May 2010

QUARTERBACKON THE DIAMOND

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

table of contents

8

17

22

2 Compliance Corner

4 National Commodore Club

6 In My Words Natalie Wills

7 Commodores Cubed VU begins reading program

8 Lieberman Looks For a Cure Starts organization in honor of late mother

11 ’Dores Wrap Up Spring Drills 2010 Vanderbilt summer camps

13 It’s My Turn—Rod Williamson Teams of last 25 years

14 Giobbi Quarterbacking ’Dores Fifth-year senior thriving in leadership role

16 Brothers Bonded by Baseball Kenny and Robert Diehl

17 Westlake’s Hitting Approach Commodore Flashback: 1980 Baseball

20 Quick Hits A look at Vanderbilt’s sports teams

22 Jenkins, Tate Forever Linked High school stars form friendship

23 What to Watch for The month ahead14

VUCOMMODORES.COMConnect with

Photo Store

Tchiengang Stays Close to his RootsThe work Rob Higham got Steve Tchiengang involved with is fantastic. As someone who has worked with helping immigrants inte-grate into the U.S., I know how important people like Rob and Steve are to the refu-gees. The importance of having someone like Steve, who has lived many of the same experiences as the refugees can not be stat-ed enough. For the refugees, seeing some-one like them succeeding in the U.S. will only provide them with more motivation. Debbie, Nashville

Looking to 2011I enjoyed reading the list of reasons why Vanderbilt could be better next season (April, CN), but I believe you left another reason out. I think the continued emergence of John Jenkins will be a big reason why Vanderbilt could be even stronger next season. With Beal graduating, Jenkins will be counted on to carry more of the scoring role, and that can only be a good thing for the Commodores. Jon, Nashville

Commodores Overachieve You can count me as one of the fans who left Vanderbilt’s (women’s) basketball team for dead halfway through the season. With a depleted roster of limited height, I never would have thought the Commodores would be as successful as they were this season. That will be the last time I ever underesti-mate this team. Janet, Franklin, Tenn.

To submit a letter, e-mail CN at: commodorenation@vanderbilt.edu. Letters should include the writer’s name and address and may be edited for clarity and space.

Letters

Online Store Purchase Tickets

M AY 2 0 1 02

Editorial

Publisher: Vanderbilt University

Editor-in-Chief: Ryan Schulz

Director of External Relations: Rod Williamson

Designers: Jeremy Teaford

Ryan Schulz

Digital Image Specialist: Julie Luckett Turner

Photographers: Neil Brake

Steve Green

Jimmy Jones

Stan Jones

Jenny Mandeville

John Russell

Jeremy Teaford

Contributors: Maya Benayoun

Andy Boggs

Sterling Frierson

Larry Leathers

Thomas Samuel

Chris Weinman

Travis Young

Administrative

Chancellor: Nicholas S. Zeppos

Vice Chancellor for University Affairs: David Williams II

Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs: Beth Fortune

Vanderbilt University’s Mission, Goals and 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: Catcher Andrew GiobbiPHOTO: Jenny Mandeville

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

SUBSCRIPTION: To subscribe to Commodore Nation, please contact Ryan Schulz by phone at 615/343-4396 or by e-mail at commodorenation@vanderbilt.edu

ADVERTISEMENT: To advertise with Commodore Nation, please contact Vanderbilt ISP Sports.Jeff Miller, general manager 615/322-4468jmiller@ispsports.com

Commodore Nation is printed using recycled paper.

Compliance questions? Please contact:Candice Lee George Midgett John PeachDirector of Compliance Compliance Coordinator Compliance Coordinator615/322-7992 615/322-2083 615/343-1060candice.lee@vanderbilt.edu george.d.midgett@vanderbilt.edu john.w.peach@vanderbilt.edu

CORNERC O M P L I A N C E

Q:

A:

Five Star is a prospective student-athlete in the sport of men’s basketball. He is being recruited by several universities. His next door neighbor has approached him about attending his alma mater, telling him how great it is.

Is this permissible?

No. Alumni, friends, and other athletics representatives who are not employed by Vanderbilt University are not permitted to contact a prospective student-athlete (or members of the prospective student-athlete’s family) by letter, telephone, or in-person (on or off-campus) for the purpose of soliciting their participation in the athletics program.

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 3vucommodores.com

M AY 2 0 1 04

CORNERCOMMODORE CLUB

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

BASEBALL IN LA • FEBRUARY 28, 2010

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SEC TOURNAMENT EVENT • MARCH 3, 2010

NCC member Barbara Finneran, right, with grandson Matt Knost and daughter Susan Snyder at VU’s game at Dodger Stadium.

NCC members Jenette and Randy Frazer (’65) with Associate Director of Student Athletics Kevin Colon.

YOUNG COMMODORES

Thomas Wedemeyer, grandson of Patricia and Judge Robert Wedemeyer.

NCC members Madeline (’56) and Howell Adams (’53) with Head Bas-ketball Coach Melanie Balcomb at the Marriott in Norcross, Ga.

The May 31 deadline to renew your National Commodore Club membership is quickly approaching. To renew, please mail in your membership renewal form, call 615/322-4114, click vanderbilt.edu/ncc or stop by the office in the McGugin Center to make your gift. Your gift will help support scholar-ships for our student-athletes. Thank you for your continued support of Vanderbilt athletics. Your Membership Matters!

