October 2014
worldly talent ALSO INSIDE: Commodore fan’s incredible journey Defensive tackle Vince Taylor pumps iron Cross country seniors build legacy
’Dores represent in global competitions
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CONTENTS
P.20
P.17
Lifting guru
Coach’s Handbook
Senior defensive tackle Vince Taylor doesn’t mess around when he steps into the weight room.
Associate head coach Holly Clark is in her fifth year with the women’s golf program
P.2 P.8 Setting his sights Despite waning vision, longtime Vanderbilt fan Patrick Yarber has seen football games at all 125 FBS stadiums in the country.
Compliance Corner
P.3 National Commodore Club
P.10
P.7
David Williams Q&A
Inside McGugin
Athletic director David Williams recently sat down with Commodore Nation to answer a series of questions about the current state of college athletics and Commodore sports.
P.12
P.21
P.18 Running into history Five Vanderbilt seniors have helped build the women’s cross country program into a national power.
VU From Here Assistant sports information director David Dawson
International representation
P.23
Eight Vanderbilt student-athletes represented their home countries and the Commodores in international competition this past year.
It’s my turn Rod Williamson’s monthly column
P.24 My Game Vanderbilt bowler Rebeca Reguero
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C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N
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CORNER
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Administrative
Front Court and Back Court are both current basketball student-athletes. Based on the below scenarios which, if either, would have eligibility issues regarding their interaction with an agent?
Chancellor: Nicholas S. Zeppos
Director of Athletics: David Williams II
Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs: Beth Fortune
Front Court met with an agent on campus while preparing for the upcoming season. The agent indicated he would like to represent Front once his eligibility was exhausted. Front liked what the agent had to say and was impressed with his client list. Consequently, Front verbally agreed to have this agent represent him after the season.
Vanderbilt University Student Athletics’ Mission Statement
Back Court met with an agent on campus while preparing for the upcoming season. The agent indicated that although he was very impressed with Back’s athletic ability, he only represented professional football players. He gave Back two concert tickets and wished him luck with his career.
Vanderbilt University is an equal-opportunity, affirmative-action university.
Given the situation, which of these scenarios would unfold? A) Both Front and Back would be ineligible B) Neither student-athlete would lose eligibility (Answer below)
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October 2014
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Answer : A) Both Front and Back would be ineligible
GET GAME IN THE JOIN THE NCC GRIDIRON CLUB
The NCC Gridiron Club gives Commodore fans the
opportunity to play a pivotal role in developing a platform and culture that give our Vanderbilt Men an opportunity for future success! With a gift to the NCC Gridiron Club, you can gain up-close access to Vanderbilt Football and are eligible to receive *benefits. NCC Gridiron Club benefits include invitations to tailgates, a mini helmet, in-season luncheons and more. Join today, and get in the game! Black
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Tailgate NCC with the
Kick off Vanderbilt football games at the National Commodore Club tailgates. NCC members and their guests are invited to join us before every home game on the lawn between the Star Walk and Gate 2 of Vanderbilt Stadium. Come early and soak up the game day atmosphere—eat and drink, meet fellow Commodore fans and watch other games on television. To reserve your tailgate spot, visit NationalCommodoreClub.com. We look forward to seeing you in black and gold. Anchor Down!
UPCOMING
NCC TAILGATES
Oct. 11 Reunion/Homecoming Charleston Southern R.S.V.P. by Oct. 9
Nov. 1 Old Dominion R.S.V.P. by Oct. 30
Nov. 8 Florida R.S.V.P. by Nov. 6
Nov. 29 Tennessee R.S.V.P. by Nov. 28
NCC tailgates open three hours before each Vanderbilt home game. Space is limited. You may R.S.V.P. for tailgates at NationalCommodoreClub.com. For more tailgate information, contact Kendal Duncan at (615) 343-4067.
The 2014 Commodore Tailgate Tour is traveling throughout the Southeastern Conference. The final stop is Columbia, Missouri, on Oct. 25. The National Commodore Club and the Vanderbilt Alumni Association are hosting a pregame tailgate at A.L. Gustin Golf Course in Columbia, and you are invited. R.S.V.P. by Oct. 22 for $40 per person with alcohol, $25 per person without alcohol, $10 for children ages 6 to 12, and free for children ages 5 and under. Wear white to this game, and cheer on the Commodores as they face the Mizzou Tigers. We hope to see you there!
The city’s hottest spots, all under one roof.
Discover a variety of culinary delights and escape to one of the only full-service spas downtown. Connected to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and adjacent to the Music City Center. We’re ready for you Nashville — like nothing you’ve ever experienced before.
Inside McGugin
By The Numbers
Notes from the athletic department
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JOHN WEAST
a team that received its highest preseason rank in program history—sixth by Golfweek.
Senior Hunter Stewart tees off the Carmel Cup at Pebble Beach in August. Stewart nabbed medalist honors.
T
he Vanderbilt golf teams enjoyed a tremendous start to the 2014-15 season. In September, the women’s team won the Mason Rudolph Championship for the first time since 2002. The Commodores defeated LSU by 11 strokes and junior Jenny Hahn won medalist honors with a five-under par 211. The men’s golf team started the 2014-15 season by finishing second at the Carmel Cup at Pebble Beach in August. Senior Hunter Stewart led the way as the top individual to win medalist honors for the second time in his career. The Lexington, Ky., native finished with an 11-under par, 205 to win the tournament by two strokes. Stewart anchors
l In September, the SEC Storied documentary, “It’s Time,” made its premiere on Vanderbilt’s campus at the Sarratt Center. The movie, which made its national TV debut two days later on the SEC Network, focuses on the friendship between former Vanderbilt fullback Brad Gaines and former Ole Miss defensive back Chucky Mullins. The two became intertwined on Oct. 28, 1989 when Mullins put a devastating hit on Gaines near the Mississippi end zone. The collision left Mullins paralyzed (he died two years later). Twenty-five years later, Gaines joined former Ole Miss coach Billy Brewer and Peabody Award-winning documentarian Fritz Mitchell at the Sarratt Center to discuss the movie. l Men’s basketball coach Kevin Stallings was honored by Coaching for Literacy at an event in Memphis in September. Stallings, who enters his 16th year at Vanderbilt, had his jersey retired as a member of the organization’s Wall of Honor as he was a part of the hall’s first class. By leveraging the unique power of collegiate and professional sports, Coaching for Literacy raises money to support effective local literacy programs and schools focused on educating elementary and middle school students . n
Golfweek’s preseason ranking for the Vanderbilt men’s golf team, which is the highest preseason mark in program history. In 2013-14, the Commodores reached the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2007.
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Number of former Commodores to make opening day NFL rosters this year. Vanderbilt placed multiple players on the opening day rosters of the Green Bay Packers (Casey Hayward and Sean Richardson), Buffalo Bills (Kenny Ladler and Chris Williams) and Cleveland Browns (Ryan Seymour and Jonathan Krause). Jordan Matthews (Philadelphia), Wesley Johnson (Pittsburgh) and Krause are the most recent Vanderbilt additions to NFL teams.
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Total points for the Vanderbilt cross country team in their season-opening victory at the Belmont Opener. The Commodores won the local meet at Percy Warner thanks to having 12 runners finish in the top 17.
