Charge and retreat. Advance and regress. These words were used more than just to describe the heated action on the fencing strip, but could also trace out Penn men's and women's fencing teams this season. Yesterday at the Ivy League Round Robin No. 1, both were charging.

Consecutive 9-0 losses to the nation's top two teams were major setbacks in the Quakers' quest to be considered among the nation's elite. But now, No. 4 men's squash can say it's in the ballpark. Penn split the weekend's matches at Ringe Courts, losing to No.

Penn may have finished off a weekend sweep with Saturday night's 67-53 victory over visiting Harvard, but it wasn't one-sided. The Crimson walked away with a better three-point showing, shutting down the Penn players who shot from beyond the arc. All but one.

Home cooking has never tasted so sweet for the gymnastics team, which beat Ursinus (186.375), West Chester (175.775), and Wilson (151.075) with 189.425 points on Saturday. The team "showed more effort in fighting for their routines, and they showed a lot pride today," coach John Ceralde said after the meet.

The scoreboard told the story of a new Saint Joseph's team, and Phil Martelli found an explanation in the simplest of places. His Hawks were out for blood. And not without reason. After suffering a 56-39 embarrassment against archrival Villanova on Tuesday, the Hawks walked into the Palestra Saturday afternoon with a collective chip on their shoulders.

The Quakers destroyed a sloppy Dartmouth team with pressure defense and a solid inside game for the 73-53 win. It was the Red and Blue's first home Ivy contest this season, and they looked energized and much more comfortable than they were in New Haven, Conn.

Harvard coach Frank Sullivan couldn't sit down. He dutifully answered the questions at Penn's post-game press conference, but after about five minutes he did what he had been itching to do since it became apparent that the Crimson were going to lose - he left the Palestra.

They may not have a perfect record and they may not be No. 1, but the Penn women have never been more confident. "I feel our chances for a national championship are pretty good," senior and co-captain Paula Pearson said. One week ago, she may have been less optimistic after Princeton ended the Quakers' bid for an undefeated season and seemingly shattered her hopes of a national title.

The Penn wrestling team made the long trip to Ithaca on Friday with an Ivy League title on its mind. But in front of a packed house at Niemand Arena, Cornell - in a quest for its fifth-straight league crown - took the wind out of the Quakers' sails.

Playing two singles and two doubles matches in 24 hours is a daunting task, but the women's tennis team just sees it as an opportunity for two wins. The Quakers beat nationally-ranked Marshall 5-2 on Friday afternoon and then woke up early to crush East Tennessee State 6-1 on Saturday.

The Tar Heel State was not friendly to the men's tennis team this weekend. On a Friday-to-Sunday road trip to North Carolina, the Red and Blue were shut out in both their matches this weekend by 7-0 scores. Both defeats came at the hands of ACC powerhouses.

Penn's flicker of hope for an improbable Ivy League women's basketball championship was short-lived. On Friday, Dartmouth (5-2 Ivy) continued its roll in a big way, as the Big Green won, 70-43. Harvard (6-1) held off the Quakers, 87-74, to maintain its spot atop the Ivy standings.

The Quakers are in unfamiliar territory, having lost their first game of the season at Princeton last week. But that hasn't put women's squash coach Jack Wyant in panic mode. "That night just wasn't our night," he said. "We have some great opportunities coming up, though.

If you're not one of the Killer P's, its time to get serious. The Ivy League basketball season will be more than half over for every team but Penn and Princeton after this weekend. And since the Quakers have their two toughest road trips behind them, the challengers will look to build up a cushion of wins this weekend and then hope for help.

If last weekend was a hurdle in their season, this weekend the Quakers tennis team will have a mountain to climb. After tough losses to Central Florida and Maryland, Penn will face an even tougher challenge in the coming days when it travels to North Carolina to face two top-40 teams in Duke (2-2) and North Carolina State (5-0).

There's a seven-foot hole in the Harvard frontcourt. Its name is Brian Cusworth, who used up his NCAA eligibility two games ago, after coming into the season with only one semester of play left. Cusworth was a two-time All-Ivy player who almost single-handedly took last season's game at the Palestra into overtime with 22 points and 16 rebounds.

The last time Penn visited Cambridge, Katarina Lackner didn't need to read the scouting reports to understand her defensive assignment. She was told to match up against Harvard senior Christiana Lackner, her older sister who is also a forward on the basketball team.