This spring, the men's golf team has a winning formula that seems to be equal parts new and old. The new starts at the top. The University hired Scott Allen to be the new head coach for the team in August following the retirement of twelve-year veteran Francis Vaughn.

It's time to talk title scenarios. March Madness creeps closer every day and as the only Division I league without a conference tournament, the Ivy League will decide its NCAA Tournament representative in the next few days - as early as Friday but perhaps later if the stars align.

Brett Rendina roomed with golfing buddy Mike Blodgett freshman year. Ever since, Rendina's career has gone down a seemingly opposite path. While Blodgett made an impact from his debut season onward - ultimately becoming Penn's first individual Ivy League champion last spring - Rendina competed in just two events combined during his first two seasons.

Aside from the men's basketball team's performance, the new student-ticket policies have been some of the more popular gameday fodder this season. Breaking from its previous policy, the Athletic Department announced last September that the student section would be entirely general admission.

Confidence. Every athlete wants it. Every golfer needs it. Lisette Vitter has it. Before coming to Penn, the New Orleans native and junior captain of the Penn women's golf team blossomed at Metairie Park Country Day School and made a name for herself, as she was being recruited by multiple Division I golf programs.

The Penn women's golf team was short one crucial player during its fall season, but now junior Meredith Kotowski is back from a semester abroad in Greece and is more than ready to get back into the action and test her swing outdoors this spring. "I'm so excited.

Penn fans have said all season that sophomore Tyler Bernardini has looked out of sorts compared with his freshman campaign. This weekend may have been the first time they were unequivocally correct. The sharpshooting guard suffered a concussion early in the second half of Saturday's contest against Brown at the Palestra, and is "real questionable" for this weekend's games against Cornell and Columbia, according to coach Glen Miller.

Student-athletes often seek a close, caring community within their teams. The 30 or so Penn athletes involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Action are looking for something more - they are on a quest toward a more enlightened path. Lacrosse player and College junior Jill Taylor and several other members of varsity sports teams at Penn founded The Fellowship at the end of last year in order to give student-athletes a place to celebrate their shared faith alongside their shared passion on the playing field.

About the only good reason to attend the men's basketball weekend games was to watch its seniors play for the last time. They still have a road trip through New York next weekend, and they'll still play at the Palestra once more against Princeton over spring break.

When the Penn women's club ice hockey team beat last season's undefeated Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference champion, Delaware, 10-1, it was apparent something big was in store. The Quakers (13-1) will head to the Division II Women's Hockey National Championship in Rochester, N.

Justin Reilly? He's that scruffy mass of energy at the end of the bench, the one who comes in, swarms the ball for a few possessions in the paint, maybe picks up a couple fouls against the other team's bigs. He's an agitator - the guy at the gym who doesn't get picked until late but is sure to annoy the hell out of the poor guy he ends up guarding.

While a season of wear and tear leaves most squash players begging for a break, Penn coach Jack Wyant said he would have to work hard to keep Kristen Lange off the court in the coming days. Lange retained the title of Ramsay cup bridesmaid Sunday by finishing as runner-up at the College Squash Association Individual Championships for the third consecutive year.

It wasn't hard to guess what Yale's approach was going to be when it came to the Palestra Friday. A team with a host of competent big men and without much of a perimeter game, the Bulldogs were going to go inside all night. But few could have predicted just how thoroughly they would batter Penn down low - Yale outrebounded the Quakers by seven, outscored them in the paint by six and sent the Red and Blue home with its fifth consecutive Ivy loss at home, coming out on top, 87-79.

I'd heard about them before, sure - even seen a couple on TV courtesy of this year's Detroit Lions and the old New Orleans 'Ain'ts teams of the early '80s. But it wasn't until Saturday night at the Palestra that I encountered one in person: the paper bag head, complete with two holes for the eyes, a frowning face penciled in, and a gangly, anonymous body dangling underneath it all.

The No. 6 Penn women's lacrosse team trounced California, 10-2, Friday but may have suffered a long-term casualty in the process. Sophomore attack Bridget Waclawik, who had problems staying healthy last year, had to be helped off the field near the end of the first half with an injury that appeared serious.

If only one match went differently Saturday for the Penn women's tennis team, the Quakers would have defeated crosstown rival Temple. The ball didn't bounce in the Quakers' favor, though, at the No. 3 spot, as sophomore Alexa Ely dropped the final game, 6-4, to Temple's Lucie Paderoza in a close three-set match.

Saturday's game against Villanova is one the men's lacrosse team would rather forget. Penn left Villanova Stadium on the wrong end of a 14-7 thrashing at the hands of the Wildcats. "I can't think of one thing we did well today," coach Brian Voelker said.