Penn Athletics has a variety of varsity sports teams, but it also hosts a wealth of club sports. These club teams can even be surprisingly successful — the men’s club basketball team, for instance, had a record-breaking year. But for the best club athletes, just how easy is it — and how often does it occur — to move up to the varsity level? The latter question is easier to answer.

And that’s two. Late last night in good ol’ Baltimore, the Quakers were able to build on their Ivy win Saturday to defeat UMBC in a non-conference game 8-7. The Red and Blue got the first point on the board with an unassisted goal from midfield Tyler Dunn just 34 seconds into the game. But the Retrievers didn’t let Penn stay up for long.

While they may have been non-entities last year, sophomore right-handed pitcher Billy Lescher and junior southpaw Gabe Kleiman have become indispensable members of Penn baseball’s pitching staff this season.

Last week, Penn Athletics announced the elevation of assistant squash coach Gilly Lane to head men’s coach.

All of Penn’s student body knows that “finals season” is approaching. But for a select subset of the school, the phrase is a bit of a double entendre.

If you asked most Penn students if they really enjoyed their toughest Pottruck workouts, the answer would probably be no. Hard runs or the dreaded leg days are often the things that — despite being sometimes necessary — they dread the most. Calvary Rogers, freshman track phenom, on the other hand, relishes the opportunity to have his coaches push him every day in practice.

Last Monday, Princeton announced that it was discontinuing its long-beleaguered sprint football team, effective immediately.

Less than a day after hundreds of students flocked to Franklin Field to experience the musical stylings of Chance the Rapper, Penn men’s lacrosse put on an equally compelling performance of its own. On Saturday, a crowd of 718 — which included a number of former players who returned to celebrate the team’s Alumni Day — took in an exciting, back-and-forth game.

Coming in hot having won three straight conference matches and with the Ivy League title on the line, it made for a competitive weekend for Penn women's tennis. After jumping up 22 spots in the ITA Rankings from 74 to 52 after defeating Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend, the Quakers split their final Ivy doubleheader, falling to No. 63 Cornell on Friday, 5-2, at home before rebounding the season finale in New York against No. 34 Columbia, 4-3. On Friday against Cornell, the Big Red took an early lead, claiming the first four points.

When it comes to Ivy League baseball’s Lou Gehrig division, there’s a new sheriff in town.

There’s going to be a battle for the top spot in the Ivy League on Wednesday, and Penn women’s lacrosse has been tested and is ready to go as it looks to reclaim the title it has held eight of the last nine years.

Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, as the old saying goes, but Penn softball are surely wishing it counted in their sport after this weekend. 

Penn women's rowing tested its limits this weekend, and they did not come away empty handed. While in action at the Clemson Invitational in South Carolina, the Quakers secured the Class of '89 Plaque for only the third time in program history.

The slide continues. After opening up Ivy play with two key wins over Yale and Brown at the beginning of the month, Penn men's tennis has failed to find similar success in four conference matches.

On Saturday, amid perfect conditions, Penn’s two track programs combined for 11 event victories and several personal best times at the Chester Quarry Classic, hosted by Widener University.

Second-year high jumper Mike Monroe is enjoying a sophomore surge in anticipation of the big name meets coming up. 

The Quakers had plenty of time to work on their game during a midweek tune-up for a huge Ivy series, but didn't get the result they'll be hoping for this weekend.