RENEW TODAY!Show us your Commodore spirit. Have you attended a recent Vanderbilt sport-ing event at home or on the road? Have you decked yourself out in Black and Gold to watch the big game? Have you had your photo taken wearing

Vanderbilt gear on a vacation? Have you spotted someone else wearing Vanderbilt gear in a tropi-

cal locale? If you have, Commodore Nation would love to see your photos. If you are interested in having any of your photos appear in a future issue of Commodore Nation, please e-mail your images to commodorenation@vanderbilt.edu.

SUBMIT YOUR SNAPSHOTS

Cauley Reese Hayes, grand-daughter of NCC member Dr. Cauley Hayes.

PAVE THE WAYBricks can be ordered by calling the NCC at 615/322-4114 or online through vanderbilt.edu/ncc.

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 5vucommodores.com

NCC member Barry Booker (’89) with Glenda and Floyd Barrett.

NCC members Judy and Steve (’69) Turner hosted the event along with David and Gail Williams at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Left to right: Jeanne Southwood (’67), Jerry Southwood (’67), Walter Southwood, Debbie Love, Gene Southwood (’52) and John Southwood.

Left to right: Former men’s basketball players Drew Maddux (’98) and Ronnie McMahan (’95).

Below are the names of NCC members who joined in March. We welcome you and look forward to seeing you along the Commodore trail! Encourage your friends and family to join the NCC if they have not already.

WELCOME MARCH NCC MEMBERS

Daniel Bean Jacksonville, Fla.Patsy Caldwell Charlotte, Tenn.Frank Colwell Smithville, Tenn.Jimmy Davy Nashville, Tenn.Katie and Scott Faulkner Franklin, Tenn.Daniel Gecker Richmond, Va.Ward Harder Lynchburg, Tenn.Beth and Curtis Harrell Houston, Tex.James Holbrook Nashville, Tenn.Martha Lee Hughes Hermitage, Tenn.Clyde Ingalls Franklin, Tenn.Howard Jones Nashville, Tenn.Andrew Keller Atlanta, Ga.Luke List Ringgold, Ga.Samuel Paris Brentwood, Tenn.Nancy and Bruce Pasfield Alexandria, Va.

Shirley Rye Dickson, Tenn. William Shepherd Westfield, N.J.Owen Simcoe Jackson, La.James R. Smith Nashville, Tenn.Doris Stephens Nashville, Tenn.Mary Sumner Nashville, Tenn.Robert Treadway Murfreesboro, Tenn.

We are proud to announce the addi-tion of Mark Carter as director of ath-letics development. Mark comes to us with a stellar record of fundraising success, most recently as director of major gifts for athletics at Duke Uni-versity. Please welcome Mark and his wife, Emily, to the Commodore family.

MEN’S BASKETBALL SEC TOURNAMENT EVENT • MARCH 11, 2010

To view videos of Gene Southwood, Barry Booker, Drew Maddux and Ronnie McMahan speaking at the SEC Tournament event, visit the NCC’s website at www.vanderbilt.edu/ncc.

M AY 2 0 1 06

In My Words

On being on the U.S. Developmental team

To be a part of the U.S. program is something that I’ve always dreamed of, and to wear USA across your chest is such a huge honor. I don’t know if words can describe how much it means to me. I’m really just seeing what lacrosse means to me and how far it can take me across the country and the world. On when she began playing lacrosse

I’ve played since I was six years old, but no one in my family really played lacrosse because it’s still a relatively new sport. My sister played softball in high school and I played both, softball and lacrosse, up until high school. I decided to become a full-time goalie and lacrosse player once high school hit.

On having so many teammates from her home state

In my class, seven out of the 10 are from Maryland, and we all played each other in competition. A few of the girls were on my club team that played against Ally Carey and Courtney Kirk, who were our main competitors. Courtney was a rival when I was a kid, and now she is one of my best friends. It’s funny how you get to see a whole new side of people, which is guided by the love of the game of lacrosse.

On teammate Catherine Carr

I’ve been in school with Catherine since kindergarten. We played on the same middle school team, high school team, club team and now college. I was the first one to commit out of my class. We didn’t pick Vanderbilt together, we both chose it for different reasons. On how much it helped with the transition to college to have so many friends at school

It absolutely helped. I think that’s one of the best things about being on a team in general. Coming in as a freshman, I had 25 best friends already.

On the team’s trip to Europe this past summer

That was amazing. Once again, the sport of lacrosse has opened so many doors for me and taken me to a fabulous academic school, a top 10 lacrosse program, and places around the world I could never go on my own. Europe was great to see, as far as the culture, and then we also got to play against international competition from Aus-tria and the Czech Republic. n

With age comes limitations, but for Vanderbilt goalie

Natalie Wills, age is no limitation. Just a sopho-

more, Wills has already gone places in lacrosse

that most will never go in their careers. After completing her

freshman season at Vanderbilt in 2009, Wills made the U.S.

