Penn fencing's season began at the Elite Invitational this past week, where the Quakers beat out the majority of the competition with wins over North Carolina, Air Force, and Northwestern. As a team, they fought a close battle to Ohio State, the previous second-ranked school in the country, and fell by a slim margin where the men lost 15-12, and the women 18-9.

Enter the Pennsylvania State Classic, a two-day men’s and women’s tournament that features the top squash squads from across the Keystone State. In the tournament's inaugural year, Penn's Ringe Courts will be playing host to Drexel, Franklin & Marshall, and Dickinson this Saturday and Sunday.

Last week hurt for Penn cross country, but there’s no time for the Quakers to hang their heads — the next chapter of their season begins on Friday.

Anna Ross and Michelle Nwokedi aren’t exactly conventional stars. Yet the pair of seniors has risen up to become the unmistakable face of Penn women’s basketball.

While most Penn students eat large meals and gather to watch football on Thanksgiving, both of Penn’s basketball teams will spend their breaks on the hardwood.

The event, which was hosted at Penn's Palestra, looks like it is here to stay, thanks in part to the riveting games that were played. The tournament featured one overtime game, one game decided by a single basket, and several of the Ancient Eight's marquee rivalries. But what exactly is the future of the Ivy League basketball tournament?

After a breakout sophomore season in 2015-16 that saw her become a key piece of the Quakers' starting lineup, Lauren Whitlatch entered her junior season expecting to be a key piece for a Penn women's basketball team which hadn't lost a single rotation member to graduation the year before. But the Quakers' plan of having the same starting lineup for two seasons straight was derailed in January, when Whitlatch tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in practice. 

As a result of an impressive, undefeated showing at the Regional tournament, Penn men’s club soccer  (10-0-2) earned itself a trip to Phoenix, Arizona to compete in the College Club Soccer Championship National Tournament. According to their GoFundMe page, this is “the first time in recent memory this has happened.” This claim is followed with a small disclaimer: “we aren’t so good with keeping official records.”

The Penn women’s basketball freshmen are eager to add to the winning formula that has produced back-to-back Ivy League titles for the Quakers the past two seasons.

As the Quakers graduated one of their all-time great centers in Sydney Stipanovich, the 6’4” freshman from Charlotte, N.C. will be stepping into a big void. Given her raw talent and knack for learning the game, coach Mike McLaughlin sees her as worthy of earning the starting-five nod to kick off the season.

In addition to a greatly improved Ivy League this season, Penn women’s basketball also has the chance to play better non-conference teams, such as preseason top-five squads Notre Dame and Baylor, as well as local rivals in the annual Philadelphia Big 5 series.

While most eyes were focused on Penn football’s thrilling Homecoming victory over Princeton this weekend, more than half a dozen other teams were also in action for Penn Athletics — some playing their last competitions of the year, others playing their first.

This weekend, both Penn men’s and women’s squash finished third in the annual Ivy league squash scrimmages at Yale. It was a stellar result for the men's team, and a finish which may not have been perfect for the women, but still good nonetheless.

Penn men's soccer left Rhodes Field heartbroken after losing to rival Princeton, in a 2-1 overtime thriller on senior night. The Quakers (3-12-1, 1-4-1 Ivy) more than held their own against the Tigers (6-6-4, 2-2-2), who had not been defeated in their previous six games, going 4-0-2 in that span.

The Quakers (3-11-1, 1-3-1 Ivy) are at the tail end of a developmental season. With 11 freshmen entering the program this year, this season was about much more than wins and losses. Instead, the Red and Blue have been focused on improving every game.

With both swimming and diving coming off winning seasons, both squads are looking to dominate Columbia in their first competitions of the season. This meet carries some extra weight as well, because in addition to it being an Ivy matchup, it could serve as a major momentum-builder for the Quakers at such an early stage in the season.

On Saturday, the Quakers will compete on home turf against No. 12 Princeton  for their final game of the season. Last year, the Quaker’s (9-7, 4-2 Ivy) season finale ended with a tough loss against the Tigers (10-6, 6-0) in a 6-1 blowout. This year, the team is focusing on winning their final game so that Princeton is forced to share the Ivy title with Harvard.