With a 3-2 win Friday over second-ranked Virginia, the North Carolina field hockey team advanced to the NCAA championship game to meet No. 1-ranked and undefeated Maryland on Sunday for the national title. The game is set for noon at Wake Forest's Kentner Stadium and will be televised live by the CBS College Sports Network.

Senior Danielle Forword, junior Elizabeth Drazdowski and sophomore Taryn Gjurich scored goals for No. 3-ranked Carolina, which improved to 19-2 with Friday's win, the third one-goal match with Virginia this season. UNC beat the Cavaliers 2-1 in overtime during the regular season, but UVA eliminated Carolina from the ACC Tournament with a 1-0 victory in the semifinals.

Carolina has been to 12 field hockey finals and has won five NCAA titles under coach Karen Shelton, most recently in 2007.

UNC has faced Maryland just once this season, with the Terrapins winning 4-1 in an Oct. 24 matchup at the Tar Heels' Henry Stadium. The teams have played three times in NCAA championship games, with Maryland winning two of those, 2-1 in overtime in 1987 and 2-1 in penalty strokes in 1993. In 1995, Carolina beat the Terrapins 5-1 at the same site as today's match, Wake's Kentner Stadium, to claim the program's second NCAA title.

Farfan, Heels host Brown

North Carolina junior midfielder Michael Farfan, a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, was honored by Top Drawer Soccer Thursday with a spot on its 2009 Men's College Soccer Team of the Season. Farfan was a third-team choice after posting five goals and three assists this season.

An impact player after transferring to Chapel Hill from Cal State Fullerton, Farfan has started all 18 matches and was a two-time ACC Player of the Week during the regular season.

Farfan and the Tar Heels will host Brown in an NCAA Championship second round match today at 2 p.m. on Fetzer Field.

Hinton wins Old Reliable

Nearly 2, 500 runners filled the downtown Raleigh streets for the 26th annual Old Reliable Run last weekend, and the first one across the finish line was John Hinton of Chapel Hill. Hinton finished the 5K road race in 16:14 to win first place overall. Kim Certain (19:59) of Chapel Hill finished third in the women's 5K, which was won by Elaine Lawrie of Raleigh in 18:52.

Hinton and Certain were the top finishers at last month's Pumpkin Trail Run in Chapel Hill.

Chris Capps of Willow Spring won the Old Reliable men's 10K in 34:50, and Viviana Chaico-Dinan of High Point won the women's 10K in 39:27.

Proceeds from the race benefit United Way of the Greater Triangle's partner agency programs in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties.

For complete race results, go to www.oldreliablerun.com.

Sapikowski finals today

The semifinals and championship finals of the fifth annual James Sapikowski Memorial ice hockey tournament will be held today at the Triangle Sportsplex in Hillsborough. Featuring teams from the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League, the semifinals will be played at 8:30 and 10:45 a.m., followed after a break by the championship final at 1 p.m.

The James Sapikowski Memorial Tournament was started in 2005 as the Carolina Invitational Hockey Tournament, and it was described as a "regional celebration of collegiate hockey" aimed at bringing together talented collegiate clubs that otherwise would not play each other. The tournament was changed to the James Sapikowski Memorial Tournament in May 2005, after UNC club coach Jim Sapikowski and his wife Alison of Chapel Hill were killed.

'Back to Baseball'

East Chapel Hill will host a "Back To Baseball" Camp, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Jan. 30 at Wildcat Baseball Field. The purpose of the camp, for grades 3-8, is to teach each camper the basic fundamentals of baseball. Lecture, demonstration and practice, should lead to individual improvement in all skills and to have a better knowledge of the game of baseball.

The camp will be directed by Phil Woodell, head baseball coach at East Chapel Hill for the past 12 years, and with 22 years of coaching experience overall. The camp will be staffed with coaches and players from East Chapel Hill.

The registraion fee is $50 before Jan. 27, $75 afterwards. Lunch will be provided, and a concession stand will be open during the breaks. Players should bring their own water bottle and baseball equipment.

