Oct. 13, 2008

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina freshman midfielder Kayla Grimsley has been named the SEC Freshman of the Week for her performances in Carolina’s 2-0 SEC weekend, the conference office announced Monday.

Grimsley began her weekend with a goal just 2:18 into the match against Mississippi State Friday for the sixth fastest goal in program history. She followed that up with an assist on Carolina’s second goal against Ole Miss to push her season total to 20 points (eight goals and four assists) which is the second-most ever scored by a Gamecock freshman. She becomes only the seventh player in program history to register a 20-point season with five regular season games remaining.

Her assist against Ole Miss marked her sixth consecutive game with a point, tying the South Carolina record set in 1998. The six match scoring streak began at the start of SEC play as Grimsley has scored four goals and three assists for 11 points during the span.

The conference award is the second this season for Grimsley after also being named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week in the fourth week of the season. She is the second Gamecock this season to earn the freshman honor; Natalie Aaron picked up the award following the SEC opener.

Grimsley has also been named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week twice the season, grabbing the distinction last week and in the fourth week of the season.

South Carolina hits the road again this weekend as it travels to the state of Alabama to take on two SEC Western division opponents. The Gamecocks take on Alabama (8-5-1; 3-3-0 SEC) Friday at 8 p.m. ET before traveling to play Auburn (7-6-2; 3-2-1 SEC) Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Gamecocks went 2-0 against the two teams last season at Stone Stadium.