Thomas Claims Third SEC Freshman of the Week Honor

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Tennessee forward Jaida Thomas has been named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week for the third time this season, the league office announced Monday afternoon. The striker from Irving, Texas, scored twice in the second half against Xavier on Sunday to help the Vols earn a 3-1 victory over the defending Big East Conference champions.

With today's honor, Thomas becomes the first player in program history be named SEC Freshman of the Week three times in the same season.

"Jaida continues to be an animal in front of goal," head coach Brian Pensky said. "Just an absolute handful. And as we just told our team, these individual awards are truly also team awards. If we don't defend our tails off yesterday and win that game, Jaida probably isn't winning this award. It's usually a combination of a special individual performance and a good collective team win, and that's what yesterday was."

Thomas' performance on Sunday was her third consecutive match scoring multiple goals, as she had a brace at App State on February 20 and a hat trick against Gardner-Webb on February 14. She is the first Lady Vol to log three-straight multi-goal outings since at least 2001.

With 10 goals during the 2020-21 campaign, Thomas is tied for the SEC lead and ranks No. 2 in the NCAA. Her 10 tallies this season are also the third-most by a Tennessee freshman in program history.

Today's honor marks the fourth SEC weekly award for Thomas this season. She was twice named SEC Freshman of the Week in the fall in addition to claiming the league's Offensive Player of the Week accolades on February 22.

The Vols return to action this weekend, hosting traditional ACC power Wake Forest on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Regal Soccer Stadium.

For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee soccer, follow @Vol_Soccer on Twitter and Instagram.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jaida Thomas

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