Developmental team where she was the youngest goalie on

the roster and one of just four rising sophomores on the entire

team that is mostly comprised of college graduates. A native

of Kent Island, Md., Wills is one of 16 players on Vanderbilt’s

roster from Maryland. JO

HN

RU

SS

EL

L

NatalieWills

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 7vucommodores.com

adamBAKER

Tennis

tristanSTRONG

Football

teeganHILLTrack

conradBRADBURN

Marketing

Favorite T.V. Show

The PacificFresh Prince

of Bel AirThe Game Entourage

Last movie I saw

ZombielandParanormal

ActivityWhy Did I Get Married Too

Sherlock Holmes

Favorite Nashville

restaurant Maggiano’s Brick Top’s

Kobe Steakhouse

Tin Angel

Summer plans/trips

Applying for medical school and studying for the MCAT

Stay at Vanderbilt and rehab my knee

Summer school and

going to New York

San Francisco — supposed to be a great

city to visit and watch baseball

Commodores Cubed

Vanderbilt Begins Reading Program

I n an effort to connect Vanderbilt stu-dent-athletes to children in the com-munity, Vanderbilt athletics has begun

a reading program that brings student-athletes to local classrooms.

The program kicked off on March 26 when three groups of Vanderbilt student-athletes spent time at Glendale Elementary from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. During their visit to the school, the student-athletes spoke to the children about the importance of edu-cation, answered questions from them and read books to them.

Among the student-athletes who volun-teered to read to the children on the first day was Erin McManus a sophomore on the track and field team.

“I’m really glad I came to Glendale Ele-mentary to do this for the kids,” McManus said. “The athletic department is really good about setting up different programs with schools in Nashville, and it is always really fun to see the kids get excited talking to athletes.”

Glendale Elementary is the pilot school for the reading program this year, and the hope is to continually expand the program for fourth and fifth graders by adding addi-tional schools across the Metro Nashville Public School District every year.

After reading a book to the children, the student-athletes had trivia questions for the children, who received T-shirts and hats for their answers.

“It is an awesome experience because it gives them something to aim for when they are older.” n

1player in school history has declared early for the NBA Draft — A.J. Ogilvy.

$17.85 The average cost per game of a 2010 football season ticket in the endzone.

400 career wins notched by baseball coach Tim Corbin and men’s tennis coach Ian Duvenhage within two weeks of one another.

52nd Vanderbilt’s rank among America’s happiest campuses by The Daily Beast.

1 The number of times freshman infielder Anthony Gomez struck out in his first 79 at bats, the fewest in the NCAA this season.

20 former Commodores were playing professional baseball in the majors or minors when the season began.

375,000 times the video of Vanderbilt pitcher Corey Williams’ incred-ible play was viewed on YouTube within the first five days after it was posted on April 3.

NUMBERSBy The

M AY 2 0 1 08

The words coming from the other end of the phone blindsided him. He had just left home after spending win-ter break there with his family, and

when he left, everything seemed fine.Only it wasn’t. The voice coming from the receiver on

Scott Lieberman’s phone was his father, Lou Kacyn. Scott’s mother, Patti, was los-ing her battle with colon cancer. Her days were numbered.

In February 2007, Patti was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, the same disease that had taken her mother’s life. Multiple treatments were attempted, but each con-tinued to fail. As the days passed, Patti grew weaker internally, but she refused to show the effects of the disease externally.

“It was a situation that my mom and dad knew was worsening, but they never told me or my brother,” said Scott, a senior on Vanderbilt’s men’s tennis team. “She was really strong in the sense that she didn’t want what was happening to her to affect me and my brother.”

The privacy Patti upheld with her worsen-ing condition made the phone call from his father that much more surprising to Scott.

“Every time I would talk to her on the phone, I would ask her how she was doing because I knew what was going on, but she would always tell me she was doing fine or feeling better,” Scott said. “She would do anything to keep my spirits up.

“I wouldn’t have come back to school second semester had I known, but she made it seem like she was OK. When my dad called and said she was in the hospital, it was very shocking.”

That night, Scott did the only thing he could do; he boarded a plane to head home to Riverwoods, Ill. When he boarded the plane, his future was chock full of uncer-tainty. The 2009 spring semester was less than a month in, and he did not know when or if he would be back that semester.

After a courageous battle against the deadly disease, Patti would pass away on Feb. 5, 2009, from colon cancer.

“It was definitely the worst month of my life,” Scott said. “I took the semester off, stayed home with my dad and brother. It is hard to put into words. Saying it was a hard time is kind of an understatement.”

The news of Patti’s death came shortly after Vanderbilt’s tennis team had begun dual play. Although Scott was not in line to be among the top six players during the spring, his loss affected the close-knit team in ways the team had not felt.

“He was very close to his mom, and I think everybody was really shook up when he had to drop out of school,” men’s tennis coach Ian Duvenhage said. “When he told every-one she had a few weeks to live and he was going to go home to be with her, that brought

reality home in a hurry.”The team was startled by Scott’s loss.

They would trudge forward without him, but they were not the same team. They would finish the year with a 5-17 record.

“Scott plays things close to the vest sometimes, and I don’t think he talked to the guys on the team very much about what was going on,” Duvenhage said. “The guys are very fond of him, and clearly everybody felt for him. When Patti passed away, that was a very traumatic time not only for him, but for some other people on the team, also.”

