After winning two meets and qualifying two distance-runners for the NCAA championships in another, the women’s track team will get the opportunity to establish its dominance in the Ivy League as they host the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton this Saturday.

“The girls are looking forward to starting our home season, even if it might be a little on the cold side,” captain Sarah Smith ’03 said.

All three meets the squad has competed in this year have been in warmer climes.

Last week at the Colonial Invitational at the College of William and Mary, Yale won the meet with 131 total points. Yale’s 800-meter relay squad, comprised of Anika Kreider ’03, Aisha Cort ’05, Candace Arthur ’05 and Joslyn Woodard ’06, established a new school record with a time of 1:40.20, slicing four seconds off the previous mark. At the same meet, rookie pole vaulter Molly Lederman ’06 won her event and qualified for the NCAA Regionals in May with a 3.76-meter jump.

Prior to that victory, on March 27 at the Raleigh Relays, Kate and Laura O’Neill ’03 qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000-meter run.

Smith said the Bulldogs, who saw the Killer Ps only in limited action during their indoor season, have not scoped out their opponents, opting instead to prepare themselves to run fast times.

For Woodard, the main competition will come from her teammates.

“Yale has one of the best sprinting corps in the league,” she said.

Lederman wants to improve on her NCAA qualifying height.

“I would like for my jumps to be a little more technically consistent than they were last week,” Lederman said.

To prepare for their first Ivy meet, the Elis are training as usual, though the inclement weather has forced them inside Coxe Cage, Yale’s indoor track facility.

“The cold weather has been a bit of a disappointment, but it’s New England and you can never know what to expect,” Lederman said.

For Woodard, the damp conditions have been more than disappointing.

“I hate the cold and it has a great affect on training,” she said. “I’m dreading having to strip my sweats if it’s cold and raining on Saturday.

Woodard, a sprinter and long jumper, was named Performer of the Meet at the Indoor Heptagonal Championships on March 2, and is determined not to let the climate deter her for reaching her goals this week.

She said she plans to “break any and all records” she can.