Thomas, Gannon Named Top U-M Athletes of 2000-01
7/11/2001 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey, Football, General
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan Athletic Department announced its 2000-01 Male and Female Athletes of the Year on Wednesday (July 11). Earning U-M Male Athlete of the Year honors was football tailback Anthony Thomas (Winnfield, La./Winnfield HS), Michigan's all-time leading rusher and scorer. Two-time field hockey first-team All-American Kelli Gannon (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual HS) was named the U-M Female Athlete of the Year.
Gannon
Thomas
Thomas garnered second-team All-America status in 2000, and received the Bo Schembechler Michigan Most Valuable Player award. Also a Doak Walker Award finalist as one of the nation's top running backs, he helped the Wolverines win their third Big Ten Conference title in four years, in a season that ended with a victory in the 2001 Florida Citrus Bowl. He became the first player in the history of the Citrus Bowl to twice be named Most Valuable Player.
Thomas' 1,733-yard senior season ranks as the second-best single-season rushing performance in school history. In his career, he set school rushing records with 4,472 yards on 924 carries and 55 touchdowns, and he caught 88 passes for 810 yards and a touchdown, the second-best reception total in school history for a running back and good for 15th among all players.
In his final Wolverine game, Thomas rushed for 182 yards on 32 carries and scored two touchdowns, putting himself eight touchdowns ahead of Tyrone Wheatley's 47 on Michigan's all-time list. A 2000 first-team All-Big Ten selection, Thomas graduated with a degree in sports management and communication from the Division of Kinesiology and is headed to the NFL as a second-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears.
An All-Big Ten Conference first team selection and the 2000 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Gannon became the first Wolverine to receive National Field Hockey Coaches Association first-team All-America honors two consecutive years, and she became the first Wolverine named to the West Region's first team three times.
A co-captain and Honda Broderick Award finalist, Gannon led the Wolverines with 45 points, which moved her into second place on Michigan's all-time points list with 126. Her 16 goals give her 49 for her career, also second all-time at Michigan. She helped lead the Wolverines to the 2000 NCAA Regional Championship final and the 2000 Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles.
Gannon was twice named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for her roles in wins over Iowa, Southwest Missouri State, Northwestern and Central Michigan. In the four games, she tallied six goals and two assists.
In January, Gannon made the U.S. National Team along with her sister and fellow Wolverine Kristi Gannon and former Michigan assistants Tracey Fuchs and Peggy Storrar. She helped lead the team to a second-place finish at the America's Cup in Jamaica in March, scoring three goals in the tournament. Gannon graduated from the Division of Kinesiology with a degree in physical education.
