Commodore Nation, October 2010

October 2010

DYNAMICDB DUO

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 1vucommodores.com

table of contents8

10

23

2 Compliance Corner The trouble with loans

4 National Commodore Club Highlights from Commodore Kickoff

6 Point of View Keilly Ulery, Women’s Tennis

7 More from McGugin By the numbers

8 My Game Soccer goalkeeper Rachel Bachtel

10 Hayward & Richardson Off-field friendship aids on-field success

13 It’s My Turn: Favorite Day Rod Williamson

15 Remembering Rajaan Fallen VU signee honored in Georgia

19 Women’s Basketball Behind the scenes with strength

21 Men’s Basketball Behind the scenes with scheduling

23 Erin McManus Captured in motion

24 Commodore Calendar What’s on tap in October

24 Last Shot Vanderbilt Stadium fills with excitement

15

VUCOMMODORES.COMTo submit a letter to Commodore Nation, you can e-mail: [email protected] or write to Commodore Nation, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212. Letters should include the writer’s name and address and may be edited for clarity and space.

RAJAAN BENNETTOct. 20, 1991 — Feb. 18, 2010

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 1vucommodores.com

table of contents8

10

23

2 Compliance Corner The trouble with loans

4 National Commodore Club Highlights from Commodore Kickoff

6 Point of View Keilly Ulery, Women’s Tennis

7 More from McGugin By the numbers

8 My Game Soccer goalkeeper Rachel Bachtel

10 Hayward & Richardson Off-field friendship aids on-field success

13 It’s My Turn: Favorite Day Rod Williamson

15 Remembering Rajaan Fallen VU signee honored in Georgia

19 Women’s Basketball Behind the scenes with strength

21 Men’s Basketball Behind the scenes with scheduling

23 Erin McManus Captured in motion

24 Commodore Calendar What’s on tap in October

24 Last Shot Vanderbilt Stadium fills with excitement

15

VUCOMMODORES.COMTo submit a letter to Commodore Nation, you can e-mail: [email protected] or write to Commodore Nation, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212. Letters should include the writer’s name and address and may be edited for clarity and space.

RAJAAN BENNETTOct. 20, 1991 — Feb. 18, 2010

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 02 C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 3vucommodores.com

Editorial

Publisher: Vanderbilt University

Editor-in-Chief: Chris Weinman

Director of External Relations: Rod Williamson

Designers: Jeremy Teaford

Chris Weinman

Digital Image Specialist: Julie Luckett Turner

Photographers: Mary Donaldson

Daniel Dubois

Steve Green

Joe Howell

Jenny Mandeville

Anne Rayner

John Russell

Susan Urmy

Contributors: Laina Balafas

Andy Boggs

Sterling Frierson

Larry Leathers

Ryan Schulz

Jennifer Stevens

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 ValuesVanderbilt 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: Casey Hayward and Sean Richardson; photo by Joe Howell, VU Photography.

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to National Commodore Club, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212.

SUBSCRIPTION: To subscribe to Commodore Nation, please contact Chris Weinman by phone at 615/343-0019 or by e-mail at [email protected]

ADVERTISEMENT: To advertise with Commodore Nation, please contact Vanderbilt ISP Sports.Jeff Miller, general manager 615/[email protected]

Commodore Nation is printed using recycled paper.

Compliance questions? Please contact:Candice Lee George MidgettDirector of Compliance Compliance Coordinator615/322-7992 615/[email protected] [email protected]

John Peach Andrew TurnerCompliance Coordinator Recruiting/Compliance Coordinator615/343-1060 615/[email protected] [email protected]

CORNERC O M P L I A N C E

Q:

A:

Big Game is a student-athlete who accepted a personal loan from a representa-tive of athletic interests (i.e., booster). He intends to pay back the loan as soon as possible. Is this permissible?

No. A student-athlete may not receive a loan from a representative of athletic inter-ests; it is considered to be an extra benefit. However, it is permissible for a student-athlete to receive a loan on a deferred payback basis without jeopardizing his or her eligibility, provided the loan is generally available to the institution’s students and the student-athlete’s athletics reputation, skill or payback potential as a future pro-fessional is not considered by the lending agency in its decision to provide the loan.


Editorial

Publisher: Vanderbilt University

Editor-in-Chief: Chris Weinman

Director of External Relations: Rod Williamson

Designers: Jeremy Teaford

Chris Weinman

Digital Image Specialist: Julie Luckett Turner

Photographers: Mary Donaldson

Daniel Dubois

Steve Green

Joe Howell

Jenny Mandeville

Anne Rayner

John Russell

Susan Urmy

Contributors: Laina Balafas

Andy Boggs

Sterling Frierson

Larry Leathers

Ryan Schulz

Jennifer Stevens

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 ValuesVanderbilt 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: Casey Hayward and Sean Richardson; photo by Joe Howell, VU Photography.

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to National Commodore Club, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212.

SUBSCRIPTION: To subscribe to Commodore Nation, please contact Chris Weinman by phone at 615/343-0019 or by e-mail at [email protected]

ADVERTISEMENT: To advertise with Commodore Nation, please contact Vanderbilt ISP Sports.Jeff Miller, general manager 615/[email protected]

Commodore Nation is printed using recycled paper.

Compliance questions? Please contact:Candice Lee George MidgettDirector of Compliance Compliance Coordinator615/322-7992 615/[email protected] [email protected]

John Peach Andrew TurnerCompliance Coordinator Recruiting/Compliance Coordinator615/343-1060 615/[email protected] [email protected]

CORNERC O M P L I A N C E

Q:

A:

Big Game is a student-athlete who accepted a personal loan from a representa-tive of athletic interests (i.e., booster). He intends to pay back the loan as soon as possible. Is this permissible?

No. A student-athlete may not receive a loan from a representative of athletic inter-ests; it is considered to be an extra benefit. However, it is permissible for a student-athlete to receive a loan on a deferred payback basis without jeopardizing his or her eligibility, provided the loan is generally available to the institution’s students and the student-athlete’s athletics reputation, skill or payback potential as a future pro-fessional is not considered by the lending agency in its decision to provide the loan.


Show us your Commodore spirit. If you are interested in having your photos appear in a future issue of Commodore Nation, please e-mail your images to [email protected]

COMMODORE CLUB

PHONE: 615/322-4114 • ONLINE: vanderbilt.edu/ncc

Football legend Will Wolford (’86) with his family.

NCC members Totsie (’58) and Bill (’59) Keaton enjoyed Hall of Fame festivities.

The Commodore Ballroom inside Vanderbilt’s Student Life Center was sold out for the Hall of Fame and Scholarship Dinner.

NCC member Ernest “Bucky” Curtis (’51) and Heidi Gillingham Jackson (’94) were honored at the Hall of Fame Dinner.

Walker’s Coffee & Pub (128 College Ave.) will be the official Commodore headquarters on game day in Athens, Ga. Festivities for Vanderbilt alumni and fans will begin two hours before kickoff.

For complete details, visit: www.vanderbilt.edu/alumni/tailgates

JOIN THE DORES IN ATHENS ON OCTOBER 16When is the best time to make my NCC gift?

Gifts to the NCC are appreciated any time of year, however many NCC members choose to make their gift in the fall so that the contribution can be claimed as a charitable contribution on their tax return. This also allows members to pay their NCC contribution and season tickets several months apart, making it more affordable to retain their tickets and parking benefits.

HALL OF FAME AND SCHOLARSHIP DINNER - SEPT. 3, 2010

PAVE THE WAY

Be a part of Vanderbilt history by purchasing a brick toward our Pave the Way brick campaign. Your personalized brick will be placed in the plaza around Vanderbilt Stadium. Proceeds will go toward facility upgrades for our outstanding student-athletes. Log on to vanderbilt.edu/ncc for more information.

Below are the names of NCC members who joined in August. We welcome you and look forward to seeing you at Commodore games and events this year. Encourage your friends and family to make a gift to the NCC if they have not already.

Karen Bonner - Nashville

Joseph Dillingham - Nashville

Nicky Dorris - Gallatin

Katherine and Michael Froede - Grovetown, Ga.

Tracey George and Chris Guthrie - Nashville

Thomas Hoffman - Lebanon

Richard Hood - Brentwood

Chad Howard - Nashville

Gregory King - Nolensville

Matthew Kuykendall - Nashville

Howard Lamar - Nashville

Mark Marshall - Brentwood

Michael Musick - Nashville

Kim and Ricardo Perez - Cranberry Township, Pa.

Clara and Charles Puleo - Louisville

Machelle and Steven Rawlins - Brentwood

David Shaffer - Nashville

Maggie Stephens - Nashville

Nancy and Whitworth Stokes - Louisville, Ky.

Lynsey and Jeremy Tinnel - Spring Hill

Brian Tolbert - Nashville

Tracy and William Wade - Franklin

Roland Waguespack - Metairie, La.

Seana and Kevin Whitehurst - Brentwood

John Williams Jr. - Nashville

WELCOME NEW NCC MEMBERS

NCC 101

To ensure you receive important updates, please make sure your most current e-mail address is on file (for changes: [email protected]).

COMMODORE KICKOFF - AUG. 19, 2010

Dr. Alex Hollis (’75) with his daughter, Ann (’07), and wife, Alicia (’75). Former student-athletes Paul Smilgius (’88) and Karen Booker (’87) with Robin Baskin (’85).

Head Coach Robbie Caldwell signed autographs for students from the KIPP Academy.

More than 200 Commodore fans heard Vice Chancellor Williams and Coach Caldwell give insight on the 2010 season.


Show us your Commodore spirit. If you are interested in having your photos appear in a future issue of Commodore Nation, please e-mail your images to [email protected]

COMMODORE CLUB

PHONE: 615/322-4114 • ONLINE: vanderbilt.edu/ncc

Football legend Will Wolford (’86) with his family.

NCC members Totsie (’58) and Bill (’59) Keaton enjoyed Hall of Fame festivities.

The Commodore Ballroom inside Vanderbilt’s Student Life Center was sold out for the Hall of Fame and Scholarship Dinner.

NCC member Ernest “Bucky” Curtis (’51) and Heidi Gillingham Jackson (’94) were honored at the Hall of Fame Dinner.

Walker’s Coffee & Pub (128 College Ave.) will be the official Commodore headquarters on game day in Athens, Ga. Festivities for Vanderbilt alumni and fans will begin two hours before kickoff.

For complete details, visit: www.vanderbilt.edu/alumni/tailgates

JOIN THE DORES IN ATHENS ON OCTOBER 16When is the best time to make my NCC gift?

Gifts to the NCC are appreciated any time of year, however many NCC members choose to make their gift in the fall so that the contribution can be claimed as a charitable contribution on their tax return. This also allows members to pay their NCC contribution and season tickets several months apart, making it more affordable to retain their tickets and parking benefits.

