Commodore Nation - Nov. 2008

FLYING HIGH C O M M O D O R E S S OAR O UT O F TH E GATE November 2008

table of contents 2 Connecting With The Web 4 National Commodore Club 6 In My Words Sean Walker

7 Commodores Cubed Know your Commodores

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8 Point of View Nick Cromydas

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9 GameDay Visits Vanderbilt Event draws rave reviews

11 Youth Will Be Served In ‘09 2008-09 men’s basketball preview

13 It’s My Turn — Rod Williamson The Vanderbilt Way

14 Experienced Squad Returns 2008-09 women’s basketball preview

16 Vanderbilt’s Triple Threat Triathlete Matt Long

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19 Vanderbilt’s Top FB Wins: 6-10 View the top wins of the modern era

20 Quick Hits A look at Vanderbilt’s sports teams

21 The Month Ahead A look at VU’s upcoming sporting events

23 Raising Expectations Highly-touted MBB freshman class arrives

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C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N

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Connect with

VUCOMMODORES.COM Editorial Publisher: Vanderbilt University Editor-in-Chief: Ryan Schulz Director of External Relations: Rod Williamson Designers: Jeremy Teaford Ryan Schulz

Digital Image Specialist: Julie Luckett Turner Photographers: Neil Brake

It’s Good To Be Gold

Photo Galleries

Daniel Dubois

Get to know the student-athletes off the field by visiting Vanderbilt’s newest addition online — www.itsgoodtobegold.com. The site features videos of student-athletes talking about anything from their families to the number they wear.

Take a look at the memorable pictures from Vanderbilt’s sporting events by visiting the photo gallery archive. Galleries from every sport are on VUCommodores.com.

Steve Green Mason Hensley Stan Jones Paul J. Levy John Russell

Contributors: Andy Boggs Nick Cromydas John Erck Larry Leathers Thomas Samuel Chris Weinman

Administrative Chancellor: Nicholas S. Zeppos Vice Chancellor for University Affairs: David Williams II Interim Vice Chancellor

for Public Affairs: Beth Fortune

Football Gameday Central

Commodore Nation All-Access

Get all of the information you will need heading into every Vanderbilt football game this season. From driving directions to daily news articles and videos, Gameday Central has you covered.

You ticket to free multimedia content online is Commodore Nation All-Access. The page includes live audio, live video, postgame highlights and interviews. Commodore Nation All-Access also is now available for Macintosh users.

Vanderbilt University’s Mission, Goals and Values Vanderbilt University is a center for scholarly research, informed and creative teaching, and service to the community and society at large. Vanderbilt will uphold the highest standards and be a leader in the quest for new knowledge through scholarship, dissemination of knowledge through teaching and outreach, and creative experimentation of ideas and concepts. In pursuit of these goals, Vanderbilt values most highly intellectual freedom that supports open inquiry; and equality, compassion and excellence in all endeavors.

Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action university.

ON THE COVER: Tight end Brandon Barden (Photo by John Russell) POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to National Commodore Club, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212.

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Podcasts

Vanderbilt Merchandise

Download archived audio files to your computer or media device.

Audio files available for download include postgame interviews, weekly news conferences, Joe Fisher’s daily updates and weekly radio interviews.

The latest Vanderbilt merchandise is available for purchase at Vanderbilt’s official online store. The store features more than 100 items ranging from T-shirts to autographed basketballs to ties.

NOVEMBER 2008

SUBSCRIPTION: To subscribe to Commodore Nation, please contact the National Commodore Club at 615/322-4114.

ADVERTISEMENT: To advertise with Commodore Nation, please contact Vanderbilt ISP Sports.

Jeff Miller, General Manager 615/322-4468 jmiller@ispsports.com

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C O M M O D O R E C LU B

CORNE R

PHONE: 615/322-4114 vucommodores.com

SEPT. 13 RICE GAME The 2020 Society had its annual tailgate for more than 200 young alums and Commodore Club members before the Rice game.

Gillian Spatz, Jessie Foster, Angela Shears and Amy Lynn

Jeff Moats, Ashley Thomas and Jared Smith

Ed and Ashley Stringfellow with their daughter, Anna Claire

Kevin and Shellye Geshke with their son, Graham

JOIN THE NCC OR RENEW TODAY! You recently should have received your membership renewal for the National Commodore Club. Please mail it in, call 615/3224114, click vucommodores.com or stop by the office in the McGugin Center to make your gift. Every gift is allocated toward the goal of funding student-athlete scholarships. This year’s membership deadline is May 30 (Vanderbilt’s fiscal year ends June 30).

Thank you for your continued support of Vanderbilt Athletics. Your Membership Matters!

Jesse Parkison and Evan Graybill are VU grads from Houston who thought the VU game was a good place to escape Hurricane Ike.

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NOVEMBER 2008

HALL OF FAME CEREMONY Vanderbilt inducted its inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame class on Friday, Sept. 12. About 500 donors, sponsors and fans attended the dinner that honored 12 great Vanderbilt student-athletes, administrators and supporters.

John Rich and John Hall, two of the greatest supporters of Vanderbilt athletics, are inducted into the inaugural Hall of Fame class.

Winston and Priscilla Caine

Alicia and Alex Hollis, Joe Barrett, Harold Sutton, women’s basketball coach Melanie Balcomb and Joe and Anne Maddux

John Hall receives his award from Vice Chancellor David Williams II.

ATHLETICS RENOVATIONS The basketball floor and its underneath suspension system has been completely re-done thanks to a gift from Joe Barrett. Contributions such as this are vital to Vanderbilt’s ongoing renovation projects.

Stuart and Shirley Speyer

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In My Words

Sean

DANIEL DUBOIS

Walker

ook at the top teams across the country and you will notice one common quality among all of them: speed. The top teams have running backs that can change direction in the blink of an eye and wide receivers that run like cheetahs. It wasn’t many years ago that Vanderbilt’s players were often described as too slow or too small. Over time, the Commodores have distanced themselves from that label by targeting speed during the recruiting process. No player better represents that emphasis on speed than senior wide receiver Sean Walker. Regarded as one of the fastest players in the SEC, Walker has opened up Vanderbilt’s offense with his ability to stretch the field. A native of Wrens, Ga., Walker will graduate in May with degrees in human and organizational development and elementary education.

L

On how he developed his speed I think a little bit of it is natural because my dad was pretty fast and my brothers are pretty fast.

The other part has just come from training.

When I was younger, I used to pull a sled and run sprints all the time. Every time I’d run, I’d run fast, I never jogged.

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NOVEMBER 2008

On how he improves his speed In the offseason, I continue to do sprints and am continually working on my starting speed, technique and form. I also target my upper body by lifting weights.

On running track I ran track in high school, but I wasn’t too big on it. I was always more interested in football.

I liked carrying the ball and using my game speed more than my track speed.

On his high school track career I ran the 100 meters and 200 meters, but I was better at the triple jump and long jump.

I ran 10.6 in the 100 and 21.9 in the 200, and jumped 45’ in the triple jump. I never went to state, though, because I was always hurt.

On how his speed benefits him most on the field It allows me to spread the field and become a bigger threat. When you have more speed, defensive backs actually give you more respect such as pressing and releasing or playing off you further because they know you can beat them deep. It gives me a big advantage.

On his 40 time I’m around a 4.3.