Although Scott was hundreds of miles away from the team, he never felt as though he was not a part of it. Through his time away, his teammates and coaches were inte-gral parts of his support system.

“I had such a strong support group,” Scott said. “I had my teammates and my coaches constantly there, letting me know how things are going. Even though I was at home, I wasn’t ever out of the loop. Everyone was

Lieberman Starts Organization to Honor Mother

ST

EV

E G

RE

EN

Scott Lieberman, right, teamed with his brother, Matthew, and his father, Lou Kacyn, to start an organization called Advantage Love in honor of his late mother, Patti.

Scott keeps this photo collage in his room as a way of remembering his mother.

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 9vucommodores.com

sending me messages and calling me just to see how I was doing. It was something that I was pretty lucky to have.”

Because he was not in Nashville for the semester, Scott was unable to take classes at Vanderbilt. Instead, he stayed on track to graduate on time by taking classes at North-western. In May, Scott will graduate from Vanderbilt after majoring in engineering sci-ence and economics.

After spending the spring semester and summer in his hometown with his brother, Matthew, then a high school senior, and his father, Scott returned to campus in August. Joining Scott on campus for his senior year has been Matthew, who is a freshman at Vanderbilt, the school Patti had always wanted him to attend.

“It was really bittersweet when we found out he was coming to Vanderbilt,” Scott said. “It was a few days after my mom passed away that my brother got the accep-tance letter.”

Having dealt with such tragedy, no one would have thought differently had Scott transferred to be closer to his family, but he had no interest in that. His teammates and his friends were at Vanderbilt.

“It never really crossed my mind to switch schools,” Scott said. “I love Vanderbilt. I started my career here and made so many friends. I had one year left, and I knew it was better just to go back and finish.”

The passing of his mother was not Scott’s first loss. When he was four, he lost his bio-

logical father to a heart attack. Through it all, the losses have shaped Scott into the person he is today.

“It has definitely shaped me in how I go about living my life and treating other peo-ple because I know that what we are given every day is a blessing,” Scott said. “Espe-cially playing collegiate tennis, going to a top 20 school, you can’t take it for granted. The main thing it really taught me is that the most important thing in life is the friend-ships you make and connections you make with people. You can go to the best school or have the best job in the world, but at the end of the day, what matters most are the people that you surround yourself with.”

Patti has been gone for more than a year now, but Scott has ensured her legacy will not be forgotten. Shortly after Patti passed away, Scott was having a tough time sleep-ing one night when an idea struck him. He would start an organization to try to find a cure for colon cancer.

“I had one of those ‘a-ha’ moments, and I wrote it down on a piece of paper at three in the morning. The next morning I came down at breakfast and told my dad that I wanted to start a foundation for my mom.”

The organization is called Advantage Love, a not-for-profit, 501 (c)(3) organiza-tion, which raises funds to find a cure for colon cancer. Scott designed the Web site, www.advantagelove.org, for the organiza-tion, which raised more than $12,000 at its first fundraising event in Chicago. The ben-

eficiary of the organization is the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, but Scott hopes to add others, including Vanderbilt.

After graduating in May, Scott will spend the next few months concentrating on the organization and hopes to have a second fundraising event planned before beginning a career in September with Intuit, a software company based in California.

The organization will never be able to bring his mother back, but he hopes it can one day save others from colon cancer. n

ST

EV

E G

RE

EN

Scott accepted a job at Intuit and will begin his career in September.

M AY 2 0 1 010

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 11vucommodores.com

BASEBALL Contact: Graham Manning Phone: 615/322-3716

Youth Camp I & II 6/22-25 • 6/29-7/2 Grades: 1-8

H.S. Prospect Camp (Overnight/Commuter) 7/11-15 • Grades: 9-12

BOY’S BASKETBALL Contact: Meredith Schakel Phone: 615/322-6530

Junior Day Camp 6/7-10 • Grades: K-3

Day Camp I & II 6/7-10 • 6/28-7/1 Grades: 3-10

Games Camp 6/21-24 • Grades: 3-10

GIRL’S BASKETBALL Contact: Vicki Spina Phone: 615/343-8482

Team Challenge Day Camp 6/11-13

“Mini” Ballers 6/14-16 • Grades: K-2

Offensive Improvement Camp 6/14-17 • Grades: 3-12

Elite Camp 6/18-19 • Grades: 8-12

LACROSSE Contact: Cathy Swezey Phone: 615/343-8526

Elite Overnight Camp 7/9-11 • Ages: 14-18

Complete Skills Camp 7/12-15 • Ages: 6-18

FOOTBALL Contact: Michael Hazel Phone: 615/322-2251

Senior Elite I & II 6/6 & 6/13 Grade: 12th only

Future Star Camp 6/7-10 • Grades: Rising 6-8

Kicking Camp 6/11 • Grades: Rising 11-12

Junior Mini-Camp I & II 6/18 & 7/23 • Grades: Rising 11-12

Music City Classic (7-on-7 Camp) 7/16-17 • High school teams only

Rising Star Camp 7/18 • Grades: 11-12

SOCCER Contact: Ronnie Woodard Phone: 615/343-8099

Day Camp (Boys and Girls) 6/7-11 & 6/14-18 • Ages: 5-15

Residential (Girls) 6/27-30 • Ages: 12-18

SWIMMING Contact: Krysten Nemecek Phone: 615/829-9784

Butterfly Clinic 5/23

Backstroke Clinic

5/30

Breaststroke Clinic 6/6

Freestyle Clinic 6/13

Swim Camp

5/31-6/3

TENNIS Contact: Meggie Butzow Phone: 615/322-4193

Sessions I-IV Ages: 7-17 5/31-6/4 • 6/7-11 • 6/14-18 • 6/21-25

For additional information or to register, please visit

VUCOMMODORES.com

It is difficult to gauge where a team is at by watching a spring scrimmage, but if the 2010 Black and Gold Scrim-

mage was an indicator at all, the Commodores appear to have the pieces in place for another strong defensive season.