HALL OF FAME AND SCHOLARSHIP DINNER - SEPT. 3, 2010

PAVE THE WAY

Be a part of Vanderbilt history by purchasing a brick toward our Pave the Way brick campaign. Your personalized brick will be placed in the plaza around Vanderbilt Stadium. Proceeds will go toward facility upgrades for our outstanding student-athletes. Log on to vanderbilt.edu/ncc for more information.

Below are the names of NCC members who joined in August. We welcome you and look forward to seeing you at Commodore games and events this year. Encourage your friends and family to make a gift to the NCC if they have not already.

Karen Bonner - Nashville

Joseph Dillingham - Nashville

Nicky Dorris - Gallatin

Katherine and Michael Froede - Grovetown, Ga.

Tracey George and Chris Guthrie - Nashville

Thomas Hoffman - Lebanon

Richard Hood - Brentwood

Chad Howard - Nashville

Gregory King - Nolensville

Matthew Kuykendall - Nashville

Howard Lamar - Nashville

Mark Marshall - Brentwood

Michael Musick - Nashville

Kim and Ricardo Perez - Cranberry Township, Pa.

Clara and Charles Puleo - Louisville

Machelle and Steven Rawlins - Brentwood

David Shaffer - Nashville

Maggie Stephens - Nashville

Nancy and Whitworth Stokes - Louisville, Ky.

Lynsey and Jeremy Tinnel - Spring Hill

Brian Tolbert - Nashville

Tracy and William Wade - Franklin

Roland Waguespack - Metairie, La.

Seana and Kevin Whitehurst - Brentwood

John Williams Jr. - Nashville

WELCOME NEW NCC MEMBERS

NCC 101

To ensure you receive important updates, please make sure your most current e-mail address is on file (for changes: [email protected]).

COMMODORE KICKOFF - AUG. 19, 2010

Dr. Alex Hollis (’75) with his daughter, Ann (’07), and wife, Alicia (’75). Former student-athletes Paul Smilgius (’88) and Karen Booker (’87) with Robin Baskin (’85).

Head Coach Robbie Caldwell signed autographs for students from the KIPP Academy.

More than 200 Commodore fans heard Vice Chancellor Williams and Coach Caldwell give insight on the 2010 season.


3.449 GPA during the 2009-10 school year for Head Coach Steven Keith’s women’s cross country team—tops among VU’s 15 varsity squads.

12 strikeouts by Mike Minor in his third major league start, which tied a rookie record for the Atlanta Braves last achieved in 1963.

26 student-athletes from the lacrosse team honored on the American Lacrosse Conference’s annual Academic Honor Roll— the most among league teams.

43 percent increase for web traffic in July on VU’s official site, vucommodores.com, as compared to the same month one year ago.

970 Twitter followers for VU Head Coach Robbie Caldwell in the first two weeks after he started an official page at twitter.com/robbiecaldwell/.

1,798 freshmen and new transfer students who participated in the 12th Man Run across Dudley Field before the Northwestern game.

2,011 career points scored by Shan Foster, one of 10 Commodore legends inducted into the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame last month as part of the Class of 2010.

NUMBERSBy ThePoint of View

By Keilly Ulery

This past summer, I had the wonder-ful experience of interning in Atlanta at Deloitte, one of the Big Four accounting

firms and a top Fortune 500 company, in the human resources department as a campus recruiter. Going into my Deloitte internship, I have to admit that I was basically clueless. Tennis has been my life since the age of 5, leaving little time for me to even consider hav-ing a job—the week-in, week-out tournament

schedule that is junior tennis isn’t really conducive to holding a con-sistent weekly job. In fact, the only job I’d ever held prior to my internship at Deloitte was as camp counselor at Vanderbilt’s sum-mer tennis camp for the extensive time period of, well, one month. Being that it revolved solely around tennis and that it was at the very same university where I attend school, it’s arguable whether this could be considered an actual job, and it certainly did not put me outside of my comfort zone.

The first day at my internship site was a completely new experi-ence for me. Luckily, I have always had the ability to adapt to new situations relatively easily, and thus I made the transition from clue-less beginner to self-sufficient employee fairly quickly. And soon enough, I absolutely loved my experience. I loved being busy liter-ally the entire workday, straight from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. I loved the pressure of having a deadline for every assignment given to me. And I loved the responsibility of having to be creative in my approach to doing things. The camaraderie developed with the other 35 interns—college students who were experiencing the same work-life pressures as I was—also made my experience that much more valuable. It also gave me a social life outside of the job, and by the end of the summer a group of about 12 of us had become extremely close. Not only did I come away with a great working experience, but I also gained new friends who I have con-tinued to keep in touch with since my internship has ended.

One of the major things that my Deloitte internship helped me realize is that it’s okay to not know what I want to do in the future. I have always been the type of person who has a plan for everything I do, and I liked to believe that I would know exactly what I wanted to pursue in life by the time I graduated from college. I’m not so sure of that now, and, in fact, I’m fairly positive that I still won’t know where my professional life is headed once the sun has set on my college days. And I’m okay with that. Before the summer, however, if some-one would have told me that upon graduating college I wouldn’t have the next year planned out—or at least somewhat “mapped” out—I would have been a complete stress machine. But after talk-ing to many of the Deloitte employees I worked with over the sum-mer, my perspective on things has changed. The majority of them have reconsidered career aspirations and changed career paths multiple times, and many are still unsure of exactly what it is they want to do or be in their professional lives—and it made me realize that not having an exact plan for life and just “going with the flow” is a more natural approach—and much more common in today’s world than I would have thought. Having a detailed life plan can be a little neurotic, a lot robotic—and I’d rather not consider myself as the neurotic-robotic type.

Do I know exactly, precisely, completely where my life is headed? Not even close. And that’s exactly how it should be. I’ll figure it out when I am supposed to, and it will put me exactly where I’m sup-posed to be. n

Editor’s Note: A native of Wellington, Fla., Keilly is a senior on the women’s tennis team. The Commodores play host to the annual June Stewart Invitational, Oct. 29-31, at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center on campus. “Point of View” allows a varsity athlete to discuss a topic of personal interest each month.

I’m with Co-Coaches More from McGugin

The 2009-10 Vanderbilt Coach of the Year award was announced last month—internally at a staff luncheon on Sept. 8 and publicly at the LSU foot-ball game on Sept. 11—with Baseball Coach Tim Corbin and Women’s Golf Coach Greg Allen sharing the honor.

After splitting the first two games of a Super Regional at Florida State, Corbin’s baseball team was 180 feet from advancing to the College World Series for the first time in school history before being knocked off by the Seminoles.

The Commodores amassed 46 victories in advancing through the Louisville Regional to make their second Super Regional appearance under Corbin. Second baseman Anthony Gomez was selected as a Freshman All-American, while Sonny Gray and Jason Esposito were chosen to represent Team USA at the 2010 V FISU World University Championships.

Paced by All-American sophomore Marina Alex, the women’s golf team also had a stellar year. Coach Allen’s Commodores finished seventh in the 2010 NCAA Championships at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C.

Alex took individual medalist honors at the 2010 Southeastern Conference Championships to lead the Commodores to a second-place finish at Tuscaloosa’s NorthRiver Yacht Club. She was named Vanderbilt’s Female Athlete of the Year.

Tim Corbin Greg Allen

Light Up the Sky Like a Flame

The 2010 Vanderbilt Athletic Hall of Fame class was inducted during a gala on Sept. 3 and honored the following day during halftime of the Vanderbilt-Northwestern game.

The Class of 2010 is 10 members strong and honors a wide range of Vanderbilt greats. The group consists of Ernest “Bucky” Curtis (football, 1947-50), Shan Foster (basketball, 2004-08), Heidi Gillingham Jackson (basketball, 1990-94), Chris Groer (tennis, 1993-96), Frank Lorge (swimming, 1969-72), Ed Martin (assistant basketball coach, 1985-89), Jeff Peeples (baseball, 1970-73), Ann Hutcheson Price (tennis, 1969-71), Grantland Rice (football/base-ball, 1898-1901; journalism) and Will Wolford (football, 1982-85).

Through three years of inductions, the Hall of Fame has honored 31 Commodore legends.The Class of 2009 included nine members: Jim Arnold (football), Charles Davis

(basketball), Julie Ditty (tennis), Charles Hawkins (baseball), Ming Hsu Robinson (swimming), Herb Rich (football), Wendy Scholtens Wood (basketball), Roy Skinner (basketball) and Brandt Snedeker (golf).

The inaugural Hall of Fame class was inducted in 2008. The 12 members were Chantelle Anderson (basketball), Peggy Brady (golf), John Hall (football), Roy Kramer (administration), Clyde Lee (basketball), Dan McGugin (football), John Rich (football/baseball), Fred Russell (baseball/journalism), June Stewart (administration), Ryan Tolbert Jackson (track and field), Bill Wade (football) and Perry Wallace (basketball).

Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2010 (L-R): Grantland Rice III (grand nephew of Grantland Rice), Shan Foster, Ruth Martin (widow of Ed Martin), Heidi Gillingham Jackson, Ann Hutcheson Price, Bucky Curtis, Chris Groer, Will Wolford, Worth Scott (nephew of Jeff Peeples) and Frank Lorge.

ST

EV

E G

RE

EN


3.449 GPA during the 2009-10 school year for Head Coach Steven Keith’s women’s cross country team—tops among VU’s 15 varsity squads.

12 strikeouts by Mike Minor in his third major league start, which tied a rookie record for the Atlanta Braves last achieved in 1963.

26 student-athletes from the lacrosse team honored on the American Lacrosse Conference’s annual Academic Honor Roll— the most among league teams.

43 percent increase for web traffic in July on VU’s official site, vucommodores.com, as compared to the same month one year ago.

970 Twitter followers for VU Head Coach Robbie Caldwell in the first two weeks after he started an official page at twitter.com/robbiecaldwell/.

1,798 freshmen and new transfer students who participated in the 12th Man Run across Dudley Field before the Northwestern game.

2,011 career points scored by Shan Foster, one of 10 Commodore legends inducted into the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame last month as part of the Class of 2010.

NUMBERSBy ThePoint of View

By Keilly Ulery

This past summer, I had the wonder-ful experience of interning in Atlanta at Deloitte, one of the Big Four accounting

firms and a top Fortune 500 company, in the human resources department as a campus recruiter. Going into my Deloitte internship, I have to admit that I was basically clueless. Tennis has been my life since the age of 5, leaving little time for me to even consider hav-ing a job—the week-in, week-out tournament

schedule that is junior tennis isn’t really conducive to holding a con-sistent weekly job. In fact, the only job I’d ever held prior to my internship at Deloitte was as camp counselor at Vanderbilt’s sum-mer tennis camp for the extensive time period of, well, one month. Being that it revolved solely around tennis and that it was at the very same university where I attend school, it’s arguable whether this could be considered an actual job, and it certainly did not put me outside of my comfort zone.

