Anna Strong

From sitting next to him at Sunday breakfast, I learned everything I know about sports and sports writing. We’d sit together and read a profile on an up-and-coming pitcher or a big feature on the college football bowl games. He taught me how to read box scores and stat sheets, and when breakfast was over and the weather was nice, we’d all go to the park with a wiffle ball and bat or a frisbee.

The Quakers made a strong statement in their opening weekend of Ivy play, sweeping Dartmouth and splitting with Harvard. This weekend, they have the chance to start pulling away in the race.

This season, Penn baseball’s freshmen have been impressive contributors and have filled some holes left by last year’s graduating class. But much of their success has been due to the upperclassmen leadership, particularly from senior captains and offensive powerhouses Ryan Deitrich and Spencer Branigan.

The Quakers spent the time off from academics on a three-team, nine-game tour of the South, making stops at Williamsburg, Va. to take on William & Mary, Durham, N.C. to play Duke and Rock Hill, S.C. to square off with Winthrop.

Back when college football players didn’t wear shoulder pads and the most popular national sports were boxing and horse racing, Notre Dame and Penn were both competitive gridiron programs.

Van Roten, who graduated from Penn in the spring of 2012, is now more than halfway through his rookie NFL season with the Green Bay Packers and serving as a backup center.

Renovations of Hutchinson Gym have displaced the women’s rowing team from its normal indoor practice facility, forcing the squad to split time with the men’s programs in Hollenback and Franklin Field.

The Ivy League has a history of leadership in education and ground-breaking research, but this year it’s being recognized for its innovation in another category: student-athlete safety. “So what?” you might say.

For better or worse, every single game Penn has played this season has been hard-fought from start to finish, and fourth-quarter scoring drives have become quarterback Billy Ragone’s specialty.

The Quakers are locked in a three-way tie for first place in the league with Princeton and Harvard, and the outcome of Saturday’s game will determine how the final stretch of the season plays out.