Commodores Cubed

On the fastest players on the team, besides himself We have a lot of fast guys, but I’d say the fastest are Alan Strong and Jared Fagan.

Jamie Graham is right there, as well.

On having the reputation of being one of the fastest players in the SEC It feels good. It is good to know that people actually notice my speed and that it’s not going unnoticed. It feels good that DBs have to respect me and that I get respect around the league.

On defenses covering him differently because of his speed I notice some people have been covering me a little bit differently from years past, but when you go up against SEC teams, they get up in your face regardless of who you are. I just have to make sure that I do beat them when they get up in my face, so they know that I will beat them or I have the potential to beat them. I do feel like some of the teams we’ve played have played me a little farther off than I’ve been played in the past.

On his personal Web site, SeanDWalker.com My brother, Christopher Walker, designed it. He is really big into technology and he wanted to get my name out there more, so he created it and put my highlights on YouTube. My family is really proud of me, so they want to get it out there and let everyone know.

On his family I’m the youngest of six kids in my family, but I like being the youngest. My family is real supportive of me. They come to every game. They’ve done a whole lot for me.

On his career aspirations I’d like to go to graduate school in sports medicine.

On his musical talent I’m a very musical person. I play the piano, guitar and drums. I got into the piano in high school, and I just got into playing the guitar this year. I’ve been playing the drums since sixth grade. I like to play now because it provides me with an outlet from football.

On where his interest in music began I just wanted to pick up music because I liked the way it sounded. I was in the band and played the drums all the way through middle school and high school. I taught myself how to play the piano and guitar. ■

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greg BILLINGER

brian HARRIS

kaitlin REYNOLDS

rachel WOOLFORD

Football

Baseball

Bowling

Lacrosse

Sweet potatoes

Mashed potatoes

Pumpkin pie

Favorite Mac ’n’ cheese food at Thanksgiving

Most famous person I’ve ever met

Dominique Wilkins

Vince Young

President George W. Bush

Mike Krzyzewski

An event in history I would have liked to have witnessed

Michael Jordan’s shot to beat Utah in the 1998 NBA Finals

The birth of Christ

I would like to have seen the Beatles live in concert

Woodstock

Favorite class at Vanderbilt

Greek Civilization

Men and Women in American Society

Poetry Workshop

Prison Life

The Office

TV show I rarely miss

Heroes

Lost

I watch SportsCenter on days I have time to.

I never leave home without ____________

My Commodore Card

A hat

My cell phone

My iPod

One thing I want to accomplish outside of athletics

Be a good Christian

Write a book

A family and successful career

Traveling around the world

My secondbest sport is

Basketball — I played center in high school

Golf

Basketball

Basketball

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Point of View

Reality Check Without A Racket

By Nick Cromydas Editor’s Note: Each month “Commodore Nation” will ask a varsity athlete to sound off on a point of personal interest.

Cromydas, a senior on the tennis team, spent a portion of this past summer studying abroad in Europe.

ince the reorganization of the athletic department in 2003, the administration has encouraged studentathletes to consider studying abroad when possible.

I can’t imagine too many athletic departments offering full financial support for their students to take a brief hiatus from their sport to take classes in a different country. In fact, with today’s cutthroat culture surrounding collegiate athletics, I would be surprised to find any others.

With that said, I was fortunate enough to seize one of these opportunities and receive full financial support to experience academia in a different culture. It didn’t take very long for me to realize that I wanted to spend my fi rst European experience in Barcelona, Spain.

My abroad trip to Barcelona would be the fi rst time since seventh grade that I would voluntarily decide to take more than a month off from practicing or competing. At fi rst, I was a little apprehensive about my decision to let my rackets collect dust. I thought that my absence from the game would put me at a disadvantage against the competition. I convinced myself that my opposition undoubtedly would spend their summer battling in a variety of different tournaments or practicing to sharpen their skill set. This idea worried me. I was approaching my senior year and had large shoes to fill as the team’s lone fourth-year player.

The next four weeks went by quicker than any other I have ever experienced. It would be accurate to say that I did not spend a single moment, while I was abroad, thinking of tennis.

Having an interest in business, primarily the advertising and marketing sector, I elected to take a course in international marketing. It was fascinating learning about the many cultural differences between the United States and Spain, and how they are applied in business’s all throughout the world.

Since class only met from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., it allowed my classmates and me plenty of time to discover the city. Whether it was spending a Saturday afternoon at the Barcenoleta beach, climbing to the highest point of Gaudi’s Parc de Guell or exploring the architectural wonders of the historic gothic area, each of my moments in Barcelona was spent embracing something new and completely foreign.

Four weeks later I returned back to my hometown of Chicago. I went up to my room, picked up my rackets and found they were the same. The next day I went out and practiced, and to my surprise, I played great. As student-athletes, all of us need to realize there is a world outside of our sports, and sometimes all it takes is for us to walk away for a while to appreciate how privileged we are to throw on some black and gold, and represent our school in competition.

Fight Dores! ■

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NOVEMBER 2008

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ESPN GameDay Visits Vanderbilt

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f you had asked any Vanderbilt fan before the season if it was more likely that ESPN College GameDay would come to Vanderbilt’s campus or they would win the lottery, they probably would have said the ladder.

After all, Vanderbilt hasn’t been to a bowl game since 1982 and entered 2008 having lost six players to the NFL, including the SEC’s all-time leading receiver.

Because of Vanderbilt’s history and expectations heading into the season, the thought of college football’s top-rated show originating live from Vanderbilt in 2008 wasn’t even a blip on the radar before the season began.

“I’ll just be real candid with you, there are certain schools that because of their past — not that you have anything against them — you just don’t really think about them as far as a potential site,” said Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN College GameDay. However, couple an undefeated start by the Commodores with a few key losses by teams on Sept. 27, and suddenly Vanderbilt’s game with Auburn became the marquee matchup on Oct. 4.

Vanderbilt athletic officials were first notified of GameDay’s selection the morning of Sept. 28. After Vanderbilt’s selection, ESPN officials arrived in Nashville to tour campus and select a location for the set. After visiting 12 locations on campus, officials selected The Commons, a new state-of-the-art living and learning facility that houses all of VU’s first-year students. The selection was just the latest of ESPN’s recent trend of selecting locations that showcase a school’s campus.

For a school renowned for its academic reputation, Herbstreit believes the location couldn’t have been more fitting.

“To me, when I think about Vanderbilt, this is what I think of,” the former Ohio State quarterback said. “It’s a great location.

We were just saying earlier, it is a chance for the nation to see more than Vanderbilt basketball, baseball and all the other great sports they have. It’s really an infomercial for a couple of hours to let America know that this team is doing a great job.”

On top of seeing the picturesque Vanderbilt campus, the nation also had a chance to see the excitement of Vanderbilt’s fans … excitement that has certainly been built up over years of frustration.

As a result, the enthusiasm was on full display on Friday for the show’s first taping. So much so that, Lee Corso called the crowd the best he’s ever seen on a Friday.

“It was a wonderful scene,” Corso said. “In fact, it was probably the best Friday crowd we’ve ever had anywhere in the country in 15 years. They deserve it. It shows that the enthusiasm is here.” ■

By The

NUMBERS 1943

The last year Vanderbilt’s football team started 5-0 before this season.

1

Vanderbilt had the highest football Graduation Success Rate (91 percent) among all the schools ranked in the AP Top 25 for the week of Oct. 12.

