Penn wrestling is still more than three weeks shy of its home opener, but Philadelphia has already gotten a sneak preview of the Red and Blue’s talents. Last Friday, the Quakers participated in the program’s inaugural “Grapple on the Green” event, setting up a practice session on College Green from 9 A.M.

The new members of Penn wrestling’s freshmen class boast sterling resumes, ranging from academic honors to athletic success.

Been there, done that. As Penn wrestling readies for the 2015-16 season, the Quakers have the security of four returning NCAA qualifiers in Caleb Richardson, May Bethea, Brooks Martino and Casey Kent. “I’ve been there three times and I’ve come up short three times,” Richardson said.

A person like Van Dyke needs no artificial stimulant to prepare for an Ivy League matchup. She feeds off the pressure. But even for a tenured coach with her track record and experience, a little pre-match anxiety can show up every once in awhile.

The articles all read the same. The offense gets the glory and the keeper gets a shout out for a great save. But what about the defense?

In what would have been a poetic travesty, Hunter the Punter didn’t always want to be a punter. “I was asked about doing it the summer before my sophomore year of high school... I tried it out and didn’t really like it,” Hunter Kelley, Penn football’s standout fourth-down man, said.

The most accomplished coach in program history, Penn volleyball's Kerry Carr is nearing 500 games on the sidelines for the Red and Blue. Her greatest battle, however, took place away from the gym. 

The word “warrior”, if books and movies are to be believed, conjures the image of a battle-ready, iron-clad behemoth armed to the teeth. If you ask members of Penn men’s soccer, their more realistic version comes in the form of a 6’0 forward and Pennsylvania native named Alec Neumann. This reputation has been well-earned over the past four seasons of Quaker soccer, and Neumann has emerged as the team’s undisputed leader and central offensive cog in his final season.

Penn Club Soccer might just be the quietest dynasty on campus. Year after year, they find themselves dominating their division and making waves in the regional tournament.

The most interesting thing about this weekend’s Penn-Columbia football game is going to be the memories.

With such a large team, Penn volleyball coach Kerry Carr made clear from day one that she does not guarantee time on the court, but can guarantee time on the bench. Carr has a team whose strength comes from each player’s ability to come into the game at any moment, a skill that is necessary with such a deep roster of twenty-three girls. This is why sophomore Julia Tulloh and freshmen Ariana Wiltjer and Zoe Macartney's ‘team-first’ mentality and fierce work ethic are so critical to their individual and collective success as a team. "Julia, Ariana and Zoe are three girls who epitomize what the whole chemistry of the team is like," Carr said. After coming in as a walk-on her freshman year, Tulloh’s incredible work ethic and positive attitude made her a unique asset to the team from day one.

Penn’s sprint football team wrapped up its fourth consecutive win to start the season this past weekend to head into an off week still undefeated.

In most team sports, there’s no individual accolade as prestigious as the goal-scoring record. Penn field hockey’s Alexa Hoover, the Quakers’ star attack from Collegeville, P.A., knows quite a bit about that, having broken the record halfway through her junior season.

If Penn football had two faces, they would be senior quarterback Alek Torgersen and junior wide receiver Justin Watson.

Former Penn football tight end Ryan O’Malley was added to the Oakland Raiders 53-man roster Wednesday, making him the second Penn alum on an active NFL roster. The move — first reported by Penn Athletics — clears the way for O’Malley to make his NFL debut this Sunday at home vs.

Coming off a sweep in the first Ivy doubleheader of the year, Penn volleyball will hit the road over fall break and take on Cornell and Columbia. The Quakers (7-8, 2-1 Ivy) carry momentum into the weekend after wins over Harvard and Dartmouth, but they'll face two hungry teams in New York, with the Big Red (5-7, 0-3) desperate for their first conference win and the Lions (8-5, 3-0) looking to stay undefeated in league play.

Penn field hockey’s senior captains, Elise Tilton and Claire Kneizys, made it to Penn in very different ways. But now that they’re here, they have one key similarity: an unmatched drive to lead the Quakers to their first Ivy League title since 2004.