Alina Garciamendez, a senior central defender, became the 16th Stanford player named to Soccer America MVP's first team, the All-America team for the nation's preeminent soccer publication.

Rachel Quon, a senior outside back, was named to the second team Wednesday, and Stanford's other outside back, Laura Liedle, was named to the All-Freshman second team.

Garciamendez and Quon were team captains, four-year starters and vital to Stanford's 94-4-4 record and four College Cups during their college careers. Both were first-team NSCAA All-Americans.

Garciamendez set a Stanford career record by starting 102 matches -- every match of her career -- and tied for third on the team in goals this past season with a career-high six.

Quon had two goals and seven assists this past season and added a dimension to the Stanford attack with her forays into the opponents' defense.

Liedle was immediately placed into the starting lineup and had two assists in her first collegiate match, a 6-0 win over Santa Clara.

Also, Cal forward Ifeoma Onumonu was selected to the All-Freshman first team.

  • Vincent Johnson, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound offensive lineman from Christian Brothers High-Sacramento,
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    decommitted from Iowa State and said he'll sign next month with Cal, the Sacramento Bee reported. Cal currently has 21 oral commitments, plus two signed junior college players. Signing day for everyone else is Feb. 6.

  • Mike MacDonald, whose 67 international appearances are a U.S. record, will be an assistant coach for the Cal rugby team during the spring season. He was a professional most recently with Leeds Carnegie in the English Premiership after an All-America career at Cal from 2000-04.

  • For the third time this season and the second week in a row, Amy Kilby of San Jose State is the Western Athletic Conference diver of the week. A senior, Kilby had two top-10 finishes in the Jan. 11-13 Bruin Invitational at UCLA.

    MLS

    The Earthquakes hold one first-round pick (No. 15 overall) and two second-rounders (Nos. 33 and 34) in Thursday's MLS SuperDraft in Indianapolis.

    Surfing

    The Mavericks Invitational, dormant the past two winters in Half Moon Bay, received the green light and will kick off at 8 a.m. Sunday with a field of 24 surfers. Unlike previous years, there will be no beach access. For more about this unique event, go to the Local News section.

    Pro basketball

    Ex-Saint Mary's star Louella Tomlinson is averaging 16.6 points, 12.4 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game for Napoli S. Dike (10-4) in the women's Italy A2 League.

    Horse racing

    Golden Gate Fields will present five straight days of racing starting Thursday and continuing through Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. First post each day is 12:45 p.m.

    Staff writer Mark Conley contributed to this report.