Rowan

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.

K.C. Keeler has an offensive arsenal at his disposal, and the Rowan football coach has rarely used the same weapon twice this season. As it brings a 4-0 record and a No. 2 national ranking to Buffalo State for tomorrow's 1 p.m. matchup, Rowan has established itself as a team that can win a lot of ways with a lot of different people. In its season opener against Wesley, Antwine Simmons rushed for 109 yards, and Tidy Corbett had 52 yards and two touchdowns while the passing game struggled.

On Wednesday Rowan football coach K.C. Keeler expressed concern to his defensive squad, which had recorded two shutouts in its first three games. "I said, 'Listen, guys, I'm a little disappointed you haven't scored yet. What's going on?' " Keeler said. After Saturday's 38-10 win over defending New Jersey Athletic Conference co-champion Trenton State, the defense still hadn't scored. But it did the next best thing by forcing six turnovers that led to 17 first-half points. Despite allowing its first touchdown of the season, Rowan set a school record by allowing 5 rushing yards.

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.

This was one battle of unbeatens that lived up to the advance billing. The 50th meeting between the Richard Stockton and Rowan men's basketball teams proved to be a classic, as Rajohn Odom took an inbounds pass and went the length of the court for a layup to give Rowan a 70-68 New Jersey Athletic Conference victory last night. Rowan is 14-0 overall and 9-0 in the NJAC; Stockton dropped to 14-1 and 8-1. The Profs' sixth consecutive win over Stockton came in front of an overflow crowd at Esbjornson Gym. In a second half that featured nine lead changes and eight ties, Maurice Davis hit two foul shots with 1 minute, 13 seconds remaining to give the Profs a 68-66 lead.

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.

Former basketball star Melissa Rotz will receive her doctor of Pharmacy degree and deliver the valedictory speech at the University of the Sciences graduation ceremony on Wednesday night at the Mann Center. Rotz, a graduate of Central Dauphin High School, was the women's basketball player of the year on the 2011 Inquirer all-academic team, chosen from the Philadelphia region's Division II and III schools. A four-year starter on the women's basketball team, Rotz has the distinction of graduating from University of the Sciences with the most individual academic honors ever won by a student-athlete at the institution, earning a dozen such awards over her career while performing as the team's starting point guard, the university said.

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney said Tuesday he was working on legislation to be ready June 1 for restructuring New Jersey's public universities. In an interview, he maintained that multiple options remained on the table, even as Rutgers officials suggested they were close to a deal that would keep Rutgers-Camden within the Rutgers university system. "There's a whole bunch of variations" of the legislation, but "I'm not going to throw that out until I find something that can work," Sweeney, a Democrat, said after a groundbreaking ceremony for the Cooper Cancer Institute in Camden.

Joe Bennie ripped a two-run homer to key a five-run third inning that propelled La Salle to a 12-4 win over St. Joseph's in an Atlantic Ten baseball game at Merion Station on Saturday. La Salle (19-29, 6-14) set season highs in both runs and hits (17). Bennie was 3 for 3 with three RBIs and the Explorers got also three RBIs from George Smith and two more from Zack Feierstein. Kevin Taylor had a two-run home run for the Hawks. (22-27, 12-7), the 14th blast of his career.

Montclair State defeated Rowan, 1-0, on Sunday to win the NCAA Division III softball regional in Union, N.J. The Red Hawks (42-7) advanced to the national championships scheduled for May 18-22 in Salem, Va. Rowan, which defeated Moravian, 1-0, Sunday morning to make the championship game, finished 39-9. Both Profs' losses in the double-elimination were to Montclair, including a 3-2 defeat in eight innings on Saturday. Montclair sophomore Alex Hill (30-4) allowed just three hits in the complete game shutout while striking out 10. LeAnne Miller (21-3)

Righthander Jamie Minix allowed four hits in six shutout innings Thursday as Rowan (37-7) defeated Misericordia, 4-0, in the first round of the NCAA Division III softball tournament, in Union, N.J. Minix, a senior from Kingsway, struck out four and raised her record to 12-6. Profs leftfielder Jennifer Arcella homered and drove in two runs. Rowan, seeded third in the regional, will play again Friday at 4 p.m. In other first-round games, top-seeded Montclair State shutout Baruch, 8-0. Fourth-seeded College of New Jersey defeated fifth-seed Alvernia, 2-1, in nine innings.

  After advancing to the Ivy League championship series for the first time since 2007, Penn (33-17) dropped a softball doubleheader, 1-0 and 5-2, to Harvard (33-13), falling to the defending champion Crimson in Cambridge, Mass., on Friday. In the opener, Quakers righthander Alexis Borden scattered three hits over six innings, but gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth when Harvard's Ashley Heritage walked, stole second, advanced to third on a single by Kasey Lange , then scored on a throwing error by Penn second sacker Samantha Erosa . Borden also started the second game and went seven inings, but gave up 5 runs on 12 hits.

Erin Gallagher tossed a complete-game shutout as St. Joseph's defeated Temple, 6-0, in the opening round of the Atlantic Ten championship softball tournament at Billiken Sports Center in St. Louis. Gallagher, a senior from St. Basil's Academy, has won 65 career games. The Owls (27-22) then were eliminated by a 4-1 loss to Charlotte. The 49ers had lost, 9-2, to George Washington in the morning games. St. Joe's, which entered the tourney as the sixth seed, will face second-seed Fordham at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

A pair of freshmen, Brianna Lancetta of Bishop Eustace Prep and Sarah Kelly of Washington Township High, each scored four goals to lead Holy Family (14-4) to a 15-10 win over Georgian Court (12-7) for the Tigers' first Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference women's lacrosse championship on Sunday afternoon in Lakewood, N.J. Goalkeeper Melissa Jenkins (Interboro) made 12 saves and was named the tourney's most valuable player. Jenkins was joined on the all-tourney team by Lancetta and Kelly, plus teammate Stephanie McNesby (Archbishop Ryan)

Chris Farrar got the ball behind the net and swooped in front for a wrap-around goal in overtime to give Eastern the Middle Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse championship in a 12-11 thriller over Widener on Saturday. Widener took an 11-10 lead with 7 minutes, 41 seconds left in regulation when Johnny Casey (Abington) fired one home off the fifth assist of the day from Robert Clemens (Sun Valley). Eastern had possession with two minutes left in regulation and called timeout looking for the tie. Will Johnson got a great look and blasted one home with 60 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

TRENTON — Members of the Assembly budget committee skewered New Jersey's higher education secretary at a hearing Wednesday, arguing that they can't judge a proposal to overhaul the state university system without knowing the cost. Secretary Rochelle Hendricks said "world-class" financial experts were reviewing the proposal, which would merge Rutgers-Camden into Rowan University in Glassboro and combine parts of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey with Rutgers' main campus in New Brunswick.