This Friday’s Philadelphia College Classic marks the kickoff of the outdoor season, and for many freshmen the first opportunity to compete at Franklin Field wearing the Red and Blue.

By all accounts, the first-ever Ivy League basketball tournament was a grand success, thanks in large part to the event's host, the Palestra.

The Quakers will face No. 5 seed Texas A&M on Saturday at 9 p.m. Eastern time.

Without a doubt, the inaugural Ivy League tournament was a success by any definition of the word. But was it the best move for the league to make? Ultimately, I’m still skeptical.

Penn's victories this weekend showcased some of the best this team has to offer: great ball movement on offense and stingy defense that forces teams to make tough shots and Michelle Nwokedi dominating on both sides of the ball. But even still, there are plenty of questions left for this team as they approach the NCAA Tournament.

Ivy League regular season championship? Check. Ivy League Tournament championship? Check that, too.

You know all about Penn men’s and women’s basketball’s performances at the inaugural Ivy League tournament this weekend, but those teams were far from the only Red and Blue squads competing over a jam-packed spring break.

Despite leading through much of the first half, Penn saw their lead shrink down to 33-32 at the break due to a barrage of threes from Brown. The Bears came roaring out of the gates to take the lead, but Penn responded with a 14-0 run to take the lead for good.

After today, though, Penn women’s basketball took one step closer to another trip to the Big Dance after beating Brown in the first-ever Ivy League Tournament game, 71-60.

The No. 1 seeded Penn Quakers (20-7, 13-1 Ivy) will fight this weekend for a bid to the NCAA Tournament at the Ivy League’s inaugural postseason tournament. Only the top four teams made it this far, and according to Penn coach Mike McLaughlin, anyone can win it.

After a dominant Ivy League campaign, nobody should be surprised that Penn women's basketball scored big when Ivy League year-end awards were announced. Junior forward Michelle Nwokedi (Ivy League Player of the Year and First Team All-Ivy), senior center Sydney Stipanovich and junior guard Anna Ross (Second Team All-Ivy) and coach Mike McLaughlin (Ivy League Coach of the Year) were big winners when the awards were handed out on Thursday, just as they have been all season with the 13-1 Quakers, who enter the Ivy League Tournament as the top seed. 

One night after securing a share of the Ivy title, Penn women's basketball defeated Harvard 64-46 to take the title outright and secure the top seed in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament. This is the first time in program history that the Quakers (19-7, 12-1 Ivy) captured back-to-back Ivy titles.

The Quakers will open their 2017 season with an action-packed trip down to the Sunshine State. This will be the team’s first chance to generate some positive momentum after a disappointing 2016. More importantly, it will be a major measuring stick for the team and a precious opportunity to gauge the makeup of the team before the games start to count in the Ivy League standings.

For Penn women’s lacrosse, Spring Break doesn’t necessarily live up to its name. Instead of lying on a couch or dancing at a concert, the Quakers (3-0) will forgo their break and enter a tough stretch of three games in eight days.

Over spring break, Penn men’s and women’s tennis will have their hands full as they make their annual road trips in search of competition and warmer climates. This year, the men’s team (7-5) will take its talents to Louisiana for a span of three days from March 8-10. Just a week after Mardi Gras festivities, the Quakers make the trip south where they will play a slate of four teams over the course of three days.

With the Ivy Tournament looming in just a week, the Quakers is set to take their final Ivy road trip of the season. The Quakers (17-7, 10-1 Ivy) will travel to Dartmouth to take on the Big Green (7-18, 2-10) on Friday, then to Cambridge, Mass. to take on Harvard (20-5, 8-4) the next day.

Like a fine wine, Penn men's lacrosse is aging very well this season. Still, with spring break around the corner and three tough matches coming up, it is important the team doesn't lose momentum. Luckily, with no classes, that may be significantly easier.