1

Vanderbilt is the only school in the SEC that has had its baseball, men’s and women’s basketball and football teams ranked in the top 25 in the last 12 months.

13

The rank of Vanderbilt’s football team in the Oct. 5 Associated Press Poll — the school’s highest ranking since 1956.

24

The number of seasons it had been since Vanderbilt’s football team was ranked — Sept. 30, 1984

COMPLIANCE

CORN E R Q:

Scout Team is a football student-athlete at Vanderbilt. Scout informed his position coach that he was going to quit the team for personal reasons. Since Scout voluntarily quit the team, his athletic scholarship may be reduced prior to the Financial Aid office providing him an opportunity for a hearing.

A: True B: False

A:

True (A). NCAA Bylaw 15.3.4.2 states that institutional financial aid based in any degree on athletics ability may be reduced or canceled during the period of the award if the recipient voluntarily (on his or her own initiative) withdraws from a sport at any time for personal reasons.

Compliance questions? Please contact: Candice Storey Director of Compliance 615/322-7992 candice.storey@vanderbilt.edu

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George Midgett Compliance Coordinator 615/322-2083 george.d.midgett@vanderbilt.edu

John Peach Compliance Coordinator 615/343-1060 john.w.peach@vanderbilt.edu

16,875

Applications received by undergraduate admissions this year, up from 12,911 applications received last year.

3

The number of interceptions recorded by Vanderbilt’s Ryan Hamilton in VU’s 23-17 win at Ole Miss. The three interceptions tied a school record.

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NOVEMBER 2008

Youth Will Be Served In ’09

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FRONTCOURT Complimenting Ogilvy in the paint will be sophomores Joe Duffy and Darshawn McClellan, redshirt freshman Festus Ezeli and true freshman Steve Tchiengang.

Ogilvy enters his sophomore season after one of the best freshman campaigns in school history. Last year may have been just the tip of the iceberg for Ogilvy, who added another element to his game this offseason with the improvement of his shooting range. His increased range will make him even more difficult to guard this season.

“I think we’ll see him make more jump shots, and I think he’ll make some threes,” Stallings said. “That’s not where we’re going to live and die with him, but you’ll see him step outside and make some jump shots and make a few threes.”

Vanderbilt’s top reserve a year ago, McClellan will be counted on more heavily this season after averaging 2.7 points in 14.1 minutes per game.

One of the most intriguing players to watch this season will be Ezeli. Listed at 6-foot-11, Ezeli could form one of the country’s tallest frontcourts when paired with Ogilvy.

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“He is undoubtedly the most improved player in one year that I’ve ever coached,” Stallings said.

“He came in last year and really could barely make it through an individual workout. Now, he’s a good runner, and has an absolutely incredible body with a 7-foot-5 wingspan.”

BACKCOURT Beal, Drake and Andre Walker return to stabilize a backcourt that is in transition after losing Alex Gordon and Foster to graduation. Also helping to fill the void will be walk-on sophomores Elliott Cole and Jamie Graham, redshirt freshman Charles Hinkle and freshmen Lance Goulbourne, Jordan Smart, Jeffery Taylor and Brad Tinsley.

“Obviously when you have two guys who started a large amount of games, that’s a lot of minutes, a lot of three-point baskets made, a lot of savvy leadership and a lot of winning mentality that just graduated,” Stalllings said. “Jermaine (Beal) is going to have to take a big leadership role with those guys and play like a solid veteran.”

If his numbers last year were any indication, Beal should be ready to live up to those expectations. On top of his assist numbers, Beal posted a 3.10 assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking him first in the SEC and third in the nation.

Drake, one of the team’s best athletes, will have an ample opportunity to start at shooting guard, but he will be pushed by Tinsley and Hinkle.

At the other guard slot, Walker will have an opportunity to start after showing flashes of outstanding play last season. Also battling for time will be Taylor and Goulbourne.

Graham, who was the only one in the SEC to play football and basketball in 2007-08, will once again join the team after football season. Last year, his defensive ability and energy gave the team a huge lift off the bench.

Despite the lack of experience at the position, the addition of a talented freshman class blended with a veteran presence should make Vanderbilt’s guard play a strength this season. ■

JOHN RUSSELL

here is no better example of how quickly things can change from year to year in college basketball than this year’s Vanderbilt men’s basketball team. Gone are three senior starters, including all-time leading scorer Shan Foster. In their place is a talented, but unproven, freshman class of five players.

After having one of the most veteran squads in the SEC last season, the Commodores will now have one of the youngest. The team has just two upperclassmen (Jermaine Beal and George Drake); neither is a senior.

With a young and inexperienced team, Head Coach Kevin Stallings knows how important it is for the team’s veteran players to step into leadership roles.

“We lost some really good leaders,” Stallings said. “When you look at any season, leadership, toughness, experience, team chemistry are all questions that are going to have to be answered as the season unfolds. We can pick the captains, but we can’t pick the leaders.”

Among the players that Stallings will count on to provide the leadership needed to take the Commodores back to the NCAA Tournament for a school-record third time in a row are Beal, Drake and A.J. Ogilvy.

“I think those guys are very capable of providing us with leadership,” Stallings said. “How a team gets along, how supportive they are with one another and how team-oriented they are when the distribution of playing time occurs is going to be a critical element.”

Although the Commodores lost three starters from last year’s squad, the cupboard of talent is far from bare. Last season, Ogilvy averaged 17.0 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds, and Beal led the team with 4.6 assists per game. Mix a recruiting class hailed as potentially the best in school history with the solid nucleus of returning players, and you have a team that could surprise some people this season.

AJ Ogilvy

Date

Opponent

Time

11.9 Alabama-Huntsville (Exhibition) 4pm 11.16 Morehead State 4pm 11.20 Illinois (FS South) 7pm 11.24 Middle Tennessee State (CSS) 7pm 11.26 Central Arkansas 7pm 11.29 vs. Drake (Cancun, Mexico) 7:30pm 11.30 vs. New Mexico/VCU (Cancun, Mexico) TBA 12.3 Illinois-Chicago 7pm 12.6 at Georgia Tech (FS South) 1pm 12.10 Alabama A&M (CSS) 7pm 12.16 South Florida (ESPN2) 6pm 12.20 Tennessee Tech (CSS) 5pm 12.22 Furman (CSS) 8pm 12.31 St. Francis (Pa.) 12pm 1.3 at Massachusetts (CBS College Sports) 4pm 1.10 at Kentucky (Raycom) 1pm 1.14 Georgia 7pm 1.17 at Mississippi State (FS South) 7pm 1.20 Tennessee (ESPN) 8pm 1.25 Florida (CBS) 12:30pm 1.28 at South Carolina 6pm 1.31 at Auburn 7pm 2.5 Alabama (ESPN or ESPN2) 6pm 2.7 Ole Miss (CBS) 12pm 2.14 at Tennessee (Raycom) 2pm 2.17 Kentucky (ESPN) 8pm 2.21 at Florida (Raycom) 2pm 2.25 at Georgia 6:30pm 2.28 South Carolina (ESPNU) 8pm 3.4 at LSU 7pm 3.8 Arkansas (Raycom) 1pm 3.12-15 at SEC Tournament (Tampa) TBA

ROSTER No. Player 0 15 34 50 1 22 2 21 4 24

Jermaine Beal Elliot Cole George Drake Joe Duffy Festus Ezeli Jamie Graham Charles Hinkle Darshawn McClellan A.J. Ogilvy Andre Walker

Cl.

