This time last year, Sarah Waxman was prepping for her senior season as goalie for the Penn women's lacrosse team - one that would culminate with a trip to the national championship game. Now, she finds herself 2,000 miles from Franklin Field, in Oaxaca, Mexico, teaching English and history to Mexican high-schoolers.

Anyone with a Brown graduation ring is a step behind Adrian Williams. The sophomore guard on the men's basketball team already has a championship ring from Super Bowl XXII - actually, his dad does. "He kind of keeps it stashed away," Williams said. "I think he brings it out for special occasions.

Zack Crimmins isn't known for his shooting touch. Indeed, although he towers over most of his Ivy brethren - the Columbia center is one of three 7-footers in the league - he hardly dwarfs their box score accomplishments, netting just 45 points in his first 27 collegiate games.

It's already that time again. Just two days after men's basketball was virtually eliminated from Ivy League championship contention, the first step toward the next football season took place. Penn Athletics released the 2009 football schedule around noon yesterday.

He is the only Penn basketball player worthy of such a distinction: Harrison Gaines has Cornell's number. After dropping 19 points in each of the Quakers' two games against the Big Red in his freshman season, Gaines responded to a spot start Saturday with gusto, leaving Cornell coach Steve Donahue searching for answers.

If success has a price, Tyler Bernardini doesn't seem to be receiving his credit card bills. The expectations - stemming from an impressive freshman campaign - have built, but the sophomore guard is content to just give one response. "I'm just trying to play basketball.

The outlook was bleak for the men's squash team. After coming up short against Harvard Saturday, it faced a 4-3 deficit yesterday against Dartmouth. And Penn's Porter Drake and Mark Froot were each down, 2-0, in their respective matches. But the Quakers fought through, and at the end of the match it was Drake screaming triumphantly and Dartmouth's Tyler Young throwing his racket against the glass after a frustrating defeat.

Penn knows that against certain teams, being physically overmatched is all but guaranteed. With schools like North Carolina and Villanova on their schedule, the Quakers are certain to get pushed around from time to time. One time it is never supposed to happen, however, is against another Ivy League team.

By LEIGH SILVER Staff Writer silver@dailypennsylvanian.com Ekaterina Kosminskaya knows that sometimes, you just can't win every match. Playing as the Penn women's tennis team's No. 1 in both doubles and singles, the junior could only muster a 2-2 record against Virginia Commonwealth and Richmond this weekend.

The Penn women's basketball team went to the Empire State to face Ivy League rivals Columbia and Cornell this weekend, but the two game results couldn't have been any different. The Quakers that faced Columbia in New York City Friday looked as though they were not at all in contention for an Ivy League title, losing 77-57 to the Lions.

While the men's tennis team struggled mightily this weekend on their Florida roadtrip, Jason Lin separated himself from the pack. The freshman recorded one of only two Penn victories Saturday against Florida Atlantic and lost in three hard-fought sets yesterday against No.

No, they didn't right the Ivy ship against the defending champs, but you can't mark the Quakers down for creativity. Unable to build on a hot start from a fully-retooled starting five, Penn fell, 88-73, to Cornell Saturday night at the Palestra. The Red and Blue (5-13, 1-3 Ivy) now sit three games behind conference-leading Princeton, who improved to 4-0 in league play by downing Cornell (15-7, 5-1) and Columbia this weekend.

Exceeding expectations has been a familiar theme for the seniors on the women's squash team. When they started as freshmen, they joined a team that was coming off a 5-7 season and was an afterthought in Ivy League competition. Over their four-year careers, the squad compiled a combined 44-10 record (20-9 Ivy) and emerged as one of the most formidable threats in the nation.

Penn fencer Zane Grodman accomplished an amazing feat yesterday. The freshman foil defeated Columbia's All-American Kurt Getz in 30 seconds by a score of 5-0. "He set an incredible tone for the match," coach Dave Micahnik said. "We went on to defeat Columbia for the first time in the last 10 years.

Wrestling absolutely demolished the Crimson and Bears, winning 35-12 and 34-6, respectively.

It's that time of the year again. I have the dubious honor of penning my second annual "Penn is rebuilding and will not compete for the league title" column. And this second rebuilding season has brought with it a unique challenge that needs to be addressed.

And so the streak continues. As has been the case for the past five years, the Penn women's swimming team emerged triumphant in its meet against La Salle, this time winning, 169-130, last night.