Forget for a second that Penn's chances at an Ivy football title took a serious hit with its second league loss Saturday. What is going on in that Quakers locker room is its own significant story, where a group of men is getting more than it ever bargained for.

A whistle blows, a foul is called, and senior field hockey midfielder Meghan Rose steps up to take a penalty stroke for the Quakers. She sets her feet, counts to three, and without looking at the goal rips a shot past the opposing keeper and calmly gets ready for the next play.

While the Penn women's soccer team had little trouble dismantling its opponent, the Quakers' players did have one major challenge to overcome: not retaliating against UMBC's physical play. In last night's 4-0 win in Baltimore, the Retrievers' players took three yellow cards on the game.

Neither a shoulder injury nor opponents' defenses can keep sprint football quarterback Mike D'Angelo out of the endzone. With a contusion or possible ligament damage in his shoulder, last week's Collegiate Sprint Football Offensive Player of the Week continued his onslaught in a victory over Cornell on Saturday.

If you have to lose a Joe, it's nice to have a DiMaggio waiting in the wings. With senior running back Joe Sandberg relegated to the sideline at times this season - with an injury, or simply for some in-game rest - Quakers fans have been given a glimpse of a Penn backfield without its established star.

The Penn baseball team may have the Phillies' infield of the future. No, Quakers coach John Cole is not grooming Steve Gable and William Gordon to replace Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins. But Meiklejohn Stadium received a grooming of its own this off-season, and the Phillies have shown particular interest in the new surface.

Yale coach Jack Siedlecki was worried already. Penn faced a big third-and-six from the Bulldogs' 42, and a conversion could help set up a go-ahead field goal in the closing minute of the first half. So Seidlecki wasn't thrilled when a few careless seconds came Penn's way on that third down - the result of a missing man in a hat and a refereeing crew that had both sides yelling at it all Saturday afternoon.

So far, Pennsylvania legislators have kept gays off the altar, but the Philadelphia Gryphons Rugby Football Club is showing that you can't keep them off the pitch. As members of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board (IGRAB), the Gryphons are the first gay-friendly team in Philadelphia, and have only one straight player on the roster.

One more locked up for the Class of 2012. The heavily sought-after Garvin Hunt, a 6-foot-10 center from the Sagemont Upper School in Weston, Fla. committed to Penn yesterday. Originally from the Bahamas, Hunt has only been playing basketball and going to school in America for three years.

Trailing Dartmouth 35-28 with just over a minute to go, Columbia quarterback Craig Hormann thought he still had a chance. On third and 18 from his own 25, Hormann went into the shotgun formation. While he was yelling instructions to his teammates, center Mike Partain snapped the ball over his quarterback's shoulder.

It's good to be healthy, and for the first time in a couple of weeks, the Penn men's soccer team is near 100 percent. Last week's games against Dartmouth and Rutgers saw a few key players either out or stuck with limited minutes because of injuries.

Against Yale on Friday, the Penn field hockey team led only for only four minutes and 21 seconds. But the Bulldogs led for even less -- 3:56, and the Quakers were in front when it counted, winning 4-3 in overtime. The team's weekend was not perfect however, as it did lose to No.

Offseason hip surgery will keep Tommy McMahon on the sideline for the entirety of the upcoming basketball season, he confirmed Friday. The junior swingman, who underwent the operation over the summer, started 11 of 30 games last year and averaged five points per game.

Coming into Saturday's game against the Bulldogs, the bulk of the defensive preparation for coach Al Bagnoli's team no doubt centered around stopping Yale tailback Mike McLeod. The junior had been torching the competition at a record-setting pace, rushing for 199 yards per game to lead the nation. Meanwhile, Penn's defense was coming off a Columbia game in which it conceded a meager eight yards on 25 carries.

After last year's scoreless tie in New Haven, the Penn women's soccer team had some unfinished business heading into its weekend matchup with the Bulldogs. The Quakers finally made the nylon dance in this one, and made a little school history in the process.

In a weekend of must-win games, outside hitter Anna Shlimak made sure her squad didn't lose. Tied with Dartmouth for third on Friday afternoon, the Quakers defeated the Big Green before sweeping Harvard on Saturday. The senior led Penn to a 3-1 victory over Dartmouth with a career high 19 kills, more than any Penn player all season.

Loukas Tasigianis, King of Rhodes? That moniker may be a little premature - but if he keeps playing as well as he did against Yale on Saturday night, he'll earn it. The sensational-of-late freshman netted two goals, including the extra-time gamewinner, as Penn edged out Yale 2-1 in a key Ivy matchup.