Although the defense was fac-ing an offensive unit that was missing key offensive linemen due to injury, the unit showed no signs of having a setback despite losing key personnel last season. Gone are three of the team’s starting four defensive linemen from 2009 as well as All-SEC cornerback Myron Lewis. Despite the losses to graduation, Vanderbilt’s defense controlled the scrimmage from start to finish, surrendering just one touchdown at the end of the scrimmage by fifth-string quarterback Matt Casas.

“Obviously we’ve got a lot to improve on,” Head Coach Bobby John-son said after the scrimmage. “Offensively we need to be better in the red zone and also on third-and-short. We squandered some opportuni-ties, but we are starting to make some progress.”

What may have stood out most about the defense was its depth. Like the offense, Vanderbilt’s defense was not near full strength at the scrim-mage. Among those missing were projected starters Chris Marve (LB), T.J. Greenstone (DT) and Adam Smotherman (DT). With key defensive leaders out, it was players like Walker May (DE) and Dexter Daniels (LB), who stood out most. May finished the game with two sacks and two quarterback hurries, while Daniels led the team with six tackles. n

Defense on the Uptick

• Sophomore golfer Marina Alex captured the SEC indi-vidual championship and her first individual title as a collegian on April 18. Alex finished the SEC Tournament 5-under par and won the individual title on the second playoff hole against Tennessee’s Erica Popson.

• Football season tickets for 2010 went on sale to the general public on April 15.

• Emily Hudson Harsh, former women’s athletic director at Vanderbilt, passed away March 31. Harsh arrived at Vanderbilt in 1969 as a physical education instructor and was named women’s athletic director in 1977z.

• Weekend packs are available for just $30 to watch Van-derbilt’s final two SEC home series against Georgia April 30-May 2 and against Arkansas May 20-22.

• Brian Reese, the associate director of student athlet-ics for football, lacrosse and bowling at Vanderbilt, was named director of athletics at Presbyterian College on April 6. Reese had been with Vanderbilt since 2002.

T I DB I T SC O M M O D O R E

STA

N J

ON

ES

Walker May (92) spent most of his time in the backfield at the Black & Gold Scrimmage.

M AY 2 0 1 012

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 13vucommodores.com

It’s My Turn

By Rod Williamson

Teams of the Past 25 Years

March Madness with all its supposed upsets gave us time to reevaluate our definition of team excellence.

Just what is a “good team,” anyway?You need some star power for separa-

tion, but too many prima donnas on a team can be a problem. The Butlers and Northern Iowas of the basketball world showed us that chemistry can defeat those rosters dotted with four- and five-star recruiting phenoms.

Defining a “good team” with a homemade definition of talent maximization blended with ultimate winning success, we’ve put together our idea of the 10 best Vanderbilt teams of the past quarter-century.

No. 10 - 2009 Football: These ’Dores snapped Boston College’s eight-game bowl-winning streak with a game worksheet that included no penalties, no turnovers and an amazing kicking game.

No. 9 - 2009 Women’s Basketball: When a late season injury took away the starting center, Melanie Balcomb moved 5’9” guard Jen Risper into the post, and the team went on the win the SEC Tourna-ment and battle No. 1-seeded Maryland to the wire in the NCAA. It was a fun and exciting unit to watch.

No. 8 - 2004 Women’s Golf: Combined star power (first-team All-American May Wood) with quality depth (local stars Sarah Jacobs and Courtney Woods) to win the SEC Championship and run away with the NCAA Regional title. May Woods’ shocking academic ineli-gibility days before the NCAA’s took away any real hope for a national title, but the team still was fifth playing short-handed.

No. 7 - 2007 Men’s Basketball: They remember how you finish. With all-time leading scorer Shan Foster and SEC Player of the Year Derrick Byars leading the way, this bunch created Madness of their own in upsetting high-seeded Washington State in double-overtime before losing in the last seconds to Georgetown in the Sweet 16.

No. 6 - 2004 Baseball: Note this is not the 2007 Cadillac team that featured the Player of the Year and two other first-team All-Ameri-cans. This was Tim Corbin’s second team at Vanderbilt, and it made the NCAA Super Regionals with an exciting combination of stars (Jeremy Sowers, Warner Jones) and blue-collar guys like catcher Jonathon Douillard, who played the entire year without an error.

No. 5 - 2003 Men’s Tennis: The only Vanderbilt men’s team to reach an NCAA championship round. Led by future pro Bobby Reynolds but also using a former basketball walk-on Lewie Smith in the six slot, this team came within one set of topping Illinois for the national title.

