text: Dallas Mavericks' Nowitzki and Oregon Sprinter Gardner Named May Athletes of the Month – United States Sports Academy
  US Sports Academy2011-06-14T00:00:00-05:00June 14th, 2011|Comments Off on Dallas Mavericks' Nowitzki and Oregon Sprinter Gardner Named May Athletes of the Month
  Dallas Maverick Forward Dirk Nowitzki, who led his team in the NBA playoffs, and Oregon sprinter English Gardner, who set a U.S. junior record in the 100 meters, have earned the United States Sports Academy's Male and Female May Athlete of the Month Awards.
  Nowitzki, who team ended up winning the NBA Championship, led his team in May to the finals with his hot shooting to win the Academy's Male Athlete of the Month award. The 7-foot German averaged 28.4 points per game in the playoffs up until the finals against the Miami Heat and had two 40-point games. He set a playoff record by hitting 24 free throws without a miss in a game and it was also the most FT's made in a playoff game. He is one of four players in NBA history with career postseason averages better than 25 points and 10 rebounds.
  Meanwhile, Gardner, a University of Oregon freshman, captured the women's 100 meter title and set a U.S. Junior record at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships. Gardner's record winning time was 11.03 seconds. The New Jersey native's mark was fast enough to equal the third fastest junior women's performance ever in the world, and Gardner now owns the Pac-10 meet record, previously held by Olympic champion Gail Devers.
  The public is invited to participate in the worldwide Athlete of the Month nomination and ballot voting processes. Visit the Academy website to submit your nomination each month, and return to the website between the first and second Tuesday of each month to vote on the Athlete of the Month. The votes along with the Academy's selection committee choose the winners and they are announced on the Academy's website and in the online edition of the The Sport Update.
  Finishing second in the male athlete category was Novak Djokovic. The No. 2-ranked men's tennis player had 42 consecutive wins to begin 2011, tying John McEnroe's best start to a year. He extended his perfect streak in May by winning the Madrid Open, Italian Open and advancing to the semifinals of the French Open.
  Chelsea Thomas was runner up to Gardner in the Female May Athlete of the Month voting. Thomas, a Missouri sophomore softball pitcher, was a finalist for the National Collegiate Player of the Year Award and led her team to its third straight Women's College World Series. During the playoffs, the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year improved her record to 31-6, throwing her fourth no-hitter of the season and eighth of her career.
  Third place winners were Derrick Rose, a Chicago Bulls guard and Louisiana State University golfer Austin Ernst. The 22-year-old Rose became the NBA's youngest MVP, averaging 25 ponts and 7.7 assists. Ernst became the first freshman to win the NCAA women's golf title since Southern California's Jennifer Rosales did so in 1998, winning at the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas.