February 2010
NEW DECADE
NEW OPPORTUNITY 2010 BASEBALL PREVIEW
table of contents 10
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2 Compliance Corner 4 National Commodore Club 6 In My Words
Jessica Mooney
10 Booker Remains SEC Fixture Booker has been courtside since 1994 12 A Scout’s Eye
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Corey Chavous starts scouting web site
13 It’s My Turn—Rod Williamson
Winning At All Costs
14 Baseball Preview
Vandy returns seven everyday players
16 Life On The Practice Squad
Langford reflects on rookie year
17 Stallings Climbs VU Wins List
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He ranks second in victories
18 Shooting for Nothing But Net(s)
Joe Duffy helps fight against malaria
19 What to Watch for The month ahead 20 Quick Hits A look at Vanderbilt’s sports teams 23 Perspectives Pete Naylor
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Letters Jermaine Beal is Mr. Consistency Until the numbers were broken down, I had never thought of how valuable Jermaine Beal has been to Vanderbilt’s team. I appreciate Commodore Nation helping me, and I’m sure other Commodore fans, become more appreciative of the contributions Beal has made to this program. With so many outstanding players to come through Vanderbilt, it is hard to believe that Beal may end up as the winningest player in school history. Sure, he’s benefitted from being on some good teams, but with the exception of his freshman year, he has been a vital reason why each team has been good. Roger, Donelson, Tenn.
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Trip to Far East is Learning Opportunity It was great to see how much the players and coaches believe they got out of their trip to (the Far East). Being afforded the opportunity to see a different part of the world is an experience that those on the trip will be able to tell their grandchildren about in years to come. I also believe that the importance of facing top-level talent during the fall will give the Commodores a jump-start on other programs around the country when the season begins. Having the opportunity to go on a trip like that over Thanksgiving is another thing that separates Vanderbilt from other universities. Christy, Brentwood, Tenn.
The Mystique and Aura of Memorial Gym I really appreciate the article on venerable old Memorial Gym. That you could get the old girl to tell you that much was impressive. There is some really fascinating history in that building. Doug, Nashville
To submit a letter, e-mail CN at: commodorenation@vanderbilt.edu. Letters should include the writer’s name and address and may be edited for clarity and space.
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COMPLIANCE
COR NER Q: A:
Sweet Feet is a women’s soccer student-athlete at Vanderbilt. Sweet decided that she wanted to devote more time to her academics, so she voluntarily quit the team midway through the fall term. Sweet received a partial athletic scholarship and other countable aid during the fall term. Sweet’s athletic scholarship was cancelled at the end of the fall term. Is Vanderbilt required to count the other countable financial aid toward Sweet during the spring term? No. NCAA Bylaw 15.5.3.2.3 states that if a student-athlete is dismissed from or voluntarily withdraws from a team and his or her athletically related financial aid is canceled (see Bylaws 15.3.2.4 and 15.3.4.2) during an academic term, all other countable financial aid the student-athlete receives during the remainder of the term is countable toward the student-athlete’s equivalency for the academic year; however, the institution is not required to count other countable financial aid toward the student-athlete’s equivalency during any remaining terms of the academic year. If a student-athlete is dismissed from or voluntarily withdraws from a team and his or her athletically related financial aid is canceled at the end of an academic term, the institution is not required to count other countable financial aid toward the student-athlete’s equivalency during any remaining terms of the academic year. (Adopted: 12/13/05)
George Midgett Compliance Coordinator 615/322-2083 george.d.midgett@vanderbilt.edu
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
Daniel Dubois Steve Green Jimmy Jones John Russell Philadelphia Eagles St. Louis Rams
Contributors: Andy Boggs
Cal Cook Larry Leathers
Compliance questions? Please contact: Candice Lee Director of Compliance 615/322-7992 candice.lee@vanderbilt.edu
Editorial
John Peach Compliance Coordinator 615/343-1060 john.w.peach@vanderbilt.edu
Thomas Samuel Chris Weinman Travis Young
Administrative
Chancellor: Nicholas S. Zeppos Vice Chancellor for University Affairs: David Williams II Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs: Beth Fortune
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: (L-R) Baseball players Brian Harris, Andrew Giobbi and Russell Brewer PHOTO: John Russell POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to National Commodore Club, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212. SUBSCRIPTION: To subscribe to Commodore Nation, please contact Ryan Schulz by phone at 615/343-4396 or by e-mail at commodorenation@vanderbilt.edu 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
COR N E R
PHONE: 615/322-4114 • ONLINE: vanderbilt.edu/ncc FLORIDA GAME • JANUARY 9, 2010
Former men’s basketball players attended the Rebounders Reunion after the Florida game.
Men’s basketball head coach Kevin Stallings with Bob Warren (right).
Men’s basketball color analyst Tim Thompson (left) with NCC member Glen Clem.
Eric Reid with his son.
PAVE THE WAY Vanderbilt alumni and friends can become a permanent part of Vanderbilt Stadium with the “Pave the Way” program, which allows fans the opportunity to purchase commemorative bricks that will be the centerpiece of VU’s new walkways outside the stadium. Bricks are available to purchase at a cost of $250. Bricks can be ordered through vucommodores.com or by calling the NCC at 615/322-4114. NCC member Al McKinney (left) with his daughter Alison McKinney and King Rice.
1974 PEACH BOWL TEAM ENDOWS SCHOLARSHIP The 1974 Peach Bowl team will forever be remembered for its play on the field, but now it also will be remembered for its generosity off the field. With more than 50 contributors, the team (including coaches, players, managers and cheerleaders) has given more than $315,000 through gifts and pledges to endow a scholarship. The 1974 Peach Bowl team is the second team in Vanderbilt history to endow a football scholarship (1955 Gator Bowl team). The team and coaches will be recognized during halftime of the Vanderbilt vs. LSU men’s basketball game on February 13th. A special note of appreciation goes to co-chairs Tate Rich and Jamie O’Rourke for their time and support on this project.
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Vanderbilt athletics has more than 50 student athletes and two coaches on endowed scholarships. A gift to the endowment, whether for an athletic scholarship or a coaching chair, is an investment that ensures our success not only today, but for generations to come. If you are interested in endowing a scholarship or would like more information, please call 615/322-4114.
$900,000 will endow an athletics grant-in-aid scholarship $600,000 will endow a full athletics scholarship $300,000 will endow a partial athletics scholarship $100,000 will endow a Black and Gold Society scholarship
FLORIDA GAME • JANUARY 9, 2010 National Commodore Club members gathered in the Admiral’s Room during the Florida game.
Former basketball player and NCC member Bob Funke (left) with former player Bill Ligon.
