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.

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. 

The five seniors – Liz Mata, Alexa Hoover, Gina Guccione, Jasmine Li, and Rachel Huang – are captains, four-year starters, skillful scorers, record-breakers, defensive walls, and, above all, leaders. On Saturday, they will play Princeton in what will be their final game together.

“I want to go out with a bang,” said senior setter Sydney Morton, who along with five of her classmates will play her final home games this weekend. “I just want to put on a great show for [the fans] and get a W the last time I’m playing in the Palestra.”

By day, Khaw serves as a sabre for Penn women’s fencing, but by night, the junior participates in numerous intramural sports.

Red and blue jersey, knee pads, and court sneakers are the usual attire for a Penn volleyball player. Yet, standing before me is outside hitter Raven Sulaimon, clad in a chicken suit.

What do the Cheetah Girls, grandmothers and Disney princesses have in common? Answer: They all took the field on Tuesday afternoon for Penn women's soccer's practice in preparation for the team's final game of the season against rival Princeton. 

Until this season, Furrer had spent her entire Penn career — and her entire life — as an outside hitter, one of the players whose job it is to go up in the air, spike the ball with authority, and finish off as many points as possible with a devastating attack.  Now, everything has changed for the redheaded Texan: her position, her role, her stats, her spot on the court and even the color of her jersey. 

The DP is taking time to reflect on the past. By any definition of the word, Fink has transformed the Red and Blue program in her brief tenure here. After going 1-6 in Ivy League play in her debut season in 2010 and finishing in the bottom half of the league in each of her first three years, she has taken the Quakers from pretenders to contenders, as the team has already clinched its fourth winning season in Ivy play in the last five years. 

After a tough loss the previous weekend, Penn volleyball prepared hard all week for its upcoming pair of conference showdowns. That hard work paid off.

This past weekend, Penn field hockey played its final two away games of the season against Brown and Providence, thrashing the Bears 6-1 on Saturday before falling victim to a late goal and losing 1-0 to the Friars on Sunday.

For a number of former Penn student-athletes, however, the most difficult move of their lives often ends up being the most necessary one. And while starting their next chapters after leaving Penn varsity teams provides former Quakers with major fulfillments in their own right, the sports world’s unique thrills of competition, triumphs and camaraderie often prove difficult to replace.

Usually led by a high-octane attack that uses a potent offense to keep itself in games, the Quakers are scoring fewer goals this year while conceding far fewer. 

Ready for another busy weekend at the Palestra, Penn volleyball is set to play its penultimate home doubleheader against Brown on Friday night and Yale on Saturday.

With a signature win against No. 10 Syracuse last weekend, the No. 21 Quakers are in position to make it to the NCAA championship if they win out. However, before they can get there, they have to face two more road blocks in Brown and Providence College this weekend. Luckily, they have what it takes to compete at the highest level.

This Friday, at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, has the potential to be the greatest, most successful day in the history of the University of Pennsylvania’s cross country program.