Pos.

Ht./Wt.

Jr. So. Jr. So. R-Fr. So. R-Fr. So. So. So.

G G G F F G G/F F C G/F

6-3/205 5-11/180 6-4/215 6-8/225 6-11/255 5-11/180 6-6/195 6-7/240 6-11/250 6-7/220

Hometown

G

MPG

PPG

RPG

APG

FG%

FT%

DeSoto, Texas Memphis, Tenn.

Calera, Ala. Charlotte, N.C. Benin City, Nigeria Nashville, Tenn.

Los Alamitos, Calif.

Fresno, Calif.

Canberra, Australia Flossmoor, Ill.

34 5 33 11 15 34 34 34

27.5 0.8 8.0 1.7 4.3 14.1 26.4 11.2

7.6 0.0 2.1 0.9 1.5 2.7 17.0 2.4

2.1 0.6 1.2 0.2 0.7 3.0 6.7 2.0

4.6 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.3 0.7 1.2 1.1

38.4 00.0 29.9 66.7 69.2 42.9 58.8 38.5

75.7 00.0 54.5 100.0 100.0 50.0 76.9 54.3

NEWCOMERS No. Player

Cl.

Pos.

Ht./Wt.

5 12 44 33 1

Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr.

G/F G/F G/F F G

6-7/225 6-6/170 6-7/205 6-8/240 6-3/210

Lance Goulbourne Jordan Smart Jeffery Taylor Steve Tchiengang Brad Tinsley

Hometown/Previous Schools Brooklyn, N.Y./The Hun School Lexington, Ky./Lexington Catholic Norrkoping, Sweden/Hobbs HS (N.M.) Douala, Cameroon/Montverde Academy/Cyress Comm. Christian Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City

COACHING STAFF Head Coach: Kevin Stallings Assistant Coaches: Dan Muller, King Rice, Tom Richardson Director of Operations: Brad Frederick

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NOVEMBER 2008

It’s My Turn

By Rod Williamson

The Vanderbilt Way spent several hours on the phone with an ESPN producer preparing for the arrival of its “Outside the Lines” reporting crew that is coming to our campus a few days from this writing.

The College GameDay and Auburn telecast personnel were intrigued with us. We seem to be getting closer to solving that 1970’s cliché that claimed you couldn’t be Harvard Monday through Friday and Alabama on Saturday.

“Outside the Lines” hopes to pinpoint exactly how Vanderbilt athletics differs from nearly all other big-time collegiate programs.

That is easier said than done.

How would you go about defining the tangible differences between your church or workplace and the one down the street, especially if you didn’t want to ruffle feathers or seem arrogant?

There are tangible differences between Vanderbilt and its Southeastern Conference sisters, but it could be intangibles also setting us apart.

We have higher admission standards, our world academic ranking is higher than their national ranking and we don’t offer “basket weaving” classes for the weak to seek shelter. We will show how we strive to mold the well-rounded individual by encouraging our Commodores to participate in non-athletic activities.

Much of what we do is difficult to illustrate. ESPN cannot film attitudes. Expert cameramen can’t capture our campus esprit de corps in 36 hours.

Some time ago, David Williams told his senior administrators that a certain student-athlete would be withheld from the next semester’s competition. The freshman was eligible by NCAA standards but struggling to adjust to our academic environment.

“If this was your kid,” Williams asked us rhetorically, “would you want him playing ball or getting his books in order? There are parents counting on us to do the right thing; this is bigger than a ballgame.”

The remark cuts to the core of Vanderbilt athletics. Yes, we want victory, but we will win while doing what is best for the young people that wear our Black and Gold. Academics will come first.

Much later I related the general nature of our philosophy to someone that had played football at another SEC institution.

“I just can’t imagine that happening at my school,” he said with some disbelief and—I think—admiration. “We just don’t think that way.”

We also have a spirit of cooperation between athletics and “central campus.” Many of my colleagues at other schools describe “us versus them” attitudes with their campus counterparts. Not here.

I’ve got dozens of examples to the contrary. When we have a ranked football team, a basketball team sizzling in March Madness or a national champion bowling team, our communications office gets big-time assistance from many of the university’s best creative talent.

We have a Bowl Central Committee of staff from all corners of campus, along with student leaders. They volunteer time and resources so that when our football team earns that post-season trip the university will be organized and mobilized. They don’t see it as helping “us,” we share in all things Vanderbilt.

We made progress after walls were broken down and stereotypes were tossed aside. As academics and athletics learned more about each other, we realized we both wanted many of the same things.

Faculty cherish intellectual excellence and a stimulating campus atmosphere. Coaches and athletic administrators are recruiting young people who choose to thrive on the athletic battlefields and in the Top 20 classrooms.

It’s Good to be Gold but it is hard to photograph. ■

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Experienced Roster Leads VU

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FRONTCOURT The only void the Commodores will have to fill on the floor this season will be replacing 6-foot-4 center Liz Sherwood. Although she did not start, her presence in the paint, where she led the team with 40 blocks and averaged 10.8 points, was a large reason for Vanderbilt’s success. Her loss will make VU a much smaller team this season.

To help fill that void, Vanderbilt will lean even more heavily on Wirth, who has led the Commodores in scoring each of the past two years. At 6-foot-1, Wirth is one of the league’s most versatile players. She led the team in three-point shooting (41.5 percent) and ranked second in rebounding (5.0) last season.

“Christina Wirth has been a very good perimeter player for us,” Balcomb said. “But she’s also very good in the post. Without Liz (Sherwood) to rely on down there, I expect Tina to become even more versatile and do a lot of work in the post.”

Joining Wirth in the paint will be sophomore Hannah Tuomi, who averaged 5.4 points and 3.8 rebounds last year. Also seeing significant time will be junior Amber Norton. Last season, she averaged 2.9 points in 8.8 minutes per game.

“Nobody works harder than Hannah Tuomi,” Balcomb said. “She blows us all away; we’re amazed with her work ethic. With her in the game, I know I’m going to get rebounding, solid execution and nonstop effort. Plus she can score in the paint, and she’s worked on her face-up game this summer.”

14

NOVEMBER 2008

Adding depth to the position will be juniors Amy Malo and Ashley Bridge, sophomore Rebecca Silinski and freshman Jordan Coleman.

BACKCOURT The Commodores’ strength this season will be the backcourt, where Vanderbilt returns five players, who averaged at least 15 minutes per game.

The most consistent of those players is Risper, who forms a 1-2 punch with Wirth.

Risper earned second team All-SEC honors last year after averaging 9.5 points and a teambest 6.3 rebounds and 91 steals.

“For two years, Jennifer Risper was the glue on our team that some people would overlook,” Balcomb said. “She’s getting some recognition now, but it’s really hard to quantify all the ways she makes us better.”

No position has more depth than the point guard spot, where Vanderbilt returns Jence Rhoads, who started 27 games as a freshman, and SEC Sixth Woman of the Year Jessica Mooney. Rhoads led the Commodores with 114 assists, while Mooney ranked fifth on the team in points per game (8.7) and second with 54 steals.