The first day at my internship site was a completely new experi-ence for me. Luckily, I have always had the ability to adapt to new situations relatively easily, and thus I made the transition from clue-less beginner to self-sufficient employee fairly quickly. And soon enough, I absolutely loved my experience. I loved being busy liter-ally the entire workday, straight from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. I loved the pressure of having a deadline for every assignment given to me. And I loved the responsibility of having to be creative in my approach to doing things. The camaraderie developed with the other 35 interns—college students who were experiencing the same work-life pressures as I was—also made my experience that much more valuable. It also gave me a social life outside of the job, and by the end of the summer a group of about 12 of us had become extremely close. Not only did I come away with a great working experience, but I also gained new friends who I have con-tinued to keep in touch with since my internship has ended.

One of the major things that my Deloitte internship helped me realize is that it’s okay to not know what I want to do in the future. I have always been the type of person who has a plan for everything I do, and I liked to believe that I would know exactly what I wanted to pursue in life by the time I graduated from college. I’m not so sure of that now, and, in fact, I’m fairly positive that I still won’t know where my professional life is headed once the sun has set on my college days. And I’m okay with that. Before the summer, however, if some-one would have told me that upon graduating college I wouldn’t have the next year planned out—or at least somewhat “mapped” out—I would have been a complete stress machine. But after talk-ing to many of the Deloitte employees I worked with over the sum-mer, my perspective on things has changed. The majority of them have reconsidered career aspirations and changed career paths multiple times, and many are still unsure of exactly what it is they want to do or be in their professional lives—and it made me realize that not having an exact plan for life and just “going with the flow” is a more natural approach—and much more common in today’s world than I would have thought. Having a detailed life plan can be a little neurotic, a lot robotic—and I’d rather not consider myself as the neurotic-robotic type.

Do I know exactly, precisely, completely where my life is headed? Not even close. And that’s exactly how it should be. I’ll figure it out when I am supposed to, and it will put me exactly where I’m sup-posed to be. n

Editor’s Note: A native of Wellington, Fla., Keilly is a senior on the women’s tennis team. The Commodores play host to the annual June Stewart Invitational, Oct. 29-31, at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center on campus. “Point of View” allows a varsity athlete to discuss a topic of personal interest each month.

I’m with Co-Coaches More from McGugin

The 2009-10 Vanderbilt Coach of the Year award was announced last month—internally at a staff luncheon on Sept. 8 and publicly at the LSU foot-ball game on Sept. 11—with Baseball Coach Tim Corbin and Women’s Golf Coach Greg Allen sharing the honor.

After splitting the first two games of a Super Regional at Florida State, Corbin’s baseball team was 180 feet from advancing to the College World Series for the first time in school history before being knocked off by the Seminoles.

The Commodores amassed 46 victories in advancing through the Louisville Regional to make their second Super Regional appearance under Corbin. Second baseman Anthony Gomez was selected as a Freshman All-American, while Sonny Gray and Jason Esposito were chosen to represent Team USA at the 2010 V FISU World University Championships.

Paced by All-American sophomore Marina Alex, the women’s golf team also had a stellar year. Coach Allen’s Commodores finished seventh in the 2010 NCAA Championships at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C.

Alex took individual medalist honors at the 2010 Southeastern Conference Championships to lead the Commodores to a second-place finish at Tuscaloosa’s NorthRiver Yacht Club. She was named Vanderbilt’s Female Athlete of the Year.

Tim Corbin Greg Allen

Light Up the Sky Like a Flame

The 2010 Vanderbilt Athletic Hall of Fame class was inducted during a gala on Sept. 3 and honored the following day during halftime of the Vanderbilt-Northwestern game.

The Class of 2010 is 10 members strong and honors a wide range of Vanderbilt greats. The group consists of Ernest “Bucky” Curtis (football, 1947-50), Shan Foster (basketball, 2004-08), Heidi Gillingham Jackson (basketball, 1990-94), Chris Groer (tennis, 1993-96), Frank Lorge (swimming, 1969-72), Ed Martin (assistant basketball coach, 1985-89), Jeff Peeples (baseball, 1970-73), Ann Hutcheson Price (tennis, 1969-71), Grantland Rice (football/base-ball, 1898-1901; journalism) and Will Wolford (football, 1982-85).

Through three years of inductions, the Hall of Fame has honored 31 Commodore legends.The Class of 2009 included nine members: Jim Arnold (football), Charles Davis

(basketball), Julie Ditty (tennis), Charles Hawkins (baseball), Ming Hsu Robinson (swimming), Herb Rich (football), Wendy Scholtens Wood (basketball), Roy Skinner (basketball) and Brandt Snedeker (golf).

The inaugural Hall of Fame class was inducted in 2008. The 12 members were Chantelle Anderson (basketball), Peggy Brady (golf), John Hall (football), Roy Kramer (administration), Clyde Lee (basketball), Dan McGugin (football), John Rich (football/baseball), Fred Russell (baseball/journalism), June Stewart (administration), Ryan Tolbert Jackson (track and field), Bill Wade (football) and Perry Wallace (basketball).

Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2010 (L-R): Grantland Rice III (grand nephew of Grantland Rice), Shan Foster, Ruth Martin (widow of Ed Martin), Heidi Gillingham Jackson, Ann Hutcheson Price, Bucky Curtis, Chris Groer, Will Wolford, Worth Scott (nephew of Jeff Peeples) and Frank Lorge.

ST

EV

E G

RE

EN


My Game

Rachel Bachtel is one of nine fourth- or fifth-year players for Head Coach Ronnie Woodard’s women’s soccer team this season. The Dublin, Ohio, native, who entered her senior season with 57 career starts under her belt, discusses her game—including facing shots and taking them.

On her pregame routine:“I put on my muck boots and wear them over to the sta-dium. When I put them on I think about hunting, and how exciting that is. I try to bring that energy and excitement into the locker room. Hunting is fun. There’s nothing really like the adrenaline it gives you.

“I try not to listen to music. I catch myself blocking out the music and just thinking about the game. I’d rather talk with people around me to keep my mind clear. After I warm up, I go sit in the team room probably 10 minutes early, get my jersey on and visualize some saves that I’ll make during the game. That’s the most thinking I’ll do before the game.”

On the biggest save she remembers making:“Sophomore year when we played at UT. Mick Imgram had a rocket shot, probably 30 yards out, on a set piece. I barely got a finger on it and tipped it over. Everyone played her up to be amazing, and I saved her set piece. That was really exciting. We ended up winning that game 1-0.”

On remembering tough moments:“You remember it, but you have to put it behind you. If you remember all the bad times and you’re dwelling on that, you’re not going to succeed. But I wouldn’t say I really think about the highlights either, because I feel you could always be better. I can always make a better save.”

On her art studio major:“Ceramics is my biggest focus right now because I chose to do a senior show that involves ceramics. This summer I went around after the flood and collected mattresses that people had thrown out, and I tore them up to get the box springs out. I’m planning to use those as part of my instal-lation with my ceramics intertwined with found objects. I’ve barely started on it. The show won’t be until the end of April.”

On the most exciting part of being a goalkeeper:“Has to be a 1-v-1 save. It’s just you and the forward, and if you make the save that—most of the time—you’re not expected to make, that’s really exciting. It motivates the team, also. If the team’s not doing well and you make that save, it pumps them up to play better.”

On the toughest teammate to defend against:“That depends on the kind of shot. Molly Kinsella’s really good 1-v-1. She’s hard to read. I know to go down hard for a ball when there’s a big touch off the foot, but she keeps the ball close to her foot. So you either have to go out and guess or wait for her, and she’s really fast. She’s hard to deal with. In terms of straight shots on goal, CJ [Rhoades] has an amazing shot. Kate’s [Goldin] shot is really power-ful, too.”

RachelBachtel

JOH

N R

US

SE

LL

Editor’s Note: The 2010 soccer regular season concludes in October, with Rachel and the Commodores playing three SEC games at home and five on the road.


My Game

Rachel Bachtel is one of nine fourth- or fifth-year players for Head Coach Ronnie Woodard’s women’s soccer team this season. The Dublin, Ohio, native, who entered her senior season with 57 career starts under her belt, discusses her game—including facing shots and taking them.

On her pregame routine:“I put on my muck boots and wear them over to the sta-dium. When I put them on I think about hunting, and how exciting that is. I try to bring that energy and excitement into the locker room. Hunting is fun. There’s nothing really like the adrenaline it gives you.

“I try not to listen to music. I catch myself blocking out the music and just thinking about the game. I’d rather talk with people around me to keep my mind clear. After I warm up, I go sit in the team room probably 10 minutes early, get my jersey on and visualize some saves that I’ll make during the game. That’s the most thinking I’ll do before the game.”

On the biggest save she remembers making:“Sophomore year when we played at UT. Mick Imgram had a rocket shot, probably 30 yards out, on a set piece. I barely got a finger on it and tipped it over. Everyone played her up to be amazing, and I saved her set piece. That was really exciting. We ended up winning that game 1-0.”

On remembering tough moments:“You remember it, but you have to put it behind you. If you remember all the bad times and you’re dwelling on that, you’re not going to succeed. But I wouldn’t say I really think about the highlights either, because I feel you could always be better. I can always make a better save.”

On her art studio major:“Ceramics is my biggest focus right now because I chose to do a senior show that involves ceramics. This summer I went around after the flood and collected mattresses that people had thrown out, and I tore them up to get the box springs out. I’m planning to use those as part of my instal-lation with my ceramics intertwined with found objects. I’ve barely started on it. The show won’t be until the end of April.”

On the most exciting part of being a goalkeeper:“Has to be a 1-v-1 save. It’s just you and the forward, and if you make the save that—most of the time—you’re not expected to make, that’s really exciting. It motivates the team, also. If the team’s not doing well and you make that save, it pumps them up to play better.”

On the toughest teammate to defend against:“That depends on the kind of shot. Molly Kinsella’s really good 1-v-1. She’s hard to read. I know to go down hard for a ball when there’s a big touch off the foot, but she keeps the ball close to her foot. So you either have to go out and guess or wait for her, and she’s really fast. She’s hard to deal with. In terms of straight shots on goal, CJ [Rhoades] has an amazing shot. Kate’s [Goldin] shot is really power-ful, too.”

RachelBachtel

JOH

N R

US

SE

LL

Editor’s Note: The 2010 soccer regular season concludes in October, with Rachel and the Commodores playing three SEC games at home and five on the road.


