O.K., this weekend is really it. After withdrawing from the Penn Invitational last Saturday because of cold weather and illness, the women's track team will finally open its outdoor season this weekend, both at home and away.

The decision not to compete in Philadelphia last week was reached by both the coaches and captains of the team, Coach Teri Jordan said.

"There were lots of people with the flu, plus it was 30 degrees and snowing.

We thought it was in the best interest to wait a week to open up," Jordan said. "University of Penn understood -- they didn't want us if we were sick. It was a wise decision."

Senior middle distance captain Teressa DiPerna agreed. She said that running there would have resulted in pulled muscles and more sickness.

The viruses and extreme cold have subsided and the season openers can no longer be delayed.

Though the majority of the team will remain at home this weekend to host the Lady Lion Invitational, three members will compete in the Arizona Heptathlon today and tomorrow. Jordan believes that seniors Pam Connell and Carmen Mann and sophomore Shelley Mitchell all have the potential to qualify for NCAAs at this meet. Senior Deb Ford sprained her ankle in practice this week and won't be competing with the others.

Last year, Connell qualified for NCAAs in Arizona and broke the school record with 5,507 points, one of the top collegiate performances in the nation. Mitchell was also successful there, qualifying for junior nationals, in which she placed second. Though Mann has never competed in the heptathlon, Jordan said that she has the skills to become a solid heptathlete.

Each heptathlete needs at least 5,350 points to automatically qualify for NCAAs, 5,100 points to provisionally qualify and 4,000 to qualify for ECACs. "They could qualify for ECACs very, very easily. In fact, I'd be shocked if they didn't," Jordan said.

Competition from such teams as New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Mexico City coupled with warm weather has proved conducive to excellent performances from the heptathletes.

Now, back to the reality of State College. The rest of the team will participate in a predominantly intrasquad meet at 11 tomorrow morning, with only the Nittany Valley Track Club definitely competing. Jordan hopes that the forecast for mild weather might induce some schools to come as a late entry.

"It's disappointing," Jordan said, referring to the poor response to the Lady Lion Invitational. "But the weather is unpredictable. Ohio State came last year and it snowed. They're not coming this year."

Jordan said that the team is fortunate to have such depth, so that they will push each other to good performances in preparation for the rest of the season.