Former University of Massachusetts goalie Jon Quick's stock continues to rise in the hockey world as he was invited to the United States Olympic orientation camp that is preparing for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The camp runs from Aug. 17 to 19 in Woodbridge, Ill.

There were 34 players invited to the camp. Quick is one of three goaltenders, along with Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins and Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres. At 23, Quick is the youngest of three.

However, this is not the final Olympic roster because other players could be added. Team USA carried three goalies for the 2006 Olympics.

Quick, who led the Minutemen to the Minutemen's only NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007, emerged as a solid NHL goalie last year with the Los Angeles Kings. After being recalled from Manchester in mid-December, he posted a 21-18 record with a 2.48 goals against average. The latter was third among rookie goalies.

UMass coach Toot Cahoon said he is pleased with his former goalie's success.

"He's been a great performer over the past year. He's grown into a mature player," said Cahoon, who uses Quick's post-college success as a recruiting tool. "It's always nice to have the affiliation. It certainly doesn't hurt us. As we go out trying to get a goaltender to replace (rising senior) Dan Meyers, Quick's success is certainly something we talk about."

Quick could not be reached for comment.

SUMMER HOOP LEAGUES - Former Minutemen Tony Gaffney and Gary Forbes are both on rosters for NBA summer leagues.

Forbes is playing for the joint Philadelphia 76ers/New Jersey Nets team in the Orlando summer league which starts Monday, while Gaffney is playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the Las Vegas league which begins July 10.

Gaffney was the 2008-09 Atlantic 10 defensive player of the year. Forbes, the 2007-08 Atlantic 10 player of the year, played in the NBA Development League last season and briefly in the Philippines.

STRONG START FOR CLEGG - Former UMass baseball player Mitchell Clegg's career is off to a good start.

The left-hander, a draft pick of the Washington Nationals, has made two appearances out of the bullpen for the Single A Vermont Lake Monsters. In five innings of work, Clegg has given up three hits and has not walked a batter while striking out three.

He earned the win in Vermont's victory over the Lowell Spinners on June 21.

FIELD HOCKEY NATIONAL CAMP - UMass sophomore goaltender Alesha Widdall and incoming freshmen midfielders Kate Heineman and Kim Young are among the 108 players invited by USA Field Hockey to its junior national team camp July 16 to 19 at Babson College.

The U.S. team will be selected after the camp and will train at Garber Field at UMass from July 20 to 23 before the Junior World Cup in Boston Aug. 3 to 16. That is a 16-team tournament for players age 21 and younger.

Widdall and UMass assistant coach Kelly Dostal recently were named to the U.S. National Developmental Team.

ARIKIAN HONORED - Ben Arikian, who will be a junior at UMass in the fall, was named to the Atlantic 10 preseason all-conference men's soccer team. Arikian led the Minutemen in points in 2008 and was named the A-10 midfielder of the year.

WOMEN'S SOCCER SEARCH - UMass athletic director John McCutcheon said he is pleased with the progress of the school's search for a new women's soccer coach to replace Jim Rudy, who retired in May.

"We're making progress. We're right on course and we're pretty excited about some of the applicants," said McCutcheon, who added that interviews are expected to begin shortly.

However, he would not reveal the names of any potential candidates.

MARCUM RETIRES AGAIN - Former UMass athletic director Bob Marcum, who became the athletic director at Marshall after a very brief retirement from UMass in 2002, is retiring again.

Marcum, 72, is an alumnus of Marshall, where he played football. He led Marshall for seven years after working at UMass for nine.

Former Minuteman director of compliance Jeff O'Malley, who was Marcum's chief of staff at Marshall, is a candidate to replace him.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to http://www.gazettenet.com/category/sports/umass-sports.