VU team physician and NCC member Dr. Harrison Shull (left) with Bill Clarkson.
NCC members Pat Emery and his wife, Kitty Moon Emery.
Ella (left) and Sloan Fridrich.
NCC member Clay Jackson (left) with Tom Curtis.
KEEP YOUR MEMBERSHIP CURRENT To retain parking and ticket benefits, please renew your NCC membership each year by May 31. If you don’t receive parking or ticket benefits, renew by June 30 to continue your support of Vanderbilt’s student-athletes. Call 615/322-4114, click vucommodores.com or come by the office in the McGugin Center to make your gift. Every gift is allocated toward the goal of funding student-athlete scholarships. Thank you for your continued support of Vanderbilt athletics. Your membership matters!
Left to right: Jay Cutler, Vice Chancellor David Williams, Chris Williams and Hunter Hillenmeyer at the Florida game.
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Vice Chancellor David Williams (left) with Lauralee Robey and former Commodore pitcher David Price.
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In My Words
Jessica Mooney
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irst as a guard that led Hillsboro High School to a 32-2 record as a senior and now as a college senior with two SEC Tournament Championships on her
resume at Vanderbilt, Jessica Mooney has been a household name around basketball circles in Nashville for years. Armed with outstanding quickness and an uncanny ability to get to the basket, Mooney has been driving opposing SEC defenses crazy since making the 3.1-mile move from the gymnasium at Hillsboro High School to Memorial Gym in 2006. Mooney causes nightmares for opposing teams on the basketball court, but off the floor, she is much more accustomed to helping others realize their dreams. Since she was 16, Mooney has had an active role in the Charles Davis Foundation, which was created by Mooney’s cousin and Vanderbilt Hall of Famer, Charles Davis. The foundation provides programs that enhance the lives of residents in Nashville’s most impoverished areas.
On why she enjoys working in the community I’ve always been around people who have given back. Seeing their generosity has been such an influence on me and made such an impact in my life, and I want to make sure that I do the same. I also enjoy giving back because I love being around kids, and that’s a big part of it, as well. On being able to play in front of her hometown It’s great to be able to play in Nashville. I love being close to home, which is one of the first reasons I chose to come here. It’s exciting to be able to play in front of the people that I love and grew up with. On growing up in a family of Vanderbilt fans We’ve had season tickets and been coming to Vanderbilt games for years. We’ve always been big Vanderbilt fans and have supported the school. I remember coming to a lot of games with my dad when I was 8. On being a senior on the team It is different to look back to when I was a freshman and now being a senior. When you are a freshman, you just always view some people as being seniors like Dee (Davis), Caroline (Williams) and Carla (Thomas). To think about how the freshmen now view me as a senior kind of seems crazy. Time has certainly flown by. On taking on a leadership role with the younger players I like being a leader. I liked learning from all the upperclassmen over the years, and now as a senior myself, I want to make sure I am able to do for the freshmen what the seniors have done for me over the years.
I’m not sure what I want to do after I graduate in May with a degree in (human and organizational development). I want to live in Nashville, but if something takes me out of state, I’d go, but eventually I want to live in Nashville. n
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JOHN RUSSELL
On staying in the Nashville community
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Booker Remains A Fixture in SEC Basketball
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JOHN RUSSELL
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hen Barry Booker signed to play basketball at Vanderbilt before the 1985-86 season, he knew he’d spend the next four years traveling from city to city in the Southeastern Conference, but he had no idea he’d remain so closely tied to the conference 25 years later. At Vanderbilt Booker was known as the sharpshooting guard who was the SEC’s alltime career leader in three-point field-goal percentage. Booker still holds the mark, but instead of being known as the player who holds the record, most basketball fans in the SEC know Booker as the television analyst for SEC basketball. Since 1994, Booker has been a fixture in the living rooms of SEC basketball fans. However, when Booker graduated from Vanderbilt in 1989, a career in broadcasting seemed like a long shot. “I certainly had the interest in broadcasting and thought it would be really cool and really interesting to be able to do it,” Booker said. “I just had no idea how to begin to get into the field.” Booker’s odds for working in the broadcasting industry significantly improved in 1993 when he was working at BellSouth. It was then that longtime Nashville sports reporter Rudy Kalis from WSMV-TV Channel 4 asked Booker to help out at a halftime show for a Vanderbilt game at Memphis and again at a postseason wrap-up show for all the local teams. “I just thought Barry would be a natural on camera, and his name was well known in the area,” Kalis said. Kalis’ thoughts were correct. “After I was on TV, several people said, ‘You really do well on TV, and you should look at getting into that,’” Booker said. “I thought that would be great, but I had no idea even how to look ‘into that.’” Fortunately for Booker, he didn’t need to know how to look into broadcasting. “That summer I got a call from Jimmy Rayburn at Jefferson Pilot Sports, and he said he’d gotten my name from a couple of different sources and wanted me to come over and do an audition in Charlotte,” Booker said. “They were looking for some analysts for the SEC broadcasts. I did an audition, and they picked me up that year.” Booker’s first game was Auburn at LSU with Tim Brando. Although it has been years since the game, it is one he will never forget. “Just the memories of being so nervous is something I’ll never forget,” Booker said. “I was just shy of five years out of Vanderbilt, so I had a bunch of friends get together in Atlanta for a Barry Booker viewing party.” Since that first game, Booker’s nerves have never been to that point again, but what remains is an excitement for every game. “I don’t think I was ever as nervous as I was for that first one,” Booker said. “The nerves have definitely subsided, but I’m still excited
and fired up as each game begins. The games start and the nerves are completely gone. I’m just relaxed and doing my thing.” Since getting his start with Jefferson Pilot Sports in 1994 Booker has not only been a constant voice in SEC basketball, he also has been advancing in the business world. Booker received his undergraduate degree in economics and returned to earn his MBA from Vanderbilt in 1997. For the past 4½ years Booker has served as a relationship manager at Wells Fargo in Nashville, where he advises clients on financial services Wells Fargo provides. In addition to broadcasting basketball games and working at Wells Fargo, Booker is also a husband and father of two boys. Trying to balance all three between the months of November and March can be a challenge. “It just kind of takes me back to 20 years ago when I was a student-athlete and you are just going constantly,” Booker said. “You don’t really think about it … every day is just another day.” The balancing act is especially challenging for midweek games when Booker is on the road for a night or two for games. “For a mid-week game, they are almost always at night, so I usually travel on gameday, but if I’m driving, I’ll drive up late the night before,” Booker said. “You just try to make it to the next day no matter where that next day takes you, whether it is work at the bank, on TV or being at home. The travel is the only tough part. Being away from the family and
