Sports

Sophomore Marina Alex won the SEC individual women’s golf championship and her first individual title as a collegian at the NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa, Ala, in April. She also was named a first-team selection to the National Golf Coaches Association’s All-American squad following her consistently high finishes throughout the… Read More

Vanderbilt’s men’s and women’s basketball teams advanced to postseason play in the NCAA Tournament. The women finished the year with a 23–11 overall record, 9–7 in regular-season SEC play. They advanced to the semifinal round of the SEC Tournament in Duluth, Ga., and the second round of the NCAA Tournament… Read More

Catherine Newman was named a third-team Academic All-American by ESPN The Magazine and CoSIDA in June. Track and Field: Commodores Break School Records Junior Katherine Hendricks set a new Vanderbilt record in the pole vault at 12-00.50 feet at the Sooner Invitational held in Norman, Okla., last April, and senior Buky Bamigboye set a… Read More

A 2008 pitch broke almost every bone in Andrew Giobbi’s face. Only four weeks later he was back in the game. Gramps, old man, super senior. Vanderbilt catcher Andrew Giobbi has heard it all before. As one of two fifth-year seniors on the roster for 2009–10 (shortstop Brian Harris was the other)… Read More

Pole-vaulter Alyson Hasty was determined not to attend Vanderbilt because it’s so close to home— but sometimes life has other plans. By the time she got to high school, Alyson Hasty was nearly burned out on gymnastics. She had been training as a gymnast since she was a tyke, and… Read More

SEC Freshman of the Year Warren Norman returned three kickoffs for touchdowns last season. Admittedly, a 2–10 record with no conference wins is a disappointing football season. That’s how Vanderbilt finished the 2009 season. It would be easy enough to think that the light at the end of the tunnel… Read More

Vanderbilt cornerback Jimmy Williams runs back an interception in a 1999 game against Northern Illinois. JIMMY WILLIAMS, BS’01 Jimmy Williams, BS’01, retired from professional football last June. He spent his years in the NFL as a cornerback and return specialist with the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. During… Read More

Lacrosse: Team Ranks High in Preseason Commodore defender Mary Rachel Reynolds cuts off an LSU player in a 2–1 overtime loss at the Vanderbilt Soccer Complex. Lacrosse Magazine has ranked the Commodores No. 11 in the nation in a preseason pick. Last year’s team had a 10–7 season and advanced to… Read More

Some of Vanderbilt’s finest athletes of all time were recognized this year as inductees into the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2009. The nine inductees returned to campus the weekend of Sept. 4–5, where they were feted at an induction ceremony at the Vanderbilt Marriott on Friday evening… Read More

Balcomb: “I want my players to enjoy their time at Vanderbilt. They’re kids. They should be having fun.” Melanie Balcomb can stand the heat. I discovered this firsthand the day I met her in the spring of 2002. At the time Vanderbilt was in the throes of finding a new… Read More

Australian A.J. Ogilvy returned down home with the Commodores in August. Men’s Basketball: Commodores Down Under Commodore basketball players got a personal look at the home turf of Vanderbilt center A.J. Ogilvy during a 10-day, five-game tour of Australia in August. Vanderbilt played professional teams in Melbourne, Canberra, Townsville, and… Read More

As students at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, Tenn., go through their daily schedules, do they realize that Mr. Cox, their vice principal and athletics director, is a bona fide SEC basketball legend? That’s Phil Cox, BS’85, who at one time held the Vanderbilt scoring record with 1,724 points. Read More

Under the direction of Head Women’s Basketball Coach Melanie Balcomb, the Commodores put together a season that culminated with the Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship, a trip to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament, and recognition by the state of Tennessee. Along the way, seniors Christina Wirth and Jennifer… Read More

A member of the Vanderbilt women’s swimming team, Austin Langley juggles swim practice and studies in both music and pre- veterinary medicine. Austin Langley is one busy young woman. The rising junior, who calls Burlington, N.C., home, is a musical arts major at the Blair School of Music with a… Read More

Sophomore Curt Casali kept the competition off guard at first base as in this win against Western Kentucky. Commodores Finish 2009 Baseball Season with Strong Showing The Commodores found their bats and dug in defensively in postseason play to advance to the championship game of the SEC Tournament and the… Read More

On football game days, you can find Don Orr, BE’56, at the same place he was some 50 years ago—overlooking Dudley Field and looking for a Vanderbilt victory. Orr led the Commodores to their first bowl game and first bowl win in the 1955 Gator Bowl with a 25–13 win over Auburn.  “It… Read More

Bobby Johnson: “Rather than having just a few talented star players, we’re pretty good at each position now.” The man responsible for leading the Commodore football team to its first postseason win since Sputnik orbited the earth is not necessarily doing the things one might expect after such a feat. He’s not… Read More

Preeg, Blatt. Photo credits: Daniel Dubois Women’s Tennis: Preeg, Blatt Undefeated in Fall Classic The women’s team closed out the fall season with six out of eight singles wins at the SEC Fall Coaches Classic held at the University of Alabama. Freshman Chelsea Preeg and junior Hannah Blatt won their respective brackets… Read More

Change the “V” to a “P” on Pedro Alvarez’s cap: He has signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Baseball MLB Raids Commodore Roster in 2008 Draft Major League Baseball liked what it saw and snatched 18 Commodores (eight current, 10 signees) in the 2008 draft. Junior third… Read More

Who’s your all-time favorite Commodore? That’s the question the university asked alumni, fans and friends of the varsity athletic program when it set about creating the new Athletics Hall of Fame to recognize and honor outstanding achievement and celebrate its (black and) golden sporting heritage. Hundreds of nominations… Read More