AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - The weekly awards continue to roll in for Auburn athletes as senior volleyball player Bella Rosenthall was named Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the week and freshman soccer player Carly Thatcher was named Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week honorable mention.
Bella Rosenthall
Rosenthall's award comes after she led the Tigers to wins over North Alabama and Santa Clara. With these two wins, Auburn improves to 6-0, the best start since 2012.
Rosenthall totaled a season-high 25 digs in her match against the UNA Lions, the last time a Tiger recorded over 20 digs in a match was in 2019 when Rosenthall totaled a career-high 26.
In her match versus Santa Clara, she totaled 20 digs and solidified herself as the only Tiger to have at least 10 digs in each of the first six matches.
Rosenthall leads the SEC in digs and ranks 13th nationally with an average of 5.45 digs a set. Her total of 109 digs this season places her at 4th in the league.
The recognition is the first for Rosenthall and she is the first Tiger to be named SEC Defensive Player of the Week since Jesse Earl was recognized in 2017.
Rosenthall and the undefeated Tigers are back in action this weekend hosting their final nonconference tournament of the regular season. Auburn will face off against Florida A&M on Friday at 12:30 p.m. CT before returning to the court against Nicholls State at 8 p.m. CT. Friday's nightcap will be available on SEC Network+.
Carly Thatcher
Thatcher's latest award comes after she was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday. Thatcher is the fourth tiger to be named Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week honorable mention this season.
Thatcher recorded the 14th hat trick in program history against Alabama A&M in a match in which she saw a career-high in minutes with 27. Her hat trick was the first by an SEC freshman and 3rd by a freshman nationally.
Thatcher's first goal in an Auburn uniform came in the 33rd minute, when she fired with the right foot just inside the post. She didn’t have to wait long for her next as thirty seconds later, she hit a one-timer with the left foot. This was the fastest an Auburn player has scored two goals since Tammy Waine scored a pair of goals 15 seconds apart in 2000. Thatcher finished her hat trick with a goal in the 64th minute.
Thatcher played a new career-high 34 minutes against the No. 1 Florida State Seminoles.
Thatcher and the Tigers (6-1-0) begin SEC play against Georgia (7-1-0) Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
