Rowan

Once an immature boy whose neck was nearly caught within the noose of K.C. Keeler's hands, Scott Lipford has emerged as a responsible young family man with a chance to play in the NFL. Lipford, an Ocean City High graduate and record-setting receiver for Rowan, signed a free-agent contract with the San Francisco 49ers two days after last month's draft. He attended San Francisco's mini-camp and will return for another camp on May 16 in hopes of earning an invitation to preseason camp.

Washington & Jefferson running back Chris Babirad rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns as the Presidents defeated host Rowan, 18-13, Saturday and advanced to the NCAA Division III championship game against Wisconsin-La Crosse. Babirad rushed for touchdowns of 21 and 80 yards on the same counter gap play and danced into the end zone untouched on both. The Presidents (11-1), of Washington, Pa., will meet Wisconsin-LaCrosse Dec.12 in Bradenton, Fla. Wisconsin-La Crose advanced with a 29-24 win over Mount Union (Ohio)

Rowan scored touchdowns in each quarter en route to a 27-12 victory over William Paterson last night. A lucky bounce late in the first quarter got the Profs (7-2, 3-1 NJAC) started toward the victory over the Pioneers (1-9, 0-5). With eight seconds left in the quarter, Brandon Medine picked up a fumbled snap on a William Paterson punt and ran into the end zone from 3 yards out. Before halftime, Rowan had raised its lead to 14-0. Pat Thompson, who led the Profs in rushing with 70 yards on 14 carries, ran in from 17 yards out with 4 minutes, 15 seconds left in the half, and Darren Shaddow added his second extra point.

With his best offensive player, best defensive player, and several other key contributors lost to injury, Rowan coach Jay Accorsi didn't know how far the Profs could go. But, Rowan's run into the Division III semifinals for the second consecutive year surpassed his expectations. "For the devastating injuries we had, and for the players to still believe in what they're doing, that makes it fun coaching college football," Accorsi said. "This group did a great job, made a great run, did some great things.

The exodus continues on Hawk Hill. When the last basketball season ended for St. Joseph's and all the recruits had been signed, the program had a problem. If the status quo was maintained, St. Joe's would have had 16 players on scholarship for the following season. Only 13 scholarships are allowed. Something would have to give. A few someones would have to go. First, Kevin Connor transferred to Richmond. Then, Chris DiMascio transferred to Fordham and Alex Compton left for Cornell.

The top-seeded Rowan women's basketball team survived a season-high 29 turnovers and reversed a history of first-round failures with an 81-68 win over eighth-seeded Elizabethtown in an NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional opener last night in Glassboro. The Profs (27-0) will host fourth-seeded Messiah (20-7), a 75-65 winner over Allentown, in a second-round game at 2 p.m. Saturday. It was just Rowan's second NCAA victory in seven games. The Profs had a 25-0 record entering the 1994 tourney but fell to Upsala in the opening round.

When a team shoots 37 percent and wins by 22 points, it's safe to say those numbers add up to good defense. That was the story for the Rowan women's basketball team yesterday, as the Profs took a 72-50 victory over No. 3 seed Colby-Sawyer in the second round of the NCAA Division III Atlantic regionals. The second-seeded Profs (22-5) will play Friday at a site to be determined against Williams, the Northeast region winner. The Profs advanced by harassing Colby-Sawyer into 31 percent shooting and 21 turnovers.

Greg Lister threw four first-half touchdown passes last night as Rowan (3-0) won its New Jersey Athletic Conference opener by crushing Jersey City State, 45-17. Lister, a junior out of Holy Spirit High, completed 13 of 28 attempts for 245 yards and the four TDs to bury the Gothic Knights (0-3 overall, 0-1 conference). Two of the touchdown passes went to wide receiver William Spearman - one for 49 yards and the other for 7. The other two scoring strikes went to tight end Jason Dorsey, who caught a 27-yard TD pass, and to junior wide receiver Shannon Green, who grabbed a 36-yarder.

Joy Reighn realizes that success has its price, but the Rowan athletic director doesn't mind paying it. Reighn once again is searching for a new basketball coach after Candace Crabtree became the new women's coach at Drexel University on Wednesday. Crabtree was Rowan's all-time winningest women's basketball coach with a 171-25 record (.872 winning percentage). She led the Profs to six NCAA berths in seven seasons, including one Final Four, three Elite Eights, and four Sweet 16s. "She routinely guided Rowan into elite company, and Drexel can only benefit from both her knowledge and enthusiasm of the game," Drexel athletic director Eric Zillmer said.