Calendar
October Events October 11 Homecoming The Vanderbilt football team returns home for the first time in three weeks to play Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) foe Charleston Southern on Homecoming. The Commodores are 16-1 all-time against FCS opponents.
October 10 Aggies and ’Dores meet on pitch The Commodores will receive a huge test when defending SEC Tournament champ Texas A&M comes to town. The game will be the first Vanderbilt soccer home game televised on the SEC Network.
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October 31 SEC Cross Country Championships The Vanderbilt women’s cross country team hopes to be in the hunt at the SEC Championships on Oct. 31. In the preseason coaches poll, the Commodores were picked to finish second in the SEC. Vanderbilt’s lone SEC title came in 2011.
C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N
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Joe Howell
Despite his waning vision, longtime Vanderbilt fan and Nashville resident Patrick Yarber has been to all 125 FBS stadiums.
’Dores fan completes incredible stadium journey by Ryan Schulz
E
very morning Patrick Yarber opens his eyes and sees light, he hopes it isn’t his last. Due to the effect of degenerative eye conditions, he doesn’t know how many more days he will wake up and see the sunlight shining through, which is why he is not taking any day for granted. You may have heard Yarber’s story by now. He’s been featured on ESPN’s College GameDay and been the subject of a number of newspaper articles. A long-time Nashville resident and staunch supporter of the Commodores, Yarber suffers from retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration, which have rendered him nearly blind. But not even his failing vision has stopped him from continuing to pursue his personal quest to visit the home stadium of every Division I FBS team. A Vanderbilt fan since 1978 when his Antioch High School friend, Mike Woodard, received a scholarship to kick for the Commodores, Yarber has been a regular in the stands at Vanderbilt football games ever since. He didn’t know it when he first started going to games, but foot-
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October 2014
ball games would soon become a much bigger part of his life. Yarber made Vanderbilt Stadium his home on Saturdays in the fall, and when the Commodores were on the road, he was typically there as well. He has experienced the good, the bad and the ugly as a Vanderbilt fan. For Yarber, the 1982 season remains his favorite. “The home game against Tennessee that year was really special,” recalled the 6-foot-6 Yarber. For years, Yarber’s travels to football stadiums were dependent on Vanderbilt’s road schedule. Where Vanderbilt went, he went. But in 1984, Yarber expanded his stadium travels. He went to Georgia Tech, Michigan and Ohio State. He liked it so much that the thought of visiting other venues stuck. But attending games at every Division I FBS school? No way. “I thought it was pretty cool, so I just started going to three or four new places every year, but it still wasn’t a thing of wanting to go to every one,” Yarber said. “I just wanted to go somewhere I hadn’t been.”
Each year, Yarber, who lives in Donelson, would add new stadiums to his list. When he visited a stadium, he returned home with a game program and ticket stub to remember his trip. He then documented his experience in a journal. Each page represented a different stadium and included the date of the game, the final score and any highlights from the trip. His journal pages were soon filling up with memories from attending games throughout the country. But it wasn’t until about seven years ago that Yarber’s hobby of attending games at different stadiums became something else—a race against time. Both of Yarber’s eye conditions—retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and macular degeneration— are hereditary. His mother had RP, but it never developed in her like it has him, and his father was a carrier for macular degeneration. It did not impact his father until the later years of his life. But Patrick was not as fortunate. “Some people get the silver and the stocks, and I get the bad eyes. At least I inherited something,” laughed Yarber. RP has taken all of Yarber’s peripheral vision,
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Yarber remarked. “Up until then, I could function pretty well. I wouldn’t go into a city and rent a car. When I flew into a city, I got around by taxi, trying to stay close to campus. It’s been the last three or four years that it has gotten so difficult that I have to have help sometimes getting in and out of airports and getting in and out of the stadium. “I’m so stubborn and hard-headed that I’m not smart enough to realize that when you’ve got 10 percent of your vision left, you don’t fly 3,000 miles to go to a football game by yourself. I’ve run into a lot of nice people along the way, who have been very helpful and kind.” Even as his vision deteriorated, Yarber saw no reason to slow down. He had come so close, and he wasn’t about to give up. “Not when you are that close to being able to see all the places,” Yarber said. Over time, the venues began to add up, as did the airline miles. Yarber, of course, has logged his flights as well, 1,200 total, since he first began going to games. He estimates he has been to approximately 450 college games, averaging 10 or 11 a year since he first started attending Vanderbilt games. Finally, after years of attending games, Yarber accomplished his goal after visiting the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho to watch the Vandals play Old Dominion on November 9, 2013. After the Idaho trip, he had seen games on all 125 FBS campuses. Each trip holds a special place with him. He can tell you the details of the visit to every stadium—the final score, the weather at the game, his seat location and the hotel he stayed in. “I remember a lot of things, but when you don’t see, your other senses take over,” Yarber
said. “I can smell good, I can hear good and I have a pretty good memory.” Although he has been to the home venue of every FBS team, one stadium remains his favorite after all these years: Vanderbilt Stadium. “I am closing in on 200 home games in that stadium since it opened in 1981,” Yarber said. “It is close to home. It is clean and small and it is easy for me to get around in.” After his trip to Idaho, the quest was over— but just for one season. He had checked off every campus, but the journey continues. This year, three new programs joined the FBS ranks. Additionally, a few schools have built new stadiums since Yarber last visited. Yarber’s journey will continue this fall with trips to Old Dominion, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern. He also has visits scheduled to Baylor and Minnesota to see their new stadiums. And after that, the beat goes on. In 2015, UNC Charlotte will join the FBS ranks. Additionally, he already has Vanderbilt’s game at Houston circled on his calendar, so he can see the Cougars’ new stadium opening next season. With new stadiums being opened around the country, it has now become a battle to stay ahead, and Yarber has no reason to slow down as long as he still sees the light of day every morning he opens his eyes. “There isn’t anything guaranteed to stop me from losing my sight,” Yarber said. “If I could stop it where it is at just to have a little bit of vision, that would be great, but whatever is going to happen is going to happen. I try not to worry on it or dwell on it. I just keep living my life and doing what I like to do. One day if it all comes to a crashing halt, I had fun when I could have fun.” n
COURTESY OF IDAHO ATHLETICS
while macular degeneration has robbed him of his central vision. “When you don’t have any peripheral vision and you are looking through a gun barrel and the center of that starts messing up, it kind of tends to play havoc with you,” Yarber said. “You have two things that are basically taking your whole visual life.” Through the years, Yarber’s vision has only worsened, and it forced him into early retirement in 2011 after spending the previous 15 years as a money collector, including the last 11 at Buffaloe and Associates, a local law firm in Nashville. He takes Vitamin A pills to help slow down his loss in vision and makes regular visits to the ophthalmologist. This summer, Yarber suffered an unfortunate accident in which he scratched the cornea of his right eye. The injury has only worsened his vision to the point that he is now 90 percent blind. Yarber says he was 80 percent blind prior to the accident. His vision has taken a lot of things from him, but it hasn’t halted his desire to attend football games. If anything, his failing vision has been a driving force in his quest to visit every Division I FBS stadium. It was an idea that Yarber had one day while thumbing through his journals. With each turn of the page, the vastness of his stadium journey began to come to light. “By the time I started counting, I had been to two-thirds of them,” Yarber said. “I said, this is doable and then it became a goal.” From that point on, Yarber’s life changed forever. Las Cruces, New Mexico and Ypsilanti, Michigan soon became towns Yarber needed to visit. If he was not attending a Vanderbilt game, he was somewhere else exploring another stadium. Often traveling alone, Yarber relies heavily on public transportation to get him to and from the airport, hotel and stadium. At games, Yarber’s eyes are never far from his pair of binoculars, which enable him to get his best look at the game via the stadium video board. He also carries a radio and headphones with him to each game, and never leaves early, no matter how lopsided the score gets. “Most of the traveling I’ve done by myself,” Yarber said. “I’m not a loner, but I don’t mind being somewhere by myself. When I go somewhere to a ballgame, you are so busy doing stuff that you don’t really realize that you are by yourself.” Still, as Yarber’s condition has worsened, his ability to get from stadium to stadium has grown increasingly more difficult, and he has had to rely more on others around him. “The really bad getting around by myself didn’t really start until three or four years ago,”
Vanderbilt fan Patrick Yarber receives a tour of Idaho’s Kibbie Dome the day before watching Idaho play Old Dominion last November. The Kibbie Dome was the last of the 125 FBS stadiums Yarber had been too.
