A bold statement that this is the "best talent" she's ever had came from thirteenth-year field hockey coach Val Cloud, who has coached 33 All-Ivy selections and the 2005 champions. Despite the lofty goal of climbing back to the top of the Ancient Eight, Cloud was quick to point out that a title is far from an easy task.

For a program that has won 12 Ivy League championships in the last 25 years, two consecutive losing seasons has the distinct feel of a slump.

The Quakers knew the injuries would come and that they wouldn't be pleasant. But for a team with no seniors, a disabled list that had grown three regulars deep by sunset on the first day of preseason has been a tricky hole to fill. Women's soccer coach Darren Ambrose detailed on Tuesday the offseason ailments of Allison Rosenbloom (chronic illness, which caused her to retire) Allyson Gordon (anterior cruciate ligament), and Marisa Stock (second ACL) that meant they would be out for the forseeable future.

When former men's golf coach Rob Powelson resigned earlier this summer, the decision about who would fill the vacancy was simple, according to Penn director of golf Francis Vaughn. Already the women's coach, Vaughn himself would take over the head coaching duties of the men's program as well.

Division I basketball saw an unusually large number of transfers this year, and the Ivy League in general seemed to be fertile ground for new players. Penn just didn't get in on the party. Brian Grimes, a rising sophomore at La Salle and a 6-foot-7 forward, elected to transfer early on in the summer and, Explorers coach John Giannini told the media, had winnowed his list down to Penn and Columbia.

Not too long ago, wide-eyed freshmen had a virtual guarantee, known if not spoken: Play football for Penn and an Ivy title ring will be yours. Nick Cisler saw that reality. He wanted to play for Penn - to win - so much that he swore off football near his Michigan home for the northeastern, non-scholarship brand.

With 52 years of fencing under his belt, Penn coach Dave Micahnik is more than just a fixture in the sport - he is an all-time great. And he is finally being recognized for this as the United States Fencing Association elected him for induction into the Hall of Fame earlier this summer.

Rudy Fuller isn't on the NCAA's rules committee. Too bad. This was the year for the men's soccer coach to push a rule change: Juniors only. Penn has 12, and Fuller could field a competitive team with them.

With 24 athletes on this year's squad, every men's soccer player will have to fight for a place on the field. But no one needs it more than Drew Healy. Like goalkeepers in many college sports, Healy - who's never played in a game before - is a victim of circumstance.

Reeling back her leg and sending ball after ball high into the air, Kylie Mitchell would watch it arc towards the target. But as the ball sailed over the crossbar, her teammates wouldn't grumble; they'd cheer. Many of Mitchell's exploits haven't come on the soccer field - she doubled as a varsity football kicker at Carman-Ainsworth High School in Michigan for three years.

Nick Cisler never thought his summer job would lead him to calling Bingo numbers at a senior citizen's home. And he never thought he'd be getting tips on how to properly call the Bingo numbers. But that's where his position as a marketing intern with the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball took him.

Rudy Fuller can hardly believe how quick his 10 years at the helm of the Penn men's soccer program have gone. But Fuller takes some time out to speak about his quick turnaround from player to coach and also some of professional soccer's headline stories. Daily Pennsylvanian: You went on a vacation recently, what's your favorite vacation spot? Rudy Fuller: The shore.

Kinsey adds another All-Star honor to belt The Ivy League player of the year, Annie Kinsey, was recognized yet again last week, as she was named to the ECAC Division I Softball All-Star squad. Starting every game at second base, Kinsey was hitting .450 at the end of the Quaker's 2007 campaign, leading the Ivy League in that category.

David Beckham's high-profile move to Major League Soccer in July has seen media attention for America's young league skyrocket in recent weeks. But Penn soccer fans, at least, have had something else to cheer for this summer. Former Quakers goalkeeper Danny Cepero and his MLS team, the New York Red Bulls, are in the midst of an exciting season with playoff and championship aspirations.

While it's not strange for schools to hire within, often promoting assistants to head coaching jobs, it's a little more unusual for a current head coach to take on a second top position. But that could be how Penn will end up filling the men's golf coaching position, left vacant after Rob Powelson resigned in late June.

Good news, Quakers fans: the next Matt Valenti may be just around the corner. Zack Kemmerer has built a name for himself in his own right and will likely continue to do so. However, it is difficult not to compare him with Valenti, Penn's winningest wrestler of all-time and a two-time national champion at 133 pounds.

It's needless to say that the first meeting between Hamilton Southeastern and Fishers High Schools was a big game for the players on both sides - the schools were combined as one just a year before. And incoming freshmen football players and twins Nate and Josh Powers teamed up to leave their mark on the game.