THE BUDDY SYSTEMFast Friends on Fast Track to Success

“Everybody has to do their job,” Hayward said. “That’s what happened with Sean. The Music City Bowl was special. We’re trying to get back to a bowl this year.”

The pair will have a lot to say about VU’s success on the defensive side of the ball. As the only returning starters, they are the unquestioned leaders of their position groups.

Both were elected by their peers to be on the Commodores’ 13-man leadership council. The council addresses team and student-athlete issues while acting as their teammates’ voice in communicating with Vanderbilt coaches.

For sophomore cornerback Eddie Foster, Hayward and Richardson have proven their ability to lead.

“They’re some of the most vocal people on our defense,” Foster said. “They help out the young guys that haven’t been around college practices that long, and they notice things that only veterans notice, little things that really help us out.”

Both men appreciate having the trust of their teammates.

“It’s nice for someone to vote for you as a leader,” Richardson said. “That tells you that people look up to you and believe that you can carry the team a long way. I take it as an honor.”

Richardson’s teammates are not the only ones who think he and Hayward can take the team a long way. Jamie Bryant is of a similar opinion. Bryant, the defensive backs coach at Vanderbilt since 2002, was promoted to

defensive coordinator after the 2008 bowl victory.

Fast-forward two years, and three-fourths of Bryant’s start-ing defensive backfield from that game are currently on NFL rosters —Moore with the Chicago Bears, Lewis with the Tampa Bay Bucca-neers and safety Reshard Lang-ford with the Kansas City Chiefs —giving Bryant a degree of insight into what it takes to make it to the professional ranks.

He sees similar potential in his current crop of talent.

“Casey and Sean have put the time in and worked very hard,” Bryant said. “I’ve really liked the way they have improved year-to-year. They are fundamentally sound and have good ability, so there’s no reason they can’t be just as good as the guys that have come before them.”

That ability to cultivate and hone talent was one factor that made Vanderbilt stand out to Hayward.

“I wanted to come to a place where I knew I had a chance to make it to the next level,” Hayward said. “I felt like this was the place. If we keep striding as players and listen to what Coach Bryant and [Assistant Head] Coach Fowler tell us, we can be there.”

And they certainly will continue to help each other along the way. The friendship they have

cultivated over the past few years also has a utilitarian purpose.

“Knowing your teammates is very impor-tant,” Richardson said. “You have to know where your help is, who you depend on and trust that the player next to you is gonna do his job. If everyone is on the same page we can have a great defense.” n

Juniors Casey Hayward and Sean Richard-son were fast friends when they first met on their initial unofficial football recruiting visit to Vanderbilt.

“It was a great experience,” Richard-son said. “It was my first time visiting up here. We were watching the secondary and started bonding then. We had a connection.”

That connection comes from the duo’s simi-lar small-town roots. Hayward claims Perry, Ga.—30 miles south of Macon—as his home-town. Richardson hails from Linden, Ala., 75 miles south of Tuscaloosa.

Their two cities boast a combined popula-tion of about 12,000 as of the most recent cen-sus. The Nashville Metropolitan area houses nearly 1.6 million people, while more than 19,000 people are employed at Vanderbilt Uni-versity and the VU Medical Center.

Ask the Commodore standouts about their upbringings and the conversation quickly turns to that staple of rural measurement—the stop light. Linden has only two, dwarfed by Perry, whose Main Street alone has three in consecutive blocks.

As one half of Vanderbilt’s starting defen-sive backfield, Hayward and Richardson have spent countless hours together on the field. They run in the same network away from the athletic complex, as well.

“We’re together all the time,” Hayward added. “A lot of us from our class, we’re kick-ing it together all the time, playing video games or watching TV.”

Hayward and Richardson have more in common than just their hometowns. They were the only true freshmen to play in every game of the 2008 campaign.

Both gained experience that year on special teams while playing backup roles for the Com-modore defense. And both players were cata-pulted into the limelight during Vanderbilt’s 2008 Music City Bowl victory.

When starting cornerback D.J. Moore suffered an injury, Hayward was called into first-team duty across from junior Myron Lewis. He responded with three tackles and a pair of pass breakups as the Commodore defense only allowed Boston College QB Dominique Davis to complete 42 percent of his 36 pass attempts.

“When D.J. went down, Casey was there to back him up,” Richardson said. “He played great.”

Richardson also would have his moment in the spotlight that evening at LP Field. With the Commodores down 7-6 in the third quarter, Richardson recovered a punt by BC in the end zone for Vanderbilt’s only touchdown in what would become a 16-14 win.

“I just wanted to come to a place where I knew I had a chance to make

it to the next level. I felt like this was the place.”

— Casey Hayward

Sean Richardson (above) led the Commodores with 10 tackles against LSU, while Casey Hayward (opposite) had the third interception of his VU career.

JOE

HO

WE

LL

JOH

N R

US

SE

LL

JOE

HO

WE

LL


THE BUDDY SYSTEMFast Friends on Fast Track to Success

“Everybody has to do their job,” Hayward said. “That’s what happened with Sean. The Music City Bowl was special. We’re trying to get back to a bowl this year.”

The pair will have a lot to say about VU’s success on the defensive side of the ball. As the only returning starters, they are the unquestioned leaders of their position groups.

Both were elected by their peers to be on the Commodores’ 13-man leadership council. The council addresses team and student-athlete issues while acting as their teammates’ voice in communicating with Vanderbilt coaches.

For sophomore cornerback Eddie Foster, Hayward and Richardson have proven their ability to lead.

“They’re some of the most vocal people on our defense,” Foster said. “They help out the young guys that haven’t been around college practices that long, and they notice things that only veterans notice, little things that really help us out.”

Both men appreciate having the trust of their teammates.

“It’s nice for someone to vote for you as a leader,” Richardson said. “That tells you that people look up to you and believe that you can carry the team a long way. I take it as an honor.”

Richardson’s teammates are not the only ones who think he and Hayward can take the team a long way. Jamie Bryant is of a similar opinion. Bryant, the defensive backs coach at Vanderbilt since 2002, was promoted to

defensive coordinator after the 2008 bowl victory.

Fast-forward two years, and three-fourths of Bryant’s start-ing defensive backfield from that game are currently on NFL rosters —Moore with the Chicago Bears, Lewis with the Tampa Bay Bucca-neers and safety Reshard Lang-ford with the Kansas City Chiefs —giving Bryant a degree of insight into what it takes to make it to the professional ranks.

He sees similar potential in his current crop of talent.

“Casey and Sean have put the time in and worked very hard,” Bryant said. “I’ve really liked the way they have improved year-to-year. They are fundamentally sound and have good ability, so there’s no reason they can’t be just as good as the guys that have come before them.”

That ability to cultivate and hone talent was one factor that made Vanderbilt stand out to Hayward.

“I wanted to come to a place where I knew I had a chance to make it to the next level,” Hayward said. “I felt like this was the place. If we keep striding as players and listen to what Coach Bryant and [Assistant Head] Coach Fowler tell us, we can be there.”

And they certainly will continue to help each other along the way. The friendship they have

cultivated over the past few years also has a utilitarian purpose.

“Knowing your teammates is very impor-tant,” Richardson said. “You have to know where your help is, who you depend on and trust that the player next to you is gonna do his job. If everyone is on the same page we can have a great defense.” n

Juniors Casey Hayward and Sean Richard-son were fast friends when they first met on their initial unofficial football recruiting visit to Vanderbilt.

“It was a great experience,” Richard-son said. “It was my first time visiting up here. We were watching the secondary and started bonding then. We had a connection.”

That connection comes from the duo’s simi-lar small-town roots. Hayward claims Perry, Ga.—30 miles south of Macon—as his home-town. Richardson hails from Linden, Ala., 75 miles south of Tuscaloosa.

Their two cities boast a combined popula-tion of about 12,000 as of the most recent cen-sus. The Nashville Metropolitan area houses nearly 1.6 million people, while more than 19,000 people are employed at Vanderbilt Uni-versity and the VU Medical Center.

Ask the Commodore standouts about their upbringings and the conversation quickly turns to that staple of rural measurement—the stop light. Linden has only two, dwarfed by Perry, whose Main Street alone has three in consecutive blocks.

As one half of Vanderbilt’s starting defen-sive backfield, Hayward and Richardson have spent countless hours together on the field. They run in the same network away from the athletic complex, as well.

“We’re together all the time,” Hayward added. “A lot of us from our class, we’re kick-ing it together all the time, playing video games or watching TV.”

Hayward and Richardson have more in common than just their hometowns. They were the only true freshmen to play in every game of the 2008 campaign.

Both gained experience that year on special teams while playing backup roles for the Com-modore defense. And both players were cata-pulted into the limelight during Vanderbilt’s 2008 Music City Bowl victory.

When starting cornerback D.J. Moore suffered an injury, Hayward was called into first-team duty across from junior Myron Lewis. He responded with three tackles and a pair of pass breakups as the Commodore defense only allowed Boston College QB Dominique Davis to complete 42 percent of his 36 pass attempts.

“When D.J. went down, Casey was there to back him up,” Richardson said. “He played great.”

Richardson also would have his moment in the spotlight that evening at LP Field. With the Commodores down 7-6 in the third quarter, Richardson recovered a punt by BC in the end zone for Vanderbilt’s only touchdown in what would become a 16-14 win.

“I just wanted to come to a place where I knew I had a chance to make

it to the next level. I felt like this was the place.”

— Casey Hayward

Sean Richardson (above) led the Commodores with 10 tackles against LSU, while Casey Hayward (opposite) had the third interception of his VU career.

JOE

HO

WE

LL

JOH

N R

US

SE

LL

JOE

HO

WE

LL


It’s My Turn

By Rod Williamson

Legendary Weekend

Do you have a favorite day at the office? Some of you might blurt out “Friday” while others peer into the

future and dream of their retirement party. So count me as unusual that I can identify my favorite. The day of our Hall of Fame and Scholarship Dinner is without a doubt the best of my work year. It combines the best of our tradition with an opportunity to generate needed income for our athletic scholarships.

Most banquets are endured and seldom enjoyed. They can be an inconvenience to attend when the easy chair looks inviting. “Do we HAVE to go?” There are only so many ways to make chicken and lettuce tasty. And here’s to all who have felt they might miss the next Halley’s Comet while waiting for the featured speaker to sit down.

That’s not the feeling during Hall of Fame Weekend. Those of us fortunate enough to be in the sold-out ballroom mix with Com-modore greats, then hear them recap their remarkable lives. We are three years and 31 inductees into this wonderful program, and pulses still quicken as each of the Hall of Famers makes his or her way to the podium.

We heard Roy Kramer recount the proud traditions of Vander-bilt athletics from his vantages as director of athletics and South-eastern Conference commissioner. Perry Wallace was eloquent as he reflected upon his trials and tribulations while breaking the league’s basketball color barrier in the late 1960s.