Returning as a starter at shooting guard is junior Merideth Marsh, who averaged 9.0 points per game. Marsh, who can also handle the point guard duties, was one of the team’s most lethal shooters last year, ranking second on the team with 67 three-pointers.

“I don’t think Merideth Marsh gets enough credit,” Balcomb said. “She shoots the ball well and has the ability to see the fl oor like a point guard. She’s the reason I love playing combo guards. It’s like having an extra coach on the court.”

Behind Marsh at shooting guard is junior Lauren Lueders, who was third on the team with 42 three-pointers last year. Leuders played 15.6 minutes per game and averaged 5.1 points.

Sophomore Chanel Chisholm and freshman Tia Gibbs will provide depth in the backcourt. ■

JOHN RUSSELL

here have been few things that have been as consistent as Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball program over the last six years. Each season the Commodores have advanced to the NCAA Tournament, making Head Coach Melanie Balcomb 6-for-6 as Vanderbilt’s head coach.

During that run, no season may have been as impressive as last year’s. The Commodores had lost three starters, including two to the WNBA, and returned just one senior. What transpired was a season where the Commodores surpassed everyone’s expectations by finishing 25-9 overall and advancing to the Sweet 16 for the 13th time in the last 19 years.

For as successful as VU was last season, it may have been just the appetizer for things to come for Vanderbilt fans. The Commodores return all five starters from last year’s team. Included in that group are first team All-SEC selection Christina Wirth and second team All-SEC selection Jennifer Risper. With so much returning talent and experience, it is clear that the future remains bright.

Having so much experience returning is something new to Balcomb.

“We’ve been graduating our leading scorer almost every year, usually more,” Balcomb said.

“Having five starters coming back should, right off the bat, help our confidence.”

Adding to the team’s confidence should be its defensive prowess. Last year Vanderbilt ranked second in the league in scoring defense (56.6).

“Last season, we started what I thought was our best defensive team since I’ve been here, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what we are capable of defensively this year,” Balcomb said.

Christina Wirth

Date 11.2 11.7 11.14 11.16 11.19 11.21 11.23 11.28

Opponent Tusculum (Exhibition) Love & Basketball (Exhibition) Texas A&M Corpus Christi at Western Kentucky Eastern Kentucky at East Tennessee State at Michigan (Big Ten Network) Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tourn.

(Davidson, St. Joseph’s, Virginia Tech) Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tourn.

Consolation Game Championship Game Radford at Cal State Fullerton at UC Riverside Tennessee State Tennessee-Martin Liberty Notre Dame at Iowa State at Alabama Tennessee LSU at Georgia (FS South) at South Carolina Arkansas (FS South) Alabama at Mississippi State at Kentucky Florida Georgia (ESPN2) Auburn (FS South) at Ole Miss at Tennessee at SEC Tournament (North Little Rock)

11.29

12.2 12.4 12.6 12.19 12.21 12.22 12.30 1.3 1.8 1.11 1.18 1.22 1.25 1.29 2.1 2.5 2.8 2.12 2.15 2.19 2.22 3.1 3.5-8

Time 2pm 7pm 7pm 2pm 7pm 6pm 11am 2pm

2pm 4pm 7pm 9pm 6pm 7pm 2pm 2pm 7pm 2pm 7pm 2pm 2pm 6pm 2pm 8pm 2pm 7pm 1pm 7pm 12pm 8pm 2pm 6pm TBA

ROSTER No. Player 11 3 5 43 23 20 25 22 2 33 15 34

Ashlee Bridge Chanel Chisholm Lauren Lueders Amy Malo Merideth Marsh Jessica Mooney Amber Norton Jence Rhoads Jennifer Risper Rebecca Silinski Hannah Tuomi Christina Wirth

Cl.

Pos.

Ht.

Hometown

G

MPG

PPG

RPG

APG

FG%

FT%

Jr. So. Jr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Jr. So. Sr. So. So. Sr.

G/F G G F G G F G G F F G/F

5-11 5-11 5-8 6-3 5-9 5-8 6-1 5-11 5-9 6-3 6-0 6-1

Cincinnati, Ohio Long Island, N.Y. Jackson, Mo. Fairmont, Minn.

Louisville, Ky. Nashville, Tenn.

Louisville, Ky. Slippery Rock, Pa. Moreno Valley, Calif.

Birmingham, Ala. Thornton, Colo.

Mesa, Ariz.

15 19 29 21 34 34 30 34 34 16 32 34

5.7 7.8 15.6 6.1 27.7 20.5 8.8 25.0 29.1 5.1 14.7 32.3

2.8 1.8 5.1 2.0 9.0 8.7 2.9 3.8 9.5 1.2 5.4 13.1

1.0 2.2 1.8 1.4 2.5 2.4 1.3 2.8 6.3 1.1 3.8 5.0

0.1 0.4 1.1 0.1 2.4 2.1 0.2 3.3 2.7 0.1 0.4 2.6

51.9 26.5 36.4 53.6 40.7 43.7 43.2 38.8 48.9 38.9 49.6 47.3

61.5 48.5 42.9 54.2 81.8 66.3 60.0 62.2 76.4 35.7 68.8 83.3

Ht.

Hometown/Previous Schools

5-11 5-9

Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary HS Louisville, Ky./Butler HS

NEWCOMERS No. Player

Cl.

Pos.

12 24

Fr. Fr.

F G

Jordan Coleman Tia Gibbs

COACHING STAFF Head Coach: Melanie Balcomb Assistant Coaches: Lisa Cermignano, Vicky Picott, Kim Rosamond Director of Operations: Justin VanOrman

vucommodores.com

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N

15

DANIEL DUBOIS

Matt Long Is Vanderbilt’s Triple Threat

he crisp morning air cuts through your jacket as you make your way through the dark parking lot of the Centennial Sportsplex. The streets are virtually silent except for the occasional sound of a passing car. As you open the door to the building, a cloud of steam and the smell of chlorine overtake you. While you adjust your breathing to the change in climate, you hear the sound of splashing water.

It is 5:45 a.m., and although that may seem early to most people, it is just the start of another day in the life of Matt Long.

While most students are sleeping their mornings away and watching reruns in the afternoon, Long is hard at work trying to attain his goal of becoming an Olympic triathlete at the 2012 games.

So in order to reach his goal, Long follows a training regimen that would make every weekend warrior cringe. He begins his days in the pool, moves onto the bike and then wraps it up with a run. When he is in peak training, he is putting in 30 hours a week. During which he’ll bike 200 miles, run 60 miles and swim 1½ to 2 hours six mornings.

T

16

NOVEMBER 2008

If his training schedule wasn’t enough for you, add on his workload as a senior at Vanderbilt and as a member of the varsity cross country team and it comes as no surprise that he recently took a day off from training and slept for 18 straight hours.

It is so much training and work that it begs the question, why?

“I ran and swam in high school, and I always wanted to put the two together,” Long said. “I don’t even know exactly how it came up, but somehow I found myself looking at the Athens Olympic results in the triathlon. I thought maybe I could mix it up with them a little bit and that I should actually try this.”

Mix it up he has. Despite his limited experience in the event, Long already has become one of the elite triathletes in the country. In fact, Long spent this past summer training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

“It didn’t really sink in that I was at the Olympic Training Center until the second day when I was getting lunch, and I was sandwiched between the Olympic bobsled team,” Long said. “Just walking around

people were talking about their travel plans to Beijing, it was just a totally different atmosphere, and it showed me a whole new level of training that I hadn’t been aware of. I thought I was going hard in the spring, but they pushed me even harder. It was a really great experience.”

