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.

Last Thursday, the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame announced its induction class of 2016. One team and 15 individuals will be inducted — some posthumously. And in a class that features world boxing champions, NFL Hall of Famers and the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers, one induction will be an old Quaker. George Washington Orton graduated from Penn with a Masters in 1894 and a Ph.D.

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.

What do you do when you can’t play the sport you love? Turn your fighting energy towards a different arena: the business world. On a hiatus from the game of tennis, 29 year-old Maria Sharapova has chosen to attend Harvard Business School for a two-week summer program.

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.

For the third year in a row, Penn played host to the Urban Youth Lacrosse Jamboree, an annual celebration of community partnerships through sports competition. Behind the event was the Young Quakers Community Athletics program, an after-school initiative spearheaded by the Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships and Penn Athletics. Founded in early 2015 — but with roots going back to 2012 — the program has sought to pair up Penn athletes with West Philadelphia elementary and middle schools through mentoring and free access to Penn athletic resources.

Dan Leibovitz, a member of Penn’s class of 1996 and assistant coach for the men’s basketball team from 2010-2012, has just been named the Southeastern Conference’s Associate Commissioner for Basketball.

The women’s soccer program just released their schedule for the 2016 season, but you’d be forgiven if you thought they posted the wrong one. This season’s list of fixtures looks remarkably similar to last season’s, head coach Nicole Van Dyke’s first in charge of the Red and Blue.

Two of the Red and Blue's women’s lacrosse players were honored by Inside Lacrosse this week as part of its year-long awards recognition. Senior attack Nina Corcoran and freshman defender Katy Junior received awards after being named on the All-ILWomen team and the All-Rookie team, respectively.

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.

When Penn women's basketball coach Mike McLaughlin had to hire a new assistant coach, he didn't have to look far.

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's Deputy Athletic Director Alanna Shanahan C'96 has been named as the new Director of Athletics and Recreation at Johns Hopkins University.

In the midst of complaints that the University was handling allegations of sexual violence poorly, especially allegations against members of the football team, Baylor hired the Philadelphia-based law firm Pepper Hamilton to conduct an independent review beginning in fall 2012.

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. 

On Saturday, No.7 Penn women’s lacrosse ended one of its best seasons in program history with an 8-4 loss to unseeded Penn State.