Recently hired Penn women’s soccer coach Nicole Van Dyke started from humble beginnings, but she comes to Penn with the ambitious goal of putting the Quakers on a national stage. Taking the program to new heights will be no small feat, as Van Dyke succeeds Darren Ambrose, one of the most successful and prolific coaches in Ivy League history.

Coming into 2015, Penn softball pitcher and first baseman Alexis Sargent had already recorded the eighth-most home runs in program history, notched the school's fifth-lowest career earned run average, been named second-team All-Ivy and led the Quakers to the Ivy League Championship series. All in her rookie season. Sargent’s tremendous debut in 2014 wasn’t totally unexpected, as the Virginia native joined the Red and Blue after being named to the All-State team three times in high school, among numerous other accolades.

Late in the third set of her match against Princeton last Saturday, Penn women's tennis' top singles player and senior captain Sol Eskanazi was in the middle of an epic battle. Trailing in a tiebreaker, the senior ripped a lefty forehand up the line, leaving the Princeton player dead in her tracks, forced to watch the ball fly by. “Vamos!” Eskanazi, a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, roared with a big fist pump. As exemplified by Eskanazi, college tennis has recently become a showcase of the best athletic talents from not only the United States, but nations worldwide.

Not a bad way to start things off. Penn softball took three of four Ivy League games over the weekend, splitting with Dartmouth  on Friday  and sweeping Harvard  on Sunday.

Penn President Amy Gutmann helped announce the launch of the Young Quakers Community Athletics Program on Franklin Field Thursday evening.

Penn women’s soccer coach Darren Ambrose, one of Penn’s longest tenured head coaches and the winningest coach in program history, resigned to take the head coaching position at Vanderbilt.

Following a 26-point loss to Big 5 rival Villanova on Wednesday, Penn women's basketball was prepared to rely on its seniors and stars to get the squad back in the win column. Maybe it didn't have to.

With a trip to Sunshine State for anything but a vacation in the rear view for Penn swimming, will the training be worth it?

Last season, Penn women’s basketball went on the road and ended Princeton’s season, upsetting the Tigers to win the Ivy League title. In their return trip to Jadwin Gym, the Quakers wouldn’t be so fortunate.

Last season, Sydney Stipanovich became the first player in Ivy League history to win the Ancient Eight's Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season. If the sophomore puts together a few more games like her performance on Monday night against UMBC, she may add Player of the Year to her already loaded trophy case in the near future. Nine days after Penn women's basketball's disappointing loss to Drexel, one in which Stipanovich notched only eight points and three rebounds in 23 minutes, the Red and Blue rebounded in style with a 69-63 win over the Retrievers due in large part to the second-year center's incredible outing. Despite battling a UMBC (5-5) frontcourt highlighted by three players over six-feet tall, Stipanovich recorded 29 points and 14 rebounds while senior forward Kara Bonenberger added 14 points and eight boards of her own as the Quakers (5-4) won for only the second time in December. After the game, Penn coach Mike McLaughlin was not only impressed with his frontcourt's production, but the ability of his team to respond to a short winter break. "This is a group that only got four or five days home for Christmas yet they all probably wanted to spend more time at home," McLaughlin said.

Penn women’s basketball will be staying home in Philadelphia for the holidays with four games in Philadelphia prior to playing at Princeton on Jan. 10.

When the second half began, the Quakers came alive, defeating the Hawks, 66-51, to end a two-game losing streak.

For Penn women’s basketball, the difference between the first half and the second half of Friday’s game was night and day.

Penn women’s basketball may be coming off of a loss in its last game, but there are a couple streaks coach Mike McLaughlin's squad will be eager to continue when it takes the court against Hampton on Friday night at the Palestra.

Penn fell to Lafayette on Tuesday night, 60-57. The Quakers (3-2) were unable to execute on offense in the second half to overcome an overpowering performance by Lafayette forward Emily Homan.

The Quakers blitzed New Hampshire on Tuesday night, 74-37, controlling all facets of the game while showing off their depth.

The hot start for Penn women’s swimming and diving cooled down this weekend, but a strong performance against mismatched opponents has kept the embers lit.