Jim Jones scored three touchdowns and passed for another to lead host Widener (11-0) to a 46-30 victory over Washington & Jefferson on Saturday, advancing the Pioneers to the NCAA Division III national quarterfinals. Rowan also advanced with a 43-14 win over visiting Western Connecticut State. The Profs will host Ithaca (11-1) at noon on Saturday. Widener will play at Bridgewater, Va. (10-0), also on Saturday at noon. For Widener, Jones scored on 20, 14, and 4-yard passes from Mike Warker and threw a touchdown pass of 39 yards to Michael Coleman, who had 155 yards on seven catches.

The Rowan University women's track and field team won the Eastern College Athletic Conference championship in Springfield, Mass., on Friday. Among the highlights, Shailah Williams (Pemberton) won the 400 meters in 56.32 seconds. Vanessa Wright (Haddonfield) came in second in the 1,500 and the 4x800 squad of Vanessa Valdes, Jessalynn Wright (Cherokee), Melirah Search and Vanessa Wright finished second. In the men's competition, Rowan's Demetrius Rooks (Absegami) won the 400 hurdles.

Stephen Sweeney took the lectern Friday morning, looked out at a sea of undergraduates dressed in the robes he had never gotten to wear, and addressed the university he had not attended but has had a continuing hand in shaping. "This event is about much more than a diploma that you'll proudly display on a wall. It symbolizes the beginning of a new and exciting chapter for each of you. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't envy you," the New Jersey Senate president told the 2,195 students and 13,000 guests at Rowan University's undergraduate commencement ceremony in Glassboro.

Rutgers-Camden announced Thursday that it has hired Annette Reiter, who played on four state championship teams at Gloucester Catholic, as its women's basketball coach. Reiter, a 21-year coaching veteran at the college and high school levels, had been the Penn State Abington coach. She spent three seasons as an assistant at Rowan. Her Nittany Lions team posted a 9-16 record a year after going 0-23. Reiter also starred as a player at Widener. Baseball. Fifth-seeded Neumann (30-14)

The Neumann baseball team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III tournament announced Monday. Neumann will play in the Auburn, N.Y., regional, hosted by Ithaca. The fifth-seeded Knights will face No. 4 Farmingdale State on Wednesday morning. Ithaca is the top seed, followed by Cortland and Rowan. Amherst is sixth, Rensselaer seventh, and Moravian eighth. The winners of the eight regional tournaments advance to the national championship game. Penn State Abington was selected to play in the ECAC South tournament for the third consecutive season.

Catcher Meagan Lee (Oakcrest High) belted a two-run home run to lead host Rowan, the top seed, past Kean, 3-1, in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference softball tournament Tuesday. No. 3 College of New Jersey (26-11) used clutch hitting and outstanding pitching to beat No. 4 Richard Stockton, 3-0. TCNJ freshman Ashtin Helmer allowed just two hits and struck out seven. Another freshman, Deanna Utter, ripped an RBI double. Nicole Scanlon had a double for the Ospreys (30-10)

Students gathered by the hundreds Tuesday night on the patio behind Rowan University's student center, until close to 2,000 had formed a protective pack surrounding the family of Matthew J. Uhl. Uhl was killed around 12:30 a.m. Friday when he was hit by a car on State Street as he walked on campus with friends. The 22-year-old from Little Egg Harbor, N.J., was a senior entrepreneurship major just five weeks from graduation. His family came to the Glassboro campus for the Rowan Remembers vigil, held the last few springs in memory of Rowan students who have died during the year.

  On this same weekend a year ago, because she couldn't walk, Julia England would recharge at the same time as her power wheelchair. Her best friend, Sami Musumeci, would wheel her into a storage room. "We have to plug you in," Sami would tell her, insisting Julia rest. "You can't fight me on this. " Julia and Sami are seniors at Rowan University and co-chairs this year and last of the Relay for Life, a benefit for the American Cancer Society. This year, Julia, back on her feet, would need to pace herself, a verb not usually in her vocabulary.

A Rowan University student died 13 hours after being hit by a car early Friday on campus. Police suspect alcohol may have been involved in the accident. Matthew J. Uhl, 22, a senior entrepreneurship major from Little Egg Harbor, N.J., suffered massive head trauma after a driver from Connecticut hit him on State Street around 12:30 a.m., Glassboro police said. Friends took to Twitter earlier in the day sending messages of support, using the hash tag #prayformattuhl, with biting references to drunken driving.

A Rowan University student hit by car early this morning on campus has died. Matthew J. Uhl, 22, a senior entrepreneurship major from Little Egg Harbor, suffered massive head trauma from the crash, Glassboro police said. He died at Cooper University Hospital in Camden at 1:30 p.m., 13 hours after he was hit. Glassboro police said Uhl was walking with friends when he was hit in the roadway around 12:30 a.m. by Derrick D. Gilliam, 26, of Bridgeport, Conn., on State Street, a road on the east end of the campus.