ITHACA, N.Y., Jan. 12 - Playing against a zone defense was Penn's Achilles heel last year. In the second half on Friday evening, when Cornell switched from a man defense to zone, the Quakers turned their old weakness into a newfound strength. Brian Grandieri's 18 points, including 10 in the second half paced Penn (8-6, 1-0 Ivy) to a 74-56 thumping of Cornell (7-8, 0-1 Ivy) at Newman Arena in the Ivy League opener for both teams.

The track teams, who have not competed in over a month, kick into high gear this weekend. The men's team will head to Annapolis, Md., while the women's team will make the trip to West Point, N.Y.

Last time the Penn men's basketball team took the floor at Columbia's Levien Gymnasium, it was 7-0 in the Ivy League, having just completed a perfect run through the first half of the conference slate. Forty minutes later, the Quakers were 7-1 after a shocking 59-57 loss to the 1-7 Lions, in which Penn didn't score a point in the final 4:42 of the game.

At this point last season, both the men and women's squash teams were holding down the status quo, doing nothing exceptional by beating lower-ranked teams and losing to higher-ranked ones. This time, it's a different story. Both teams have impressed early on, with the women's team currently ranked No.

K.J. Matsui was only 14 years old, but he was already on his own. The only English he knew was from textbooks, but he was expected to take junior high classes just like the American kids. He had just left his family, friends and home 7,000 miles away in Japan, but there was one thing that was familiar - the very reason he had come to the states - and that was the game of basketball.

Nearly two months after facing the top team in the nation, the Penn wrestling team will head to Cedar Falls, Iowa, with the opportunity to gauge how it has grown as a team and on an individual level this Saturday at the National Duals. The No. 14 Quakers (2-2) will make their first team appearance since wrestling toward a third-place finish in the Las Vegas Duals in early December.

Ibrahim Jaaber and Brian Grandieri paced the Quakers with 17 and 14 points, respectively, as Penn defeated Columbia 69-43 in New York last night. The Quakers held the Lions to a 27.9% clip from the field, effectively thwarting their one-two punch of John Baumann on the perimeter and Ben Nwachukwu inside.

When the buzzer sounded, Fran Dunphy and Temple were 0-2 in the Big 5 and 0-2 in the Atlantic 10, and he seemed to be the only one who knew why. The former Penn coach fell victim to a little of everything on both ends as St. Joseph's came into the Liacouras Center and left with an emphatic 80-67 victory.

By Andrew Sweet Staff Writer sweetad@sas.upenn.edu Pop quiz. Right now, which team is on top of the Ivy League basketball standings? A quick look and one can believe the unbelievable: the Big Green of Dartmouth currently sit at No. 1. This does not necessarily mean the citizens of Hanover should start preparing for March Madness.

At this time last year, the storied tradition of Princeton basketball appeared to have gone down the drain. Going into the Ivy League season, the Tigers were in a six-game tailspin that started with a 21-point performance against Monmouth and was exacerbated by an embarrassing home loss to Division III Carnegie Mellon.

After the end of a 19-year era last year, the Penn gymnastics program is charged with starting a new one this season. The Quakers head into this season with a new head coach, John Ceralde, after program tenet Tom Kovic stepped down to begin an athlete consulting firm.

Four matches. Four victories. The 9-0 outcome of last night's contest against No. 10 Navy (10-3) was no different than the way the No. 4 Penn men's squash team dominated its previous opponents. The Quakers (4-0, 3-0 Ivy) earned their third shutout of the year and fourth top-15 victory.

By Molin Zhong Staff Writer molin@sas.upenn.edu Look closely at the Penn gymnastics team this year and one might notice that along with a new head coach, the team members will also sport revised dictionaries. The team has learned that the word 'change' does not always mean that things will be different.

Ten months ago, things were looking up for Brown basketball fans. And then John Chaney got involved. The Bears ended their 6-8 Ivy campaign on a high note, decisively beating Princeton and taking eventual league champion Penn to overtime. And with all five starters returning, led by standout junior forward Keenan Jeppesen (11.

Just before Cornell freshman Ryan Wittman graduated from high-school basketball to NCAA competition, his father, Randy, offered some words of advice. "He told me how it's going to be more intense, how guys are going to be stronger and how you have to play differently," Wittman said.

By Brian Finkel Staff Writer finkel@wharton.upenn.edu Back from its lengthy Scandinavian voyage, the men's squash team is now looking to dominate in a region not known for its tall, blond inhabitants. After a winter break tour that included stops in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, the No.

Glen Miller's career as Penn coach is 520 minutes old. For those of you who have not taken a class taught by Jim Harrick, that translates into 13 games. And over that time, the record has actually been a good reflection of the Quakers' play. At 7-6, Penn has been very inconsistent, within games and from game to game, and does not yet have a particularly strong identity.