Auburn midfielder Katy Frierson was named the Southastern Conference's soccer Freshman of the Year on Tuesday. She also named first-team All-SEC.
Senior goalkeeper Allison Whitworth was recognized for her success on and off the field. She was named first-team All-SEC and the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Julie King was also named to the All-Freshman team.
Frierson, from Birmingham, leads Auburn in goals with nine and is third in assists with seven for a team-high 25 points. She was the offensive catalyst for a team that won a share of its sixth SEC West Divisoin championship. All nine of the goals were scored in conference play. In Auburn's seven conference wins, she scored the game-winning goal four times and assisted on the game-winner another time. She was the only freshman named first-team All-SEC.
"It took me a while to get used to playing with the team," Frierson said. "Tthat's a big thing, knowing what other people are doing and the runs they are going to make, so it took me a while to get adjusted in that respect. Once I did get more comfortable with the team both on and off the field it made a huge difference."
Auburn coach Karen Hoppa said she knew Fierson was vapable of doing special things.
"What Katy has done is remarkable. She is first or second in the league in every category and she has pointed in every conference win except for one. She has been great not just as a freshman but as one of the top players in the entire league," Hoppa said. "We knew Katy was going to be special. She is really talented. Once we hit conference, she was healthy and comfortable with the team and that allowed her to step up to the next level and show what she is capable of doing."
Whitworth, from Birmingham, has put together one of the better careers in Auburn history, capping it off with a spectacular senior season.
She has already established a school record for saves in a season with 116-and-counting and owns the school record for career saves with 340. Her seven shutouts this season gives her 21 for her career.
"After spending years watching Megan Rivera collect first-team and All-America awards, it is a great honor to be named to the first-team," Whitworth said. "It is also a great testament to our team and our defense. I have a solid and experienced line in front of me, and that makes it easier to make saves.
"Being named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year was really unexpected and I feel honored to have both sides of being a scholar-athlete recognized. Graduating early and working on grad school is a different dynamic and a different kind of work. It's a new experience, learning how to attack a different kind of school atmosphere while also playing and it has been rewarding."
Hoppa said hard work paid off for Whitworth.
"We are thrilled to see the conference recognize Whit this way," Hoppa said. "She works so hard in the classroom and on the field and you can see that on the field with her stats. What people don't see is what she has done in the classroom. She graduated early Summa Cum Laude and now she has a 4.0 working toward her Master's. She will finish her eligibility and her Master's at the same time, and that is really impressive."
WOMEN'S GOLF
Tigers finish sixth in match-play tourney
Taking on top-seeded UCLA, No. 12 Auburn settled for sixth place Tuesday at the Hooters collegiate Match Play Championship in Reunion, Fla., falling 4-1 to the Bruins in the fifth-place match.
Conducted by the National Golf Coaches Association, the Hooters
Collegiate Match Play Championship was a three-day tournament featuring 16 of the top college women's golf teams in a combination stroke play/match play format. Sunday's 36-hole qualifier seeded the teams for the match play portion, with the top eight teams going to the championship bracket and the bottom eight going to the consolation.
The tournament was played at the Ginn Reunion Resort, using nine holes
from the Independence Course and nine holes from the Legacy Course - the
same layout used for the LPGA's Ginn Open.
Taking on UCLA, which won the stroke play portion of the tournament to
earn the top seed in match play, Auburn fell behind early in three of
the matches.
“We played a very tough team today in UCLA and played them close,”
Auburn coach Kim Evans said. “They were able to make the shots at
the right times to win some holes, especially some late in the matches,
and that put us in a tough spot.”
Auburn’s lone win came from Junior Candace Schepperle, who went 2-0-1
in the match play portion of the tournament. Schepperle won two of the
first three holes of the match against stroke play medalist Stephanie
Kono, eventually taking a four-hole lead en route to the 3 and 2
victory.
