University of Tennessee Athletics
Four Vols Earn First Team All-Region Honors
November 30, 2021 | Soccer
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Seniors Mackenzie George and Wrenne French, redshirt-sophomore Jaida Thomas and freshman Taylor Huff were all named to the 2021 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I All-Southeast Region First Team as announced by the organization Monday afternoon. Â
It marks the second first-team accolade for Thomas and the first for French, Huff and George. George earned third-team honors following the 2020-21 season. Tennessee is the only school with four players to make the first team in the Southeast Region. The Vols have now had multiple players recognized as regional standouts for eight straight years.Â
As a fifth-year senior on Rocky Top, French anchored the UT back line that opened the season with seven straight shutouts to set a new single-season shutout record of 633:53 en route to a program-best 13 shutouts on the season. She was second on the team in minutes played with 1,862 on the year and scored two goals. In the SEC Championship match, she headed in the game-winner, earning SEC All-Tournament Team recognition. Â
George led the team in assists, dishing out 10 over the course of the season to land in a five-way tie for third in UT's single-season records. The First Team All-SEC forward started every game during the 2021 campaign and scored six goals, two of which were game-winners.
Just as she did during her breakout rookie campaign of 2020-21, Thomas led the team in goals, scoring 13 on the year while adding five assists. She was especially dominant in Tennessee's run to an SEC Tournament Championship, tallying five goals and an assist over three games to earn SEC All-Tournament Team honors.
Huff, the 2021 SEC Freshman of the Year, has played a pivotal role for the Vols in her first year at Tennessee, starting 22 of 23 games and finishing second on the team in goals scored with 10 while doling out five assists. Always cool under pressure, she scored nine of her 10 goals in the second half with four of those coming in the 85th minute or later, including a goal from 22 yards out to force the game into overtime against #11 Auburn and the game-winner in the 89th minute at #19 South Carolina.   Â