No. 4 - 2007 Bowling: Speaking of national titles, this is our only one. While there were quality bowlers, the title was actually accom-plished by the unselfishness and preparation at the fringes of the lineup. The seldom played “sixth man” was needed, and she showed up prepared. The substituted starter didn’t lose focus and later came back to deliver necessary strikes.

No. 3 - 1993 Women’s Basketball: Our first national contender in women’s basketball. Led by 6’10” Heidi Gillingham and the buzzer-beating shooting of Shelley Jarrard, they were unselfish and feisty, ending the year rated No. 1 and reaching the Final Four.

No. 2 - 2001 Women’s Tennis: The first VU team ever to play for a national title. With senior Julie Ditty and two gritty freshmen, they amassed many unforgettable wins to surge into the championship match before losing to Stanford’s powerhouse. They showed others what was possible.

No. 1 - 1993 Men’s Basketball: This team had the right stuff with inside power, outside shooting and intangibles supplied by Kevin Anglin and Bruce Elder. It ranked as high as No. 3 in the national polls, won the SEC Championship and was a pure joy to watch.

There’s our list; what’s yours? n

M AY 2 0 1 014

Gramps, old man, super senior. Vanderbilt catcher Andrew Giobbi has heard it all before. As one of two fifth-year seniors on the ros-

ter (Brian Harris is the other) in a sport that is short on four-year seniors, Giobbi is used to hearing the sarcastic remarks that accom-pany his seniority in the locker room.

It doesn’t mean he necessarily always likes the constant ribbing he gets from his teammates, but he understands it. After all, his Vanderbilt career began when this year’s college freshmen were just starting high school.

Giobbi’s freshman class included Pedro Alvarez and high school teammate Ryan Flaherty, both of whom are beginning their second seasons of minor league baseball. When Giobbi signed with Vanderbilt out of high school in Portland, Me., he, too, thought he would be playing professionally by now.

“At that age, I think a lot of kids are short-sighted and they want a three-year career, get paid and get out of here,” Giobbi said. “That’s a decision you have to make. If you don’t get the money that you want, do you take less or do you come back to school?”

Instead of playing professionally, Giobbi has become a leader in the locker room and on the field for the Commodores, all the while playing with another Flaherty—Regan, a freshman, who is Ryan’s younger brother.

“It is funny to think about because I knew Regan as such a little kid,” Giobbi said. “It is strange to think of him grown up now. Now that Ryan is gone, I kind of feel like a big brother to him.”

Watching as classmate after classmate goes on to play professionally can be diffi-cult for a player who once thought he, too, would be playing at the next level by now. Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin knows it takes a certain traits to flourish in that role.

“It takes a very resilient person to do that,” Corbin said. “There are not a lot of people who can do that. He and Brian Harris are two kids that could play professional baseball and I hope will. Jokingly, he has played with two Flahertys, but probably only thought he was going to play with one.”

“To be here for five years, play with younger kids, have the patience level with younger kids and patience level for a coach that expects the same thing from his fresh-man year going on to his fifth year, it takes a very resilient person.”

Giobbi has embraced his role on the team as an eldest statesman. It’s the type of lead-ership role that Giobbi thrives in.

“Being a senior comes with a lot of responsibility,” Giobbi said. “It is more of an attitude change than an on the field change. There are a lot of mechanisms that you have to use. For example, if you have a bad at bat, you can’t really show the kind of emotion you may want to show because a younger

player is going to see what you or someone else is doing and are going to repeat those actions.”

It is because of reasons like that that Giobbi is the backbone of Vanderbilt’s 2010 drive to Omaha. His voice resonates in the locker room with teammates. He’s won SEC regular season and tournament titles and has a proven track record as a player.

“It can be really important to have a kid in your program that has been here for five years that knows the lay of the land and that has been on teams that have been very suc-cessful as he was in 2007,” Corbin said. “He’s seen a lot of competition and can pass on his knowledge and calmness to the younger guys. That helps a coaching staff when a kid can do it. When he is behind the plate, it probably helps even more so because of the leadership capabilities that are there.”

As someone who is a natural leader, the catching position couldn’t be a better fit for Giobbi, who is in his second season as Van-derbilt’s starting catcher.

“You are the quarterback on the field, and that is exactly how I look at being a catcher,” Giobbi said. “I try to align the defense, I try to handle the pitching staff as well as I can and call the pitches. There is a lot of responsibil-ity, but there is also a lot of reward.”

Giobbi saw his responsibilities increase toward the end of last season when he was granted the right to call pitches, a responsi-bility previously held by pitching coach Der-rick Johnson. Although it adds to his respon-sibilities as a catcher, it’s a role he enjoys and knows will help him in the future.

“Seeing D.J. calling the pitches for so many years, I can pretty much tell him what he is going to call before he even calls it,” Giobbi said. “There is a little more pres-sure on me, but once the pitch is called and the guy executes the pitch, it is on me if it gets hit.”

Having a veteran backstop behind the plate has also helped Vanderbilt’s pitching staff this season. His experience and familiarity with the pitching staff has helped the pitch-ers be more comfortable on the mound.