having a real job to get back to and take care of can make it challenging.” Even though Booker has been at his craft for 17 seasons, he still feels as though he is learning something new and improving each year. “I know that I am a better analyst today than I was five years ago, and hopefully I’ll be clearly better two or three years from now than I am right now,” Booker said. “Just understanding the game, understanding how to communicate to the audience in a way that is clear, concise and understandable are things I hope to improve each year.” Booker’s time spent broadcasting has kept him close to the game he loves, but what he enjoys most are the relationships he’s built along the way. “I say the best part of it is getting to know the people, being around the coaches, the players, the referees and everybody that is involved in SEC basketball,” Booker said. “I’m just very pleased to be a part of it and get to continue my participation for the last 25 years since my first season at Vanderbilt.” Although the schedule can be difficult to manage at times, Booker feels right at home in the SEC and would be no where else. “I have been an SEC fan all of my life. It doesn’t feel like work. I still have a lifelong history of watching these teams and being very interested in the programs and what is going on with these particular teams. It’s a lot of fun.” n
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Chavous Travels Great Lengths To Scout Talent
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ST. LOUIS RAMS
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golf course, a beach or an island in the Caribbean are all likely locations you could find a retired NFL pro bowler during the winter months. A Vanderbilt film room the week of Christmas or in an RV parked at a hotel on West End Avenue are not as likely. That is, unless you are looking for former Commodore defensive back Corey Chavous. While many NFL veterans spend their first year of retirement finetuning their golf swings or listening to waves crash onto the shore, Chavous has spent his first year of retirement traversing the country scouting college football players from the Pac 10 to the Big East and every conference in between. And he has done it all in his RV, which not only acts as his method of transportation, but also his home. After an 11-year career in the NFL with Arizona, Minnesota and most recently St. Louis, Chavous retired from the league after the 2008 season. Although he was retiring from playing the game, he was not retiring from the game itself. On Sept. 4, Chavous launched the Web site DraftNasty.com, which scouts college football players across the country. “The Web site is an independent scouting service,” said Chavous, who was at Vanderbilt watching film during Christmas week in between scouting the FCS Championship in Chattanooga and the Music City Bowl. “It’s a small fish in a big pond. We are being creative with our programming, and we improve every day.” Chavous, along with his staff, post daily scouting reports, insider blogs, videos, photo galleries and articles. To provide the best content and accurately scout players, Chavous has personally put more than 18,000 miles on his RV since September by traveling to games and schools to scout players and speak with coaches, while leaving very few stones unturned along the way. “I was personally at more than 100 colleges visiting coaches during the year,” Chavous said. “We cover games that a lot of others don’t cover and go to places a lot of others never go. It’s a daily journey. We go to the games and then we go to film rooms across the country and study film year round. “I live on the road. My permanent spot is my RV, and I just don’t go to games. For example, if I was going to Ohio State this week, I would stop at every college between here and there and get information and film on players and talk to people around the program.” Chavous’ foray into scouting for the NFL Draft is nothing new. Since he was young, Chavous has had a strong interest and an unparalleled knowledge of scouting players that would even make Mel Kiper jealous. His interest in the draft also was well known around NFL circles; he worked as an NFL Draft analyst for ESPN and NFL Network from 1999 to 2006. When Chavous retired, his insight and interest into scouting made it a natural transition for him to go from playing the game to creating his own scouting service. “After retiring, there were some opportunities I had to go into broadcast journalism, which I did for 10 years while I was playing,” Chavous said. “I decided to go my own route.” By creating the Web site, Chavous combined his football knowledge with what he learned in college as a Vanderbilt graduate. “Most of this Web site is based on what I majored in in college,” said Chavous, who created his own broadcast journalism major from the human and organizational development program. “I did four internships while I was in college, all of them based around what I am doing now.” Although the college football season is over, Chavous has no intent on slowing down. With the NFL Draft looming, the closest Chavous will likely get to the beach or a golf course in the coming months will be when he drives by in his RV en route to visit another school. “For the people who want draft coverage around the clock, that is what we’ve been giving them, but we still don’t have enough stuff for me,” Chavous said. “I’m never satisfied.” n
Former Commodore Corey Chavous founded DraftNasty.com, a college scouting service, in September.
It’s My Turn By Rod Williamson
Winning At All Costs
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ormer Vanderbilt assistant Bear Bryant hauled his 1954 Texas A & M football team to remote Junction, Texas, during an oppressive heat wave for preseason practice. They left in three buses and returned to campus needing just one. Many players had quit after experiencing the brutality of Bear’s camp. The Junction Boys became one of college football’s legendary stories. While that year’s team went just 1-9, Bryant’s 1956 team won the Southwest Conference title, beating Texas along the way. The young Bear was trying to sort out the men from the boys in 1954. Because he won and won big, he was placed on a hero’s pedestal. In the fall of 2009 in Lubbock, the Texas Tech football coach alle- gedly placed a reserve wide receiver with a minor concussion in a dark closet. A month later Mike Leach was fired after a very successful tenure. Up the road at the University of Kansas, the man who was rewarded with the 2007 National Football Coach of the Year honor after taking the downtrodden Jayhawks to the Orange Bowl had just been shown the door for mistreatment of his players. Oh the times, they are a–changin. America still loves its winners, but over the decades society has cast a much more critical eye toward how its young men and women are treated in the sports arena. We now understand withholding water to overheated athletes is a recipe for disaster. An injured player is just that—injured, not a sissy. Our mission today is not to lead a meaningless discussion to determine if Bear could exist in today’s coaching circles (I suspect he would have changed with the times) but to consider our love affair with winning coaches and star athletes. Back in December, an unfavorable national article drew this comment from one of the top sportswriters: “All of us—the media and the fans—are guilty of filtering everything through the scoreboard,” said Ivan Maisel, senior college football writer for ESPN.com. “If your team (speaking of a coach) performs well on the field, you’re not as much of a loose cannon as you are purported to be.” That’s not a news flash, but it is seldom admitted. Winning is still the tonic that cures nearly all ills. The operative word is “nearly” as Leach, Mark Mangino (Kansas) and others now realize. There still is plenty of hypocrisy. The media outlet that might have an in-depth report on the dark side of a given program will probably have that same team featured on its cover in a matter of weeks, hyping its latest conquest. The athletic administrator that speaks glowingly of “student-athletes” to the Rotary Club might leave the podium and authorize a scholarship for some phenom who has absolutely no business on a college campus other than his (or her) athletic prowess. The fan riveted to online chat rooms detests the rival’s crooked shenanigans but sees his own favorite through rose-colored binoculars. On the cynical side, one message seems clear: if you are going to become a shyster, be sure to win. There’s nothing worse than a losing cheat. But we’ve made a resolution not to be cynical (losing weight is easier). College athletics is full of exceptional student-athletes. We all take pride in promoting their virtues. But for lifers such as me, it is painful to see a few bad apples steal the spotlight—literally and figuratively—from the deserving many. And that is especially galling when America’s mantra continues to be “Just Win Baby” and everything will be OK. At Vanderbilt, we want to “win” as much as the next guy, but not at the price of our reputation. That cost is way too high. n
