University of Tennessee Athletics
Photo by: Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics
French Picks Up National, SEC Player of the Week Honors
November 10, 2020 | Soccer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tennessee senior defender Wrenne French has been named National Player of the Week by the United Soccer Coaches, the association announced on Tuesday. The center back from Franklin, Tennessee, scored the game-winning goal on her Senior Night to clinch an SEC East Division title as the Vols knocked off No. 9 South Carolina 1-0 last Friday.
This honor comes on top of SEC Defensive Player of the Week and TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week awards that French also received on Tuesday.
"Everyone is elated for Wrenne," head coach Brian Pensky said. "Last week was special. Senior night. Game-winning goal. Shutout. And an SEC East Championship. These honors are icing on the cake for a deserving kid!
"We talk about it all the time; it's about the players, and making plays. This may sound too simple, but it's true. The more often you have players making plays, the more often you win. And the more often you win, those players get honored. Wrenne did a lot of good things in the South Carolina win, but most importantly she made a play that won us the SEC East. That's a big deal."
French is the third player in Tennessee soccer history to earn Player of the Week honors from the national coaches' association, joining Alexis Owens and Hannah Wilkinson who were honored in 2011 and 2016, respectively.
French's heroic tally against the Gamecocks broke up a scoreless match in the 50th minute, as she used her head on the end of a corner kick from Claudia Dipasupil to give the Vols a 1-0 advantage that would prove insurmountable.
As the Vols' starting center back, French played all 90 minutes and helped UT secure its second shutout win over a top-10 opponent this season—snapping a six-game winning streak for South Carolina.
With the win, Tennessee earned its first SEC East Division championship since 2005, when the Lady Vols claimed the overall conference crown with a 10-1 record in league play. Friday's win was also UT's first over the Gamecocks since 2012 and the first victory against South Carolina at home since 2007.
Tennessee will conclude the fall season as the No. 2 seed at next week's SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Alabama. The Vols will open the conference showcase on Tuesday, November 17 in the quarterfinals, facing either No. 7 seed Vanderbilt or No. 10 seed Mississippi State at 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
This honor comes on top of SEC Defensive Player of the Week and TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week awards that French also received on Tuesday.
"Everyone is elated for Wrenne," head coach Brian Pensky said. "Last week was special. Senior night. Game-winning goal. Shutout. And an SEC East Championship. These honors are icing on the cake for a deserving kid!
"We talk about it all the time; it's about the players, and making plays. This may sound too simple, but it's true. The more often you have players making plays, the more often you win. And the more often you win, those players get honored. Wrenne did a lot of good things in the South Carolina win, but most importantly she made a play that won us the SEC East. That's a big deal."
French is the third player in Tennessee soccer history to earn Player of the Week honors from the national coaches' association, joining Alexis Owens and Hannah Wilkinson who were honored in 2011 and 2016, respectively.
French's heroic tally against the Gamecocks broke up a scoreless match in the 50th minute, as she used her head on the end of a corner kick from Claudia Dipasupil to give the Vols a 1-0 advantage that would prove insurmountable.
As the Vols' starting center back, French played all 90 minutes and helped UT secure its second shutout win over a top-10 opponent this season—snapping a six-game winning streak for South Carolina.
With the win, Tennessee earned its first SEC East Division championship since 2005, when the Lady Vols claimed the overall conference crown with a 10-1 record in league play. Friday's win was also UT's first over the Gamecocks since 2012 and the first victory against South Carolina at home since 2007.
Tennessee will conclude the fall season as the No. 2 seed at next week's SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Alabama. The Vols will open the conference showcase on Tuesday, November 17 in the quarterfinals, facing either No. 7 seed Vanderbilt or No. 10 seed Mississippi State at 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
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