Clyde Lee humbly remembered when he was the hottest thing on West End.

There were moist eyes as Wendy Scholtens Wood, now an Arkansas attorney, explained what Vanderbilt meant to her life. Her children were on hand to see their mom in a different light. Two-time SEC swim champion Frank Lorge drew a roar while admitting his passion to defeat Tennessee after the Vols told him during a recruiting visit that they had six team members and a walk-on lifeguard better than him. Heidi Gillingham Jackson, now mother of five, admitted she wasn’t sure she even wanted to play early in her career.

And nobody was more real than Shan Foster, who flew back from Belgium just for Hall of Fame Weekend. He told the attentive room that his Senior Night pre-game prayer was that he might do something to show his appreciation to his team, the fans and Vanderbilt University for what they had done for him. He then elec-trified us with his “best game ever.”

Everyone has an inspiring story; that seems a prerequisite to becoming a Hall of Famer. Sometimes we wrongly assume that success comes easily to our legends. Then we learn that nearly all of our heroines and heroes fought to overcome discouragement, setbacks or challenges. The Hall of Famers remind us that life is about competing and that sports are significant because they offer a laboratory in which leadership and values are cultivated.

Nationwide there has been a longtime debate about the proper place of athletics on a college campus. Does an athletics program even belong at an institution of higher learning? What is the point?

One by one, these Legends of us All remind us that their lives were shaped and many times changed by their experiences with athletics. Through sports, the timid became confident, the cocky grew more humble and the indifferent became dedicated. They become part of the folklore that is Vanderbilt Athletics.

As we absorb their triumphs and refreshing perspectives, our lives suddenly seem lighter and brighter. We exit the ballroom firm in our belief that while there are many things in life more important than a ball game, there are few better at shaping character. n


It’s My Turn

By Rod Williamson

Legendary Weekend

Do you have a favorite day at the office? Some of you might blurt out “Friday” while others peer into the

future and dream of their retirement party. So count me as unusual that I can identify my favorite. The day of our Hall of Fame and Scholarship Dinner is without a doubt the best of my work year. It combines the best of our tradition with an opportunity to generate needed income for our athletic scholarships.

Most banquets are endured and seldom enjoyed. They can be an inconvenience to attend when the easy chair looks inviting. “Do we HAVE to go?” There are only so many ways to make chicken and lettuce tasty. And here’s to all who have felt they might miss the next Halley’s Comet while waiting for the featured speaker to sit down.

That’s not the feeling during Hall of Fame Weekend. Those of us fortunate enough to be in the sold-out ballroom mix with Com-modore greats, then hear them recap their remarkable lives. We are three years and 31 inductees into this wonderful program, and pulses still quicken as each of the Hall of Famers makes his or her way to the podium.

We heard Roy Kramer recount the proud traditions of Vander-bilt athletics from his vantages as director of athletics and South-eastern Conference commissioner. Perry Wallace was eloquent as he reflected upon his trials and tribulations while breaking the league’s basketball color barrier in the late 1960s.

Clyde Lee humbly remembered when he was the hottest thing on West End.

There were moist eyes as Wendy Scholtens Wood, now an Arkansas attorney, explained what Vanderbilt meant to her life. Her children were on hand to see their mom in a different light. Two-time SEC swim champion Frank Lorge drew a roar while admitting his passion to defeat Tennessee after the Vols told him during a recruiting visit that they had six team members and a walk-on lifeguard better than him. Heidi Gillingham Jackson, now mother of five, admitted she wasn’t sure she even wanted to play early in her career.

And nobody was more real than Shan Foster, who flew back from Belgium just for Hall of Fame Weekend. He told the attentive room that his Senior Night pre-game prayer was that he might do something to show his appreciation to his team, the fans and Vanderbilt University for what they had done for him. He then elec-trified us with his “best game ever.”

Everyone has an inspiring story; that seems a prerequisite to becoming a Hall of Famer. Sometimes we wrongly assume that success comes easily to our legends. Then we learn that nearly all of our heroines and heroes fought to overcome discouragement, setbacks or challenges. The Hall of Famers remind us that life is about competing and that sports are significant because they offer a laboratory in which leadership and values are cultivated.

Nationwide there has been a longtime debate about the proper place of athletics on a college campus. Does an athletics program even belong at an institution of higher learning? What is the point?

One by one, these Legends of us All remind us that their lives were shaped and many times changed by their experiences with athletics. Through sports, the timid became confident, the cocky grew more humble and the indifferent became dedicated. They become part of the folklore that is Vanderbilt Athletics.

As we absorb their triumphs and refreshing perspectives, our lives suddenly seem lighter and brighter. We exit the ballroom firm in our belief that while there are many things in life more important than a ball game, there are few better at shaping character. n


LA

UR

A M

OO

N,

MA

RIE

TTA

DA

ILY

JO

UR

NA

L

Rajaan Bennett did as Ralph Waldo Emerson suggested. He accepted the place that Divine Providence found for him.

But Rajaan did more than just accept it. He embraced it. He lived it, and he became exactly the kind of young man that Emerson describes when he says that “A man is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition.”

Life wasn’t easy for Rajaan and his family. His father was killed in a car accident shortly after moving his family from Florida to Geor-gia, leaving Rajaan to grow up quickly and rebuild his heartbroken family. Of course, he grieved as any child would at age 10, but he also knew that his mother and his younger brother and sister needed him to be strong.

That strength stayed resolute, and he soon garnered more to share with a football team as he discovered a new athletic outlet in eighth grade.

His talent soon evolved into a power that awed many. Sometimes it was surprising coming from such an unassuming young man, but you didn’t have to be an academic All-American to know that his effortless style manifested itself in more ways than just a halfback dive.

His expertise as a running back was often at the foremost of the minds of the McEach-ern High School family, but the most influen-tial legacy that Rajaan left behind was not one of record yards rushing or honors like Offensive Player of the Year. His unique gift is one of a genuine kindness tempered only by integrity and individuality.

As I think of Rajaan, I recall the last time I spoke with him. Friday, February 4.

He stopped by my classroom to tell me that he had signed with Vanderbilt. As one of his teachers, he knew I’d love the academic reputation while also being impressed by the rich football tradition. I instantly teared up and swept him into a massive hug. I was crying proud-teacher tears while I gushed at how much he was going to love Nashville and college.

I asked what helped shape his decision; he told me that being on the Vanderbilt campus “just felt right.” He spoke of how the coaches never pressured him, but stressed that he should take his time to make the right deci-sion for his future.

It’s not the lure of fame on game day, the dream of an SEC title, or even a pos-sible future in the NFL that drew Rajaan to becoming a Commodore. He was moved

Rajaan Bennett: Strength and Self-Reliance

“Every day I become stronger from the weights physically, the books mentally and life emotionally.

There is no limit to my strength and at the end of the day, I want to be known as the strongest.”

— excerpt from “Strength,” an essay written by Rajaan Bennett during his senior year at McEachern High School

By Lynlee Doar

Editor’s Note: Lynlee Doar is an English teacher at McEachern High School, where she taught Rajaan Bennett. She is a former journalist and the sponsor of McEachern’s newspaper, The Tribal Times. Ms. Doar is also a native of Nashville.

Bennett was killed on Feb. 18, 2010, just days after signing a National Letter of Intent to attend Vanderbilt and play football for the Commodores.

Narjaketha Bennett, Rajaan’s mother, was presented with his retired No. 5 jersey on Sept. 3.

A bronze plaque dedicated to Rajaan rests on a carved stone podium at McEachern’s Cantrell Stadium.

RIV

AL

S.C

OM

LA

UR

A M

OO

N,

MA

RIE

TTA

DA

ILY

JO

UR

NA

L


LA

UR

A M

OO

N,

MA

RIE

TTA

DA

ILY

JO

UR

NA

L

Rajaan Bennett did as Ralph Waldo Emerson suggested. He accepted the place that Divine Providence found for him.

But Rajaan did more than just accept it. He embraced it. He lived it, and he became exactly the kind of young man that Emerson describes when he says that “A man is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition.”

Life wasn’t easy for Rajaan and his family. His father was killed in a car accident shortly after moving his family from Florida to Geor-gia, leaving Rajaan to grow up quickly and rebuild his heartbroken family. Of course, he grieved as any child would at age 10, but he also knew that his mother and his younger brother and sister needed him to be strong.

That strength stayed resolute, and he soon garnered more to share with a football team as he discovered a new athletic outlet in eighth grade.

His talent soon evolved into a power that awed many. Sometimes it was surprising coming from such an unassuming young man, but you didn’t have to be an academic All-American to know that his effortless style manifested itself in more ways than just a halfback dive.

His expertise as a running back was often at the foremost of the minds of the McEach-ern High School family, but the most influen-tial legacy that Rajaan left behind was not one of record yards rushing or honors like Offensive Player of the Year. His unique gift is one of a genuine kindness tempered only by integrity and individuality.

As I think of Rajaan, I recall the last time I spoke with him. Friday, February 4.

He stopped by my classroom to tell me that he had signed with Vanderbilt. As one of his teachers, he knew I’d love the academic reputation while also being impressed by the rich football tradition. I instantly teared up and swept him into a massive hug. I was crying proud-teacher tears while I gushed at how much he was going to love Nashville and college.

I asked what helped shape his decision; he told me that being on the Vanderbilt campus “just felt right.” He spoke of how the coaches never pressured him, but stressed that he should take his time to make the right deci-sion for his future.

It’s not the lure of fame on game day, the dream of an SEC title, or even a pos-sible future in the NFL that drew Rajaan to becoming a Commodore. He was moved

Rajaan Bennett: Strength and Self-Reliance

“Every day I become stronger from the weights physically, the books mentally and life emotionally.

There is no limit to my strength and at the end of the day, I want to be known as the strongest.”

— excerpt from “Strength,” an essay written by Rajaan Bennett during his senior year at McEachern High School

By Lynlee Doar

Editor’s Note: Lynlee Doar is an English teacher at McEachern High School, where she taught Rajaan Bennett. She is a former journalist and the sponsor of McEachern’s newspaper, The Tribal Times. Ms. Doar is also a native of Nashville.

Bennett was killed on Feb. 18, 2010, just days after signing a National Letter of Intent to attend Vanderbilt and play football for the Commodores.

Narjaketha Bennett, Rajaan’s mother, was presented with his retired No. 5 jersey on Sept. 3.

A bronze plaque dedicated to Rajaan rests on a carved stone podium at McEachern’s Cantrell Stadium.

