JOHN KOVACH | Colleges Rousher, Sopkovich have bright future after stellar careers

Seniors Joseph "J.J." Rousher of Malone College and Jennifer Sopkovich of John Carroll University are outstanding examples of student-athletes who have achieved success in the classroom as well as on the athletic field, with hopefully bright futures in store for them in the medical field.
Rousher, a graduate of Canfield High, and Sopkovich, a graduate of Girard High, recently completed their fourth seasons as starters in their respective sports of football and women's soccer, while achieving perfect and near-perfect academic averages.
Rousher, who evenly split his football career between Washington & amp; Jefferson and then Malone, carries a 4.0 grade-point average in pre-medicine.
He recently was named to the NAIA academic All-America team for the second straight year -- only the eighth football player ever to win back-to-back honors at Malone.
The son of Jim and Debi Rousher, he also was selected as a 2006 Dean's List Scholar at Malone.
Sopkovich is near-perfect
Sopkovich, a forward and four-year starter for the John Carroll women's soccer team, has a 3.98 GPA as a biology major and plans to enter medical school next year.
She recently was named to the All-Ohio Athletic Conference second team, and also made the academic All-OAC team for the third straight year.
Rousher, who transferred to Malone after two years at W & amp;J in 2003 and 2004, helped the Pioneers to a 7-3 record this season and a No. 18 NAIA ranking in the nation. Malone also qualified to play in the Victory Bowl in Tigersville, S.C..
In Rousher's first year at W & amp;J in 2003, he was named the freshman MVP.
Then in 2005, his first season with Malone, he was named the team's MVP on the offensive line while also being selected to the All-Mid-States Football Association team as an honorable mention.
Best-scoring season
Sopkovich, who also made the John Carroll honor roll for the week ending Oct. 8, enjoyed her best-scoring season this year as a senior.
She ranked No. 3 in scoring on the team with 13 points on five goals and three assists, as the Blue Streaks compiled a 9-9-1 record, including 2-6-1 in the OAC.
Two of her goals were game-winning shots.
Sopkovich concluded her career with 30 points on 11 goals and eight assists.
While at Girard, Sopkovich was the leading scorer in school history.
The daughter of John and Carol Sopkovich, she also was valedictorian of her graduation class.
McGowan has winning season
PITTSBURGH -- Rachel McGowan from Canfield High completed a winning season this fall as a freshman for the Duquesne University women's tennis team.
McGowan, a former state high school doubles champion, led her Duquesne team in wins with a 10-7 overall record -- 5-4 in singles and 5-3 in doubles.
The highlight of her season was winning the Flight 2 doubles championship at the Carnegie Mellon University Invitational. She teamed with Johanna Bezjak for an 8-0 victory over Carlie Smith and Annie Davies of Pittsburgh in the final, after the pair scored an 8-2 win over Hilary Newman and Libby Shaw of Robert Morris in the opener.
McGowan also compiled a 3.54 grade-point average for the fall semester, to be selected to the Atlantic-10 all-academic team.
Graf helps Ohio Wesleyan
DELAWARE -- Steffi Graf, a junior wing for the Ohio Wesleyan University women's basketball team from Poland High, is the fourth-leading scorer for the Bishops with an 8.9-point average through Dec. 13.
Graf has played in eight games, starting four of them, and has made 18-for-60 from the field, including 11-for-43 from 3-point range, an 24-for-30 at the foul line. She also is averaging 3.3 rebounds.
Graf scored 16 points, including two key foul shots down the stretch, to help OWU to a 60-51 win over Ohio Northern Dec. 13.
kovach@vindy.com