C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N
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October 2014
A.D.’s Q&A: Williams discusses NCAA changes, Vanderbilt football and state of Commodore athletics Interview was conducted on Sept. 11, 2014.
David Williams: I believe the biggest change will be how we govern and sub-govern ourselves in this group of 65 institutions representing five major conferences. Some of the governing for the so-called Big 5 will be as it has always been and as it will be for an array of Division I. However, there will be matters in which this Big-5 have autonomy and there are on-going discussions about how that will work. Who will be our representatives, for example, because NCAA will change the existing council makeup for matters that call for autonomy. There are many questions about the whole process and how it will function. Once we get governing and sub-governing under control, topics such as the cost of attendance, life-long education and medical benefits for studentathletes will soon surface. Some issues will come up immediately, and immediately means January; that’s when one will see how we operate in the sub governance with matters such as recruiting benefits and scholarships among the first things discussed. CN: Are there any particular challenges for Vanderbilt in this transition? Williams: Our biggest challenges will be to understand where we fit in the whole picture. When you think about 65 schools and conferences, they are not all the same. When you looked at all of the former D-I, as a private school we were among the smaller members so we had common issues with both groups—the large and the small. We now need to be careful so that our voice and those of peer schools such as Duke, Northwestern and Stanford has its share of input. Some of our interests and capabilities are quite different from the very, very large state schools. We have to make sure that even though we are moving to autonomy, that autonomy literally must have some diversity in views. CN: Would we consider taking another football game to LP Field? Williams: We would take all things into consideration when making such a decision. First and foremost, we would need to have at least
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John Russell
Commodore Nation: We are in a historic period of change at the NCAA governance level. What are some of the biggest changes soon to come?
eight home games scheduled to move one off campus and the first opportunity to do that likely won’t come until 2021. We are well aware that there were some unsatisfactory fan experiences before the Ole Miss game, for example. We deeply regretted the inconvenience some fans experienced. But until we have eight home games, it’s not an option we would likely consider.
a few players that had never been in a college game before this year. Because we were having success, we didn’t have to use a lot of those freshmen last year. So we entered the year with many freshmen and redshirt freshmen. We lost some key players at skill positions and it takes time to replace them. We didn’t achieve that success overnight and we understand we have to keep working at it.
CN: There have been a number of games around the Southeastern Conference delayed or even cancelled because of lightning. The new SEC lightning policy calls for a stoppage should lightning occur within eight miles of a venue (it used to be six). Has there been any discussion that the new policy is too conservative?
CN: Talk a little about our other fall sports.
Williams: No. Safety of the fans and participants is paramount and when there are weather systems that affect a region, delays are one of the prices we pay to insure that safety. CN: What do you tell loyal Commodore fans who began the football season with high expectations? Williams: I understand those expectations. We worked to creature a culture of success and a by-product of success is high expectations. So I understand and welcome fan expectations. I do think people should understand we have a very young football team, although it may not seem that way to some people. We had quite
Williams: I understand that football is huge in the Southeast and we want our football to be successful but let’s not lose sight that we want all of our sports to be successful. Our women’s cross country team has been very encouraging in its early meets, we are running in a tight pack like we did a couple years ago when we won the SEC. Our men’s golf team is ranked sixth in the nation and opened up with a very strong tournament in Pebble Beach by finishing second with one golfer (Hunter Stewart) winning medalist honors after leading wire-to-wire. And then our women’s soccer team appears to be much improved, beating some good nonconference teams early and even when it lost, it was very competitive. I haven’t mentioned our women’s golf team that as of today hasn’t been in competition but is ranked No. 11 nationally. It won the SEC championship last spring and has nearly everyone back. Soon our tennis and bowling teams get going and they are also going to be very good this year. n
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’Dores shine for countries in global tournaments by Jerome Boettcher
F
resh off winning a national championship, Walker Buehler, Carson Fulmer, Bryan Reynolds and Dansby Swanson instantly became world travelers. That is one of the perks of representing your country. And they weren’t alone. Along with the baseball quartet, who played on USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team, four other Vanderbilt student-athletes represented their countries and played in international competition. Eight current Commodores represented three countries (Canada, Colombia and United States), traveled to five countries (Cuba, Netherlands, Peru, Taiwan and Uruguay) and won four gold medals. In addition to the baseball foursome, Paris Kea, a freshman on the women’s basketball team, also played for Team USA. Her fellow freshman teammates, Khaléann and AudreyAnn Caron-Goudreau, represented their native Canada on the hardwood. And Lina Granados, a sophomore forward on the soccer team, played in two tournaments for Colombia. “It was one of those things you knew it was a great honor going into it but you weren’t exactly sure what it entailed,” Swanson said. “But when you started playing for them, you realized the importance of being able to play for your country against other countries.” While Fulmer had played on the 18U Team USA squad in 2011, playing for their country was a new experience for Buehler, Reynolds and Swanson. And so was traveling out of the country for Reynolds and Swanson. Along with 15 games throughout South and North Carolina, Team USA also played eight games in the Netherlands and five in Cuba. For Reynolds, who is from nearby Brentwood, Tenn., just getting there was the daunting part. “The plane ride was scary because I don’t like flying to begin with,” he said. “The sevenhour flight across was rough.” When they got to Amsterdam, where they went 7-1 to win the Honkbal Week tournament title, Swanson and Reynolds experienced a different pace and culture than they were used to do. Swanson enjoyed the stress-free nature of Haarlem. Reynolds couldn’t help but notice the compact size of the cars and the difference in architecture. “The city was like a city you see in Harry Potter,” Reynolds said. “You walk down a back alley but there are shops on every corner and
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October 2014
Vanderbilt redshirt sophomore Lina Granados (bottom row, second from left) and the U-20 Colombian national team celebrates winning the gold medal at the Bolivarian Games in Peru last November.
