Villanova

Sophomore guard Achraf Yacoubou has decided to transfer from Villanova, according to several web reports. The 6-foot-4 Yacoubou, the New York state player of the year in 2011, averaged 2.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 31 games for the Wildcats this season. He was fourth on the team with 21 three-point baskets, shooting nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc, and had a season-high 13 points in a win last December over Penn. He saw his playing time decrease toward the end of the season, however, and did not play in three of Villanova's last six games.

WASHINGTON - Karter Lowry might dunk before he's out of diapers. His father is Kyle Lowry, who starred at Cardinal Dougherty, then at Villanova. His mother, Ayahna Cornish, set Dougherty's scoring record, then dropped more than 1,200 points at St. Joseph's. Kyle Lowry's featured role with the NBA's Houston Rockets - he defends with gusto, he scores when he has to and he rebounds like a freak - has made him a comfortable millionaire at the age of 25 and likely will earn him untold millions more.

George Layng Pew Jr., 77, of Villanova and Boothbay Harbor, Maine, a dedicated fund-raiser and volunteer for Yale University, died Wednesday, May 8, of a heart ailment at his Main Line home. Born in Bryn Mawr, Mr. Pew was a member of a famed Philadelphia family. He is a descendant of Thomas Pew, brother of Joseph Newton Pew Sr., who in 1890 founded Sun Oil Co. Mr. Pew traced his line to J. Edgar Pew, the founder's nephew and the former head of the production department at Sun, said his wife, Sally Chinn Pew. The son of George L. Pew, Sr., and Catharine Anspach Pew,  he graduated from the Brooks School in North Andover, Mass., in 1954 and Yale College in 1958.

Sophomore and junior years are prime time for many NCAA Division I prospects, and that's when Jordan Prutzer did practically nothing on the softball field. The lefthanded pitcher sat out her sophomore season at Methacton because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. She sat out her junior season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. She missed most of her travel-team seasons, too. "After my knee injuries, I wasn't sure if Division I would ever happen for me," Prutzer said.

Betty Okino, a 16-year-old gymnast with a beautiful, slender, long-legged body, wrinkles her nose with disgust. "I am told I have the wrong body type for gymnastics," Okino says. And she frowns. Okino is a gymnast, a very good one. She won a silver medal in the 1992 world championships on the uneven bars. She has a move, a triple pirouette on the balance beam, named after her. But in the last year, Okino has grown two inches, to 5-foot-4 - uncommonly tall for a gymnast. And she has a stress fracture in her back.

TO Villanova students, my thoughts on the controversy about the pro-life sculpture: Abortion is not the difficult choice; that is the easy way out. The tough choice is being responsible and raising the child. Charlie Jurewicz Hazleton, Pa.

TV/Radio: CSN; ESPN-AM (950). Records: Villanova, 3-2, 1-1 Colonial Athletic Association; Maine, 2-4, 1-2 CAA. Coaches: Villanova, Andy Talley (26th season, 182-104-1); Maine, Jack Cosgrove (18th season, 95-105). Series: Villanova trails Maine, 7-6, in the series but won the teams' last meeting in 2007. Villanova outlook: The Wildcats dropped from the top spot to No. 6 in the rankings after their 31-24 loss to then-No. 7 William and Mary two weeks ago. Wide receiver Matt Szczur, the reigning CAA player of the year, missed the game because of a sprained ankle suffered on Sept.

Delaware at Villanova When: Saturday at 3:30 p.m., PPL Park. TV/Radio: Comcast Network/ESPN-AM (950) Records: Delaware, 6-4 overall, 4-3 Colonial Athletic Association; Villanova, 2-8, 1-6. Coaches: Delaware, K.C. Keeler (10th season, 80-46); Villanova, Andy Talley (27th season, 190-115-1). Series: The Wildcats lead, 23-20-1. Last season, Villanova needed overtime to win, 28-21. Delaware hasn't defeated the Wildcats since 2005.

Tony Chennault, a graduate of Neumann-Goretti High School, has decided to remain at Villanova and will play his senior season for the Wildcats in 2013-14, the school announced Tuesday. Chennault had announced his intention to seek a transfer to another university last month. "Our basketball family is happy that Tony has had a change of heart and decided that he wants to complete his college career and graduate from Villanova," Wildcats head coach Jay Wright said in a statement.

