The 2015-16 school year is about to get underway, and along with new students filling into Huntsman Hall and the Quad, a handful of rookies have a chance to make an immediate impact for Penn Athletics.

Last season was filled with unfulfilled expectations for both Penn men’s and women’s soccer. However, any disappointing season is partially redeemed by the fact that another lies right around the corner.

One vacancy filled, one to go. Five weeks after women's rowing coach Mike Lane's contract was not renewed, Penn Athletics announced Monday that it has hired former Trinity coach Wesley Ng to take the program's helm.

Mondschein Throwing Complex is not a heralded place. Located far down by the Schuylkill River, the training ground for Penn’s field athletes is not exactly a location that is highlighted on campus tours.

Despite a forgettable record and the loss of six seniors in 2014, Penn field hockey looks poised to make waves in the upcoming season.

For Penn women’s tennis, 2015 was a streaky but ultimately successful season. By the year’s end, the team had notched several wins against nationally ranked teams and generated excitement for bigger things to come in 2016.

When Penn women’s basketball coach Mike McLaughlin announced a trip to Hawaii for the upcoming season, he talked about providing an experience for his players during their four years at Penn. Now he’s added a meaningful experience a little closer to home. The Red and Blue announced a home-and-home series with Duke for the next two seasons, beginning with a Nov.

Take a look at the statistical leaderboards from Penn softball’s 2015 season and one name appears over and over again: Jurie Joyner, Jurie Joyner, Jurie Joyner.

Less than a month after the end of Penn's spring season, Penn Athletics has announced that women's rowing coach Mike Lane and men's heavyweight rowing coach Greg Myhr will not return in 2015-16.

In preparation for this weekend’s Princeton Invitational, the athletes of Penn track and field will find themselves battling the ups and downs of a “runner’s high.”

For Penn women’s lacrosse, it's just about time for a changing of the guard. At the end of this season, senior superstars like goalkeeper Lucy Ferguson, defender Meg Markham and attack Tory Bensen will all graduate, leaving gaping holes in the starting lineup in  and leave gaping holes in the starting lineup. Also gone will be starting senior defenders Taylor Foussadier and Lydia Miller in addition to captain and starting midfielder Lindsey Smith.

Imagine it’s the bottom of the sixth inning in the rubber match of the Ivy League Championship series, your team is up 3-2 and just three outs separate you from an Ancient Eight crown, an NCAA berth and a chance at glory. Then, the opposing team drills in five runs, gains control of the lead in punishing fashion and all of that glory slips away. Penn softball doesn’t have to imagine.

Hopefully there's more of this on the way. As the 2014-15 academic year draws to a close, so too do the seasons for Penn Athletics' spring sports.

It’s a constant at any match. Arms crossed. Hat pulled down low. An intimidating, but composed gaze. At big moments, she erupts with a fist pump and a “lets go!” 

Contrary to the sport’s name, Penn softball balled awfully hard this weekend. The Red and Blue took three out of four games in a home-and-home matchup with Columbia this weekend, which — coupled with a pair of losses by Princeton — clinched the Ivy League South Division title for the Quakers. Having wrapped up the division, Penn will now square off with Dartmouth in the Ivy League Championship Series for the third consecutive season. The Red and Blue's weekend started Saturday afternoon when they squared off with the Lions in the Big Apple.

For Penn women's lacrosse, Sunday was a day of lasts. The home game against Cornell was the last time that the Class of 2015 would step onto Franklin Field in the Red and Blue during the regular season, and the win was earned in last-minute fashion thanks to some late game heroics. In what was a great statement game, the Quakers (12-3, 6-1 Ivy) were able to fend off the Big Red (9-6, 4-3) and cap off their regular season with a 10-9 win. After letting up two quick goals from Cornell, the Quakers went on a 5-1 run and carried a comfortable 6-3 lead.

Penn golf is just three good rounds away from a championship. Unfortunately, so is the rest of the Ivy League. Both the Quakers’ men's and women's teams will head to Bethlehem, Pa., on Friday to take part in the three-day Ivy Golf Championships.