Penn men squashed by Red, Mustangs The men's squash team opened its season this Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y. with a doubleheader against Cornell and Western Ontario. The Quakers didn't get off to the start they hoped for, losing 5-4 to the Big Red and 7-2 to Western Ontario.

As Brian Grandieri was whisked away from the post-game press conference on Saturday, one thing was clear: This team is in serious trouble right now. The Quakers' 80-65 loss to Howard- yes, the same Howard that lost its first two games by a combined 109 points - prompted Grandieri to call out the rest of the team, questioning their effort level, desire and tenacity.

He hadn't taken a kick in practice all season. So when coach Al Bagnoli called on Derek Zoch to kick the extra point after the Quakers' final touchdown on Saturday, the senior kicker was more than a little surprised to hear his name. "I was caught completely off guard," Zoch said.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. Nov. 17 - The 124th edition of "The Game" between Harvard and Yale on the gridiron - and this year's de facto Ivy championship game - was supposed to be one for the ages. Too bad someone forgot to give the Crimson the memo.

The men's swimming team had its first home meet on Friday. As expected, Princeton (214.5-85.5) and Cornell (177-123) defeated the Quakers. In a sport where parity is far from the norm, Penn coach Mike Schnur had to be happy with what he got. "Last year we were no where close to the leader at any point of the meet," he said.

MORGANTOWN, W. Va., Nov. 16 - It took just a one-minute burst from James Madison's attackers to send the Quakers' dream season to a screeching halt. The women's soccer team came into its first round game of the NCAA College Cup on a roll, having won eight of its last nine games.

The Penn women's squash team opened its season by steam-rolling Cornell 8-1 on Saturday. Eight of the Quakers' starting nine took down their Big Red counterparts 3-1 or 3-0. Penn's only loss was at the No. 3 position. "Cornell was a little bit of a younger team than ours," said co-captain Lauralynn Drury, who earned a 3-1 victory herself at the No.

After just two games, the men's basketball team realizes that wins will not come as easily as they did last season. "Our seniors bailed us out at times [last year]," guard Mike Kach said. "This season we don't have that individual talent. We need to play hard as a team every minute.

It was already a busy week for Cornell wide receiver Shane Kilcoyne. With exams and a game against Dartmouth coming up that Saturday in late October, the last thing Kilcoyne expected was the news that raging wildfires had come within five miles of engulfing his home in San Diego.

Before the season began, Penn women's basketball coach Pat Knapp said that somebody would step up on offense to replace the scoring void left after the Quakers graduated their top three scorers last year. After chipping in 46 points in the team's two games this season, that person appears to be Carrie Biemer.

With the Ivy League trophy already on its mantle, the Penn women's soccer team is ready for its close-up on the national stage. The Quakers' second season begins this afternoon in Morgantown, W. Va., where the Red and Blue will take on James Madison of the Colonial Athletic Association in the first round of the NCAA College Cup.

Some things have changed from last year. Others stayed the same. Just like last year, the path to the Ivy League title won't run through Philadelphia. But unlike last season's muddied title-sharing between Yale and Princeton, this year's Ivy championship race will produce an unambiguous winner by Saturday evening.

There are no Ivy League title implications. There are no personal vendettas. There are no record-chasers and no storylines. But there is pride. Neither Penn nor Cornell will be playing for much when the Big Red come to Franklin Field tomorrow. Both teams sit at 2-4, tied for fifth place and a far cry from relevance in the Ancient Eight.

One year removed from a No. 5 final ranking, the Quakers enter this season looking for similar achievements. "It adds a little more pressure," coach Craig Thorpe-Clark said. "Excellence is no longer hoped for; it is expected." Still, there are many questions entering the season.

With the volleyball team's second-place finish in the Ivy League already secured, the Quakers fell, 3-1, to champions Princeton last night. For the Tigers, it was the final win in an undefeated Ivy League season. The Quakers' four seniors will graduate without an Ivy League title, but even they never expected to ever come this close to the trophy.

As third-year Howard coach Gil Jackson goes up against his former team this weekend, even he may be surprised at how soon his return to the Palestra has come. The 16-year Penn assistant coach, who came to the program with Fran Dunphy in 1989, won nine Ivy championships and left for the Bison's head job after the 2004-05 season.

The Penn women's squash team got a whiff of success last season - now it's hungry for more. With seven of nine starters returning, the Quakers will combine talent and experience in an attempt to navigate the difficult Ivy League schedule. Co-captain Lauralynn Drury knows an arduous task lies ahead.