By David Bernstein Staff Writer davidkb@dailypennsylvanian.com NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Even amid Penn's elite teams and Ivy titles of the past few years, Yale's John J. Lee Amphitheater has carried a bit of mystique for the Quakers. Before this season, four of the past six contests there ended in upset victories for the Bulldogs.

It's not often that the Penn men's tennis team faces a former Israeli champion, the No. 40 singles player and the No. 23 doubles team in the nation, all in one weekend. But in matches Friday and Saturday against Maryland and No. 43 Louisville, the Quakers saw their toughest competition all year.

It looks like no one can stop Sara Coenen. After going undefeated in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke in league competition this season, Penn's star sophomore won both titles at the Ivy League Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. The Quakers (7-5, 4-3 Ivy) finished fifth overall, but they broke seven school records in the process.

Fifth place was not what the Penn men's and women's track teams had in mind for this weekend's Heptagonal Indoor Championships at Cornell. Despite several impressive individual accomplishments, both teams fell short of the podium. The women finished in fifth with a total of 45 points, 69 behind first-place Princeton.

The men's lacrosse team was determined not to squander another three-goal lead. After Villanova closed within one goal with under two minutes left, the Quakers were able to stave off a comeback, holding on to win 7-6 on Saturday at Franklin Field. "We made some mistakes at the end, we made some mistakes during the game to keep them in the game, but the bottom line is we did what it took to win and that's what's important," coach Brian Voelker said.

With 14 seconds remaining and the score tied at North Carolina, Penn senior attacker Melissa Lehman made one final drive to the goal. She reared back and ripped off a shot. The ball bounced its way into the corner of net, giving Lehman a hat trick and the Penn women's lacrosse team an 8-7 win Saturday.

Baseball coach John Cole got exactly what he asked for when he scheduled the Quakers' home opener for February, the earliest it's been in years. Friday's scheduled doubleheader was delayed over 90 minutes because of frost on the infield dirt. When Penn and West Chester finally took the field at Meiklejohn Stadium to play only one game, it was 35 degrees.

Things are about to get a little tougher for the men's tennis team. After cruising to easy victories in each of their last four contests, the Quakers will face Maryland and Louisville - two of their strongest opponents yet - when they travel to College Park, Md.

After a fourth-quarter collapse against Drexel last weekend, the Penn men's lacrosse team is looking to rebound this Saturday and "put a beating" on Villanova, according to co-captain Max Mauro. "It's a cross-town rival," the senior explained. "I'm sure a lot of [our] guys were recruited by Villanova, and they chose this school for a reason.

In Division-I softball, a coach usually doesn't need to worry about her outfielders catching fly balls. This is not the case, though, for coach Leslie King and the Penn softball team, as they prepare for their season-opening doubleheader on Sunday against Lafayette.

Penn women's basketball has beaten just one team since November. That team visits the Palestra tonight. The Quakers (4-20, 1-8 Ivy) lead only one team in the Ivy standings. That team comes to the Palestra tomorrow. With Yale (7-16, 5-5 Ivy) and Brown (2-22, 1-9 Ivy) visiting West Philly this weekend, the Quakers couldn't ask for a better chance at getting a pair of wins in their final home stand.

There won't be any room for error in Chapel Hill, N.C. Saturday as Penn prepares to face off against North Carolina for the first time ever. The Quakers' No. 2 ranking last season earned them the right to compete against the top lacrosse squads in the country, and that includes perennial powerhouse UNC.

Adrian Williams won't be the second African-American quarterback to win the Super Bowl. The son of former Washington Redskins quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams, Adrian went down a different path. Or, at least, chose different sport - he's now Brown's backup point guard as a freshman.

There's nothing like opening day in the springtime. Soon enough, the baseball team will be soaking up the rays on its annual trip to the Sunshine State to kick off the season. But before that happens, the Quakers will play their first game right here in Philadelphia, when West Chester makes the short trip to Meiklejohn Stadium.

For four years straight, the Quakers have blown out Yale at the Palestra, winning by an average of 22 points. But when they take on the Bulldogs at the John J. Lee Amphitheater - as they will tonight - nothing comes easy. In two of the last three seasons, the Quakers' lone Ivy League loss came in New Haven, Conn.

They're physical. They've got great guard play. And most importantly, they've emerged as the second-best team in the Ivy League this season. But you don't have to tell Glen Miller what Brown (15-3, 7-3 Ivy) does well. The former head man in Providence, R.

Ever since they began practicing in January, the young Quakers have been anxiously awaiting their first taste of collegiate softball. They were supposed to begin their season on Saturday, but forecasted inclement delayed their opener further. On Sunday, the Red and Blue finally took the field against Lafayette, but even then they had to wait 11 innings to find out the result of their first game.