RIV

AL

S.C

OM

LA

UR

A M

OO

N,

MA

RIE

TTA

DA

ILY

JO

UR

NA

L


JOE

HO

WE

LL

Support your Commodores in San Juan at the

November 18-21 – Coliseo de Puerto Ricofeaturing Vanderbilt, Davidson, Hofstra, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, West Virginia and Western Kentucky

Anthony Travel is offering official travel packages with hotel accommodations, welcome reception, game tickets and

game day transportation for Commodore fans.

For more information, please visit Anthony Travel’s

official website for the Tip-Off:

http://www.anthonytravel.com/espn/puerto-rico-tipoff

by men who respected him as more than just an athlete. He was moved by men who saw a focused student and a family man. Those things moved him because he knew that when the cheering stopped, when the stadium cleared and the lights dimmed, he would be more than a football player. He felt genuinely cared for just as he truly cared for others.

As we talked that day in the hallway out-side my classroom, I looked at the shirt that he wore so proudly. It was one of the many that his mother had made for him with iron-on pictures of himself in various football moves. But the beauty of this particular shirt was how it blended his current life as a high school star with a huge varsity-style black and gold “V” that represented his future. He was so intensely proud of that shirt and supremely confident in his future.

There’s no more writing of how he died because how he lived is much more power-ful. He lived to love his family, his community and his school; and we loved him right back because it was so easy.

His No. 5 McEachern High School jer-sey was officially retired before an ador-ing crowd on Sept. 3, 2010, and a bronzed plaque emblazoned with Rajaan’s likeness rests on a carved-stone podium outside the field house of his alma mater’s Cantrell Stadium. He would have thought that nice, but it would have thrilled him more that his Indians beat the number two team in the

state that night, the day before he was to begin his collegiate career by playing his first game as a Commodore

When I think of Rajaan Bennett, I am sad that he won’t accomplish his dreams, but I find comfort in knowing that he was always true to himself and personified Emerson’s “Self-Reliance.” Because of that, he impacted countless lives.

It’s an odd pairing—a transcendentalist and a football standout—but Emerson’s sensible words are as powerful as Rajaan’s gridiron moves. “We pity him no more, but thank and revere him,—and that teacher shall restore the life of man to splendor, and make his name dear to all history.” n

On a day when they honored their former teammate, McEachern defeated Lowndes, 23-22.

LA

UR

A M

OO

N,

MA

RIE

TTA

DA

ILY

JO

UR

NA

L


JOE

HO

WE

LL

Support your Commodores in San Juan at the

November 18-21 – Coliseo de Puerto Ricofeaturing Vanderbilt, Davidson, Hofstra, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, West Virginia and Western Kentucky

Anthony Travel is offering official travel packages with hotel accommodations, welcome reception, game tickets and

game day transportation for Commodore fans.

For more information, please visit Anthony Travel’s

official website for the Tip-Off:

http://www.anthonytravel.com/espn/puerto-rico-tipoff

by men who respected him as more than just an athlete. He was moved by men who saw a focused student and a family man. Those things moved him because he knew that when the cheering stopped, when the stadium cleared and the lights dimmed, he would be more than a football player. He felt genuinely cared for just as he truly cared for others.

As we talked that day in the hallway out-side my classroom, I looked at the shirt that he wore so proudly. It was one of the many that his mother had made for him with iron-on pictures of himself in various football moves. But the beauty of this particular shirt was how it blended his current life as a high school star with a huge varsity-style black and gold “V” that represented his future. He was so intensely proud of that shirt and supremely confident in his future.

There’s no more writing of how he died because how he lived is much more power-ful. He lived to love his family, his community and his school; and we loved him right back because it was so easy.

His No. 5 McEachern High School jer-sey was officially retired before an ador-ing crowd on Sept. 3, 2010, and a bronzed plaque emblazoned with Rajaan’s likeness rests on a carved-stone podium outside the field house of his alma mater’s Cantrell Stadium. He would have thought that nice, but it would have thrilled him more that his Indians beat the number two team in the

state that night, the day before he was to begin his collegiate career by playing his first game as a Commodore

When I think of Rajaan Bennett, I am sad that he won’t accomplish his dreams, but I find comfort in knowing that he was always true to himself and personified Emerson’s “Self-Reliance.” Because of that, he impacted countless lives.

It’s an odd pairing—a transcendentalist and a football standout—but Emerson’s sensible words are as powerful as Rajaan’s gridiron moves. “We pity him no more, but thank and revere him,—and that teacher shall restore the life of man to splendor, and make his name dear to all history.” n

On a day when they honored their former teammate, McEachern defeated Lowndes, 23-22.

LA

UR

A M

OO

N,

MA

RIE

TTA

DA

ILY

JO

UR

NA

L


Behind the Scenes: Women’s BasketballStrength and Conditioning 2010 WBB Schedule

11/4 DELTA STATE (Ex.) 7 p.m.11/9 UNION (Ex.) 7 p.m.

11/14 HOWARD 2 p.m.11/18 SAMFORD 7 p.m.11/21 at Florida State TBA

Vanderbilt Thanksgiving TournamentNashville — Memorial Gymnasium

11/26 USC vs. Princeton 5 p.m. QUINNIPIAC 7 p.m.11/28 Consolation Noon Championship 2 p.m.

12/1 at Bowling Green 6 p.m.12/5 at Denver 3 p.m.12/7 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 7 p.m.12/9 UT-MARTIN 7 p.m.12/19 at Duquesne TBA12/21 WESTERN KENTUCKY 7 p.m.

Hilton Garden ClassicBlacksburg, Va. — Cassell Coliseum

12/29 vs. Delaware 4 p.m.12/30 Virginia Tech/Alcorn St. 4/6 p.m.

1/2 * at Ole Miss TBA1/6 * MISSISSIPPI STATE 7 p.m.1/9 * AUBURN 2 p.m.1/13 * at Alabama 6 p.m.1/15 * at Tennessee ESPN 7 p.m.1/20 * ARKANSAS 7 p.m.1/23 * at Kentucky 1 p.m.1/30 * OLE MISS 2 p.m.

2/3 * LSU 7 p.m.2/6 * at Florida Noon2/10 * at Georgia 6 p.m.2/13 * TENNESSEE 2 p.m.2/17 * at Mississippi State 7 p.m.2/20 * KENTUCKY 2 p.m.2/24 * FLORIDA 7 p.m.2/27 * at South Carolina 2 p.m.

2010 SEC Tournament Nashville — Bridgestone Arena

3/3 First Round FSN TBA3/4 Quarterfinals FSN TBA3/5 Semifinals ESPNU TBA3/6 Finals ESPN2 TBA

All times Central and subject to change.HOME GAMES played at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville.* denotes Southeastern Conference gameThe 2010 Final Four will be played at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., April 3-5

Strength and Conditioning Coach Tasha Weddle talks about the physical training required to compete among the nation’s best in the SEC.

On the importance of summer workouts….

“From June until prac-tice starts in October is really when we get almost all of our work done as far as strength gains. We’re not com-peting with practice and games for their

energy, so we can push them to the max— lifting three times a week, running twice and playing pick-up games. We’re using a ton of energy in our eight hours a week.”

On her approach with newcomers….

“The first thing I want to do is watch them through a full routine to assess where we need to build a foundation to get stronger. I also want to let them know what it’s all about. The theme for their first summer is basically, ‘This is not high school anymore.’ There’s a whole different level of expec-tation, a whole different level of physical and mental toughness. I don’t want those freshmen to be our weak link because they weren’t pushed hard enough.”

On the team’s hardest workers….

“Hannah [Tuomi] has always been a worker. She’s beyond human in her ability to toler-ate pain. She can just go, go, go; I’ve never seen anything like it. I never ever have to coach effort with her. Really, though, I can’t complain. Vanderbilt is a great place to work as far as the kinds of kids we get, and with this team in particular. They’ve bought into the idea that they have to work harder than everybody else, and that’s become an area of pride for them. They’re in here at 6:30 in the morning all summer and through the fall, but they enjoy their time in here. They work hard and have fun.”

On training during the season….

“The thing about in-season training is that we have to decrease the volume by only train-ing twice a week, and within each workout we have to decrease the amount of sets and reps we’re doing. But we do have to keep the intensity high to maintain the strength. So we do the minimum that we need to do, but everything we do has a purpose. We may only do a few sets, but they’re high-intensity sets. And we only use exercises that we can really gain something from.” n

Hannah TuomiJOE

HO

WE

LL


Behind the Scenes: Women’s BasketballStrength and Conditioning 2010 WBB Schedule

11/4 DELTA STATE (Ex.) 7 p.m.11/9 UNION (Ex.) 7 p.m.

11/14 HOWARD 2 p.m.11/18 SAMFORD 7 p.m.11/21 at Florida State TBA

Vanderbilt Thanksgiving TournamentNashville — Memorial Gymnasium

11/26 USC vs. Princeton 5 p.m. QUINNIPIAC 7 p.m.11/28 Consolation Noon Championship 2 p.m.

12/1 at Bowling Green 6 p.m.12/5 at Denver 3 p.m.12/7 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 7 p.m.12/9 UT-MARTIN 7 p.m.12/19 at Duquesne TBA12/21 WESTERN KENTUCKY 7 p.m.

Hilton Garden ClassicBlacksburg, Va. — Cassell Coliseum

12/29 vs. Delaware 4 p.m.12/30 Virginia Tech/Alcorn St. 4/6 p.m.

1/2 * at Ole Miss TBA1/6 * MISSISSIPPI STATE 7 p.m.1/9 * AUBURN 2 p.m.1/13 * at Alabama 6 p.m.1/15 * at Tennessee ESPN 7 p.m.1/20 * ARKANSAS 7 p.m.1/23 * at Kentucky 1 p.m.1/30 * OLE MISS 2 p.m.

2/3 * LSU 7 p.m.2/6 * at Florida Noon2/10 * at Georgia 6 p.m.2/13 * TENNESSEE 2 p.m.2/17 * at Mississippi State 7 p.m.2/20 * KENTUCKY 2 p.m.2/24 * FLORIDA 7 p.m.2/27 * at South Carolina 2 p.m.

2010 SEC Tournament Nashville — Bridgestone Arena

3/3 First Round FSN TBA3/4 Quarterfinals FSN TBA3/5 Semifinals ESPNU TBA3/6 Finals ESPN2 TBA

All times Central and subject to change.HOME GAMES played at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville.* denotes Southeastern Conference gameThe 2010 Final Four will be played at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., April 3-5

Strength and Conditioning Coach Tasha Weddle talks about the physical training required to compete among the nation’s best in the SEC.

On the importance of summer workouts….

“From June until prac-tice starts in October is really when we get almost all of our work done as far as strength gains. We’re not com-peting with practice and games for their

energy, so we can push them to the max— lifting three times a week, running twice and playing pick-up games. We’re using a ton of energy in our eight hours a week.”