Long’s success at such an early stage in his career has not gone unnoticed in the triathlon community.

“He is exactly what U.S.A. Triathlon is looking for,” said Barb Lindquist, the U.S. U-23 National Team Coach. “We are looking for athletes who have come from a collegiate background who have really excelled in the swim or run and have done the other sport in high school or younger, and who are still hungry to compete when their collegiate eligibility is up. Matt is exactly the type of person that we are looking for to be our next generation.”

Long’s potential certainly has been noticed on the national level, but no person has seen that potential more closely than Kathleen Johnston, who has been his triathlon coach since June 2007.

“He has the plain, raw talent to compete in this sport at the highest level,” Johnston said. “He doesn’t back away from hard work, and he’s very devoted to the training program that is required to go to the highest level.”

One of the biggest adjustments Long has had to overcome since leaving the training center has been training by himself. Yes, he has a triathlon coach in Nashville, along with a coach for all three disciplines, but it isn’t the same as having a group of worldclass triathletes to push him.

“I kind of have a team, but when you are at the training center and have the same group of people around you all the time, you really feel a team atmosphere that you don’t feel anywhere else,” Long said.

Although he may not have a team of triathletes to train with in each event, the one event where he can rely on others to push him is cross country. Long’s experience with the team has helped him become one of the strongest runners in any triathlon field.

“I think (cross country) has helped a lot,” Long said. “No. 1 because of the team support I get. Many of the people training for triathlons do so on their own, whereas I have people here encouraging me and telling me I’m doing a good job. That emotional support is just tremendous.”

Another factor in Long’s continued improvement in running has been the job Vanderbilt head cross country coach Steve Keith has done.

“Cross country really provides one of the best training environments,” Long said. “In terms of the running portion of the triathlon, I’m one of the most fi t because Coach (Steve) Keith is so on the ball with what to do. I spent this summer at the Olympic

Training Center and a lot of the exercises they were teaching us, Coach Keith already had us doing.”

While Keith’s coaching method has been important, his overwhelming support has been even more significant to Long’s success.

“When I tell people that he lets me do this, their jaws drop,” Long said. “Most other coaches of other triathletes at the training center would not allow them to train for triathlons in addition to their sport.

Coach Keith said it was okay, and he even started designing workouts for me. In the spring, he was totally supportive of my first full-fledged triathlon season. I feel so bad because the first few weeks of school (this fall) I focused so much on my triathlon training, and I really wanted to give him a strong varsity effort.

“I had to miss the (Commodore Classic) for nationals, and even then he was understanding that this is a career path for me.

He has been totally supportive, and so has (Assistant) Coach (Rhonda) Riley. It is really good to know that they actually appreciate me as a person. I really think it speaks to the character of the Vanderbilt athletics staff.”

With running being the anchor leg of a triathlon, which begins with swimming followed by biking, it is a definite advantage for Long to have his strongest event last.

While running is his strong point, Long is quick to point out that biking is his weakest event. As someone who competed in swimming through high school and continues to run in college, the bike is still relatively new to the Columbus, Ohio, native.

“I’ve only been biking for a little over a year, so I go through turns 5-10 miles per hour slower than everyone else just because I’m not used to it,” Long said.

“Being in Colorado helped out a lot, and I have the scars to show it. Just not having any long-term experience with it, the muscular development is a little bit behind.”

Just as cross country has helped him become a better triathlete, competing in triathlons has helped him improve in cross country.

“I really think my time in Colorado Springs helped me mature as an athlete,” Long said. “I think I have a better understanding of the philosophical reasons behind how we train and why we train, and how to train smart. Being a triathlete has really helped me mature in athletics and has given me a better understanding of it.”

Even though he still is in the learning stages of competing in triathlons, it is easy to see the amount of potential Long has in the sport. Just this past June, Long finished fourth at his fi rst ITU Triathlon World Championship for athletes aged 20-24. It is results such as that that make even Johnston take a step back.

“His growth in the sport is really unheard of and outrageously impressive,” Johnston said. “There are people who do this sport for years, and they are never able to do what he has already done.” ■

vucommodores.com

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N

17

18

NOVEMBER 2008

Ranking Vanderbilt’s Top Wins n the September issue of Commodore Nation, we challenged fans to determine what the top 10 Vanderbilt football wins of the modern era are by voting on vucommodores. com. After a solid response, the votes have been tallied. In this issue of Commodore Nation, we reveal the bottom half of the top 10 wins. There were 15 games to vote for, each of which received at least one fi rst-place vote. Please note that none of the games from the 2008 season were included in this poll. To calculate the results, points were rewarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. The top fi ve wins will be revealed in the December issue.

I

10. Oct. 23, 1937 • Vanderbilt 7, #6 LSU 6 • Nashville Vanderbilt’s 7-6 win over No. 6 LSU remains tied for the highest ranked opponent Vanderbilt has ever defeated. Tackle Greer Ricketson scored Vanderbilt’s only touchdown on the school’s most infamous fake. Running back Clarence “Dutch” Reinschmidt concealed the ball on the ground behind a lineman, then faked left. Ricketson started out to follow the play, then fell purposely over the ball, arose and rambled 50 yards for the score. The loss was LSU’s first in its previous 14 conference games. VU’s seven points were the most surrendered all season by an LSU team that finished 9-2 overall.

9.

907 pts.

1129 pts.

Running Back Carl Woods

8. Oct. 11, 1969 • Vanderbilt 14, #13 Alabama 10 • Nashville

1296 pts.

Playing with a hurt shoulder, quarterback Watson Brown hits Jim Cunningham with the game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass in Vanderbilt’s 14-10 win over No. 13 Alabama.

Vanderbilt’s first touchdown of the game came when running back Doug Mathews connected with David Strong through the air from six yards out. VU outgained Alabama 473-201 on offense and had 28 first downs compared with Alabama’s 10. On the flip side, the Commodores won despite losing two fumbles and racking up 94 penalty yards.

Quarterback Watson Brown 7.

Nov. 29, 1975 • Vanderbilt 17, Tennessee 14 • Knoxville, Tenn.

Led by first-year Head Coach Fred Pancoast, the Commodores defeated Tennessee, 17-14, while picking up their first win in Knoxville since 1959. With the win, VU closed the season with four straight wins and a 7-4 record. Vanderbilt’s yearbook, The Commodore, said this about the game: “That win was probably the most significant Vanderbilt victory since before most of the players were born. For it is now, after these four straight victories, and especially that comeback triumph at Knoxville, that Vanderbilt football has more momentum than it has had in the last 25 years or more.”

6.

vucommodores.com

BRENT TRICE • Football • Junior • Linebacker Junior linebacker Brent Trice is making the transition from safety to linebacker in 2008. Listed at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, the Orange, Va., native has been a steady presence on defense for Vanderbilt.

1520 pts.

What has it been like shifting to linebacker?

It has been a little bit different. You get banged up a lot more down in the trenches, but it is fun. One of my favorite parts is getting the chance to blitz more often.

How are you able to use your size to your advantage at the position?

One of my biggest advantages at the position is my wingspan. I’m able to use my wingspan and my reach to keep the blockers from getting into my pads. I’m also able to use my speed to my advantage getting around the edge when I blitz.