people packed in there. Definitely different.” The team also played a five-game series in Cuba. A late addition to the team, Buehler joined the squad for the first time in Cuba. Vanderbilt became just the fifth school since 1980 to have four players on the Collegiate National Team. Though they failed to defeat the Cubans, it didn’t take away from the experience. In fact, Swanson said having more than 10,000 fans in the stands just added to the atmosphere. “Nicest people ever,” he said. “They love baseball. It is like a religion for them down there. Very, very passionate about it.” Team USA finished the summer 18-8-2. Of the eight losses, five were to Cuba and two were to Japan. In all, Team USA played four countries (Chinese Tapei, Cuba, Japan and the Netherlands) and seven teams from collegiate summer leagues. One of the biggest highlights, though, for Swanson, came stateside when his parents were in the stands on Fourth of July to watch him play Chinese Tapei in Durham, N.C. “One of the coolest things, other than the national championship, was on July 4, getting to play for USA on Independence Day,” Swanson said. “Getting a win, packed house over in Durham, 10,000 people and fireworks afterwards. It was one of those things that you didn’t realize was a dream but it was a dream
come true at the end. So that was definitely an honor. Having the USA on the front and have your own name and number on the back, it was special.” Basketball trio snags gold Currently, Paris Kea isn’t in possession of her Team USA jersey. Another family member has called dibs. “My little brother wears it to school,” Kea said, laughing, thinking about her 10-year-old brother Jermani. “I have everything but my jersey.” That No. 4 red, white and blue jersey is a prized possession. Kea donned the American colors while helping the USA squad win the gold medal at the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship in August in Colorado. Weeks before she would begin her fall semester as a freshman at Vanderbilt, Kea stood on a podium with her USA teammates, a gold medal draped around her neck and the Star Spangled Banner playing—signifying how real this moment was. “It was really amazing,” Kea said. “The whole time I was looking at my parents and my little brother. I didn’t cry. I just held my head down and prayed and thanked God for this amazing opportunity to be around some great players, great coaches, great people. It was all around an amazing experience.”
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Linh Nguyen
This wasn’t the first national team for the sisters. The pair played for Team Canada Cadette Women National Team in 2012, helping their country to a third-place finish at the World Championship in Amsterdam. But playing for Team Canada a second time—before their college careers have started—wasn’t any less special. “It is everything,” Audrey-Ann said. “Some people care more about the numbers on their chest, I always cared more about the country I represented. Because I was from a French province, I’m really honored to play for my French province and represent the French people of Canada.” Just like Kea and Team USA, Canada won all five games at the tournament. The Canadians defeated the USA squad in the gold medal game of the World Cup. “It was really amazing to win a gold medal,” Audrey-Ann said. “It was my first gold medal with national team. It was a great experience. We got to meet awesome people. And the people from Taiwan were just amazing. They’re so nice.” On the island country of Taiwan, where there are more than 23 million people and the average female height is 5-foot-2, the 6-foot-3 Canadian sisters stood out. Add to it there were two of them that looked near identical and they were basketball players, fans in Tai-
Khaléann Caron-Goudreau
Audrey-Ann Caron Goudreau
pei, Taiwan treated them like celebrities. “It was crazy. I would go to the bathroom and they would literally run after us,” Khaléann said. “They wanted my picture and my autograph. It was a really great experience. They were so into it. They freaked out when they saw there were two of us.” Getting to share the experience together was that much more rewarding for the twin sisters, who have climbed up the basketball ladder at similar paces since they jumped into the sport when they were 10. “We’re always together in everything,” Khaléann said. “It is good to have someone in my family with me on the team. She understands me and I understand her.” Added Audrey-Ann: “It was amazing. She is half of me. I don’t feel complete if she is not there.” The Vanderbilt freshman trio hopes this isn’t the last time they’ll represent their countries.
GARRET T W. ELLWOOD
Kea wasn’t the only Commodore freshman to live a dream and win gold for her country. In fact, Kea and twin sisters Khaléann Caron-Goudreau and Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau all won gold medals on the basketball court this summer. While Kea was representing America, the Caron-Goudreau sisters were representing their province of Quebec in helping the Canadian Senior B national team win gold at the William Jones Cup International Tournament in Taiwan. “We’re the only French province so I’m really proud to represent my French province,” Khaléann Caron-Goudreau said. It is an honor for me to be on the Canadian team and represent my family and my friends. It was just great. I was just proud.” Kea stayed in the states as the FIBA Americas U18 Championship was held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. She made the 12-member team back in May after an intense week of tryouts. Kea, a 5-foot-8 point guard from Greensboro, N.C., couldn’t believe what she was hearing when it was announced on the last day of tryouts that she made the team. Kea is the first Commodore to make a USA team since Christina Wirth helped the U-19 team win the gold medal at the World Championship in 2005. “It felt amazing,” Kea said. “At first I was surprised. I had to get them to repeat my name. I was like, ‘You said me?’ Everybody was like, ‘Yeah, Paris. They said you.’ Oh, snap. That was really amazing.” Kea returned to Colorado later that summer to begin training. In the process, she received great lessons from USA head coach Dawn Staley (South Carolina) and assistants Kim Barnes Arico (Michigan) and Jeff Walz (Louisville). Kea said learning from Staley, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, was especially helpful. In August, Team USA swept through the tournament to the crown. The U-18 team won its seventh straight gold medal by defeating Canada and Kea scored 19 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 17 assists in five games. “It was a rush of energy (to make Team USA),” Kea said. “I was really excited. I knew it was my first really, really big breakthrough. To have my little brother there, he looks up to me. So it felt really good that he would be able to see me succeed and play for the USA team.” The Caron-Goudreau sisters also kept busy in August, making the Canadian Development National Team. After 10 days of training camp, they then flew over to Taiwan for nine days.
Vanderbilt freshman point guard Paris Kea from Greensboro, N.C., helped Team USA win the gold medal at the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship in August. Kea scored 19 points, had 11 rebounds and had 17 assists in five games.
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Year away one to remember for Granados Vanderbilt redshirt sophomore Lina Granados will never forget the first time she put on that yellow Colombian jersey. She was 17, ready to take the soccer field to represent her native country of Colombia in the 2012 South American U-20 Women’s Championship in Brazil. The Colombian national anthem, ¡Oh Gloria inmarcesible!—translated O Unfading Glory—blasted through the speakers. Born in Columbia but having lived most of her childhood in the United States, Granados had just learned the words two weeks before. It didn’t matter. Tears rolled down her face as the national anthem played. Less than two years later, again representing Columbia in international competition, Granados beamed with pride and a gold medal around her neck as ¡Oh Gloria inmarcesible! rang through the stadium. “When it started playing, it is a wave of emotions,” she said. “Colombians are very passionate people. They’re very proud of where they come from. Just being able to wear that jersey and being able to say I’m one of the 18 out of 48 million Colombians in a sport they love so much is just a crazy experience. It still gives me goose bumps.” Two weeks before preseason practice at Vanderbilt began last summer, Granados received a call-up she couldn’t turn down. She had been chosen to play on the Colombian U-20 national team in the Bolivarian Games—a regional multi-sport event held in South America between the countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. In addition, Colombia also had a chance to qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in January. Thus, Granados, a 5-foot-6 forward, spent a year away from school to fulfill a dream. “It is one of those things where you can’t give up an opportunity like that. Totally worth it,” Granados said. “In the long run, what’s graduating a year early or a year late? 21, 22, it is not going to make a huge difference. But these experiences… They say you learn more from traveling than you do sitting in the classroom.” Though Granados was born in Colombia, her family moved to Costa Rica when she was 2 years old for her father’s job with Exxon Mobil. Three years later, they moved to Ashburn, Va., where she has lived since. At the age of 15, while visiting family in Colombia she was informally
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Kea wants to play on the U-19 team next year. Khaleann and Audrey-Ann already have their sights on playing for Canada in the 2020 Olympics. “It does motivate me,” Kea said. “I played for the USA U-18 team. I know they have a college team. Of course that motivates me to want to play again, prove myself again.”