On her approach with newcomers….

“The first thing I want to do is watch them through a full routine to assess where we need to build a foundation to get stronger. I also want to let them know what it’s all about. The theme for their first summer is basically, ‘This is not high school anymore.’ There’s a whole different level of expec-tation, a whole different level of physical and mental toughness. I don’t want those freshmen to be our weak link because they weren’t pushed hard enough.”

On the team’s hardest workers….

“Hannah [Tuomi] has always been a worker. She’s beyond human in her ability to toler-ate pain. She can just go, go, go; I’ve never seen anything like it. I never ever have to coach effort with her. Really, though, I can’t complain. Vanderbilt is a great place to work as far as the kinds of kids we get, and with this team in particular. They’ve bought into the idea that they have to work harder than everybody else, and that’s become an area of pride for them. They’re in here at 6:30 in the morning all summer and through the fall, but they enjoy their time in here. They work hard and have fun.”

On training during the season….

“The thing about in-season training is that we have to decrease the volume by only train-ing twice a week, and within each workout we have to decrease the amount of sets and reps we’re doing. But we do have to keep the intensity high to maintain the strength. So we do the minimum that we need to do, but everything we do has a purpose. We may only do a few sets, but they’re high-intensity sets. And we only use exercises that we can really gain something from.” n

Hannah TuomiJOE

HO

WE

LL


Behind the Scenes: Men’s BasketballPlanning the Schedule 2010 MBB Schedule

11/3 ALA.-HUNTSvILLE (Ex.) 7 p.m.11/8 SOUTHErN INDIANA (Ex.) 7 p.m.

11/12 PRESBYTERIAN 7 p.m.

2010 Puerto Rico Tip-Off San Juan, P.R. — Coliseo de Puerto Rico

11/18 Nebraska ESPNU 12:30 p.m.11/19 West Virginia or Davidson TBA11/21 UNC/Minn./Hofstra/WKU TBA

11/24 GRAMBLING STATE 7 p.m.11/27 APPALACHIAN STATE TBA

12/1 WESTERN KENTUCKY 7 p.m.12/4 BELMONT Noon12/8 at Missouri ESPNU 8 p.m.12/18 SE LOUISIANA 6 p.m.12/21 at MTSU 7 p.m.12/29 MARQUETTE ESPN2 8 p.m.

1/2 DAVIDSON 4 p.m.1/8 * at South Carolina ESPN2 4 p.m.1/12 * GEORGIA SEC 7 p.m.1/15 * at Tennessee ESPN 11 a.m.1/19 * OLE MISS CSS 8 p.m.1/22 SAINT MARY’S 1 p.m.1/27 * at Mississippi State ESPN/2 6 p.m.1/29 * ARKANSAS FSN 5 p.m.

2/1 * at Florida ESPN 8 p.m.2/5 * SOUTH CAROLINA SEC 12:30 p.m.2/10 * ALABAMA ESPN/2 8 p.m.2/12 * KENTUCKY CBS Noon2/16 * at Georgia ESPNU 6 p.m.2/19 * at Auburn SEC 3 p.m.2/22 * TENNESSEE ESPN 8 p.m.2/26 * at LSU SEC 12:30 p.m.

3/1 * at Kentucky ESPN 8 p.m.3/5 * FLORIDA ESPN 5 p.m.

2010 SEC Tournament Atlanta, Ga. — Georgia Dome

3/10 First Round SEC TBA3/11 Quarterfinals SEC TBA3/12 Semifinals ABC TBA3/13 Finals ABC TBA

All times Central and subject to change.HOME GAMES played at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville.* denotes Southeastern Conference gameThe 2010 Final Four will be played at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, April 2-4

Entering his 12th season on Coach Stallings’ staff, Brad Frederick discusses the ins and outs of managing the basketball schedule each year.

On the challenges of putting together a 14-game non-confer-ence schedule….

“The biggest challenge is working out dates with teams who want to play you. Often times you find teams who are willing to play but you

can’t work out the dates. The hardest part is the last three or four games once you both already have other games on your schedule. Then, quite honestly, the hardest part is try-ing to get games at our place. It’s certainly much easier finding games on the road than it is to find games at home.”

On destination games….

“The NCAA has changed their rules about exempt tournaments. It used to be that you could only go two times every four years, but now it’s back to where you can go every year. The number of exempt tournaments has almost tripled, and they are planning further in advance. We’ve already had people asking us to play in 2014. The Maui Invitational that

we played in last year, we signed up for three years in advance. You have to sign those early. Coach Stallings and I work together to make different events. We’ve been to Maui, Cancun and South Padre, and we’re going to Puerto Rico for what should be a really good field this year. And I think we have something exciting lined up for next year.”

On scheduling games of local interest….

“Local games are certainly easier to do because they cut down on the travel cost. It’s easier for Lipscomb or Belmont or Ten-nessee State to come play. It’s cheaper for everybody. This year we play Belmont. Coach Stallings and [Belmont] Coach [Rick] Byrd are great friends, so they were reluctant to play each other but decided this would be a good year. With Middle Tennessee State we signed a five-year deal where we feel that it’s good for us. We get three home games, we play one game at Bridgestone Arena and one game in Murfreesboro.”

On fitting St. Mary’s into the SEC schedule….

“Usually we are able to finish the non-con-ference portion of the schedule before we get the schedule from the league. This year with St. Mary’s we had a lot of trouble work-ing out a date that worked for both of us, and it just so happened that we both had an off weekend in January. As a coaching staff we agree that sometimes it’s better to not have an off week, because even though you think you get extra rest sometimes the team is prone to come out flat. It was a good opportunity to squeeze a game in. We play Ole Miss and then St. Mary’s and then at Mississippi State, so if we didn’t put that game there we would have eight days in between.” n

John JenkinsJO

E H

OW

EL

L


Behind the Scenes: Men’s BasketballPlanning the Schedule 2010 MBB Schedule

11/3 ALA.-HUNTSvILLE (Ex.) 7 p.m.11/8 SOUTHErN INDIANA (Ex.) 7 p.m.

11/12 PRESBYTERIAN 7 p.m.

2010 Puerto Rico Tip-Off San Juan, P.R. — Coliseo de Puerto Rico

11/18 Nebraska ESPNU 12:30 p.m.11/19 West Virginia or Davidson TBA11/21 UNC/Minn./Hofstra/WKU TBA

11/24 GRAMBLING STATE 7 p.m.11/27 APPALACHIAN STATE TBA

12/1 WESTERN KENTUCKY 7 p.m.12/4 BELMONT Noon12/8 at Missouri ESPNU 8 p.m.12/18 SE LOUISIANA 6 p.m.12/21 at MTSU 7 p.m.12/29 MARQUETTE ESPN2 8 p.m.

1/2 DAVIDSON 4 p.m.1/8 * at South Carolina ESPN2 4 p.m.1/12 * GEORGIA SEC 7 p.m.1/15 * at Tennessee ESPN 11 a.m.1/19 * OLE MISS CSS 8 p.m.1/22 SAINT MARY’S 1 p.m.1/27 * at Mississippi State ESPN/2 6 p.m.1/29 * ARKANSAS FSN 5 p.m.

2/1 * at Florida ESPN 8 p.m.2/5 * SOUTH CAROLINA SEC 12:30 p.m.2/10 * ALABAMA ESPN/2 8 p.m.2/12 * KENTUCKY CBS Noon2/16 * at Georgia ESPNU 6 p.m.2/19 * at Auburn SEC 3 p.m.2/22 * TENNESSEE ESPN 8 p.m.2/26 * at LSU SEC 12:30 p.m.

3/1 * at Kentucky ESPN 8 p.m.3/5 * FLORIDA ESPN 5 p.m.

2010 SEC Tournament Atlanta, Ga. — Georgia Dome

3/10 First Round SEC TBA3/11 Quarterfinals SEC TBA3/12 Semifinals ABC TBA3/13 Finals ABC TBA

All times Central and subject to change.HOME GAMES played at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville.* denotes Southeastern Conference gameThe 2010 Final Four will be played at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, April 2-4

Entering his 12th season on Coach Stallings’ staff, Brad Frederick discusses the ins and outs of managing the basketball schedule each year.

On the challenges of putting together a 14-game non-confer-ence schedule….

“The biggest challenge is working out dates with teams who want to play you. Often times you find teams who are willing to play but you

can’t work out the dates. The hardest part is the last three or four games once you both already have other games on your schedule. Then, quite honestly, the hardest part is try-ing to get games at our place. It’s certainly much easier finding games on the road than it is to find games at home.”

On destination games….

“The NCAA has changed their rules about exempt tournaments. It used to be that you could only go two times every four years, but now it’s back to where you can go every year. The number of exempt tournaments has almost tripled, and they are planning further in advance. We’ve already had people asking us to play in 2014. The Maui Invitational that

we played in last year, we signed up for three years in advance. You have to sign those early. Coach Stallings and I work together to make different events. We’ve been to Maui, Cancun and South Padre, and we’re going to Puerto Rico for what should be a really good field this year. And I think we have something exciting lined up for next year.”

On scheduling games of local interest….

“Local games are certainly easier to do because they cut down on the travel cost. It’s easier for Lipscomb or Belmont or Ten-nessee State to come play. It’s cheaper for everybody. This year we play Belmont. Coach Stallings and [Belmont] Coach [Rick] Byrd are great friends, so they were reluctant to play each other but decided this would be a good year. With Middle Tennessee State we signed a five-year deal where we feel that it’s good for us. We get three home games, we play one game at Bridgestone Arena and one game in Murfreesboro.”

On fitting St. Mary’s into the SEC schedule….

“Usually we are able to finish the non-con-ference portion of the schedule before we get the schedule from the league. This year with St. Mary’s we had a lot of trouble work-ing out a date that worked for both of us, and it just so happened that we both had an off weekend in January. As a coaching staff we agree that sometimes it’s better to not have an off week, because even though you think you get extra rest sometimes the team is prone to come out flat. It was a good opportunity to squeeze a game in. We play Ole Miss and then St. Mary’s and then at Mississippi State, so if we didn’t put that game there we would have eight days in between.” n

John Jenkins

JOE

HO

WE

LL


D o you remember your first summer job? There is a reasonable chance it involved a phrase such as “would

you like fries with that?”The odds that you dealt with pneumatic

artificial muscles (PAMs) while assisting on aerospace research? Not so good.

Then again, you are not Erin McManus.A native of Potomac, Md., McManus

worked with the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland for two summers—before and after her senior year at Winston Churchill High School.

“It sounds a little more impressive than it actually was,” McManus says, downplaying her role as a lab assistant who would “build parts, enter data, basically do whatever the grad students needed me to do.”

