POSTED: Wednesday July 15th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

USA Water Polo's Lauren Wenger, Paralympic archer Jeff Fabry and the USA Women's Senior National Water Polo Team honored by the USOC for Outstanding Performances in June

Water Polo and Archery are highlighted

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The U.S. Olympic Committee announced water polo player Lauren Wenger and Paralympic archer Jeff Fabry as its June Athletes of the Month, while the USA Women’s Senior National Water Polo Team was awarded Team of the Month honors.

Wenger (Long Beach, Calif.) led the U.S. Women’s Senior National Team to gold at the 2009 FINA World League Super Final in Kirishi, Russia. As the team’s utility player, Wenger led Team USA with 12 goals over the six games including two in the title-game win over Canada. The win marked four World League crowns in six tries for Team USA.  Wenger also finished third in last month’s Athlete of the Month ballot.

Fabry (Tulare, Calif.) traveled to the European Grand Prix with the Paralympic Archery Team in June. He dominated in his event, placing first in the qualification round and setting a new world record. He also received the gold medal in the head to head competition, setting another world record.

The USA Women’s Senior National Water Polo Team defeated Italy, China, Greece, Australia and Canada to win the 2009 FINA World League Super Final in Kirishi, Russia. The win marks the fourth World League title for the women in six tries.

Dawn Harper  (Los Angeles, Calif.), the reigning Olympic gold medalist, finished second in the Female Athlete of the Month voting.  Harper captured her first-ever USA Outdoor national title with her win in the Nike Women’s 100m hurdles in 12.36 seconds on June 28 at the 2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. A tailwind of 2.2 meters per second at her back helped Harper post the fourth-fastest time ever by an American under any conditions. Harper’s performance gave her 1,220 points and the women’s USA Track & Field Outdoor Visa Championship Series title, as she barely edged out 2009 USA Outdoor 100m champion Carmelita Jeter, who finished second with 1,216 points.

Seventeen-year-old Melanie Oudin (Marietta, Ga.), one of the United States’ top up-and-coming players, had her career-best results this month after an impressive run at Wimbledon to earn third place honors in the Female Athlete of the Month vote.  After winning three qualifying matches, Oudin reached the fourth round of women’s singles at Wimbledon, defeating No. 29 seed Sybille Banner in the first round and No. 6 seed and former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic in the third round in one of the biggest upsets in the tournament. As the biggest result of her young career, Oudin, currently ranked No. 124, is expected to break into the Top 100 on the WTA Tour for the first time in her young career.

Coming in second for the Male Athlete of the Month honors was tri-captain of the 2009 USA Basketball Men’s U16 National Team James McAdoo (Norfolk, Va.) who led the U.S. to a perfect 5-0 record and the gold medal at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Mendoza, Argentina, to qualify the U.S. for next summer’s FIBA U17 World Championship. In playing five games in five days, June 17-21, he averaged a USA second-best 16.8 ppg., while adding team-highs of 8.6 rpg. and 2.0 bpg. Among all competitors in the six-team tournament, he ranked No. 9 for scoring, No. 5 for rebounding, No. 3 for field goal percentage (60.0%) and No. 3 for blocked shots. In earning the gold, the USA outscored opponents +33.8 ppg. and also owned a +20.0 rebound margin per game.

In third on the men’s side was Dwight Phillips (Atlanta, Ga.) who won his fifth U.S. men’s long jump title on June 27 with a leap of 8.57m/28-1.50 (+2.2 mps). And on June 28, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Outdoor champion was declared the winner of the men’s Visa Championship Series and received a bonus from Visa worth $25,000. Phillips’ VCS winning performance came via his monster effort at the 2009 Nike Prefontaine Classic on June 7, when he easily won the men’s long jump at 8.74 meters/28 feet 8.25 inches. That effort tied him with Larry Myricks and Erick Walder for the eighth-best outdoor mark in history. The trio is also tied as the No. 5 performers all-time. It was also the longest jump in the world since National Track & Field Hall of Famer Mike Powell set the world record in 1991.

Finishing second for June Team of the Month was Devin Britton and Jordan Cox, who are two of the most promising American junior tennis players.  The duo went undefeated in doubles in June, winning their first junior doubles title together at the AEGON International Junior ITF Tennis Championships in Roehampton, England, on June 26 and winning their first round match of the junior Wimbledon Championships. Britton and Cox went 5-0 in Roehampton without dropping a set and defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Stanislav Poplavskyy of France 6-3, 6-2 in the final.

Another incredibly impressive performance by the U.S. Show Jumping riders meant another win at CSIO St Gallen, June 4-7, as a third-place finish for June Team of the Month. The team of Christine McCrea, Ashlee Bond, Laura Kraut and Richard Spooner secured their dominance at the top of the most prestigious jumping League standings - one point clear of the Swiss.   Spooner jumped off in fantastic style for the win - and his team’s faith in him was rewarded as he was nearly 13 seconds faster than the second place finisher.

Results:

Women

1. Lauren Wenger, Water Polo

2. Dawn Harper, Track & Field

3. Lauren Wenger, Water Polo

Men

1. Jeff Fabry, Paralympic Archery

2. James McAdoo, Basketball

3. Dwight Phillips, Track & Field

Team

1. Women’s Senior National Team, Water Polo

2. Devin/Britton/Jordan Cox, Tennis

3. U.S. Show Jumping Team, Equestrian

For more information, please contact the USOC Communications Division at (719) 866-4529.

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Keywords · USOC · Lauren Wenger · Jeff Fabry · USA Women's Senior National Water Polo Team

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