Vanderbilt’s Carson Fulmer pitches for Team USA during a game this past summer. The junior was one of four Commodores to play on the Collegiate National Team.
invited to play with players three or four years older than her. The U-20 coach was on hand and invited her to try out. Thought she didn’t make the U-20 team, the experience fueled her fire to represent her country. Two years later, she played for the U-20 team in the South American Women’s World Championship. “When you have that jersey on they say you don’t just represent your country, you represent your family, you represent where you’re from and everything you believe in,” she said. Last fall, she put that jersey back on for the Bolivarian Games in Peru in November. For the first time in the history of the games, which dates back to 1938, Colombia was the top medaling nation. The U-20 women’s soccer team did its part, capturing the gold medal by defeating Venezuela in penalty kicks. As exhilarating as winning the gold medal was, Granados enjoyed the entire experience. When stepping off the bus to enter the stadium, the Colombian team would announce its arrival by breaking into song and dance. “In Peru, the Peruvian team got (eliminated) in the first round,” she said. “Somehow we won the hearts of all the Peruvians over there. We sing and dance. It is kind of Colombia. You sing and dance and you’re always happy… It was mind-blowing to be a part of that. We would go out and people want to take pictures and ask for autographs. It was just really cool.” And the journey continued into 2014. In January, she joined the U-20 team in Uru-
guay for the South American qualifier for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. Unfortunately, Colombia finished third, missing out on qualifying by one point as only the top two teams qualify. Her run with the U-20s might be over, but her chance to represent her country is not. This summer, she was called up to be a practice player for the full Colombian national team. Within a few days, one of the players on the team tore her ACL and Granados was added to the official training roster. Though she didn’t join the squad in international competition in September—not wanting to miss more school—she’ll get a chance to tryout again next May for the team that plays in the 2015 Women’s World Cup. That same squad will also try to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The opportunity this past summer to practice with the national team was another dream come true for Granados. She can recall icing a torn meniscus in her knee and watching the 2012 Olympics. Those same players she idolized then, she was now sharing a field. “I’ve seen these girls walk out. I’ve seen them stop by and train. They were just these idols to me,” she said. “These girls who have had so much experience. I was afraid to make a mistake. But they were so supportive and so caring and nice. They just legitimately want the best player on the field and want the best for you.” Granados admits when she first started playing for her home country nearly five years ago, she was hesitant to mention she lived in the United States. She was afraid her American accent when she spoke Spanish would give her away. There was a belief by some that the Colombian Football Federation should only recruit players who were born and raised in Colombia. But Granados said she always felt support from her U-20 coach. She remarked that last year in Peru, the team grew as a family, spending all their time together. In January, Granados counted six players on the team who either lived in the U.S. or Canada but had Colombian connections. For Granados, she has been fortunate to have the best of both worlds—and wear that vibrant yellow Colombian jersey in the process. “I’m just really proud of being able to say I came to the states but I still am so proud of where I came from,” Granados said. “I think one of the first things that anybody knows about me when they meet me is that I’m Colombian. It is my life. It is part of me. It’s who I am. I’m really proud of that. I guess I was young and afraid that it would mean I wouldn’t fit in. But it is like when I’m here I say I’m Colombian and when I’m there I say I’m from the states. I grew up in the states. It is something to be proud of, where you come from.” n
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Coach’s Handbook: Associate head coach Holly Clark
What were the enjoyable and challenging parts of starting a golf program? The most challenging was probably the fact the girls were my age. One of them was one of my teammates in college and she transferred in (from Tennessee). That’s hard. It’s hard to discipline a team of girls close to your age because you’re not sure they are going to listen to what you have to say…I expected so much out of those girls. In turn, I’m sure they probably expected a lot out of me. I was probably a lot harder than I ever needed to be. I look back and I just was young and didn’t know any different. How much did that experience as a head coach help you in your transition to Vanderbilt? I wore a lot of hats as a head coach. We didn’t have the resources as we do here, so you learn to make due with a tiny budget. We were cooking dinner in the hotel room to have food to go with us. The first trip I took with my team, we drove to Jacksonville, Fla., and I never had driven a 15-passenger van. And I drove that sucker to Florida and back in three days. It was crazy. You learn to be a nutritionist and sports psychologist and (athletic) trainer and coach. You name it. You do it. I was probably trying to give them the best experience I knew they could have. I think they were in for a rude awakening. I don’t think they expected to come in and play serious golf. I was all about it. But we came in and won our conference championship the first year. For me, that was rewarding. I was really pleased with how they did. But, looking back, I would have done things way differently. But it made coming here so much easier. I could really focus on the few things I really needed to get done and do them well. You thought about going to med school. What direction did you want to go? In college, in order to go to med school, you have to have a ton of volunteer hours. I worked in the (athletic) training room. I spent all my (10-20 volunteer hours a week) working in the training room. I worked at the hospital and whirlpool physical therapy, which was really a nice way of calling it wound care. Cleaning nasty, horrible open wounds and helping doctors do stitches, it is just about the craziest thing I’ve done. It was wild. I really wanted to go into pediatric orthopedics. I wanted to do surgery. When I got married and quickly realized I wanted a family, that being a surgeon was time demanding, plus being in school for a long time. It is an incredibly tough job…I started thinking, ‘OK, I’m going to be a coach for a little while longer and do I really feel like this is something in my heart I want to do.’ The more I got away from (medical school), the more I thought I really love coaching. I found a way I could still spend time with
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Tim Cowie
In her fifth season at Vanderbilt, associate head coach Holly Clark has played an instrumental role in the success of the women’s golf program. Clark and head coach Greg Allen have led the Commodores to a program-record five straight NCAA Championship appearances and the 2014 SEC Championship. The Morristown, Tenn., native played collegiately at Tennessee, where she was an Academic All-American. Just months after she graduated from college, she started the golf program at Division II Carson Newman, where she was the head coach for three years.
