The women’s lacrosse team crushed Richmond 16-5 on Friday and conquered Loyola of Maryland 12-9 on Sunday at Franklin Field to advance to the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship.
The eighth-seeded Quakers never trailed in either contest. They led wire-to-wire against Richmond in the First Round; their 11-goal margin of victory tied for their largest of the season and is Penn’s largest ever win in the NCAA Championships. Aside from a 4-4 tie in the second quarter, the Quakers led for the entirety of the Second-Round game against Loyola, downing the Greyhounds for the second time this season.
Fourth-year attacker Niki Miles scored six goals across the two games: four against Richmond and two against Loyola. Third-year attacker Erica Chung accrued eight assists: five versus the Spiders and three against the Greyhounds. Third-year midfielder Anna Brandt added five goals: two against Richmond and three against Loyola.
On Thursday, May 16, at 7:30 p.m., the Red & Blue will take on No. 1 seed Northwestern, the defending national champions, in the Quarterfinals in Evanston, Illinois, airing on ESPNU. The Wildcats had a bye in the First Round and steamrolled Denver 17-4 in the Second Round.
Penn will be playing in the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship for the sixth time in school history and first time in eight years.
Foe became friend on Saturday for the baseball team. The Quakers needed help to reach the postseason, and got it from Harvard, who defeated Yale 3-2 in the second game of a doubleheader. The Crimson’s win clinched for the Red & Blue a spot in the second annual Ivy League Tournament.
The defending Ivy League Tournament champions, Penn (20-22, 11-10 in Ivy League) will be a No. 4 seed and battle top-seeded Columbia (26-15, 17-4 in Ivy League) on Friday, May 17, at 3 p.m. at the Lions’ Robertson Field at Satow Stadium in New York City. Columbia swept the three-game regular-season series 14-6, 11-1, 9-7.
The Lions (.312) and Quakers (.285) are first and third, respectively, in the conference in overall team batting average.
Whoever wins the Ivy League Tournament automatically qualifies for the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Last season, the Red &Blue won two games in the region before falling to Southern Mississippi.