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JIMMY JONES
hen pitcher Mike Minor was drafted No. 7 overall last year by the Atlanta Braves, it marked the third straight season Vanderbilt had a player drafted in the top 10. Having players drafted high is a sign of the program’s rise as a baseball power and brings outstanding notoriety to the program, but on the flip side, it presents the challenge of filling an enormous void the next year. Thankfully for Commodore fans, Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin has as much or more experience as any coach in the country in recent years when it comes to having to replace high draft picks. In 2008, the Commodores had to replace pitchers David Price (No. 1 overall) and Casey Weathers (No. 8 overall). In 2009, Vanderbilt entered the year after losing third baseman Pedro Alvarez (No. 2 overall) and shortstop Ryan Flaherty (first round supplemental selection). This year, the Commodores enter the year having to not only fill the void of Minor, but also No. 2 starter Caleb Cotham. The pattern of losing top pitchers one year, then top position players the next appears to be a trend that will continue at least this year. With the loss of its top two starters from a year ago, Vanderbilt enters 2010 with a roster loaded with veteran position players, but with many question marks surrounding its pitching rotation. Vanderbilt returns seven of its top eight hitters from last year’s squad, which finished 37-27 overall and came within one victory of advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals. With Minor and Cotham in the minors, Vanderbilt sophomore Sonny Gray will move to the top of an inexperienced rotation. “I think we have a balanced squad with room to grow both offensively and defensively,” Tim Corbin said. “We have seven offensive starters back, and Sonny Gray will anchor the pitching rotation after a strong summer and fall.”
Aaron Westlake
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The Commodores return the entire starting infield from a year ago, but Vanderbilt was not as fortunate in the outfield, where the team must replace Steven Liddle in right field and Jonathan White in center field. Corbin and the team also must adjust to the loss of assistant coach Erik Bakich, who accepted the head coaching position at Maryland. To take Bakich’s place, Corbin brought in Josh Holliday, who previously served as recruiting coordinator at Arizona State. The losses in personnel may cause a few growing pains early on for Vanderbilt, but Corbin hopes the team already got through some of those growing pains this fall when the team spent the week of Thanksgiving in the Far East getting a cultural experience and a baseball experience that will last a lifetime. The trip also gave Vanderbilt an opportunity to practice longer in the fall and test themselves against top Japanese college teams. It was a trip the Commodores hope will pay dividends when the season begins. “I think (the trip) did bring us closer, but closeness in a team is something that keeps evolving over time,” Corbin said. “If we had not done that trip, the kids would not have known each other as well.”
Infield Last year, Vanderbilt entered the season with a new player at four of five infield positions. This season, all five starting infielders are back from 2009. For the second season in a row, the infield will be made up of seniors Andrew Giobbi (C) and Brian Harris (SS), junior Curt Casali (1B) and sophomores Riley Reynolds (2B) and Jason Esposito (3B). Giobbi entered the 2009 season as Vanderbilt’s top offensive threat after leading the team in hitting in 2008, but a broken hand derailed his production early on. As one of three seniors and one of two fifth-year seniors on the roster, VU will rely heavily on Giobbi’s veteran leadership. The team’s other fifth-year senior is Harris. A Nashville native, Harris is not only one of the most experienced players, he also is the most versatile. Harris has played multiple positions on the team and settled nicely at shortstop last year, earning first team AllSEC honors. One of the most feared hitters on the team is Casali. The junior enters the 2010 season healthy after playing last year with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery in the offseason. Despite the injury occurring during the season, Casali started all 64 games and tied for the team lead with 10 home runs, while batting .336. Starting as true freshmen last season, Reynolds and Esposito earned valuable experience that should lead to even stronger performances this year.
JIMMY JONES
’Dores Aim For Strong Start To New Decade
Head Coach Tim Corbin Eighth Year
VANDERBILT TEAM CAPSULE Last Five Years 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
37-27, 41-22, 54-13, 38-27, 34-21,
12-17 14-13 22-8 16-14 13-17
SEC SEC SEC SEC SEC
2009 Returning Statistical Leaders Batting Average Aaron Westlake
.377
Home Runs Aaron Westlake Curt Casali
10 10
RBI Aaron Westlake
57
Runs Brian Harris
65
On-Base Percentage Curt Casali
.442
Slugging Percentage Aaron Westlake
.565
Stolen Bases Jason Esposito
20
Pitching ERA Russell Brewer
2.96
Wins Sonny Gray
5
Strikeouts Sonny Gray
72
Appearances Russell Brewer
25
Saves Sonny Gray Opponent Batting Average Drew Hayes
5 .253
Also in the mix for earning the role as the team’s Sunday starter are senior right-hander Drew Hayes and junior right-hander Chase Reid. Hayes finished the season with a 4-3 record and an unimpressive 5.56 ERA, but he led the team with an opponent batting average of .253. If Hayes can harness his pitch location, which led to 30 walks in 43.2 innings, he could find a spot in the weekend rotation. Reid posted a 3-0 record and had a 4.46 ERA last season, while making three starts and 16 relief appearances.
Designated Hitter Sophomore Aaron Westlake began last season as the team’s designated hitter, but injuries to Andrew Giobbi and Curt Casali led to Westlake playing first base and even catcher at times. Westlake’s ability to fill both positions was vital to Vanderbilt’s success last season, but what was even more important was his bat. No matter where Westlake was forced into action, he kept hitting. The Redding, Calif., native earned freshman All-America honors after finishing the season as the league’s top hitter with a .377 average to go along with 57 RBI and a .565 slugging percentage. Outfield Vanderbilt’s infield appears set, but its outfield may be in flux the first part of the season. Of Vanderbilt’s primary starters last year, only sophomore Joe Loftus returns. Gone are right fielder Steven Liddle, center fielder Jonathan White and top defensive replacement Alex Hilliard. With Liddle’s departure, Loftus is expected to move to right field. Last season as a freshman Loftus hit .263 with four home runs and 28 RBI. Beyond Loftus, Vanderbilt will likely rely on a trio of freshmen to fill the other two outfield positions. Regan Flaherty, brother of former Vanderbilt shortstop Ryan Flaherty, is expected to battle for starting time in left field with Mike Yastrzemski, grandson of hall of famer Carl Yastrzemski. Connor Harrell, a freshman from Houston, is expected to start the year in center field. Because of the depth Vanderbilt has at first base with Casali, Westlake and Giobbi all having significant experience at the position, there is a chance that a few of them could get a shot at playing in the outfield. Starting Rotation The most inexperienced area of the team will be the pitching staff, which must replace Mike Minor, Caleb Cotham and Nick Christiani. Minor and Cotham formed one of the league’s top one-two combinations in the SEC, and Christiani had the third-most starts of anyone on the team. While the rotation will be young, it will not be completely inexperienced. Last season, sophomore Sonny Gray was put in the weekend rotation at the end of the season and played an important role in Vanderbilt’s strong postseason performance. Gray earned freshman All-America honors and was one of 22 players named to the 2009 National Team by USA Baseball. The team finished 19-5 while playing games in Japan, Canada and the U.S. The Smyrna, Tenn., native posted a 3-1 record to go with an ERA of 0.75 in 24 innings of work.