For more information, call Phil Woodell at 969-2482, ext. 326

Carrboro looks to spring

The Carrboro Recreation & Parks Department is preparing plans for an Adult Co-Rec Softball League and a Youth Field Hockey League for Spring 2010. Carrboro's adult co-ed softball league will play on Tuesdays and Thursdays from late-March through mid-June. Each team will play 1-2 games per week, followed by a double-elimination tournament.

A team fee of $625 is required, with a non-refundable deposit of $200 due at registration. An out-of-county fee of $37 is required for each player residing outside of Orange County.

Carrboro's Field Hockey League is for girls in grades 5-8 as of the 2009-2010 school year. The fee is $55 for Orange County residents and $92 for non-Orange residents. Registration forms must be signed by a parent or guardian and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Registration for both leagues will open at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at the Carrboro Recreation & Parks Department at 100 N. Greensboro Street. (Signup for field hockey is also available online via RecConnect at www.townofcarrboro.org/RP.) Registration space is limited. For more information, contact 918-7364.

Friendly rivals

North Carolina met its informal goal and raised more than $12, 000 for cancer research in honor of Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich. The 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Herzlich was diagnosed last spring with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that typically affects young adults and children. Coach Butch Davis and other Carolina officials were to present Boston College with a check at this weekend's game in Chestnut Hill. UNC's efforts will boost the amount of money raised by ACC schools to over $132, 000 for cancer research in Herzlich's honor.

Bird Walk at Jordan Lake

N.C. Parks will host "bird walks" on Dec. 2, 5, and 20th. Join Ranger Steve McMurray on exploring what birds make Jordan Lake their home. Learn the basics on bird watching and how to identify birds. Anyone is welcome from beginner to expert from young to old. A spotting scope and an extra binoculars set will be available to use.

Meet at the trail head at Seaforth Recreation Area, located at the beach parking lot directly across from the restrooms at 9 a.m. The walk will last no longer than two hours. For further information contact McMurray at 919 362-0586, ext. 244 or at .

For more information, see ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/jord/main.php

UNC golf adds two

North Carolina men's golf coach John Inman announced the signing of two of the country's top golfers, James Ellis, from Greenville, and Sean Jacklin, from Bradenton, Fla.

Ellis, a four-year golf letterman at Arendell Parrott Academy in Kinston, helped lead his time to two NCISAA State Championships (2007, 2009) and was the 2008 NCISAA 2A Individual State Champion, firing a school-record 65 in the final round. .

Jacklin won the 2009 Florida Junior Tour Championship by seven strokes when it was played at Crooked Cat, the site of PGA Tour qualifying, and is the son of Tony Jacklin, champion of the 1969 British Open and the 1970 U.S. Open.

Davis to speak at Shrine

North Carolina head coach Butch Davis has accepted an invitation to be the special guest speaker for the Shrine Bowl Coaches and Players Awards Banquet. Part of the festivities surrounding 73rd Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, the banquet will begin at 7 p.m. Dec. 18 in the Marriott Renaissance Park Hotel and ConferenceCenter in downtown Spartanburg, S.C.

"As one of America's premier collegiate coaches, his personal commitment to discipline and the importance he places on the standards of excellence, on and off the field, is extraordinary," said Billy Benfield, Chairman of the Shrine Bowl Board of Governors.

Tickets for the banquet will be available for $40 each by calling the Shrine Bowl office at 1-800-648-BOWL (2695)

Briefly ...

The Orange Baseball Hitting Clinic scheduled for this weekend has been postponed (again) because of soggy conditions on the playing fields. It has been rescheduled forDec. 5 at Cedar Ridge High School.... UNC senior defender Kristi Eveland was named to the first team, and senior defender Whitney Engen and senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Ha rris were on the second team for the 2009 "ESPN The Magazine" Academic All-America Women's Soccer Team honors. . ... A Cumberland County Superior Court judge issued a ruling last week that booted Fayetteville Terry Sanford High School back out of the state football playoffs. The NCHSAA voted to have Pine Forest High School to replace FTS in the next round. ... Steven Rastivo of Long Island, N.Y., a goalkeeper who is transferring from Penn State, has signed a national letter of intent with UNC men's lacrosse during the early signing period just concluded. He will join the Tar Heel team in January and be eligible to play during the 2010 season.