As finals week approaches for students around campus and the stress in the air seems to outnumber the pollen count, tensions are rising in the sports world as well. Spring regular seasons are coming to a close, and only several meets stand in the way of Penn track and field's pursuit of regional and national success.

It's title time. This Friday, Penn’s men's and women's golf will take to the course for the Ivy League Championship.

We started out the season trying to find our identity. While we had many of the same players, it was not the same team. We battled through some tough losses, but only to come out stronger. We were able to do that by focusing on one possession at a time. We took that mentality through to the end of the season.

With such a star-studded senior class, Penn softball is desperate for a late season rally to send some of its top contributors off in style.

Most athletes, including myself, come in with a perfect image of what it means to be a Division I athlete. I committed in the fall of my junior year to Penn field hockey as a goalkeeper. Unfortunately, the experience that I endured was something so unexpected and disheartening that still, to this day, it's hard to accept.

Honorable Mention All-Ivy. 23 wins. 232 saves. 1,757 minutes played. So far, that is the legacy that the goalkeeper will leave behind from her two seasons with the Quakers. Quite possibly, fans may have never had the chance to witness her sheer dominance, but fate, as always, intervened.

From a development standpoint, a collegiate athlete’s freshman season is critical. It is a time of learning by doing, developing skills, and getting an initial taste of college athletics.

It was just one of those days. That's all that needs to be said to describe Penn rowing's performances this weekend. The women's, men's heavyweight and men's lightweight squads all took encouraging yet frustrating second-place finishes in their respective meets.

This one hurts. Penn softball entered this weekend's four game set with Princeton on the upswing, winners of four of their last five, and in prime striking distance, just one game back from the Tigers in the Ivy South Division. But now, it's all but over.

The women’s squad (10-8, 3-2 Ivy) rebounded from a 0-2 start in Ivy play and roared into impressive form, with a weekend sweep of Brown and Yale leading them to three straight wins. The men (14-9, 1-3) responded to a 3-0 deficit against Brown to complete an impressive 4-3 comeback. With this weekend producing some of the Red and Blue’s best tennis, it seems right to highlight some of the stars on the court this weekend.

Having been on the brink of elimination from its tenth regular season conference championship in 11 years for more than a month, there’s been only one focus for Penn women’s lacrosse — staying alive. And behind a tremendously balanced offensive effort featuring a combined nine goals from senior Emily Rogers-Healion and freshman Gabby Rosenzweig, the Red and Blue did just that yet again.

The Ivy season may not even be halfway done, but Penn Tennis is starting to see the puzzles pieces fall into place across the league.

The bats are coming alive at the right time for Penn softball. The Red and Blue defeated Drexel 10-3 on Wednesday and can now shift their focus onto the weekend as they await Ivy League-leading Princeton for a crucial set of doubleheaders around the diamond.

It’s on to the next one. That’s the mentality for Penn women’s lacrosse as it prepares to take on Columbia this weekend in New York.

With the advent of Quaker Days, students from all over the world have come to Penn this week to see what the University has to offer. This weekend, we’ll be getting even more. Penn track and field’s annual Transatlantic Meet will take place at Franklin Field on Saturday, with Ivy League heavyweights Cornell coming to Philadelphia along with a pair of English powerhouses in Oxford and Cambridge.

Penn women's basketball may have ended its season almost a month ago, but the awards haven't stopped coming in, recognizing the team's standout season. Junior forward Michelle Nwokedi was just named a member of the All-Big 5 First-Team of the season, while senior center Sydney Stipanovich picked up a Second-Team honor herself. 

For Penn baseball and softball, Ivy League weekends are action packed marathons of excitement. A lot can change in four games in two days, so any weekday action is often a welcome break from the chaos of the conference title races. This Wednesday, Penn baseball and softball get such a chance.