NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt sophomore defender Melissa Hawkins earned this week’s American Athletic Conference Defender of the Week honor, it was announced on Tuesday.
Hawkins has spearheaded the Commodore defense, which allowed its lowest (17-3) and third-lowest (19-7) goal totals in games this past week.
Hawkins tied a career-high this week with four caused turnovers in the Commodores’ win over New Hampshire. She added three more caused turnovers in the dominant win over Winthrop for a total of seven caused turnovers last week.
She also collected a team-high seven ground balls throughout the entire week.
Vanderbilt’s defense has caused 14.00 turnovers/game, third-most in the country, while Hawkins is 10th in the country with 2.38 caused turnovers/game.
Gabby Fornia likewise earned herself a spot on the AAC Honor Roll this week after totaling 11 points in two games. In the victory over Winthrop, she had a career-high six assists along with one goal for a career-high seven points.
She added another multi-assist game with three against New Hampshire to give her a team-high five multi-assist games on the season.
Fornia finds herself ninth in the country in assists/game (2.50) to lead Vanderbilt in fourth in the nation in assists/game (9.13). She is also 11th overall in the nation in assists with 20.
Vanderbilt will look to build upon its historic start to 2019 on the road Wednesday at No. 12 Notre Dame. Wednesday’s tilt is set for 4 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra.
