With the Red and Blue eager to start the spring on the right foot, here are three key questions to look out for when the Quakers take the track at Franklin Field this weekend.

Penn softball coach Leslie King knew her star player would be re-writing the record books this season.

With Penn softball's two star players, centerfielder Leah Allen and pitcher Alexis Sargent, both graduating at the end of the year, this year might represent Penn's last opportunity to utilize two program greats and capture an Ivy Championship.

It’s one of the most common phrases in sports: in order to be the best, you have to beat the best. Fortunately for Penn women’s lacrosse, the Quakers get an opportunity to do exactly that against No. 1 Maryland on Wednesday.

This year, the Quakers (6-6) have welcomed in six new faces to the program, each with her own unique background set of skills. An interesting note on that recruiting class is the range of positions spanned, bringing in a pitcher, catcher, two infielders, an outfielder, and a utility player.

After a successful spring break trip to Clearwater, Florida, Penn softball’s season has officially started, and the Quakers are ready to make their mark in the Ivy League.

As a show of support, every member of the team wrote letters to Jen for Ms. Retzer to read to her daughter. The team also created a fundraising page for Retzer on Generosity.com that has raised $27,796 from 316 donors as of March 20.

There really is no denying it, Penn women’s tennis is on a roll. Saturday, the Red and Blue (7-6) hosted and promptly dismissed St. John’s (10-3), winning the afternoon contest 6-1. With the win, Penn secured its third straight victory as it heads into conference play in two weeks.

Another season has come and gone for Penn gymnastics. The Red and Blue wrapped up the year yesterday with a sixth-place finish up in Providence at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships.

After a dominant performance helped lead No.12 Penn to victory over No. 16 Duke, this week’s Penn Athletics Weekend MVP goes to women’s lacrosse senior Emily Rodgers-Healion.

Penn’s current team certainly delivered a display worthy of a particularly historic Alumni Day. The No. 12 Quakers beat No.16 Duke at Franklin Field by a score of 16-6. The ten goal deficit represents the largest margin of victory for Penn (6-1) so far in the 2017 campaign and is indicative of an offense that has ramped up significantly over the past month.

No. 12 Penn led by 21 points with nine minutes to go. But in March Madness, no lead is safe. No. 5 Texas A&M huffed, puffed, and blew Penn’s California dreams away in the final minute to complete the largest comeback in NCAA Women’s Tournament history. They ended the game on a 26-3 run, and stole victory right out of the Quakers’ hands.

It doesn’t get worse than this. There’s no sugarcoating what we just saw; Penn women’s basketball choked. And as much as it pains me to say it both as a journalist and a fan, that’s the evidence that coach Mike McLaughlin’s program isn’t quite at the next level yet.

Penn softball will host Rider on Saturday in a doubleheader, assuming weather permits the games to be played. The Quakers (4-6) were supposed to have their home opener this Wednesday against Lafayette, but that doubleheader was postponed because of inclement weather. The makeup date has not yet been announced.

This Saturday has long been marked on the calendar, as No. 12 Quakers (5-1, 0-1 Ivy) will be welcoming both their own alumni and No. 16 Duke to Franklin Field. Additionally, now marking a full decade, they will be celebrating the in-conference-undefeated 2007 team, who pulled off an incredible NCAA tournament run culminating in a Final Four appearance.

Following a successful Spring Break trip, the Quakers are looking to stay hot this weekend against St. John’s (10-2). On that trip, the Red and Blue (6-6, 0-0 Ivy) went 3-1, including a dominant 5-2 victory against No. 36 Florida State.

They’ve been here before. In fact, this is their third trip to the NCAA Tournament in four years. But a first NCAA Tournament win in program history still eludes the women of Penn basketball. The Quakers will be hoping that the third time is the charm when they tip off against Texas A&M in the first round of March Madness on Saturday night in Los Angeles.