When crafting his offense this preseason, Penn coach Al Bagnoli conceived of a backfield that utilized the shifty Bradford Blackmon in tandem with the powerful Mike DiMaggio. "I think we've got a really nice one-two that hopefully are gonna cause people some problems," Bagnoli said in early September.

Most schools would consider sending eight wrestlers to the NCAA tournament a success. Not Penn. The Quakers did that last year, but because none of the eight became All-Americans, they wrote off the 2007-08 campaign as something of a disappointment. "We had a great [regular] season, but it didn't culminate in the success that we wanted," said first-year head coach Rob Eiter, who was a Penn assistant last year under current USA National coach Zeke Jones.

If you're out early enough this morning, you may just spot Tyler Bernardini walking down 33rd street, scarfing down a pregame meal. "Maybe a McGriddle," the sophomore guard said. It will be breakfast on the run as he makes his way to the Daskalakis Center for Penn's 10 a.

A Gatorade shower in 40-degree weather never felt so good. Yesterday afternoon, coach Rudy Fuller happily had a cooler dumped on his head by his 2008 Ivy League Co-Champion Quakers. After 94 minutes in the freezing wind at Rhodes Field yesterday - in a match originally scheduled for Saturday night, postponed one day because of inclement weather - a winner had not been decided.

Volleyball senior Stephanie Gwin had to wait until Senior Night to get her first start this season, but she wasted no time capitalizing on the opportunity. Sophomore Megan Tryon set her up on the first play of the Quakers' match against Brown, and the co-captain slammed a hard kill right down the middle.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Here is the story. Glen Miller took Penn to visit North Carolina, the creme de la creme of college hoops, and got within 10 points with under four minutes to play. Not too shabby. "Well, I mean, we're never pleased with a loss. And we made a lot of mental mistakes out there . " Miller is stingy; you almost have to pry a compliment from his mouth.

By KRISTA HUTZ Senior Staff Writer hutzkm@dailypennsylvanian.com CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Quakers fans were braced for the worst going into Penn's season opener against No. 1 North Carolina. What they got wasn't Penn's best, but still a respectable 86-71 loss to the Tar Heels.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina, like any No. 1 team worth its weight in hype, has a bevy of offensive weapons it can use on any given night. But in its season-opening 86-71 win over Penn at the Dean Smith Center, the Tar Heels weren't going to take a chance of faltering in their season opener.

The Penn women's swimming team needed to claim the top two spots in the 200-yard freestyle relay in order to beat Columbia. Immediately after the start of the 16th and final event, Penn coach Mike Schnur began shouting: "That's an illegal start! That's an illegal start!" The Quakers finished second and third in the relay, losing the meet, 159-141.

Senior Leah Brogan has never qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championship. But after her 18th-place finish (out of 191 runners) at Saturday's Mid-Atlantic Regional, she may well be on her way. Now, it's up to the NCAA committee to decide. "She ran a great race," coach Gwen Harris said.

If Saturday's tournament at the 29th-annual Temple Fencing Collegiate Open serves as any indication of what the women's fencing team can expect from their freshmen this season, the Quakers do not need to worry. Penn brought home six medals, including three earned by freshmen, in a tournament that featured athletes from 32 different schools.

So this is how it ends for the Red and Blue, no strangers to heartbreak by any stretch, but filled with a season-long optimism that makes Saturday's loss - and ostensible elimination from title contention - that much harder to swallow. Kicking blunders, gut-wrenching turnovers, potentially blown calls - the Quakers have been there before in recent years, sure.

Penn coach Al Bagnoli said that sophomore quarterback Keiffer Garton ran the two-minute drill perfectly. There was only one blemish - - and it couldn't have been more costly. After leading the Quakers 63 yards to the Harvard 12, Garton found himself trailing by three and well within field-goal range.

Since Ivy League student-athletes are not given scholarships, the women's rowing team's edging out of Duke, Iowa and Miami at the Rivanna Romp in Charlottesville, Va., was that much sweeter for coach Michael Lane. Penn was the only non-scholarship school in the race.

This was not what Pat Knapp envisioned. Fresh off a disappointing season and the departure of three forwards, the women's basketball coach opted for a four-guard starting lineup. But in Friday's season opener against Lehigh, two of those four combined for zero points.

By ZACH KLITZMAN Staff Writer klitzman@dailypennsylvanian.com Entering the 2007-08 season, Darren Smith had high hopes. The guard was just coming off an excellent rookie campaign in which he started 10 of the team's final 11 games, including the Quakers' first round NCAA tournament loss against Texas A&M;.