Daily Pennsylvanian

Penn Park breaks ground

rosenstein — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:39:51 -0500

Thanks to a $46 million expansion project, the now-desolate riverfront land wedged between Walnut and South Street will soon be transformed into a vibrant green oasis and state-of-the-art athletics facility. Penn Park, the centerpiece of the University’s Eastern Expansion project, is now officially under construction.

The University broke ground today on the 24-acre development that will house three multipurpose turf fields, 12 tennis courts and a pedestrian walkway by the time of its projected completion in 2011.

Princeton’s Pont will put up a fight

klitzman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:28:09 -0500

Penn women’s soccer coach Darren Ambrose has no doubt in his mind what the most significant match of the season is.

“It’s Princeton,” he said. “[In] every sport the rivalry is storied. It is years and years of athletic pride.”

Tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Rhodes Field, the Quakers (9-4-2, 3-3-0 Ivy) will show off their athletic pride in their season finale against the Tigers.

Avoiding the Big Red target

klitzman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:24:17 -0500

Perfection is never easy. And with a final road stretch this weekend testing an undefeated conference schedule, perfection is certainly not getting any easier for the Penn volleyball team.

With yet another hurdle on their quest to be the best of the Ivies, the Quakers look to square off against Columbia and Cornell in their final road bouts of the season. Penn first plays Columbia tonight at 7 and then takes the long drive up to Ithaca, N.Y., to face Cornell tomorrow afternoon at 4.

It will be an arduous road trip, both mentally and physically draining.

Tourney-bound Tigers a tough test

klitzman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:23:19 -0500

With the No. 4 team in the country rolling into town tonight, Penn field hockey coach Val Cloud is realistic about her team’s chances of beating rival Princeton.

“I can’t say I look forward to beating them,” she said. “I would like to beat them, but it’s a little unlikely.”

Harvard looks to avoid island loss

kaplan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:16:09 -0500

If Harvard’s game at Columbia tomorrow could be summed up by a movie title, it would be “Escape from New York.”

Sure New York hasn’t been turned into a maximum security prison, and Kurt Russell won’t be in attendance (Kate Hudson only likes one New York team), but the Crimson are hoping to escape Baker Field still undefeated in the Ivy League with co-leader Penn coming up to Boston next Saturday.

Save for a 24-21 victory over Brown, Harvard (5-2, 4-0 Ivy) has torn up the Ivy League, winning by an average margin of 24.33 points in its other three League games.

Quakers look to capitalize on momentum

klitzman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:15:22 -0500

Things are finally looking up for the men’s soccer team.

After struggling through a tough season in the Ivy League, its perseverance finally paid off with two consecutive 1-0 wins over Yale and Brown. Furthermore, their success on the scoreboard has been matched with player awards for junior midfielder Loukas Tasigianis and freshman goalkeeper Garon Smith.

Coach Rudy Fuller attributed his team’s success to its willingness to take chances and to solid defending.

“When we do that we usually get the results we want,” he said.

Proposal draft details UA reform

kaplan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:43:49 -0500

Even students of political theory can’t find loopholes in the language of the referendum calling for change in the elections of the Undergraduate Assembly chair and vice chair for external affairs.

The proposal, released Wednesday, was co-written by College senior and Student Activities Council chairwoman Natalie Vernon and College junior and UA chairman Alec Webley with input from other student leaders.

“As someone studying political theory, it’s pretty airtight,” said Sam Adelsberg, College senior and co-chairman of the interfaith group PRISM.

Revamping health care in the U.S.

schultheis — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:28:04 -0500

Last night, healthcare experts voiced their thoughts on the need for reform and the possible effects of changes to the system.

The event took place in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall and was co-sponsored by the Wharton Undergraduate Healthcare Club and the Penn Bioethics Society.

The discussion addressed issues ranging from the costs of reform to the future of healthcare employees if a change were established.

Local arts scene gives life to West Phila. economy

kaplan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:17:34 -0500

Though many people enjoy going to arts performances and exhibitions at Penn, few may realize just how important the arts are to the West Philadelphia economy.

“Arts and Cultural organizations not only strengthen the vitality of our community but also add tremendous resources back into the local economy,” Matt Bergheiser, executive director of the University City District, wrote in an e-mail.

Prowling for a spoiler

kaplan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:11:04 -0500

The Ivy League football title will be decided on another day.

For now, the Quakers must focus on beating an old rival looking to play spoiler on Homecoming.

The stakes will be high when Penn (5-2, 4-0 Ivy) squares off with Princeton (2-5, 1-3) in the teams’ 101st all-time meeting tomorrow at Franklin Field at 3:30 p.m. With Harvard playing Columbia in New York at 12:30, the Quakers will look to keep pace with the also-unbeaten Crimson to set up a showdown for the Ivy championship Nov. 14 in Boston.