Kicking things off on the road at Newark, Delaware this past Saturday, the No. 11 Quakers pulled out a tight 9-7 victory over a strong Delaware team. During the run of play, two Penn players manage to set career-highs for themselves en route to picking up the team’s first win of the season.

The closest thing I can compare it to is what Liverpool FC manager Jürgen Klopp calls “Heavy Metal Football” — and well, ladies and gentlemen, what the Quakers have finally worked their way into is Heavy Metal Basketball.

It’ll be a long bus ride home for Penn women’s basketball. Across sports as a whole, many athletes hate losing more than they like winning, and that holds especially true at the elite level. And that’s exactly why this weekend isn’t as bad as it seems.

Penn women’s basketball split their second Ivy League road trip doubleheader with a win at Brown followed by their first conference loss at the hands of Yale. Despite the 61-48 defeat, the Quakers (15-7, 8-1 Ivy) still remain in sole possession of first place in the league. But that doesn’t mean they played first-place basketball this weekend.

Put the funeral pyres away — Penn men’s basketball is back. Boosted by a ridiculous 27-2 first-half run spearheaded by a career-best shooting performance from freshman shooting guard Ryan Betley, the Quakers jumped out to a 25-point first-half lead at Brown and never looked back, cruising to a 96-72 win over the Bears.

Rock-bottom after six games, even we had written this team off. But like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the Quakers have taken the bull that is the Ivy League by the horns and is almost halfway through a Mission Impossible: going from 0-6 to finish in fourth place and make the Ivy League Tournament.

In what was arguably Penn women’s basketball’s wildest game since last year’s epic Ivy title-clinching win at Princeton, the Quakers battled back to overcome a 16-point first-quarter deficit and edge a feisty Brown squad, 71-68, to keep their dreams of Ancient Eight perfection alive. Here are our biggest takeaways from the epic contest:

One player Penn could not have lived without at Brown was junior Michelle Nwokedi. The star forward kept her team in the game all night, scoring 21 points and giving five assists in the process. It was her composure in the second and third quarters of the contest that enabled the Quakers to slowly carve out Brown’s large lead.

This Saturday, both Penn lacrosse teams will open their 2017 campaigns. For the women, this will be first test of their No. 11 preseason ranking in this year’s ILWCA poll. As has been the case in the past three years, the Quakers will start off against Delaware, in what has been a notably close rivalry of late.

Penn men’s basketball had a diamond weekend against Columbia and Cornell, winning its first two Ivy League games of the season under immense pressure. The pressure was both expected and self-imposed; the result of an 0-6 run bookended by twin loses to rival Princeton. The Quakers (9-12, 2-6 Ivy) knew that another loss meant the end to their post-season chances, and they responded with two of the most spirited performances to date.

Still undefeated in the league, the Quakers (14-6, 7-0 Ivy) are clear favorites to take another pair of wins on Friday and Saturday, but they can ill afford to take their eyes of the ball. In Brown (14-7, 5-3) they face what some might call a sleeper team, currently fourth in the league and playing some solid basketball.

After a two-week hiatus from competition, Penn women’s tennis is itching to get back on the court. This weekend will take the Quakers (1-2) south to face Virginia on Saturday and Old Dominion on Sunday.

This Sunday, Penn gymnastics will travel to College Park, Maryland to compete in its third consecutive quad meet of the season. The Quakers will face off against Maryland, Kentucky, and William and Mary. With only a week separating the Red and Blue from the Ivy Classic, this weekend’s tournament will be crucial for Penn to assure confidence in the lineup before the ultra-important conference meet.

The Quakers set their sights on the NCAA National Championship, and were seeded at No. 7 for the tournament. Wagner and Towson were the first two challengers, and the Red and Blue took care of them easily by scores of 17-7 and 12-4, respectively. The Quakers were then faced with Penn State, a competitor that coach Corbett felt the team had a “great opportunity” to defeat. Unfortunately, the offense that had been so prolific throughout the year had an off day, and they fell by a score of 8-4.

When you fight your way to a national quarterfinal game like Penn women's lacrosse did last year, well, it’s no wonder that the best players come from far and wide to don the Red and Blue. And though the roster lost some big names after graduation last May, the arrival of such an impressive class of 2020 seems to be a harbinger of a new era of lacrosse excellence here at Franklin Field.

For the Quakers, there is a good number of championships to be won. As they enter this newest campaign, the Red and Blue have their eyes on three pieces of silverware: an NCAA title, an Ivy League title and an Ivy League Tournament trophy.

When it comes to replacing Corcoran, there is no one-for-one swap. Sophomore Chrissy Corcoran, Nina’s younger sister, has gotten looks behind the goal and will be starting in Saturday’s season opener against Delaware. Junior Emily Rogers-Healion, one of the team’s best on the draw, has also appeared in that lead role behind the net. Finally, freshman midfield Gabby Rosenzweig has worked behind the cage in practice.