During this time, running cross country was also playing a more vital role in her life. She earned three varsity letters for the Bull-dogs and was a team captain her senior year.

When McManus came to Vanderbilt, she maintained her focus on running but switched her academic path away from mechanical engineering to a double major in computer science and math. As a sopho-more last October, McManus introduced herself to Dr. Bobby Bodenheimer in hopes of eventually doing research on computer graphics and virtual reality at his LIVE Lab.

The computer science professor put her to work immediately and helped McManus find an opportunity to continue her work while also studying abroad. She spent this past summer with the famous Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science at Tübingen, Ger-many’s Institute for Biological Cybernetics.

There she designed and implemented her own experiment, the results of which she will submit to the IEEE Virtual Reality conference next March.

Back in Nashville, McManus and the women’s cross country team recently were honored for boasting the highest grade point average among all of Vanderbilt’s varsity sports teams during the 2009-10 school year.

The same group of Commodores also has been recognized for its success in competition, garnering a preseason rank-ing of third in the south region from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

According to McManus, that dual focus on excellence is a credit to Head Coach Steve Keith, a 1981 graduate and former Commo-dore distance runner.

“Working with Coach Keith has been extremely beneficial, I think everybody on the team would agree,” she said. “We’re students

first and athletes next. We all try to make that as level a playing field as possible, but it can be hard balancing the two. It’s a lot easier having a coach like Coach Keith who under-stands that and went through it himself.”

Now in his fifth season as a head coach at his alma mater, Keith has steadily ele-vated the women’s cross country program. The process has been rewarding for his student-athletes.

“Coming in we knew that this team was building,” McManus said. “Every year we’ve gotten closer, and it’s exciting to see all the work paying off.”

Coach Keith applauded his student-ath-letes’ discipline and work ethic.

“The women have shown a good balance with their academics and their athletics,” Keith said. “It has been this way for a num-ber of years, and we are proud to carry on that tradition.

“[The ranking] is a nice recognition,” Keith continued. “They worked very hard and ran well at the end of the season last year and this reflects that effort. There’s a lot of time between preseason and the SEC and NCAA Region meets, but if we stay healthy and focused I believe that the women can live up to these expectations.”

The same focus and drive are required to be successful in competition and in the classroom, and triumphs in one area makes goals in the other seem more attainable.

“When we work hard in running and it pays off, we see that if we work hard in our school endeavors that will pay off. It works the other way around, too. We’re all hard workers, as students, and that carries over into our running.” n

Erin McManus: Running Reality

McManus works in the virtual reality lab in Featheringill Hall.

Women’s cross country opened the 2010 season by defending its title at the Belmont-VU Opener.

PA

T J

OR

GE

NS

EN


D o you remember your first summer job? There is a reasonable chance it involved a phrase such as “would

you like fries with that?”The odds that you dealt with pneumatic

artificial muscles (PAMs) while assisting on aerospace research? Not so good.

Then again, you are not Erin McManus.A native of Potomac, Md., McManus

worked with the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland for two summers—before and after her senior year at Winston Churchill High School.

“It sounds a little more impressive than it actually was,” McManus says, downplaying her role as a lab assistant who would “build parts, enter data, basically do whatever the grad students needed me to do.”

During this time, running cross country was also playing a more vital role in her life. She earned three varsity letters for the Bull-dogs and was a team captain her senior year.

When McManus came to Vanderbilt, she maintained her focus on running but switched her academic path away from mechanical engineering to a double major in computer science and math. As a sopho-more last October, McManus introduced herself to Dr. Bobby Bodenheimer in hopes of eventually doing research on computer graphics and virtual reality at his LIVE Lab.

The computer science professor put her to work immediately and helped McManus find an opportunity to continue her work while also studying abroad. She spent this past summer with the famous Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science at Tübingen, Ger-many’s Institute for Biological Cybernetics.

There she designed and implemented her own experiment, the results of which she will submit to the IEEE Virtual Reality conference next March.

Back in Nashville, McManus and the women’s cross country team recently were honored for boasting the highest grade point average among all of Vanderbilt’s varsity sports teams during the 2009-10 school year.

The same group of Commodores also has been recognized for its success in competition, garnering a preseason rank-ing of third in the south region from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

According to McManus, that dual focus on excellence is a credit to Head Coach Steve Keith, a 1981 graduate and former Commo-dore distance runner.

“Working with Coach Keith has been extremely beneficial, I think everybody on the team would agree,” she said. “We’re students

first and athletes next. We all try to make that as level a playing field as possible, but it can be hard balancing the two. It’s a lot easier having a coach like Coach Keith who under-stands that and went through it himself.”

Now in his fifth season as a head coach at his alma mater, Keith has steadily ele-vated the women’s cross country program. The process has been rewarding for his student-athletes.

“Coming in we knew that this team was building,” McManus said. “Every year we’ve gotten closer, and it’s exciting to see all the work paying off.”

Coach Keith applauded his student-ath-letes’ discipline and work ethic.

“The women have shown a good balance with their academics and their athletics,” Keith said. “It has been this way for a num-ber of years, and we are proud to carry on that tradition.

“[The ranking] is a nice recognition,” Keith continued. “They worked very hard and ran well at the end of the season last year and this reflects that effort. There’s a lot of time between preseason and the SEC and NCAA Region meets, but if we stay healthy and focused I believe that the women can live up to these expectations.”

The same focus and drive are required to be successful in competition and in the classroom, and triumphs in one area makes goals in the other seem more attainable.

“When we work hard in running and it pays off, we see that if we work hard in our school endeavors that will pay off. It works the other way around, too. We’re all hard workers, as students, and that carries over into our running.” n

Erin McManus: Running Reality

McManus works in the virtual reality lab in Featheringill Hall.

Women’s cross country opened the 2010 season by defending its title at the Belmont-VU Opener.

PA

T J

OR

GE

NS

EN

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 024

last shotJOHN RUSSELL / VU PHOTOGRAPHY

OCTOBER SCHEDULEBaseball

15 Texas (Austin, Texas) 5 p.m.


Bowling

23 Alabama A&M (Huntsville, Ala.)

Cross Country

2 Louisville Invitational (Louisville, Ky.)

23 Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.)

Football

2 Connecticut (East Hartford, Conn.)

9 Eastern Michigan (Vanderbilt Stadium)

16 Georgia (Athens, Ga.)

23 South Carolina (Vanderbilt Stadium)

30 Arkansas (Fayetteville, Ark.)

Soccer

1 Tennessee (Knoxville) 6 p.m.

3 Georgia (Athens, Ga.) 2 p.m.

8 Arkansas (Fayetteville, Ark.) 7 p.m.

10 LSU (Baton Rouge, La.) 2 p.m.

15 Auburn (VU Soccer Complex) 7 p.m.

17 Alabama (VU Soccer Complex) 2 p.m.

21 Mississippi State (Starkville, Miss.) 7 p.m.

24 Ole Miss (VU Soccer Complex) 2 p.m.

29 Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.) 6 p.m.

All times Central and subject to change.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

An announced crowd of 37,210 filled Vanderbilt Stadium on Sept. 4 for the Commodores’ 2010 football season opener against Northwestern.

Sunday Ticket

When final cuts were made at the beginning of September, 10 Commodores had spots on NFL rosters playing for five different teams.

Chicago Bears (5): Earl Bennett, Jay Cutler, Hunter Hillenmey-er, D.J. Moore, Chris Williams; Tennessee Titans (2): Jovan Haye, Jamie Winborn; Kansas City Chiefs: Reshard Langford; New York Giants: Jonathan Goff; Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Myron Lewis.

Swimming

9 Southern Illinois (Carbondale, Ill.)

15 Arkansas (Centennial Sportsplex) 2 p.m.

16 South Carolina/WKU (Centennial Sportsplex) Noon

Men’s Golf

10-12 The Prestige (La Quinta, Calif.)

24-26 Isleworth Collegiate Invitational (Orlando, Fla.)

Women’s Golf

8-10 Tar Heel Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)

Men’s Tennis

1-4 Georgia Tech Classic (Atlanta, Ga.)

4-10 ITA All-American (Tulsa, Okla.)

21-24 ITA Regional Championship (Lexington, Ky.)

Women’s Tennis

14-18 Ohio Valley Regional (Knoxville)

29-31 June Stewart Invitational (Currey Tennis Center)

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 024

last shotJOHN RUSSELL / VU PHOTOGRAPHY

OCTOBER SCHEDULEBaseball



Bowling

23 Alabama A&M (Huntsville, Ala.)

Cross Country

2 Louisville Invitational (Louisville, Ky.)

23 Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.)

Football

2 Connecticut (East Hartford, Conn.)

9 Eastern Michigan (Vanderbilt Stadium)

16 Georgia (Athens, Ga.)

23 South Carolina (Vanderbilt Stadium)

30 Arkansas (Fayetteville, Ark.)

Soccer

1 Tennessee (Knoxville) 6 p.m.

3 Georgia (Athens, Ga.) 2 p.m.

8 Arkansas (Fayetteville, Ark.) 7 p.m.

10 LSU (Baton Rouge, La.) 2 p.m.

15 Auburn (VU Soccer Complex) 7 p.m.

17 Alabama (VU Soccer Complex) 2 p.m.

21 Mississippi State (Starkville, Miss.) 7 p.m.

24 Ole Miss (VU Soccer Complex) 2 p.m.

29 Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.) 6 p.m.

All times Central and subject to change.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

An announced crowd of 37,210 filled Vanderbilt Stadium on Sept. 4 for the Commodores’ 2010 football season opener against Northwestern.

Sunday Ticket

When final cuts were made at the beginning of September, 10 Commodores had spots on NFL rosters playing for five different teams.

Chicago Bears (5): Earl Bennett, Jay Cutler, Hunter Hillenmey-er, D.J. Moore, Chris Williams; Tennessee Titans (2): Jovan Haye, Jamie Winborn; Kansas City Chiefs: Reshard Langford; New York Giants: Jonathan Goff; Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Myron Lewis.

Swimming

9 Southern Illinois (Carbondale, Ill.)

15 Arkansas (Centennial Sportsplex) 2 p.m.

16 South Carolina/WKU (Centennial Sportsplex) Noon

Men’s Golf

10-12 The Prestige (La Quinta, Calif.)

24-26 Isleworth Collegiate Invitational (Orlando, Fla.)

Women’s Golf

8-10 Tar Heel Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)

Men’s Tennis

1-4 Georgia Tech Classic (Atlanta, Ga.)

4-10 ITA All-American (Tulsa, Okla.)

21-24 ITA Regional Championship (Lexington, Ky.)

Women’s Tennis

14-18 Ohio Valley Regional (Knoxville)

29-31 June Stewart Invitational (Currey Tennis Center)

Documents

Commodore Nation, October 2010