The Bellingham Slam basketball team has announced that forward Tyler Amaya has signed a contract to play overseas this winter.

Amaya, a alumni of Mount Vernon, will play with the Guangdong Southern Tigers, a first-division team in China. 

Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Amaya joined the Slam eight games into the 2008 season after playing with the Dusseldorf Magics in Germany last winter. Amaya’s impact with the Slam was felt immediately, as he scored 24 points in his first game and the team went on to win 14 of its next 16 games with him in the lineup.

Bellingham won the International Basketball League championship against the Elkhart Express on July 18. Amaya was named co-MVP of the championship game with 20 points and 13 rebounds, and finished the season with averages of 21.8 points and 10.2 rebounds.

Amaya played one season each at Gonzaga and Dixie State, before settling in at Western Washington, where he helped lead the Vikings to back-to-back NCAA-II West Regional Tournament appearances. Amaya averaged 14.8 points and 8.0 rebounds during his senior season at WWU.

Guangdong is considered one of China’s elite teams, having won the Chinese Basketball Association title four of the past five seasons.

Bootin’ for the Aggies

Sophomore striker Lauren Hansen, a 2006 graduate of Stanwood High School, continues to impress for the Utah State Aggies.

Hansen, whose photo graces the Aggies women’s soccer Web page, has put half her shots on goal, and nearly half of those have found the back of the net. This season, she’s taken 24 shots, 12 have been on goal and she’s scored four times with one assist.

The Aggies are 4-5-1 overall.

In their 2-1 win over the University of Texas El-Paso on Sept. 14, Hansen came off the bench to get the Aggies on the scoreboard in the first half and later added an assist as junior Erin Salmon scored the game-winning goal.

Amundson contributing

Megan Amundson has helped the Western Washington women’s volleyball team off to a good start.

The college sophomore, a graduate of Stanwood, averages a team-best 4.17 kills per game for the Vikings.

At the Minnesota Duluth Bulldog Classic, she had 86 kills and a .277 attack percentage in earning all-tournament recognition. She was named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Volleyball co-Athlete of the Week for her efforts.

Western is unbeaten in 11 matches this season, the best start in school history.

Against Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Amundson had 23 kills and 18 digs in a five-game match.

The Vikings are ranked No.5 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll.

Larsen sinks big goal

Concordia University (Ore.) defender Jon Larsen earned Cascade Collegiate Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 8.

Yes, “offensive.”

Larsen, a graduate of Sedro-Woolley, had three of Concordia’s eight shots in a 1-1 tie with No. 1-ranked Azusa Pacific. Larsen scored Concordia’s goal in the 68th minute against the defending national champions.

The goal has been Larsen’s only this season. He has played in all 10 of the Cavaliers’ matches.

The Alumni Update is designed to follow area athletes who have gone on to compete at the collegiate and professional levels. If you know of an athlete who should be featured, please call 360-416-2133 or send an e-mail to