrosse team was undefeated against teams not named Northwestern. But after a spring break trip to California, that's not the case anymore. The No. 6 Quakers were upset by then-unranked Stanford, 10-8 on March 9.

For the first seven days of spring break, the women's tennis team kept coming up just short in California. The Quakers lost to No. 72 San Diego State, No. 47 UC Irvine, No. 27 Pepperdine and No. 32 Long Beach State all by the score of 4-3. That was the first time coach Mike Dowd has ever lost four straight games by a 4-3 score in his 12-year career at Penn.

After months of inclement weather, infield puddles and indoor practices, the Penn baseball team is finally headed for greener pastures - if only for one week. The Quakers (0-1) flew to Boca Raton, Fla., last night, where they will play out an eight-game spring break slate over the next eight days.

For the men's tennis team, spring break will signify more than just a week without classes. With a three-match road trip in California on tap, it will also mark the annual switch from indoor to outdoor courts. "Normally it's a tough transition," Penn coach Nik DeVore said.