Gov. Corbett urged Villanova Law School graduates Friday to embody the passion of Abraham Lincoln and the integrity of Sir Thomas More as they embark on their careers. At the school's commencement, Corbett praised those men, both lawyers, for standing up for what they believed in though it ultimately cost them their lives. Both "chose honor over convenience," Corbett told 233 graduates and their friends and family at Villanova's Pavilion. Corbett, who was state attorney general and had a private practice for many years before becoming governor, gave a short speech exhorting the graduates to work hard, act ethically, think logically, and always look at the facts.

The winners of Saturday's quarterfinals in the NCAA Division I women's lacrosse championships will head to Villanova for the semifinals on May 24. The championship game is slated for May 26 at Villanova Stadium. The Division II and III semifinals and title games are both Saturday and Sunday in Owings Mills, Md. Maryland, undefeated in 20 games, is the top seed in Division I and will host unseeded Duke (14-5) on Saturday. No. 4 Syracuse (17-3) will host No. 5 Florida (18-2)

Assistant basketball coach Raphael Chillious is leaving Villanova after one season to return to the bench at Washington, a source said Wednesday. Chillious had spent three seasons with the Huskies before coming to the Wildcats last August. It was considered an East Coast homecoming for Chillious, a native of Olney, Md., who played at Lafayette. The Huskies are expected to announce Chillious' hiring on Thursday. - Joe Juliano

George Layng Pew Jr., 77, of Villanova and Boothbay Harbor, Maine, a dedicated fund-raiser and volunteer for Yale University, died Wednesday, May 8, of a heart ailment at his Main Line home. Born in Bryn Mawr, Mr. Pew was a member of a famed Philadelphia family. He is a descendant of Thomas Pew, brother of Joseph Newton Pew Sr., who in 1890 founded Sun Oil Co. Mr. Pew traced his line to J. Edgar Pew, the founder's nephew and the former head of the production department at Sun, said his wife, Sally Chinn Pew. The son of George L. Pew, Sr., and Catharine Anspach Pew,  he graduated from the Brooks School in North Andover, Mass., in 1954 and Yale College in 1958.

Sophomore and junior years are prime time for many NCAA Division I prospects, and that's when Jordan Prutzer did practically nothing on the softball field. The lefthanded pitcher sat out her sophomore season at Methacton because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. She sat out her junior season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. She missed most of her travel-team seasons, too. "After my knee injuries, I wasn't sure if Division I would ever happen for me," Prutzer said.

AS HE GETS older and concerns over social imagery takes less status in his life, Darrun Hilliard will find out "mother's boy" isn't the derisive term a lot of people make it out to be. I know. I am a proud, card-carrying-member of the "I Always Love My Mama, She's My Favorite Girl" society. I see it as a term of endearment. Dads are great. I'm one. Still, there is something special about the bond between mother and child - probably because she carried us around in her womb for around 9 months.

Alfredo Santana of La Salle was named the men's outstanding track performer in the Atlantic Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Charlotte, N.C. Santana, a graduate of Philadelphia's Nueva Esperanza Academy, won the 5,000-meter run in 14 minutes, 25.19 seconds, and the 10,000 in 29:58.69. The Explorers, who finished seventh in the team competition, also won the 4x800-meter relay in 7:32.33 with Brett Shepherd (Monsignor Bonner), Nick Crits (Wissahickon), Wayne Bartholomew, and Paul Reilly (Upper Dublin)

Villanova and Syracuse have agreed to a home-and-home men's basketball series over the next two seasons. Syracuse will play Villanova in the Carrier Dome on Dec. 28, and the Wildcats will host the Orange at the Wells Fargo Center in 2014 at a date to be determined. Tryout for Arcidiacono. Ryan Arcidiacono, a freshman point guard at Villanova, accepted an invitation to participate in the 2013 USA Basketball men's under-19 National Team training camp. The camp will be held on June 15-19 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The Radnor Township Planning Commission has rejected Villanova University's request for a zoning change that would allow a major expansion of the Lancaster Avenue campus with new dormitories, a parking garage, a performing arts center, and stores. The $200 million plan has upset residents, who say it would transform a quiet neighborhood into a noisy extension of the 10,600-student Wildcat campus. The university was seeking a conditional use to allow denser development than allowed, Planning Commission Chairwoman Julia Hurle said.

VILLANOVA LEAD guard Tony Chennault, a Neumann-Goretti product, has decided not to transfer after all. Chennault came to the Main Line last offseason after spending 2 years at Wake Forest, where he started as a sophomore. He became eligible to play immediately when the NCAA granted him a hardship waiver, since he made the move to be closer to his ailing mother. Then last May, his older brother/mentor was killed in a still-unsolved shooting incident. When Chennault struggled with his game in the first half of the season, coach Jay Wright said that he thought the tragedy was a factor.