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.

With its season nearly over, Penn men’s swimming sent two representatives to the NCAA Championships for one last hurrah, giving the Quakers an opportunity to showcase their top performers on a national stage.

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.

Oftentimes in sports, the stats accurately show everything one would need to know about a contest.

One week after the women’s team placed fourth in the Ivy League championships, Penn men’s swimming and diving is heading to Princeton for their own shot at the Ancient Eight crown. And the Quakers have certainly proved that they can swim their best on the biggest stage of the year.

On land, the senior hobbled around with the aid of a walker – the kind found most commonly in nursing homes. But in the water, it was a different story.

To cap off their regular seasons, Penn men’s and women’s swimming teams blew past West Chester and La Salle this weekend, hopefully gaining momentum before the Ivy League Championships.

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.

Throughout its season, Penn swimming often has fewer home contests than any other sport. With a majority of the program’s meets taking place on the road, it’s on the Quakers to make the most of their As a result, this weekend, the Red and Blue will try to make the most of a rare opportunity as both the men’s and women’s squads prepare for matchups with Delaware at Sheerr Pool on Saturday. In what will be the second and final home meet for both of coach Mike Schnur’s squads, Penn’s matchups with the Blue Hens will be the first of three consecutive nonconference meets before the program swims in the Ivy Championships starting on Feb. 19.

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.

On Dec. 27, the men’s and women’s squads fly down to Florida for a ten-day intensive training trip. In preparation for the remainder of the Ivy season, the Ivy Championship and, potentially, the National Championships, the Quakers will endure coach Mike Schnur’s swimming boot camp.

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.