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JIMMY JONES
A freshman All-American, Reynolds was one of the team’s most surprising players last season, batting .332 and playing a solid second base. Esposito also started every game last season and led the team with 20 stolen bases to go along with a .287 average.
Sonny Gray Gray’s opportunity to play for the National Team and travel to the Far East with the Commodores gave him a unique opportunity that he hopes helped him in his development as a pitcher. “I’ve just tried to incorporate things that I learned this summer and fall such as maintaining a high level of focus at all times on the mound,” Gray said. “(The Japanese) batters hardly give you any room for a mistake, and if you don’t stay focused at all times, they will make you pay.” Expected to take the place of Cotham as the team’s Saturday starter is right-hander Jack Armstong. The sophomore only pitched in relief in six games in 2009, but he enters 2010 after having a breakout summer in the Cape Cod League, where he was an all-star. The team’s likely Sunday starter is junior right-hander Taylor Hill, who enters the year after going 2-1 with a 5.05 ERA and posting 43 strikeouts in 41 innings of work. Hill also threw a complete game shutout in Japan and won the decisive game in the Black and Gold Series by tossing five shutout innings.
Bullpen Vanderbilt’s bullpen should be a strong suit for the Commodores. The backbone of the bullpen is junior Russell Brewer. The righthander led Vanderbilt with a 2.96 ERA in 25 appearances last season. Brewer also had four saves, which was one fewer than Sonny Gray. With Gray moving to the top of the rotation, Brewer should become the team’s primary closer. A key piece of Vanderbilt’s bullpen will come from the battle for the No. 3 spot on the rotation. The two that do not earn the spot will add valuable depth to the bullpen. Also bringing experience to the bullpen will be junior left-hander Richie Goodenow and sophomore southpaw Grayson Garvin. Injuries will be a factor for Vanderbilt’s bullpen this season. Sophomore righthander Navery Moore is expected back in the middle of the season from a knee injury, and the Commodores also hope to get junior Mark Lamm back in the bullpen by the end of the season after his Tommy John surgery in the offseason. With an experienced lineup of proven bats and a talented, but inexperienced pitching rotation that should only improve as the year goes on, Vanderbilt appears to be on track for its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. “This is probably the most talented team, depth-wise, we have had here,” Corbin said. “We just need guys to develop some consistency.” n
2010 Projected Lineup Center Field Connor Harrell
Left Field Mike Yastrzemski – OR – Regan Flaherty
Shortstop Brian Harris
Third Base Jason Esposito Setup Chase Reid (RHP) Designated Hitter Aaron Westlake
Right Field Joe Loftus
Second Base Riley Reynolds
First Base Curt Casali
Starting Pitching Sonny Gray (RHP) Jack Armstrong (RHP) Taylor Hill (RHP) Drew Hayes (RHP) Chase Reid (RHP) Closer Russell Brewer (RHP)
Catcher Andrew Giobbi
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Langford Experiences Life On Practice Squad
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PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
F
rom Monday through Friday life was great for former Commodore safety Reshard Langford. It was Saturdays and Sundays that were hardest for him to stomach. Five days during the week, Langford practiced like an NFL player, ate at the same training table as NFL players, watched film like an NFL player, but come the weekend, he was no more an NFL player than the guy seated in section 315, row 21, seat 8. Langford had the weekends off, but he’d rather have been working. As a member of the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad, Langford spent the first 15 weeks of the 2009 NFL season practicing with the team’s 53-man roster during the week, but come gameday, he and the other seven members of the practice squad were nowhere near the sideline. While some teams have members of its practice squad watch games from a luxury box or on the sideline, others, like the Eagles, give the players complimentary tickets to watch the home games from the stands. “The first couple of weeks it was very emotional, and I couldn’t even hardly watch the games because of how much I wanted to be out there,” Langford said. Finding practice squad players on Sundays can almost be as difficult as finding them on NFL rosters. When you look at a team’s roster, you will see the players on the 53-man active roster. Below the active roster are the players on injured reserve and at the bottom of the page are the members of the practice squad. Every team has a practice squad, which is comprised of players whose primary role is to do just as they are aptly named to do — practice. Practice squad players get $5,200 a week and do everything that members of the active roster do during the week, but they are not full-fledged members of the team. They are one injury away from being a part of a team’s active roster, but they are also one injury or misstep away from fading into football oblivion. In most cases, at least one NFL player gets hurt on a team every few weeks during the season. That injury leads to a transaction, which could open the door for a member of the practice squad to make the active roster or spell doom if more depth is needed at another position on the practice squad. Although he is just a rookie, Langford knows how quickly things can change on an NFL roster. Through the first 15 weeks of the season, Langford was the Eagles’ only remaining practice squad player from the start of the season. “I’ve seen guys come in one week, be gone the next and be back three or four weeks later,” Langford said. The uncertainty that practice squad players live each day adds pressure to each practice.
Former Commodore safety Reshard Langford spent the first 15 weeks of the NFL season on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad.
For Langford, the pressure was welcomed with open arms. “It does put pressure on me, but in reality, I like the pressure as a player,” Langford said. “You have to perform under pressure on the field, and feeling it at practice is good for me. It could get stressful at times if I thought about it too much, but then again, I knew I am here for a reason.” The NFL implemented practice squads in 1989 to give teams extra players to use in practice or on the active roster in the event of an injury. With NFL Europe ceasing operations in 2007 and the Arena Football League shutting down before the 2009 season, practice squads have become a valuable way for teams to cultivate talent. When Langford hoisted the 2008 Music City Bowl trophy after his final game as a Commodore, he had hopes he would be selected in the NFL Draft. When his name was not called, Langford signed as an undrafted free agent with Philadelphia.
