It’s the most wonderful time of the year, as far as Ivy League cross country teams are concerned. This Saturday, two dozen of Penn’s fastest men and women will be making the short trip up to Princeton’s West Windsor Fields for the annual Ivy League Heptagonal Championships.

It seems that the Quakers have run into a hiccup on their path of development. Hopefully a Halloween road trip weekend can scare them into shape. Staring down yet another middle of the pack Ivy finish, Penn volleyball will try to finish strong in the second half and put a scare into their Ancient Eight counterparts ahead of them in the standings. The last time the Quakers (8-12, 3-5 Ivy) tangled with the two northeastern schools, it resulted in a 2-0 homestand for Penn as they eked out a close five-set victory over Dartmouth (8-11, 1-7 Ivy) before taking down Harvard (6-11, 4-4 Ivy) in four sets on national TV. Since that weekend, the Red and Blue have been reeling, losing four of their last five.

Home sweet home. After a long journey, Penn women’s soccer will come back to Rhodes one last time to wrap up their 2016 campaign.

On the heels of the Quakers' 2015-16 Ivy title, media voters unanimously predicted Penn would win the Ivy title for a third time in four years in the preseason media poll, which was released Tuesday.

Gut check. After enduring a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to Ivy foe Yale this past Saturday, Penn Field Hockey (10-5, 3-2 Ivy) took down crosstown rival Villanova in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night, cementing a 5-0 record against Philadelphia-area schools this season. The Quakers did not get off to the start they wanted; the Wildcats scored a goal in both the 32nd and 33rd minutes of play to take a sudden 2-0 lead.

A person like Van Dyke needs no artificial stimulant to prepare for an Ivy League matchup. She feeds off the pressure. But even for a tenured coach with her track record and experience, a little pre-match anxiety can show up every once in awhile.

It was a good weekend on the field for Penn Athletics, and that's translating to hardware off the field as the Quakers enter the week. On Monday, football's Justin Watson was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, while men's soccer's Dami Omitaomu won City Six Rookie of the Week honors.

There’s something in the psyche of the athlete that’s unleashed when the rain starts falling, the sun disappears, the temperature plummets, and the field lights illuminate puffs of breath from red-faced players.

For the second straight game, the Quakers (9-5, 3-2 Ivy) overcame a 2-0 deficit to take the game past regulation only to fall to an overtime winner and be sent home with a loss.

Forget about home-field advantage. On the road is where Penn women’s soccer thrives, extending their unbeaten stretch to 4-1-0 while traveling.

Volleyball is all about working in system to get opponents out of system. For Penn volleyball, new changes to their system had mixed reviews against an unflappable Princeton squad. On Friday evening, Penn lost a tough straight-set match to Ivy League-leading Princeton.

On Saturday, both Penn basketball programs offered a glimpse into their state of affairs with the annual Red and Blue Scrimmages at the Palestra.

Penn is locked in for its last crucial stretch of the season. Penn (9-4, 3-1 Ivy) is looking forward to the final week of Ivy League play, with upcoming matchups against Yale (5-8,1-3), Brown (6-6, 2-2), and Princeton (9-5, 4-0). Penn snapped its three game winning streak, with a tough double overtime loss to eighth nationally ranked Delaware 3-2 on Sunday.

Penn volleyball may be a young team, but they've seen all they need to see. With one trip around the Ivy League complete, the Red and Blue are set to begin the rematches with now more familiar foes, starting with the Ancient Eight's best. On Friday night, Penn (8-11, 3-4 Ivy) will head to New Jersey to take on rival Princeton in their lone game this weekend.

Consistency at the top is the key for any team with hopes for a title. However, for Penn women's soccer, staying consistent within the Ivy League is becoming a challenging task.

The farewell tour. The victory lap. The last hurrah. Whatever you call it, there’s no avoiding the inevitability of retirement in athletics.

The articles all read the same. The offense gets the glory and the keeper gets a shout out for a great save. But what about the defense?