“He brings leadership on the field, and that’s a position that you have to have lead-ership to run the show defensively,” senior pitcher Drew Hayes said. “He brings a men-tality of being around here and knowing the ins and outs of pitch calling. That under-standing brings a comfort level to the pitch-ers knowing that he knows what he is doing back there.”

Giobbi was born with baseball in his blood. His father, Mike, was drafted out

Giobbi Quarterbacking The Commodores

JOH

N R

US

SE

LL

Catcher Andrew Giobbi was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List for the second straight season. The award goes to the nation’s top catcher.

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 15vucommodores.com

of high school as a pitcher by the Chicago Cubs. His brother, Nick, pitched at the Divi-sion III level. Instead of pitching, Giobbi was put behind the plate at a young age. “I think

they just stuck me behind the plate to catch my brother,” joked Giobbi.

Giobbi is a catcher at heart, but part of what has made him such a valuable com-modity to the Commodores has been his ver-satility. Between summers in the Cape Cod League and his time at Vanderbilt, Giobbi has played every position besides shortstop and center field since beginning his college career.

His athleticism and understanding of the game have afforded him the opportunity to play many positions, but he also has been forced to learn positions due to injury. Unfor-tunately for Giobbi, injuries have been a com-mon theme for him the past two years. Last year he missed time during the regular sea-son after fracturing his hand. In 2008 in the Cape Cod League, he was hit in the face by a pitch.

“Injuries forced me into positions in the Cape,” Giobbi said. “There was still a little bit of recurrence there and they didn’t want it to happen again, so I couldn’t go back and catch or play first. Instead, it forced me to play the outfield. I played left field for 10 games or so, and it was very useful.”

No one would have questioned Giobbi had he shut it down for the rest of the summer in order to fully heal from being hit in the face. However, anyone who knows Giobbi under-stands there is no quit in him. Just 3½ weeks after being hit, Giobbi returned to action wearing a mouth guard and a face guard. His courageous comeback earned him the Cape Cod League’s Manny Robello 10th Player

Award, which is presented to the player who performs above and beyond expectations.

“He’s the only kid that I ever would know that would get hit in the face with a baseball, break almost every bone in his face and then almost four weeks later, return to a summer team to play,” Corbin said. “Who does that? No one. That just shows who he is. He is a hardcore player and a hardcore athlete.”

Giobbi returned 3½ weeks later, but the recovery time it took for him to get comfort-able in the batter’s box again was longer.

“I don’t think people understand how tough it is to come back from something like that mentally,” Giobbi said. “You flinch a little bit, and it takes a while to get out of that.”

In the case of each injury, the time he spent away from the game made him realize how much he missed it.

“I think last year’s injury really showed me how much I enjoy this game,” Giobbi said. “You step away from the game, and you really realize what it means to you to go out there.”

Giobbi hopes he has many games ahead of him as a player, and if not as a player, then maybe as a coach at the college level.

No matter where his future takes him, Corbin knows he will be successful.

“He is going to be a very successful young man when he leaves here,” Corbin said.

Until then, he’ll continue to hear the banter from his teammates about his age. It’s the type of ribbing he hopes he will continue to hear until the end of June. After then, he’ll be called rookie. n

JOH

N R

US

SE

LL

Giobbi graduated in December with a degree in human and organizational development.

M AY 2 0 1 016

It had been 12 years since Kenny Diehl was diagnosed with a kidney disorder. The disorder was always in the back of his mind, but he was living a normal life. That was until last sum-mer when something didn’t feel right. Kenny went to the doctor

where blood work was done. The next day he was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease. He needed a kidney transplant.

“I’d been feeling poorly, and I just thought it was old age,” Kenny said. “I knew with the initial diagnosis 12 years ago that it wasn’t a matter of if, but a matter of when this would happen. I had been tak-ing medication to try and control it, but for some reason, it blew up on me.”

A Nashville native, who graduated from Vanderbilt in 1974 with a degree in engineering, Kenny was in need of a transplant, but he did not know how long it would take. Doctors told him it would take between one and five years to get a transplant, a time frame that could be shortened with an increased number of organ donors.

For Kenny’s brother, Robert, one day was too long, let alone one to five years.

“If it had been up to my brother, we would have done the surgery the day I was diagnosed,” Kenny said.

Despite Robert’s willingness, taking an organ from a member of his family was something Kenny wanted to avoid doing.

“I was resistant to take anything from my living relatives because I didn’t want to impact their health,” Kenny said.

As soon as Robert learned that Kenny needed a transplant, he began researching the topic online and discovered that the best match for someone who needs a kidney is a sibling. Learning that information made Robert’s decision pretty easy, but he knew it would not be easy to convince Kenny to agree to it.

“He was very emotional about the fact that he didn’t want any of his family members to have to do this,” Robert said. “But, my attitude was, this is the way it’s going to be. It has to be. I think my insistence and a few months of dialysis kind of worked together to convince him that, without a doubt, this was the way to go.”

After some arm-twisting, Kenny eventually agreed to let Robert be his donor.

“I realized that that was the best choice, and that was the way it was meant to be,” Kenny said.

The two knew that Robert would be the best match for Kenny as his brother, but they didn’t realize just how good of a match they were.

