SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Western Carolina's Samantha Hodge has been named the Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week for October 5, the league office announced today.

Hodge was involved in all three goals the Catamounts scored over the weekend against Wofford and Furman, improving Western Carolina's record to 8-3-1 (3-1). She played a role in the game-tying and game-winning goals of both games.

As the vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the redshirt junior spearheaded the Pink Game initiatives for soccer and football last weekend. Hodge was responsible for coordinating the events, t-shirt sales and other activities around the events. The Catamounts' 2011 Pink games raised over $4,000 for Breast Cancer Awareness.

The Louisville, Ky. native maintains a 3.960 GPA in Math.

Other nominees included Appalachian State volleyball player Maggie Seeds, College of Charleston runner Dena O'Brien, The Citadel football player Davis Boyle, Davidson runner Ryan Hopkins, Elon volleyball player Ali Deatsch, Georgia Southern runner Sara Curry, and UNCG soccer player Peyton Ford.

Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week
Sept. 7: Demetrios Pagonis, Cross Country, Davidson
Sept. 14: Chris Berry, Cross Country, Chattanooga
Sept. 21: Ashley Schnell, Cross Country, UNCG
Sept. 28: Jessica Smith, Women's Soccer, Furman
Oct. 5: Samantha Hodge, Women's Soccer, Western Carolina