“Coming in and not knowing your status as an undrafted free agent was tough,” Langford said. “In order to stay on the team you have to make the team.” Langford did make the squad—the practice squad—after being cut during training camp. Although it was just the practice squad, Langford believes he couldn’t have ended up in a better situation. “I thought about how I got (to Philadelphia) of all places every day,” Langford said. “There were other choices for me, but I prayed about it, and I was fortunate to get to Philadelphia.” In Philadelphia, Langford got to learn from a playoff team that was built around veteran players. He would study tape from the previous game with his teammates, and he would study tape of the team’s next opponent with his teammates. However, while members of the active roster practiced the game plan for the following week, Langford and the other members of the practice squad would
work as the scout team to prepare the Eagles for the next game. Each week, Langford had to know the opposing team’s offensive gameplan in case he was activated for Sunday’s game, and he had to know the opposing team’s defense in order to mimic it in practice. “Working on the scout team is exactly what I did my redshirt year at Vanderbilt,” Langford said. “It was just like another rookie/redshirt year for me.” Unlike his first year in college, Langford knew that his spot with the Eagles could be gone the next play. To help make his mark with the Eagles, Langford made sure to approach his role every day with a tenacity that was second to none. “It is a business and I’ve come to understand that, but I also understand that it is still football,” Langford said. “You need to perform well, work hard and maintain responsibility because it is a job. You need to get people that you work with to have trust around you, and I feel like I became more trustworthy as the season went on.” As the season progressed, Langford became more comfortable with the Eagles, but one thing he never could adjust to was not being a part of the team on game day. “It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Langford said. “Going from starting and playing for four years at
Vanderbilt, and going from that to not being able to was hard.” Just as practice squad players can be released at any time, they can also be claimed by another team as long as they are signed to that team’s active roster. In the case of Langford, all seven of the players he began the season with on the Eagles’ practice squad had been added to the team’s active roster at some point or were signed to active rosters of another NFL team by Dec. 9. The departures left Langford as the veteran member of the team’s practice squad. His stint as the veteran on the practice squad would not last long. On Dec. 25, Langford became the final member of the team’s original practice squad to find a spot on a 53-man roster when the Kansas City Chiefs gave him the best Christmas present he could have asked for. By signing with the Chiefs, Langford received his first guarantee and one of the only guarantees in the NFL, which is sometimes referred to as being the acronym for Not For Long. By joining the Chiefs, Langford was guaranteed a spot on the team’s 53-man roster for the last two games. Although he was inactive for the final two games of the season, inking with the Chiefs meant a pay raise, and most importantly another step toward playing in his first NFL game. n
Stallings Moves To Second On Wins List
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of the accomplishment. “I’m fortunate to be here. I don’t know how many losses are in there, too. If I had an 89 percent winning percentage, it’d be a big deal, but I don’t believe it is quite that high.” No, his winning percentage wasn’t 89 percent when he reached 200 victories, but his 60.4 percent winning percentage isn’t too shabby. Since posting a 62-59 record and 51.2 percent winning percentage in his first four seasons at Vanderbilt, Stallings has since won 64.7 percent of his games, while going 12769 in the last six seasons. Skinner’s record of 278 wins remains the mark that other Vanderbilt coaches are measured by, but Skinner’s record, which once seemed to be unattainable, is very much in reach of Stallings. If he continues to average 21 wins per season, as he has the last six years, he should reach Skinner’s mark in the next three to three and a half seasons. If and when he does reach Skinner’s record, you can be certain it will be a big deal, even without an 89 percent winning percentage. n DANIEL DUBOIS
I
t didn’t happen against an SEC opponent, in front of television cameras or even against a team from a power conference. When Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings moved into second place in school history with 198 wins, everyone went about their business without much reflection on the significance of Stallings’ place in Vanderbilt history. Maybe it was because his 198th win at Vanderbilt was sandwiched between Christmas and New Year’s and came in a 38-point win against a Manhattan team that was clearly overmatched. Either way, he has reached a milestone that few basketball coaches ever reach. With Vanderbilt’s 86-48 victory over Manhattan on Dec. 30 Stallings moved ahead of Bob Polk for second place in school history in wins. Only Roy Skinner, who finished his hall of fame career with 278 wins, has more. Two games later, Stallings reached the 200-win mark with a 73-53 victory over Middle Tennessee State. “I’ve had a lot of good players, and I’ve been here for a long time,” said Stallings
By The
NUMBERS 29.4
The average margin of victory in the final five non-conference games for Vanderbilt’s men’s basketball team.
78
The combined number of points Vanderbilt’s men’s basketball team defeated Mercer and Manhattan by in consecutive games—the larg est margin of victory in two straight games since the 2001.
11
Former Commodores ended the season on NFL rosters, including five on the Chicago Bears.
18-0
The combined record of Vanderbilt’s men’s tennis team in singles and doubles matches against Belmont and Chattanooga on Jan. 16.
8
Straight SEC home openers won by Vanderbilt’s men’s basketball team.
4
Consecutive football national championships won by the SEC—the longest streak ever by one conference.
22
The number of points Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball team defeated previously undefeated Georgia by on Jan. 14.
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JOHN RUSSELL
Duffy Takes Shot At Nothing But Net(s)
Joe Duffy is putting on a 3-on-3 basketball tournament to benefit the Nothing But Nets campaign, which donates mosquito nets like the one above to Africa to prevent malaria.
I
n May 2006 former Sports Illustrated and current ESPN The Magazine columnist Rick Reilly penned a column that would not only change lives, but also save the lives of many. Titled “Nothing But Nets,” the column shed light on the deadly battle against malaria in Africa, where a child dies from the disease every 30 seconds. To combat malaria, Reilly challenged his readers to donate $10 for the purchase of an insecticide-treated mosquito net. Readers answered Reilly’s challenge with an overwhelming response, which led to the creation of the “Nothing But Nets” campaign—a campaign that raises awareness and funding to combat malaria. Since the movement began in 2006, the organization has provided more than 2.5 million mosquito nets to those in Africa who most need them.
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The column has been an inspiration to many, including Vanderbilt junior forward Joe Duffy. It was Reilly’s column that first spiked Duffy’s interest to join the campaign, but it was the idea from a few friends that helped send him down the path he hopes helps most. Last year, members of Davidson’s basketball team put on a 3-on-3 basketball tournament with proceeds generated from the event going to the Nothing But Nets campaign. “I wanted to get involved with Nothing But Nets, but wasn’t sure the route I wanted to go,” said Duffy, who is from Charlotte, N.C. “I have good friends that play at Davidson and I saw their Web site last year for a 3-on-3 tournament they were doing. I saw how much good they were able to do with something fun, so it was a win-win.”