What other sports did you play besides football growing up?

My first sport was baseball, followed by football and basketball. I first played football at 6. Basketball was my favorite sport growing up. I started playing (football) with flags, but when the flags came off and I started playing with pads, it became my favorite sport.

Tight End Barry Burton

Oct.14, 2006 • Vanderbilt 24, #16 Georgia 22 • Athens, Ga. Just minutes after having a pass intercepted for a touchdown, quarterback Chris Nickson directed a 15-play, 65-yard drive that ended with Bryant Hahnfeldt’s game-winning 33-yard field goal with :02 left, vaulting VU to a 24-22 win at Georgia.

“In my mind it was just another field goal, the time on the clock doesn’t matter too much because a kick is a kick,” Hahnfeldt said. The win was Vanderbilt’s first over a ranked opponent since 1992. Nickson threw for 190 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Earl Bennett had eight catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.

4

What does it say about the team’s secondary when players such as yourself and Jamie Graham are being moved to other positions just to get on the field?

It shows that we have a versatile team that can do so many things. It also shows how good the depth is in the secondary.

Center Carl Hinkle

Sept. 29, 1984 • Vanderbilt 30, Alabama 21 • Tuscaloosa, Ala. Vanderbilt moved to 4-0 on the season, the school’s best start to a season since 1950, after defeating Alabama 30-21 and snapping the Tide’s 26-year streak of winning on homecoming.

After the win, AP pollsters gave Vanderbilt a No. 17 ranking, its first ranking since 1958. The win remains Vanderbilt’s only win in Tuscaloosa. Before the win, Vanderbilt’s last victory against Alabama outside of Nashville came in 1956 in Mobile. VU trailed 10-9 at halftime, but an interception in the second half

by Thanh Anderson led to a touchdown pass to Joe Kelly. Carl Woods then broke a 30-yard touchdown run to ice the game.

The Final

1715 pts.

Kicker Bryant Hahnfeldt

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N

19

Quick Hits

ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll.

• Vanderbilt’s 5-0 start was its first since 1943. Vanderbilt’s 3-0 start in SEC play had been duplicated just twice previously.

MEN’S SPORTS Baseball • Former Commodore David

Price earned a save for Tampa Bay in Game 7 of the ALCS. • Vanderbilt closed practice Oct. 23, 24 and 26 with the Tim Corbin Black and Gold Fall Series.

• Head coach Tim Corbin announced VU’s schedule on Oct. 15. The schedule includes games against 13 teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year.

Basketball • Vanderbilt opens its season

on Nov. 9 with an exhibition game against AlabamaHuntsville.

• The regular season begins Nov. 16 when Morehead State visits Memorial Gym.

Kevin Stallings

• Vanderbilt finished first at the

Commodore Classic with an average time of 26:54.63 in the 8k race.

Steve • Freshman Jenner Kizer led all Keith Vanderbilt runners by placing fourth with a time of 26:39.08.

Junior Thomas Davis finished seventh with a time of 26:47.69.

• Rob Whiting finished 58th to pace VU at the Pre-Nationals on Oct. 18.

Football College GameDay came to Vanderbilt for the first time when Vanderbilt hosted Auburn on Oct. 4.

• Vanderbilt was selected as Bobby the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl NaJohnson tional Team of the Week after its win over No. 13 Auburn.

• Individually, linebacker Patrick Benoist was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week and punter Brett Upson was named SEC Specialist of the Week on Oct. 6.

• Junior safety Ryan Hamilton was named National Defensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation on Sept. 21 after VU’s 23-17 win at Ole Miss.

In the game, Hamilton tied a school record with three interceptions, including one that was returned 79 yards for a touchdown.

He also recovered a fumble and produced a goal-line stop on fourth down.

• Hamilton was also named SEC Defensive Player of the Week and the Football Writers Association of America/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week after his performance at Ole Miss.

• On Sept. 21, Vanderbilt entered the polls for the first time since Sept. 30, 1984. With a 4-0 record at the time, the Commodores were

20

NOVEMBER 2008

• Vanderbilt placed fifth at the

Mason Rudolph Championship at 3-over par.

• Senior Jon Curran tied for second at the Mason RuTom dolph Championship with Shaw an 8-under 205. Also finishing in the top 20 was Hudson Johnson, who placed 16th.

• Senior John Ebert placed sixth at the Coca-Cola Individual Collegiate on Oct. 14.

Tennis

Cross Country

• ESPN

Golf

• Sophomore Bryant Salcedo posted a 4-1 record at the Georgia Tech Invitational.

• Adam Baker and Alex Zotov advanced to the finals in Ian doubles at the ITA Southeast Duvenhage Championships and semifinals at the Georgia Tech Invitational.

• Vanderbilt opened the season Sept. 19-21 at the Southern Intercollegiates. VU’s top performance came from freshman Alex DiValerio, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the Division II singles bracket.

• Senior Nick Cromydas advanced to the second round of the ITA All-American Championships.

WOMEN’S SPORTS Basketball • Vanderbilt opens its season Nov. 2 with an exhibition game against Tusculum.

• Vanderbilt opens the regular season at home on Nov. 14 against Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

tionals on Oct. 18 with a time of 21:12.

Golf • Vanderbilt finished third at

the Tar Heel Invitational with a team score of 892.

• Leading VU at the tournaGreg ment was senior Jacqui ConAllen colino, who tied for fourth with a 2-over 218.

• Vanderbilt placed fourth at the Mason Rudolph Championship at 4-over par.

• Freshman Marina Alex led Vanderbilt at the Mason Rudolph Championship by placing sixth with a 4-under 212. Sophomore Megan Grehan placed seventh with a 3-under 213.

• Vanderbilt placed sixth at the Stanford Intercollegiate on Oct. 19. Concolino led VU by tying for 24th after a third-round 68.

Lacrosse • Head coach Cathy Swezey re-

leased VU’s 2009 schedule on Sept. 29.

• The 15-game schedule includes seven home matches.

Cathy Swezey

Soccer • Vanderbilt closed its noncon-

ference schedule with a 6-1-1 record. The start to the season tied the 2005 team for the best start under Ronnie Coveleskie.

Ronnie • Vanderbilt shut out Tennessee Coveleskie 1-0 on Oct. 12 for its first win against the Lady Vols since 2005.

• VU upset No. 24 South Carolina on Oct. 5 for its first SEC win of the season.

Swimming Melanie Balcomb

Bowling • Vanderbilt opens its season Oct. 31 at the FDU Invitational.

• The Bowling Writers Association picked Josie Earnest as the National Bowler of the Month after she won four gold medals at the Pan American Youth Games.

• Jorgensen set a personal best at Pre-Na-

John Williamson

Women’s Cross Country • Vanderbilt won the Commo-

dore Classic with an average time of 18:37.07 in the 5k race.

• Sophomore Rita Jorgensen Steve won the individual title with a Keith time of 17:59.39. Freshman Kristabel Doebel-Hickok finished fourth with a time of 18:17.04.

• Vanderbilt placed fifth at the Greater Louisville Classic on Oct. 4.

• Head Coach Jeremy Organ

earned his first two wins as Vanderbilt’s coach on Oct. 11 when VU downed Centre College and Rhodes College.

Jeremy • Vanderbilt opened its season Organ on Sept. 27 at Alabama. VU had three first-place finishes at the meet.

