The Penn women's golf team thought they had finally edged past one of their top Ivy rivals, Columbia, at the annual Hoya Invitational yesterday at The Members Club at Four Streams course in Beallsville, Md. But by some stroke of fate - and some good strokes from the Lions - the Quakers were leapfrogged on the leaderboard.

The Blue Jays know how to put up a fight. So as the No. 2 Penn women's lacrosse team enters its ninth game of the season against unranked Johns Hopkins, they expect to hear the foul whistle a lot. "They're very physical so we're going to have to be able to handle that," coach Karin Brower said.

Heading into the top of the ninth inning with an 11-8 lead in the second game of a doubleheader against Harvard yesterday afternoon, it looked like the Quakers were finally ready to put a close on their first Ivy League win. But their fortune changed quickly as the Crimson's Matt Rogers homered to left center to pull Harvard within one.

After a heartbreaking loss to rival Princeton, the men's tennis team was able to bounce back for a convincing 6-1 win against Army at Levy Tennis Pavilion yesterday - but suffered a casualty in the process. Junior Alex Vasin - who has had a turbulent history with coach Nik DeVore that included a leave of absence for two months last season - confirmed that he has quit the team.

It's almost hard to take him seriously, this skinny fellow in pink and turquoise spandex. He is shirtless, his hair is spiked with gel and he boldly claims to hail from "the projects of Neverland Ranch." But in the South Philly venue known simply as "The Arena" - a hotbed of that blue-collar, indulgent but damn-if-it-ain't-entertaining art form known as professional wrestling - the man called Pinkie Sanchez takes a tone that belies his flamboyant persona.

With their teams struggling to accumulate Ivy League championships, Penn athletes combined forces for a greater cause at the Pride Games on Hill Field Sunday - and still didn't come away with first place. That honor, along with a celebratory ice cream party, went to Team Philadelphia, which was comprised of board members of the Federation of Gay Games, "We're delighted and kind of surprised," team member Rick VanTassell said of the win.

Down 7-4 and facing match point, juniors Ekaterina Kosminskaya and Maria Anisimova were on the brink of losing the doubles point in their match against No. 48 Princeton Saturday. Kosminskaya extended the match by rifling a cross-court return to set up a strong volley down the line for a winner.

The baseball team was in no mood to stretch. It was the top of the seventh inning, and the Quakers led Dartmouth, 8-3, and were seemingly cruising on their way to victory over an inferior opponent. Then the Big Green rallied for five runs, including a three-run homer, and the Penn players sat disheartened in their dugout in the middle of the inning.

In an e-mail to "Penn Basketball Alumni, Family and Friends," senior associate director of athletics Mary DiStanislao announced that Penn Athletics will host a "town hall" meeting April 26 at 10:30 a.m. at the Inn at Penn in which basketball coach Glen Miller will field questions. The event "is intended to bring together season ticket holders, former players, alumni and select student supporters as well as long-time friends of the program for an extended answer session about Penn Basketball with coach Miller," the e-mail said.

The Penn women's lacrosse team controlled every aspect of its game at Columbia - in the first half, that is. Despite a second half dominated by its unranked Ivy League opponent, the No. 2 Quakers pulled out a 16-11 victory over the Lions Friday afternoon in New York.

Penn men's tennis senior captain Jonathan Boym may be physically rusty, but his veteran perspective remains sharp. "Obviously I'm extremely distraught that I couldn't close that match out . but I think the test of a true athlete or a true competitor is how well you bounce back the next time," Penn's No.

When a team is struggling, a matchup against the fourth-best team in the nation generally is not the cure. The men's lacrosse team showed that Saturday, continuing its season-long defensive struggles in a 21-11 loss to No. 4 Cornell. "Going against the [No.

Penn softball kicked off Ivy League play with a split against Dartmouth. The Quakers dropped the first game, 8-7, but bounced back in the nightcap with an impressive 8-0 rout. Dartmouth (8-11, 1-1 Ivy) dominated the first game from the outset. Second baseman Kirsten Costello drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on two groundouts before being knocked in on a double by Molly Khalil.

By JOE SANFILIPPO Staff Writer sanfilippo@dailypennsylvanian.com Tomorrow's contest at Cornell is of huge importance to Penn men's lacrosse, but it may be for the wrong reasons. A loss against the No. 4 Big Red - which would be the Quakers' sixth loss in a row - all but guarantees Penn will be on the outside looking in for this year's NCAA tournament.

While the No. 2 Penn women's lacrosse team boasts a balanced offensive attack, Columbia relies mainly on two threats: senior Holly Glynn and junior Brittany Shannon. When the Red and Blue (6-0, 2-0 Ivy) travel to New York to face Columbia (5-2, 0-1) at 3:30 this afternoon, the dynamic Lions duo will surely be on their minds.