This isn't your big brother's Dartmouth. No, the Big Green, often written off as the bottom-feeders of the Ivy League, no longer serve only as a practice squad for the rest of the conference. They may not be title contenders, but their opponents can no longer look to trips to Hanover as guaranteed wins.

While the rest of the Penn field hockey team was finishing up against Lafayette last night, midfielder Sarah Warner was in a hospital, getting stitches after picking up a knock earlier in the game. Adding insult to injury, Penn was beaten on the scoreboard, 2-0, extending its losing streak to five.

Cornell football will have a new look this year - literally. Coach Jim Knowles removed the "C" from the players' helmets in an effort to improve their effort and dedication. He needed to do something after the Big Red finished seventh in the Ivy League last year with a 2-5 record and were physically dominated by most teams.

Before his first season at Columbia began in 2006, coach Norries Wilson offered a bold prediction in an interview with Columbia College Today. "We will not win the Ivy League championship," he said. "I'm guaranteeing that." The words proved prescient, as the Lions stumbled to a 2-5 conference mark.

They've come from all over the country: New York, New York, California, New York, Maryland, New York, New York, Colorado and . New York. Although they've just arrived on campus, the men's lacrosse team's newest members should fit right in at Franklin Field - four of the nine played with either their fellow recruits or current Penn players in high school.

For a Penn squad that struggled to find its groove week after week, the defensive unit was a rare bastion of consistency. The Quakers were third in the Ivy League in points allowed (19.3) and second in rushing yards against (100) per game. But while they return a strong secondary - led by All-Ivy corners Chris Wynn and Tyson Maugle, along with free safety Jordan Manning - the Red and Blue are green up front.

His colleagues joke that he's the brains of the program. They're really only half-joking. True, football operations director Daniel Kuhn - DK to anyone inside the Franklin Field hash marks - does not call plays. Nor does he hit the road to find the next star Quakers.

Two years ago, Lafayette's Maggie Condon, then a sophomore, picked up an unassisted tally against the Quakers. As it turned out, that would be the Leopards' only goal over the schools' four meetings since 2004, all won by Penn. They battle again tonight in Easton, Pa.

Four games, four shutouts. That's the feat the men's soccer team has accomplished so far this season. Its defensive success is the primary reason that Penn has gotten off to a 3-0-1 start and brought home trophies from tournaments at Marquette and Princeton.

Awk-waaard. For 14 years, Scott Allen headed the golf program at George Washington. But this past weekend, Allen got a look at the Colonials from the other side of the tee box - as Penn's head coach. He even helped GW with some administrative duties at yesterday's Rehoboth Beach Tournament.

It's tough to pinpoint how exactly Penn's 2007 campaign was derailed. Sure, starting quarterback Robert Irvin suffered a torn labrum in Week 2, and fifth-year rusher Joe Sandberg was always banged up. An intentional safety in the season opener - which badly backfired - and an ineligible receiver in the third overtime against Yale didn't help.

Coming into Friday's game, the women's soccer team was 0-10 all time against Villanova. Unfortunately for the Quakers, they still haven't beaten their rival from the Main Line. Despite leading, 2-0, after 47 minutes, Penn gave up three late goals to fall, 3-2, to the Wildcats, who ended up winning the Penn Invitational at Rhodes Field.

Lauren Sadaka understands that for the youngsters on the women's tennis team, it's all about confidence and experience. From these points of view, the Quakers were able to kill two birds with one stone this weekend. But they also showed that they are too green to seriously contend with the big boys of the Ivy League.

After the Penn field hockey team couldn't get going in the first half of either of its games this weekend, coach Val Cloud could think of only one solution to remedy her squad's slow starts. "Put a bomb under them," Cloud said. "I'm at wits end." The Quakers fell to William & Mary, 3-2, on Saturday and to Virginia Commonwealth, 3-1, yesterday.

Baird to the bone: M. X-country in second Chris Baird led all runners in the 8K at Old Nassau Run in Princeton, N.J., and the men's cross country team finished in second place in both the 6K and 8K. Baird ran the 8K in 25:46.00, as the Quakers finished with 50 points, two behind first-place Columbia.

With her team down one set and 21-20 in the second against Oral Roberts, Ashley Hawkins slammed a game-tying kill through the Golden Eagles' blockers to give the Quakers the momentum they so desperately needed. Hawkins followed up her powerful attack with a strong block on ORU's top attacker, Jackie Oliveira, to help propel Penn to a crucial 29-27 win.

PRINCETON, N.J. - It had been 36 seasons since Penn posted four consecutive shutouts. But at the Princeton Soccer Tournament this weekend, Drew Healy tied the program mark, blanking American and the previously unbeaten Seton Hall. He has now played all 380 minutes this season, recording 16 saves without a ball crossing his line.