Saturday at noon, No. 25 Harvard comes to Franklin Field in what is a de facto Ivy League title game. With a win, Penn would clinch at least a share of the Ancient Eight crown.

For the second straight season, the Quakers will open their season against UMBC. Last year they took the contest, 59-45, in Catonsville, Md.

Sophomore guard Jackie Kates has chosen not to return to the team this season but leaves on good terms.

Friday night, Penn opens its season at Norfolk State. The Quakers return 11 players, including junior Alyssa Baron and sophomore Kara Bonenberger — the two reigning Big 5 Rookies of the Year.

Sunday, Penn’s grapplers will travel to upstate New York to compete in the annual Binghamton Open, their first competition of the year.

As Penn hits the road for a back-to-back in the Empire State, a chance for second place and just one loss in the second half of Ivy play hangs in the balance.

Going into their second-round match Thursday at the 2012 United States Tennis Association/ITA National Indoor Collegiate Championships in Flushing, N.Y., the Penn doubles pair of Sol Eskenazi and Sonya Latycheva fell just short in a 8-5 loss to Ashley Dai and Whitney Kay of North Carolina.

Predicted to finish fifth in the Ancient Eight in the Ivy League Preseason Media Poll, the Quakers will face challenges in every league matchup.

It’s no surprise graduated Quakers have continued their professional playing careers abroad, where they are all doing what they love to do the most.

Per usual, the Quakers will take on the other four teams of the historic Philadelphia Big Five this season and the competition will be tough.

Jerome Allen and his staff bring in a talented four-man recruiting class this season and also return sophomore Greg Louis. With the loss of key seniors, these five players will have plenty of opportunity this season to show what they can do.

Penn needs to be challenged, sure, but the young squad also needs confidence. A softer schedule gives the Quakers a shot at both.

Polykoff, entering his first year as the volunteer assistant coach, comes to the Quakers following a highly successful five-year stint as head coach of local Friends’ Central School.

On a team without any seniors, Bowman is in many ways a leader that his players can look up to not just as a source of authority, but also as a role model.

First-year Penn assistant Scott Pera, who comes to Penn after five years as an assistant at Arizona State, has coached some of the biggest names in the business.

With no seniors on the Quakers’ roster and a five-year stretch without an Ivy title, the Class of 2014 is in the spotlight.

Competitive racer Candace Gantt returned from intensive brain surgery to complete an Ironman and raise awareness about traumatic brain injuries alongside Penn’s Center for Brain Injury and Repair.