Associate head coach Holly Clark enters her fifth season at Vanderbilt. The Tennessee native was an Academic All-American at the University of Tennessee.
kids and do what I wanted to do. It just wasn’t operating on them. It is like operating while they’re awake. In a sense, it is the same kind of rewarding thing to me. What would be your top moment since you’ve been at Vanderbilt? Winning an SEC Championship last year? It is seeing these kids get here as young, clueless, immature kids and watching them grow and leave here knowing they’re going to go make a difference in the world and that they are good kids. They changed us more than we could ever change them. Renee Sobolewski just graduated and she’s awesome. I’ll get emotional talking about it, but she is cool. She is a good kid. When she came in here—we came in together— she was a loose cannon, ‘Hi! I’m here for my freshman year and I play golf.’ I was the new coach and she was the only freshman so I roomed with her on the road. Watching her grow from freshman year until she graduated was awesome. You could just see, it is like looking at a toddler, and seeing the wheels crank and watching them realize this is what life is about. It’s not about golf. It’s not about getting a 4.0. It’s about other stuff. She got it. That kind of stuff is way more gratifying than championships. What you look back and appreciate is the journey and what it took to get there. What it is like to have a young daughter? (Harper Kenley was born on April 17, 2013.) It is awesome. It makes you want to have a bunch of kids. I just love it. But it is challenging. When I get home, I totally forget about anything I have to do here, which is great because it was never like that. I would get on my computer after dinner and be like, ‘OK, what can I do to get a jumpstart on recruiting?’ Now, it is like, ‘OK, it is bath time or diaper duty.’ It is something all the time. Harper is at an age where she is running into everything and she wants to explore. She is wild. Everything goes in the mouth. When you get home, you’re not going to sit down until 9 o’clock. It’s wild in my house. And I’m usually cleaning a lot. It looks like a hurricane spins through daily. n
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Senior circuit: Quintet of ’Dores leave legacy on course by David Dawson
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TERRY WYAT T
hen they first arrived on campus, the athletes who formed the 2011 cross country freshman class were stamped with a variety of contrasting labels. Talented. But untested. Ambitious. But unacclimated. Enthusiastic. But inexperienced. Add up those adjectives and it equaled a considerable amount of uncertainty for Vanderbilt head coach Steve Keith, who remembers being optimistic about the group’s potential, but admits he wasn’t sure what kind of lasting impact the group would have at Vanderbilt. “As a whole, we liked them and we were excited to have them in the program,” he said, “but we didn’t know what was going to happen. On paper, they weren’t as touted, nationally, as some of the other classes we’ve had since then.” Four years later, the landscape looks different. The freshmen class of 2011— which included Hannah Jumper, Claire Benjamin, Amira Joseph, Grace Orders and Rebecca Chandler—has emphatically answered every question. From left to right, Becca Chandler, Hannah Jumper, Emma Abrahamson and Amira Joseph compete in the Commodore Classic at Percy Warner Park in September. Chandler, Jumper and Joseph all arrived at Vanderbilt in 2011 as promising freshmen. Together, they have played an integral role in helping the Vanderbilt program when we were all being recruited because (the team) had never made it to rise to unprecedented heights, and they are now hoping to close out their nationals before.” careers by leading the Commodores to their fourth straight appearance at Naturally, each of the five girls has her own story to tell in regard to the the NCAA Championships. To put that in perspective, consider this: Prior to journey that led to this point in time. In addition to a sizable list of injuries 2011, Vanderbilt had never advanced to nationals in the program’s history. among the five, there has also been the emotional highs and lows that all “Making it four years in a row is a very nice goal to have,” said Keith, “and cross country runners seem to inevitably encounter. that would be a true legacy for this group.” “They’ve been through the whole gamut of college experiences,” Etching out a permanent imprint on the program was essentially just said Keith. a distant vision to the members of the 2011 group when they first landed And yet, the group has persevered and prospered—and their deterat Vanderbilt. mined spirit has not been overlooked by their teammates. “When you’re a freshman, you don’t necessarily have that mentality,” “(The seniors) are huge emotional supporters for the team and they are said Chandler. “You just say to yourself, ‘Ok, I have to survive and make my an incredibly talented group of girls,” said junior Sara Barron. “They are all way through freshman year.’ But over the past two years, I feel like we have amazing in terms of their work ethic and their national talent. They have started to kind of take responsibility for the team in terms of being leaders. each had to face some sort of major adversity and they haven’t given up. And this year, we’re even more ready to do that.” It’s inspiring.” With the veterans helping lead the way, the Commodores have roared The amount of hardships the group has endured has seemingly out to a great start in 2014. They delivered dominating performances at enhanced the chemistry among the five girls, who have developed a contheir first two meets of the season, the Belmont Opener and the Commonection that goes well beyond the paint-marked boundaries of a crossdore Classic, and easily won both races. The Commodores placed seven country course. runners among the top-eight at the first race, and had five of the top seven The five carry a strong bond, despite hailing from all parts of the country. at the second event. Benjamin is from Richmond, Va. Chandler is a native of Jacksonville, Fla. Vanderbilt entered the season with a No. 23 ranking and was ranked No. Amira Joseph calls Portland, Ore., home. Grace Orders is also from the West 2 in the South Regional—further proof of how the team has established Coast, growing up in Moraga, Calif. Jumper, a redshirt junior, is the lone itself as a national force. Tennessee native, hailing from Chattanooga. “It’s been an incredible experience,” Jumper said of the Commodores’ “We’re really close, even outside of running,” said Chandler. “From the rise in the past three years. “I don’t think any of us necessarily expected it
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TERRY WYAT T
DANIEL DUBOIS TERRY WYAT T
Senior Claire Benjamin, far right, enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2013, including a personal-best at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational. Benjamin, a native of Richmond, Va., is hoping to guide Vanderbilt to a fourth straight NCAA Championship.
Vanderbilt senior Grace Orders, middle, videotapes assistant coach Rhonda Riley’s talk to the team before the Commodores won the team title at the Commodore Classic at Percy Warner Park in August.
time we first came in, we’ve been one of the strongest classes in terms of personality. I’d say we have a really, really strong bond. We’re all really different people outside of running, and we all have different interests. … We all have different strengths and weaknesses, but I think, in a way, that makes us stronger. We appreciate each other for who we are.” Jumper said the Commodores’ recent run of success has resulted in a noticeable change to the team’s approach to each new year. “In the past, our goal was to make it nationals,” she said. “Now we go into the season with specific goals for what we want to accomplish once we get to nationals. So, definitely that is one thing that has changed over the years: our expectations of ourselves.” Although Joseph is the only one among the group that has competed in the NCAA Championship in each of the past three seasons, each of the five girls in the group considers it to be a team accomplishment to advance to nationals, regardless of who participates. “It’s a huge motivation for us,” said Jumper. “At this point, we just want to keep adding to the list of things our team has never done. Our team has obviously never made it to nationals for four straight years, so we are focused on that.” Aside from being a closeknit class, the Commodore veterans have an open-door policy with the other girls on the roster. Whether it’s serving as a venting post during a stressful time or simply offering words of encouragement after a race, the seniors step up. “They are such a core Senior Amira Joseph from Portland, Ore., has for our team,” Barron said. run at the last three NCAA Championships.
