When the Penn baseball team embarked on its spring break trip to Boca Raton, Fla., it had just a single game under its belt. So, with the Quakers still making adjustments to new roles and new faces, their seven-game slate probably felt more like spring training than a crucial chunk of the regular season.

Softball head coach Leslie King can now check another accomplishment off the ol' to-do list. Last year's record-breaking season - the team's first winning campaign since 1984 - could not satiate the squad's newfound competitive streak. After the Quakers' unprecedented 8-2 run over this year's spring break, King's players feel they're on their way to having their best season ever.

Entering the conference tournaments, the Big 5 was in danger of being shut out of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977. One week later, it sent three schools for the first time since 1999. The Big 5 ensured its 30-year streak would continue when Temple beat Saint Joseph's for the Atlantic 10 title, and a day later the Hawks and Villanova took two of the final at-large spots in the tournament.

LANCASTER, Pa., March 9 - Penn last won the team portion of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association's conference tournament in 1999. And despite three weightclass champions at this year's tournament, the Quakers' drought continued, but only by the smallest margin possible.

Better late than never. To cap off a trying season, the Penn women's basketball team finally found some measure of consistency over spring break. The Red and Blue traveled to the Empire State on March 7. There, they lost to eventual Ivy champion Cornell, 73-58 on Friday night and beat Columbia 74-71 on Saturday.

In its previous 22 games, the Penn women's lacrosse team was undefeated against teams not named Northwestern. But after a spring break trip to California, that's not the case anymore. The No. 6 Quakers were upset by then-unranked Stanford, 10-8 on March 9.

For the first seven days of spring break, the women's tennis team kept coming up just short in California. The Quakers lost to No. 72 San Diego State, No. 47 UC Irvine, No. 27 Pepperdine and No. 32 Long Beach State all by the score of 4-3. That was the first time coach Mike Dowd has ever lost four straight games by a 4-3 score in his 12-year career at Penn.

After months of inclement weather, infield puddles and indoor practices, the Penn baseball team is finally headed for greener pastures - if only for one week. The Quakers (0-1) flew to Boca Raton, Fla., last night, where they will play out an eight-game spring break slate over the next eight days.

For the men's tennis team, spring break will signify more than just a week without classes. With a three-match road trip in California on tap, it will also mark the annual switch from indoor to outdoor courts. "Normally it's a tough transition," Penn coach Nik DeVore said.

In each of the past three seasons, Penn has headed into the final weekend of the regular season with NCAA Tournament seeding on its mind. This year, all that's left is pride. Senior captain Brian Grandieri and Joe Gill have three Ivy League titles under their belts; classmate Mike Kach - who didn't play in his sophomore year - has two.

This weekend, Penn's track teams will embark on the ultimate alternate spring break, as they head north to compete in Boston. The women will compete in the ECAC Championships, while the men will race in the IC4A Championships. Penn Women's track coach Gwen Harris says there are two goals that every track team aspires to achieve at every big meet.

Men's lacrosse coach Brian Voelker is hoping that his trip out west proves to be a Rocky Mountain high and not a Rocky mountain low. The men's lacrosse team traveled to Colorado last night for its two spring break contests against Air Force and Denver - its last tune-up before the six-game Ivy slate.

Of all the lumps it has taken this season, the women's basketball team's matchup with Cornell a month ago may have left the deepest bruise. The Big Red starting frontcourt poured in 34 points en route to an 80-56 victory. But the Quakers had a six-hour bus trip up to Ithaca, N.

For the wrestling team, the last four months of bouts, pins and takedowns all comes down to this weekend. Starting tomorrow and finishing up Sunday, the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association will hold its conference tournament at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa.

Talk about learning quickly: The softball team will play more games this spring break than it has year. Penn (2-2 ) will travel to Orlando, Fla., to take part in the Rebel Spring Games. They will play 10 contests over six days, with just one day off. Their opponents include seven different teams from all over the country: Cleveland State, Butler, Tenesee-Martin, Indiana-Purdue, Robert Morris, Monmouth and Wisconsin-Green Bay.

While their classmates are throwing back shots of tequila over spring break next week, eight Quakers will be taking their shot at college fencing's highest honor at the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio, from March 13-16. But according to coach Dave Micahnik, Penn's biggest challenge won't take place on the piste.

Becca Edwards notched a hat trick against North Carolina last weekend, but that's not why she's been the center of attention among her lacrosse teammates. When she joined the Quakers, the attacker had never experienced jetlag. The native of Flourtown, Pa.