Duffy took the idea and ran with it. In April, he plans on having a similar tournament at Vanderbilt to raise money and awareness for the campaign. “I met with those guys that did it and went through the details with them,” said Duffy, who works out with members of Davidson’s team in the offseason. “It’s not starting a brand new thing. It’s been tested and it worked there, and I think with the support we have in Nashville for Vanderbilt basketball, I think it is going to be a big success.” The tournament will be for kids from third to eighth grade and will be at Memorial Gym. Funds are generated for the event by fundraising efforts by each team with the caveat being that the team that raises the most money will have the first pick of selecting any Vanderbilt player as its coach for the tournament. The process of selecting coaches will continue right on down the line until all the teams have a coach. Davidson had 27 teams participate last year, so players coached multiple teams. Duffy is still finalizing plans, but in addition to the tournament, he hopes to raise additional funds by having a silent auction. As the event nears, more information will be made available on the tournament’s Web site, www.Doresfornets.weebly.com. From team fundraising, donations and auctions, Davidson’s tournament brought in $16,000, which went directly to purchasing 1,600 nets. Since the cost of having a net purchased and delivered is $10, Duffy plans on taking an approach of having things done in $10 increments. “When you pay $10, you see the direct correlation and know that it is going to go straight to purchasing a net,” Duffy said. “We are going to keep everything in increments of $10 so they can see that they are directly helping somebody else.” Having a basketball tournament to raise funds for Nothing But Nets seemed like a natural fit for Duffy when he heard what was done at Davidson. However, for him to pull it off at Vanderbilt, he knew he’d have to have his teammates behind him. “I pitched the idea to the team to make sure everyone was OK to commit a Saturday to coaching, and everyone was all for it,” Duffy said. “Everyone enjoys doing camp during the summer. It’s fun to be around the kids and see everyone excited about basketball, so this tournament will be like having a day of camp in April. The team has been very supportive of the tournament.” One of the players who has been behind Duffy’s initiative has been sophomore forward Steve Tchiengang. Tchiengang knows all too well about the devastating effect malaria has had in Africa. He spent the first 15 years of his life in Cameroon and has seen firsthand how deadly the disease can be.
“I think the tournament that Joe is having is a great thing,” Tchiengang said. “Because of the poverty we have, we don’t have the financial means to get the medicine needed. The nets protect you from mosquito bites, which could eventually lead to malaria. Malaria is a very devastating disease if you don’t take care of it. I’ve seen families going through it and not have access to the hospital because it is expensive.” Even Tchiengang has had malaria a time or two in his life. “I’ve probably had malaria once or twice in my life, but I have a very strong immune system that helped me through,” Tchiengang said. “My brother had it a lot as did my sister, it definitely can kill because of the difficult access to hospitals in Africa. Fatal diseases like malaria can kill literally because you don’t get the support you need.” Tchiengang was one of the 500 million people who are infected with malaria each year, but fortunately was not one of the more than 1 million who die annually from the disease. Duffy hopes the tournament will help put a dent in those numbers this first year and lay the groundwork for something even larger to come. “I wanted to start it this year so hopefully I can get two years of it,” Duffy said. “Hopefully it is a success this year and if we grow it next year, by the time I leave maybe I can pass it down to some of the younger guys and see if we can get it to be an annual event that people get excited about.” n
The Month Ahead
Men’s Sports Baseball 2/19 2/20 2/21 2/23 2/26 2/27 2/28
Basketball 2/3 2/6 2/9 2/13 2/18 2/20 2/25 2/27
Golf
2/21-23
Tennis
What to Watch For February 3 • National Signing Day Find out who will be a part of Vanderbilt’s 2010 football signing class on Wednesday, Feb. 3, which is National Signing Day. February 8 • WBB Hosts Tennessee In what will be the first of two straight days of a raucous environment at Memorial Gym, Vanderbilt hosts Tennessee at 8 p.m. on Feb. 8 on ESPN2. February 9 • MBB Hosts Tennessee A day after the women’s team hosts Tennessee, Vanderbilt will host Tennessee’s men’s team at 6 p.m. on Feb. 9 on ESPN. February 14 • Pink Out/Valentine’s Day
2/5 2/7 2/19 2/27 2/28
7 p.m. 7 p.m. 6 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 6 p.m. 5 p.m. 6 p.m. 12:30 p.m.
at Mobile Bay Intercollegiate (Mobile, Ala.)
Northwestern Purdue at Louisville Furman at Middle Tennessee State
All Day
2 p.m. Noon 2:30 p.m. 1 p.m. TBA
Basketball 2/4 2/8 2/14 2/18 2/21 2/24 2/28
Bowling
2/6-7 2/19-21 2/27-28
Lacrosse 2/14 2/19 2/27
2/6 2/17-20 2/26-27
February 19 • Baseball Season Opener
2/11-14 2/20 2/21 2/27
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Mississippi State at Georgia Tennessee LSU at Ole Miss Kentucky Georgia at Arkansas
Women’s Sports
Only fittingly, Vanderbilt’s annual Pink Out game in support of breast cancer and awareness will be held on Feb. 14, which is also Valentine’s Day. The Commodores will don pink when they take on Kentucky at 5 p.m. on ESPNU.
Vanderbilt begins its baseball season at 4 p.m. on Friday, February 19 when the Commodores welcome Niagara to Hawkins Field for a three-game series.
Niagara 4 p.m. Niagara 2 p.m. Niagara 1 p.m. Austin Peay 4 p.m. at UCLA (Jackie Robinson Tournament) 8 p.m. at USC (Jackie Robinson Tournament) 8:30 p.m. vs. Ok. State (Jackie Robinson/Dodger Stadium) Noon
Swimming
Tennis
at Florida Tennessee Kentucky at LSU at Ole Miss Florida South Carolina
6 p.m. 8 p.m. 5 p.m. 7 p.m. 1 p.m. 6 p.m. Noon
at McKendree Baker (Fairview Heights, Ill.) at Hoosier Classic (Indianapolis, Ind.) at Holiday Classic (Bessemer, Ala.)
All Day All Day All Day
Duke at North Carolina at UMBC
1 p.m. 5 p.m. Noon
at Tulane at SEC Championships (Athens, Ga.) at Last Chance Meet (TBA)
at ITA National Team Indoors (Madison, Wis.) All Day at Princeton 11 a.m. at Yale 11 a.m. Brown 5 p.m.
Track & Field
2/12-13 2/26-28
10 a.m. All Day All Day
at ISU Classic (Ames, Iowa) at Tyson Invitational (Fayetteville, Ark.) at SEC Championships (Fayetteville, Ark.)