“They are always there for everybody else. When I came in as a freshman, each and every one of them became one of my closest friends and mentors. And I feel like that was true for my entire class, and last year’s freshmen and this year’s freshmen, too.” Vanderbilt assistant coach Rhonda RIley said the impact that the five girls have had on the program is immeasurable. “When you look at what they done, as a whole, it’s a huge accomplishment,” said Riley. “They’ve each had periods of success, individually, on their own time and that has created great momentum for the program. And in terms of leadership, this group has been as strong as any that we’ve had.” Chandler said the leadership qualities displayed by the Vanderbilt veterans has emerged as a result of the lessons they learned while watching other seniors in previous seasons. The seniors on Vanderbilt’s 2011 team, which produced a historic season that culminated with the team’s first SEC Championship, were especially influential. “The senior class when we were freshmen were just amazing leaders,” said Chandler. “They were really the first group of girls that started taking the team in the right direction. And I think all of us who were freshmen on that team decided that is who were going to be when we were seniors.” The 2011 senior class—which included team captains Alexa Rogers and Louise Hannallah along with Jordan White and Erin McManue—continue to have a connection with the program. And the framework they developed during their careers is still in place today. “We still talk to them and are still close with them,” said Chandler. “And really, we (the current seniors) are trying to emulate the things that they did.” When the 2011 team qualified for the NCAA Championships, it enabled the freshmen on the roster to get a feel for what it is like to compete on a national level, even for those who didn’t run. “That was great,” said Jumper, “because we all were there and we saw what this program could be.” Although they don’t necessarily spend much time thinking about it, the Vanderbilt veterans are aware that they are in position to leave their fingerprints on the program. And they certainly aren’t taking that for granted. “Vanderbilt is a really special place—academically, athletically, socially. All of it,” said Jumper. “And I think one day, all of us can look back and say we made the most of our time here. And a large part of that will be just knowing that we helped build this program be the best it can be.” n
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Vanderbilt senior defensive tackle Vince Taylor is a force to be reckoned with in the weight room, having bench pressed 460 pounds.
Taylor channels power through weight lifting by Jerome Boettcher
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t 320 pounds, senior Vince Taylor is one of the biggest players on the football team. But Vanderbilt’s veteran defensive tackle says he wasn’t always built this way. “I was always a smaller guy,” he said. “I was already shorter than everybody else. So me being short and little that didn’t get me on the field.” So when he was 10 years old, he decided to strengthen his way onto the football field. His mom bought him a weight set from a garage sale. With a bench seat and squat rack and numerous weights accrued from different places, Taylor fell in love with getting buff. His passion even got him into a bind on more than one occasion. Though warned by his mom not to lift when she wasn’t around, Taylor couldn’t resist. And there were times were 10-year-old Vince Taylor bit off more than he could chew. “When she used to go to work, I used to put too much on the bench and too much when I used to squat sometimes. Sometimes I would get stuck,” he said. “The only way I could lift it was digging deep and lifting the weight up off me. I was the only guy around my age lifting weights. People used to come over and think my mom had a boyfriend. But that was my stuff.” Twelve years later, Taylor continues to be a giant in the weight room. The 6-foot-1 keeps the mentality that he is the smallest guy in the room—even though he is far from it—as he bench presses as much as 460 pounds and squat presses 500 pounds as many as 10 times. He has morphed throughout his football career from a middle school quarterback and running back to linebacker to defensive tackle his last two years at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Miss.
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In addition, he was a three-year letter winner on the track team in shot put and discus. And he was a part of Oak Grove’s power lifting team. Beefing up to 300 pounds if he had to, Taylor helped Oak Grove reach state power lifting competitions. He finished third as a junior in the 275-pound weight class at the 5A South State Powerlifting Meet, lifting an incredible 1,320 pounds. “I enjoyed it and I noticed I started to get bigger than a lot of the kids I was around,” said Taylor, who will graduate in December with a degree in urban development and social change. “What’s funny is even though I lift as much as I do now and as big as I am now, my mind is still that I’m a small guy. Every team we play I feel like I am the smallest guy on the field. That is what keeps me lifting.” But Taylor admits there is more to strength and conditioning than weight lifting. He credits the strength and conditioning staff, led by director of football sports performance Bill Hughan, for stressing the importance of stretching and flexibility in workouts. Already Taylor has seen a carryover effect on the football field, where he has recovered two fumbles this season in addition to 17 tackles and a sack after the first five games. “When the new staff came in, their whole emphasis was getting our bodies leaner so we can play longer and (to have) flexibility,” he said. “That is something I have never taken the time out to actually work towards. I’ve always lifted a lot of weights, play football. But as a football player it is more than just lifting weights. Your body is your job. You have to do everything to keep your body healthy.” n
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THE VU From Here
Phil Turner
By Jerome Boettcher Phil Turner gets quite literal when he talks about his love of Commodore sports. “I think if they drew blood it would be a mixture of black and gold,” Turner said. “I’ve grown up in it and it is just a huge part of my life.” A longtime Vanderbilt fan, Turner became immersed in black and gold at a young age. His father, Phillips Turner, Sr., was a three-sport athlete at Vanderbilt. The elder Turner not only graduated from Vanderbilt but also returned to West End after a brief stint with the St. Louis Cardinals for medical school, where he finished in 1939. Phil Turner can remember making constant trips with his dad from their home in Lebanon to watch numerous Vanderbilt basketball games. Phil then attended Vanderbilt for part of his undergrad and graduated from Vanderbilt law school in 1971. “He was just a wonderful father and mentor for me,” Turner said of the late Phillips Turner, Sr. “Boy, did we go to Vanderbilt sports.” And Phil Turner continues to root on the Commodores. Over the last decade, Turner, who is a retired trial lawyer and lives in Green Hills, has been a staple at Hawkins Field for baseball games. At most home games, Turner can be found watching with Alice Henley, a professor at Vanderbilt. “She has been my buddy for 20 years,” he said. “We would go every game and she is absolutely the love of my life. We would go to the games, sit there and freeze or burn up (laughs). We’ve been through a lot together.” The pair sits in the right field bleachers, in the last row, in the first two seats adjacent to the stairs. “I sit about as far away from the Vanderbilt baseball team as a person can get,” Turner said. “I wouldn’t give them up either. I’ve got some nice people out there and they’re all rabid Vanderbilt fans. It is a crew of people who are just nice to be around. They’re not the fancy seats but they sure are the favorite seats. I really enjoy being out there with that crowd.”
“It has been the best ticket in Nashville,” Turner said. “Just a fine coach (in Tim Corbin), a wonderful program. Just so many fine people are involved in supporting that program and those young men. Gosh, it is just fun to watch them grow up. Baseball has been really fun to watch as those young men through the years develop under a great coach. It is an overall terrific program.” We Want Your Ticket Stories The ticket office has long been a place to hear some of the best examples of the love affair between Vanderbilt fans and their seats for Vanderbilt games. Whether you met your spouse in the student section, shared popcorn with your grandfather from the very top row of the endzone in Section L or truly believe that row 25 in your section was made for you and 24 friends, we want to hear your point of VU (pronounced “view”) of Commodore Football. In 150 words or less, send in your stories to ticket.office@vanderbilt.edu. We will select some of our favorites to share with other Commodore fans. If your “VU From Here” story is selected, we will give you two tickets to a home game this season, in the hope that you will pay them forward to attract new fans to Vanderbilt Stadium. n
COME TO HARPETH HALL
Go Beyond YOUR EXPECTATIONS!
