After finishing up a very successful playing career last fall, which included her being named Second Team All-SEC in both 2009 and 2010, Sammy Towne returns to Karen Hoppa[apos]s program for the 2011 season as a volunteer assistant coach.

A four-year starter on the backline, Towne played in 84 matches, tied for the second-most in school history, with 79 starts, which is 10th all-time at Auburn. A team captain and the team Defensive MVP as a junior and again as a senior, she won the Barbara Camp Unsung Hero Award as a sophomore, which goes to the player who consistently makes a difference on the field, but rarely gets the recognition she deserves. At the conclusion of the 2010-11 academic year, she was awarded the Female Inspirational Athlete of the Year awarded as she overcame a collapsed lung twice, including surgery after the second episode, prior to her senior year. She returned to the pitch, playing in 20 games in 2010, while helping the Tigers to a NCAA postseason appearance.

Towne will assist Hoppa and the rest of the coaching and support staff in both on-field training and off-the-field office duties while she completes her undergraduate degree.