COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Stanford picks Tech

BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech added to its 2012 recruiting class Sunday with a commitment from Lithonia, Ga., wide receiver Joshua Stanford.

The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Stanford began getting attention late in the recruiting process after catching 56 passes for 1,018 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior at Martin Luther King High outside of Atlanta.

He visited Middle Tennessee two weeks ago and Arkansas State last week before coming to Blacksburg and committing this weekend.

Stanford is a three-star recruit by Rivals and a two-star by Scout, which ranks him as the No. 193 receiver nationally. Virginia Tech had a spot for a wide receiver after Robert Lockhart of Boca Raton, Fla., changed his commitment to Miami earlier this month.

The Hokies have 27 commitments for 2012 (two are already enrolled). Stanford is the third wide receiver in the class, joining Mark Irick (St. Matthews, S.C) and Thomas Smith (Williamsburg).

Also, punter A.J. Hughes from Terre Haute, Ind., will come to Virginia Tech as a preferred walk-on, according to Rivals.

Hughes is the No. 11-ranked punter nationally by kohlskicking.com, which specializes in rankings for kickers, punters and long snappers.

National Signing Day is Feb. 1.

- Andy Bitter

Walker commits to UVa

Divante Walker, an All-Tidewater running back from Salem High School in Virginia Beach, has committed to Virginia.

Walker, a 5-foot-11 175-pounder, is projected as a cornerback by the Cavaliers.

As a senior, he had 149 rushing attempts for 1,688 yards and also scored 24 touchdowns. He rushed for 175 yards or more in four games.

Walker had offers from a trio of Football Championship Subdivision playoff teams - James Madison, Norfolk State and Old Dominion, but his first official recruiting was to UVa this past weekend.

Walker is the 26th player to commit to the Cavaliers for 2012, counting quarterback Greyson Lambert, who enrolled earlier this week and technically can count toward UVa's scholarship quota for 2011.

Walker is one of 10 players from southeastern Virginia, also identified by its 757 area code, from whom UVa has received commitments.

- Doug Doughty

Wrestling

No. 23 Tech 29, UNC 12

BLACKSBURG - Zach Neibert pinned Evan Henderson in the 141-pound weight class as No. 23 Virginia Tech topped North Carolina 29 (2-11, 1-2 ACC).

Devin Carter (133) scored a technical fall and Pete Yates (165), Chris Penny (285) and Ty Mitch (125) scored major decisions for Tech (6-3, 4-1 ACC).

Citadel 36, VMI 6

CHARLESTON - Matthew Brock (174) extended his winning streak to nine, but the Keydets (4-7, 2-2 Southern Conference) fell to The Citadel (5-7, 1-1).

TENNIS

Radford 7, Milligan 0

MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. - With four freshmen in the starting lineup, the Radford women won five sets by shutout and didn't allow Milligan to win more than three games in any one set in their season opener.

No. 2 UVa men 8, USF 1

MIAMI - Virginia's men swept all four doubles matches and won seven of eight singles matches on a clay court against South Florida to open their season.

-- Virginia's women, ranked No. 9, opened their season with a 4-3 win over No. 21 Texas at Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

SOCCER

US Women in semis

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Abby Wambach scored twice in the first half to move into third on the career goals list for women's international soccer with 129, and the United States beat Guatemala 13-0 to clinch a berth in the semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the London Olympics.

Man City wins

LONDON - Manchester City scored a dramatic 3-2 victory over Tottenham, leaving Manchester United its only likely rival for the Premier League title.

Third-place Tottenham rallied from 2-0 down to tie the score. But Jermain Defoe missed an injury-time chance for Tottenham and Mario Balotelli won the game for City with a penalty kick he earned himself.

Fouled by Tottenham's Ledley King, the Italy striker took a step, paused and shot past U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel to give City its 11th win from 11 home games.

City is eight points ahead of Tottenham. Defending champion United is three behind in second place after a 2-1 win at Arsenal.

Messi scores 3

MADRID - Lionel Messi scored a rare header in his 15th career hat trick to lead Barcelona to a 4-1 win at Malaga. Real Madrid maintained its five-point lead at the Spanish league's halfway point by rallying for a 4-1 victory at home over Athletic Bilbao behind Cristiano Ronaldo's two second-half penalty kicks.

SPEED SKATING

Davis wins 2nd gold

KEARNS, Utah - Shani Davis won his second gold in as many days, claiming the 1,000-meter men's World Cup long track event.

The American finished in 1 minute, 7.69 seconds Sunday to edge Stefan Groothuis of The Netherlands (1:07.94).

The Dutch also finished 1-2 in the women's 1,000, with Laurine van Riessen edging teammate Marrit Leenstra.

Canada's Christine Nesbitt, who had won every 1,000, chose not to race with the World Sprint Championships in Calgary next weekend.