Tennis • Catherine Newman finished play

at the ITA All-American Championships with a 4-2 record.

• Vanderbilt posted a 15-2 record in singles play at the HooGeoff Macdonald sier Classic Oct. 3-5.

• Vanderbilt opened its season Sept. 26-28 at the Furman Fall Classic.

Freshman Jackie Wu finished first in the third flight with a 3-0 record.

• VU won three draws at the June Stewart Invitational on Oct. 19. Earning championships were Chelsea Preeg, Catherine Newman and Courtney Ulery.

The Month Ahead

Men’s Sports Basketball 11/9 11/16 11/20 11/24 11/26 11/29 11/30

Alabama-Huntsville (Exhibition) Morehead State Illinois Middle Tennessee State Central Arkansas Drake (Cancun, Mexico) New Mexico/VCU

4pm 4pm 7pm 7pm 7pm 7:30pm 7:15/9:30pm

Cross Country 11/3 11/15 11/24

at SEC Championships (Starkville, Miss.) at NCAA Regionals (Maryville, Tenn.) at NCAA Championships (Terre Haute, Ind.)

TBA TBA TBA

Florida at Kentucky Tennessee at Wake Forest

TBA TBA TBA TBA

Football 11/8 11/15 11/22 11/29

Golf 11/3-4

at Western Carolina Intercoll. (Cashiers, N.C.)

All Day

Women’s Sports Basketball 11/2 11/7 11/14 11/16 11/19 11/21 11/23 11/28 11/29 11/29

Tusculum (Exhibition) 2pm Love & Basketball (Exhibition) 7pm Texas A&M Corpus Christi 7pm at Western Kentucky 2pm Eastern Kentucky 7pm at East Tennessee State 6pm at Michigan 11am Davidson (Thanksgiving Tournament) 2pm Consolation Game (Thanksgiving Tournament) 2pm Championship Game (Thanksgiving Tournament) 4pm

Bowling 11/1-2 11/21-23

at FDU Invitational (Elmwood Park, N.J.) All Day at Eastern Shore Hawk Classic (Millsboro, Del.) All Day

Cross Country 11/3 11/15 11/24

at SEC Championships (Starkville, Miss.) at NCAA Regionals (Maryville, Tenn.) at NCAA Championships (Terre Haute, Ind.)

TBA TBA TBA

Golf 11/2-4

at Collegiate Match Play Champ.

All Day

Soccer 11/5– 9 11/14-16 11/21-23 11/28-30

at SEC Tournament (Orange Beach, Ala.) at NCAA Tournament (First and Second Rounds) at NCAA Third Round at NCAA Quarterfinals

TBA TBA TBA TBA

Swimming 11/14 11/15 11/21-23

at Phil Hansel Duals (Houston, Texas) at Phil Hansel Duals (Houston, Texas) at Western Kentucky Invite

6pm 11:30am All Day

Tennis 11/6-9

at SEC Fall Coaches Classic (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) All Day

vucommodores.com

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N

21

22

NOVEMBER 2008

Expectations Loom Large For Freshmen Class

Vanderbilt’s freshman class of Jeffery Taylor, Jordan Smart, Lance Goulbourne, Steve Tchiengang and Brad Tinsley.

t is hard to imagine a freshman class that has come to Vanderbilt with as much fanfare as the fi ve freshmen on the men’s basketball team. Despite none of the players ever playing a college game, most pundits have already labeled the class as the best in school history.

Judging by the player’s accolades, it is easy to see why.

Comprised of Lance Goulbourne (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Jordan Smart (Lexington, Ky.), Jeffery Taylor (Noorkoping, Sweden), Steve Tchiengang (Douala, Cameroon) and Brad Tinsley (Oregon City, Ore.), the fivemember freshman class was ranked No. 14

by Rivals.com and No. 25 by Scout.com.

It wasn’t too many years ago that Vanderbilt fans wouldn’t have dreamed of landing such a highly-touted freshman class.

But thanks in part to the team’s success of making the NCAA Tournament three times in the past five years, including two trips to the Sweet 16, the Commodores have become a household name in college basketball. Because of Vanderbilt’s rise, Head Coach Kevin Stallings knows that it would be hard to find a better time to be a Commodore than right now.

“I think that the future of the program is very, very bright, as bright as it’s ever been,” Stallings said. “If you take that success that we’ve had — two Sweet 16s in fi ve years and 26 victories last year — and you carry all of that to this season, I think the bar has been raised in this program in a very positive way.”

“We’re getting in front of and signing high-profile guys and higher-rated recruits, and not as if that makes you have a better team, but it certainly means you’re getting some good players. I think that we’re attracting guys that have an opportunity to be NBA players, and I haven’t always been able to say that in the past.”

I

vucommodores.com

Whether or not there will be any NBA players who will come out of this class remains to be seen, but just having players with the potential shows how much the program is growing.

According to Rivals.com, Goulbourne, Taylor, Tchiengang and Tinsley are ranked as four-star recruits and in the top 100. It is typical for the traditional power programs such as North Carolina and UCLA to bring in freshmen with those types of accolades, but not for the Commodores.

With the accolades also come higher expectations. Tinsley is aware of the expectations, but he believes they aren’t something that will affect him or his classmates. “(We may feel it) a little bit to some standard, but I think all of us are coming in with the attitude that whatever Coach Stallings has for us, we know that we trust him, and we know he can provide us with the tools we need to be successful,” Tinsley said.

“None of us are really ‘me’ guys. We are all ‘we’ guys. We’d rather have the team win than individual stats.”

Goulbourne agrees: “I don’t think (the accolades) will affect us. We just want to come in here and contribute as much as we can in a positive way and do what we can to help the team. We are all for the team, so I don’t think anyone here has an ego.”

Because the class is so selfl ess and team-oriented, Stallings hopes the freshmen will help fill the void of the departed seniors not only on the court, but also in the locker room.

“We’ve got some really hardworking, talented freshmen,” Stallings said. “What we feel in our program is that we want you to be one of two types of guys — we want you to be a really good leader or a really good follower. We don’t have room for 14 leaders. We just need a couple of guys to step

up and be the right kind of teammates and for the others to follow and take that lead and do something with it.”

Just as Stallings and the coaching staff have noticed how hard working and dedicated the freshmen have been, so have the returning players on the team.

“I’ve been most impressed with their work ethic coming in,” redshirt junior George Drake said. “They are already willing and have a great enthusiasm toward the game of basketball. We are a young team, but for them to come in with that type of work ethic to the game, it is sure to give us a big boost.”

Despite the group being together for less than six months, Drake has also been impressed with how quickly they have improved.

“You can see that they are getting more comfortable from where they were this summer,” Drake said. “They are getting accustomed to what we do, and that has made the transition smoother.”

Helping to make that transition on the court go even smoother has been the class’ relationship with one another. Those relationships are fortifi ed with Tinsley and Tchiengang living together, just as Taylor and Goulbourne do.

“I think we’ve come together really well,” Tinsley said. “None of us are selfish. We all have great attitudes on and off the court, and we get along.”

Taylor also believes the group has come together because of their cohesiveness. “I think we have great chemistry on and off the court. The guys in this class and on this team are like family to me.”

Although it may take four years to see just where this class stacks up with ones prior, it is clear that the class has the attitude it needs to live up to its billing. ■

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NOVEMBER 2008