As it for so many Vanderbilt fans, watching the team come together to win a national championship was a thrill for a Commodore lifer. “Could it get any better than last year?” Turner said. “Could you believe that? Wasn’t that wonderful? I remember in February sitting out there in the sleet and snow spitting, rain some times and they were not doing so well early on. I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness it was going to be a long season.’ They just developed into a terrific team.” Though he has frequented many basketball games at Memorial Gymnasium and watched several football games at Dudley Field, Turner, by far, enjoys his experience at Hawkins Field. From chatting up a security guard or usher to getting to know other fans around him, Turner feels at home when he is at Hawkins Field. He also can’t think of a better program to root for.
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ADMISSION OPEN HOUSE For Parents and Daughters Sunday, November 9 • 2 p.m. Registration begins at 1:30 p.m.
www.harpethhall.org
3801 Hobbs Road | Nashville, TN 37215 | 615-346-0126 Financial Aid Available
East receives honor for good works
It’s My Turn By Rod Williamson
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rendy or Tradition? In 1985 the Bellamy Brothers had a popular song. “Old Hippie” was about a confused guy in the aging process with a chorus that began:
joe howell
‘Cause he’s an old hippie And he don’t know what to do Should he hang on to the old Should he grab on to the new’
Vanderbilt graduate student Andrew East, a captain and long snapper on the football team, was named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team in September.
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anderbilt starting long snapper Andrew East was named to the Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team. East, a first-year graduate student from Indianapolis, becomes the second Commodore named to the prestigious Allstate-AFCA Good Works Team in as many years. Former All-Southeastern Conference placekicker Carey Spear was recognized last year in 2013. East is a two-time Vanderbilt team captain who has started all 43 games of his career as the team’s primary snapper, and is regarded among the best in the nation at the specialty. East has been involved in a variety of service activities. He has traveled to Mexico, Peru and Haiti with Spring Break and church-led mission trips, helping to improve housing and facilities while mentoring youth during each trip. Closer to home, East has frequently visited with hurting kids at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, spoken to several elementary school classes, and participated with an array of local community service efforts, including Room at the Inn and Seven Bridges Ministry assisting the homeless in Nashville and Atlanta, respectively. He has also assisted the Harvest Hands non-profit organization during summers in Nashville. East is also a two-time president of Vanderbilt’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes and has worked in conjunction with the CrossPoint Serving Saturdays organization that aims to clean and improve inner-city neighborhoods in Nashville. East earned a civil engineering degree from Vanderbilt in May 2014, and is currently enrolled in graduate courses at Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Management. n
vucommodores.com
That verse sums up a conundrum that many collegiate administrators, concerned about national trends of declining game attendance and current tastes, are struggling to figure out these days. Just how do you interest a younger generation that no longer sees coming to the ballgame as the must-do social event that their parents and grandparents once did? What traditions do you cherish and which ones can be retired? Once upon a time, fans picked up a game program for two bits and hurried inside to enjoy the spectacle of the marching band’s pre-game show. We had Homecoming queens, pep rallies, parades. Being there was the thing to do. For some, those days have vaporized into cyberspace in favor of social media and the fact that what wowed crowds a half century ago has lost its zip. It’s a different entertainment world today. Flat screen televisions have hundreds of channels; some stadiums have video boards as big as ocean liners. In urban settings, citizens have all kinds of entertainment options. The internet has in some ways brought people together and in other ways, pulled us apart. Some might not need a ballgame for their social fix. Most of us value tradition but it’s often the tradition we have lived. What’s an important custom to me, because we’ve developed a bank of memories around it, means much less to a teenager. C.M. Newton once said that in recruiting, “tradition” means one or two years in the past. Anything beyond that is ancient history. In the quest to be trendy, or more likely, to connect with blue chip recruits—some schools have ditched traditional and recognizable uniforms for the flavor of the month. Would McDonalds ditch the golden arches under any circumstances? Would CBS junk it’s ironic eye logo? Of course not; that is how the public knows who they are and what they represent. So why wear smoke gray jerseys or cammo helmets? I digress. Where administrators are really torn in the “keep or discard” discussion is when sagging student attendance is the topic. With a handful of exceptions, student attendance is off all across the country. If a student doesn’t attend games when she can walk from the dorms, what are the odds in 15 years she suddenly starts showing up? Scary! Choosing tradition or trendy boils down to one’s perception of the future with one eye on the past and another on the present. Let’s keep in mind there is a new generation of sports fan curious to discover traditions they might one day embrace while their elders coveted the practices of the past. Tradition is a cornerstone of college athletics. Let’s nurture the best of the past while being open to new ways of today. And realize that won’t be so easy. n
C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N
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My Game
Rebeca Reguero
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competitive bowler since the seventh grade, left-handed Rebeca Reguero wraps up her career this year as a senior for the Commodores. The Glendale, Ariz., native was instrumental in Vanderbilt reaching the NCAA Championship for the ninth straight year. Off the lanes, she is an engineering science major who made the SEC Academic Honor Roll last year. CN: So you stepped onto campus as a bio medical engineering science major but have switched to engineer sciences? Rebeca Reguero: I want to go into project management in the healthcare industry. Coming in, I had an interest in the medical field. I liked the courses I was taking but I was realizing it wasn’t something I could see myself pursuing in that type of field. So I switched to engineering science, which is considered more of the business side of things and it opened up the double minor and I realized I love the business aspect of it but I love the problem solving skills. CN: This past summer you were a project management intern for Nashville based Emdeon, a healthcare IT company. How was that experience? Reguero: That was a really neat experience. I wouldn’t mind going back and working with them. I was a project management intern with a specific team in the IT department so I helped to oversee their projects, track progress, helped them when I could. I actually took the lead on one of them that had visibility and impact felt up to the CEO. We had two presentations as an internship team in front of a bunch of senior executives at the end of the experience. It was fun. A lot of people found it really intimidating but that didn’t bother me at all. Going up in front of them I was totally fine. It was another presentation. I like being put in that type of situation where it goes to a higher up authority.
CN: So were you planning on coming to Vanderbilt all along for bowling? Reguero: Vanderbilt wasn’t really on my radar until I was recruited my senior year. Being out in Arizona, there are not a lot of NCAA schools (with bowling teams) near me. So NCAA wasn’t really something I was looking into. But they started recruiting me the beginning of my senior year. After I came on my visit and I looked at the academics and talked to some of my teachers, this is really the only place I wanted to go. CN: Has Vanderbilt, being a member of the bowling team been what you expected? Reguero: It has. I think everybody comes in with a little bit of a glorified version but I think this has lived up to a lot of my expectations and it is an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything and one I’m going to remember. Bringing in 12, 13 different girls from across the nation and learning you have these lifelong relationships afterwards, I love it. n
CN: You started your high school bowling program? Reguero: Yes. High school bowling in Arizona is not as big as it is in other places so my school didn’t have a team. So I bowled for a different school my freshman year but some things happened. I ended up starting a team that was considered off campus because they couldn’t find a sponsor. But I still had to get permission from the school to use our school name. So I ended up starting that program. We went to state for four years. It was great. We won three out of the four team titles. CN: How exciting was it to see a program you started have such success? Reguero: It was really great. It was a lot of fun from a team aspect, especially my sophomore and junior year. It was neat seeing a program that hadn’t been in existence and then pulling girls from my high school that had never bowled before, bringing them along and making it to state and then winning it. I capped my career, senior year I shot 300 one of the games at state. That was a nice little capstone there.
JOHN RUSSELL
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October 2014
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