C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N
All Day All Day All Day
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Quick Hits
• Vanderbilt opens its season on Feb.
• Freshman Tiffany Clarke was named
19 when it begins a three-game homestand against Niagara. Vanderbilt will then host Austin Peay on Feb. 23. • Feb. 26-28, Vanderbilt will travel to Los Angeles to play in the Jackie Robinson Tournament against UCLA, USC and Oklahoma State.
SEC Freshman of the Week on Jan. 4. It was the second time in the previous three weeks that Clarke earned the honor. Clarke averaged 18 points and eight rebounds in victories against East Tennessee State and Notre Dame.
• Brittni Hamilton finished in 16th place
JOHN RUSSELL
• Freshman John Jenkins was named
the SEC Freshman of the Week on Jan. 4 and on Jan. 11. The first honor came after his performance against Manhattan and Southern Miss, while the second came following his play against MTSU and Florida. • Vanderbilt defeated Mercer and Manhattan by a combined 78 points. It was the largest margin of victory by VU in consecutive games since defeating Nicholls St. and UPR-Mayaguez by a combined 79 points in 2006.
to lead a quintet of Vanderbilt bowlers at the 2009 Team USA Tournament on Dec. 18 in Las Vegas. • J essica Earnest placed 24th, Josie Earnest finished 26th, Amanda Halter finished 32nd and Kim Karper placed 34th.
Norman was selected to the Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-America Team as a kick returner.
• Vanderbilt alum Luke List earned fully
• Vanderbilt was ranked No. 11 in the 2010
exempt status for the Nationwide Tour in 2010. List earned a spot on the tour by finishing 42nd in the final qualifying stage of Q-School in West Palm Beach, Fla. • The top 25 players at Q-School earned their PGA Tour cards, and the next 50 received their Nationwide cards.
preseason poll in Lacrosse Magazine. • Vanderbilt opens the 2010 season at
1 p.m. on Feb. 14 when it hosts No. 5 Duke. The match against Duke is Vanderbilt’s only one at home in February.
• Senior defender Megan Forester was
named to the SEC’s Soccer Community Service team for her volunteer work in the Nashville area. • For the second straight year, junior midfielder Molly Kinsella was named to ESPN The Magazine’s Academic AllDistrict IV team.
During Vanderbilt’s five-game winning streak to end non-conference play, John Jenkins made 63.3 percent (19 of 30) of his threes.
• Running back Warren Norman was se-
lected to the Football Writers Association of America and the American Football Coaches Association Freshman All-America Teams. • Warren Norman added to his postseason awards when he was named SEC Freshman of the Year by Sporting News on Dec. 16. • Norman was named to Sporting News’ SEC All-Freshman team as a running back and kick returner. He was named to the Freshman All-America squad as a kick returner. • Kicker Ryan Fowler was selected to Sporting News’ SEC All-Freshman team. • Mike MacIntyre, who played two seasons for his father, George, at Vanderbilt, was named the new head football coach at San Jose State.
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ranked No. 55 in the ITA preseason rankings. All 12 SEC teams were ranked in the preseason. • Individually, Vanderbilt had three players ranked in singles and three doubles teams ranked. Freshman Ryan Lipman was ranked No. 29 in singles, Charlie Jones was ranked No. 53 and Vijay Paul was ranked No. 71. • Vanderbilt’s doubles team of Adam Baker and Charlie Jones was ranked No. 24, Vijay Paul and Ryan Lipman ranked No. 30 and Vijay Paul and Bryant Salcedo ranked No. 57.
• Vanderbilt will compete in the SEC Cham-
pionships Feb. 17-20 in Athens, Ga.
• Vanderbilt began the spring season ranked
22nd in the ITA preseason rankings. • Individually, Vanderbilt had four players
ranked in singles and two teams ranked in doubles. Jackie Wu was ranked No. 29, while Catherine Newman and Chelsea Preeg are ranked 31st and 32nd, respectively. Heather Steinbauer finished the season ranked No. 97 in singles. • VU’s doubles team of Steinbauer and Erica Robertson were ranked No. 25 in doubles. Preeg and Wu were ranked No. 40 in doubles. JOHN RUSSELL
DANIEL DUBOIS
• Vanderbilt entered the spring season
Jackie Wu and the Commodores were ranked No. 22 in the preseason ITA rankings.
Men’s Sports Women’s Sports
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Pete Naylor
Perspe ctives
By Raymond Whiteaker Whiteaker lettered as a manager on the football team in 1949.
R
obert L. (Pete) Naylor, 1917-1978, longtime stalwart of the Vanderbilt athletic department, began his career as team mascot in the 1930s and continued serving the athletic department until his final illness and death on May 14, 1978. He was first placed in charge of the equipment room by Coach Ray Morrison in 1935. For many years he was equipment manager for all major sports. Upon graduation with a degree in business administration in 1940, new Coach Red Sanders hired him full-time and increased his duties. In 1950, he was appointed by Coach Bill Edwards as assistant athletic director for business. In 1959 Coach Art Guepe named him as business manager, where he served until his death in 1978. Pete literally devoted more than 40 years of his life to the Vanderbilt athletic department, having made an outstanding contribution during some difficult (financial) times. “Pete loved Vanderbilt from the time he was a little boy and gave Vanderbilt all he had, all the time,” said the late vice chancellor emeritus, Madison Saratt. “He was a mainstay through some difficult times.” Jess Neely, athletic director emeritus, upon his retirement commented, “I give Pete Naylor credit for holding this department together all these years.”
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Two special tributes from the football players and coaches were made over the years in the form of two gold engraved wristwatches. The first, a Hamilton, is engraved as follows: “To Pete Naylor, Equipment Mgr. From The Boys And Coaches-1938.” The second, a Lord Elgin, states: “To Pete with all good wishes from Vanderbilt football players 1928-1950.” A final tribute after his death appeared in the Nashville Banner on May 15, 1978, by Sports Editor Fred Russell entitled “Unforgettable Pete Naylor,” depicting his many accomplishments and contributions over the years to Vanderbilt athletics. Also, a contribution was made in 2007 by a donor to establish the Pete Naylor ticket office in the McGugin Center, where he spent many years as manager. A contribution was also made on his behalf to assist in building new football meeting rooms in the McGugin
Center as well as the Pete Naylor Scholarship Fund for a football scholarship, which is still open. Pete Naylor is gone, but for his lifetime of loyalty and contributions to Vanderbilt athletics, he is not forgotten. n If you are a former letterwinner, and would like to submit an article, please contact Ryan Schulz at 615/343-4396, or submit your article to commodorenation@vanderbilt.edu
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