“One of the things you find out about kidneys is that you get three antigens from your mother and three from your father,” Kenny said. “A perfect match is six-for-six, and we were a perfect match. It was like we were twins. And so, the better the match, the easier it is for the body to assimilate the new kidney.”

After being diagnosed with end-stage renal disease, Kenny went through four months of dialysis to stabilize his kidneys leading up to the procedure on Dec. 7. Robert, on the other hand, was able to lead a normal life up until the day of the actual procedure.

Kenny was back to work four weeks later at Smith, Seckman and Reid, an engineering firm in Nashville, where he has worked for almost 28 years. Robert returned to his job in Nashville as a real estate agent with Village Real Estate just two weeks after the procedure. Both are recovered and are doing well.

Although he’d much rather not had to have a transplant, he knows he is fortunate to have needed a transplant when he did.

“The one fortunate thing is that this happened to me when I was 56,

Brothers Bonded by Baseball

ST

EV

E G

RE

EN

Kenny Diehl, left, with Head Coach Tim Corbin and his brother, Robert Diehl. Both baseball season ticket holders, Robert donated a kidney to Kenny in December, and both are recovered from the procedure.

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 17vucommodores.com

Sophomore Aaron Westlake, the 2009 SEC Batting Cham-pion, discusses the approach he takes to prepare for each plate appearance.

B efore games, we talk about scouting reports a little bit in regards to what we are going to see and what types

of pitches the pitcher throws, but you don’t want to base your plan strictly off a scouting report because scouting reports change all the time. When I am in the dugout before an at bat, I’m looking at what pitches the pitcher has, his release point, any tenden-cies he might have and the timing.

I have a routine that includes putting my batting gloves on etc., that starts four or five batters before I even get in the on-deck circle. When I get into the on-deck circle, the biggest thing for me is getting my timing down. I’ll loosen up by swinging with a donut a couple of times. I have a leg kick with my swing, so when I’m in the on-deck circle, I get my timing that way.

There are different stages for getting mentally locked into a game. Before I even get to the batter’s box to hit, I am locked in. Once I am in the batter’s box, I will sometimes look at how the defense is playing me. At times, a defense will give away how a pitcher is going to pitch you. If they shade you off center, that indicates that they may be throwing away a lot.

When I first step in the batter’s box, I have a set routine that I follow. I’ll walk to the batter’s box and dig into the backside of the plate. I like to clean the bat-ter’s box out, and then I get in and take a deep breath, look at the pitcher and then tap the back side and front side of the plate.

I’ve taken deep breaths when I step into the box ever since high school. I developed the rest of my routine at Vanderbilt. When I got here, we practiced rou-tines a lot and talked about the importance of keeping the same routine each time because it keeps you locked in and focused.

In the beginning of games, it is good to take that first pitch of your first at bat just to get the timing down. Later in the game, it is good to be aggressive because the first pitch you see may be the best pitch.

Once the ball is delivered, you have a split second to decide whether to swing or let it go past. If you see a fastball, you let it get deep and then if you see an off-speed pitch come and it is not your count that you want to hit in, then you take it. If it is a two-strike count, we train ourselves to see it deep and that allows for us, if it is an off-speed pitch, to still be able to hit it.

Depending on how they pitch you in your previous at bat deter-mines how you prepare the next time. n

– As told to Ryan Schulz

going on 57, so I was fairly young, compared to many people who have kidney failure,” Kenny said. “If I would have been older, I might not have been as good a candidate for a transplant. I was healthy otherwise, other than the kidneys. Now, I certainly feel like a new person compared to the way I felt right before I was diagnosed.”

It’s a feeling both know would not be possible without organ dona-tion. In fact, if not for Robert’s generous gift, Kenny likely would still be waiting for a transplant.

Instead, Kenny has a new lease on life and the two have been taking in another baseball season at Hawkins Field, where they have been season ticket holders since they first began to watch former Commodore great Jeremy Sowers pitch. Now the two have eight season tickets together among friends.

Earlier this year, Kenny wanted to find a way to properly thank his brother for his love and generosity, so he surprised Robert with a Christmas gift he will never forget—an all-expenses paid trip to Los Angeles to watch Vanderbilt’s baseball team play in Los Angeles, Feb. 26 through 28.

The gesture blew Robert away.“I told him that he didn’t have to do anything like that,” Robert

said. “The only thing I care about is that he needs to take care of himself and live a long life. I didn’t want anything.

“It was very emotional, because my brother and I are a lot a like, and not a lot alike in some other ways. We do some things together, but we’re not the type of siblings that we hang out together a lot. Well, baseball, and Vandy baseball specifically, has been something that has brought us back together again. It has made us very close, and I can’t explain the emotion, but it was the perfect gift.”

The perfect gift to repay the ultimate gift of life. n

JOH

N R

US

SE

LL

Under the guidance of Head Coach Roy Mew-bourne, Vanderbilt’s baseball team won its first SEC Tournament Championship in 1980. Van-

derbilt began the tournament by losing to Auburn (3-2) before rallying to win four straight games, includ-ing the final two against Auburn, to claim the title. After losing its first game to open the tournament, Vanderbilt outscored its opponents 61-10 in its remaining four games. Even more astounding was its run differential in the final three games when Vanderbilt outscored its opponents 50-3. It would take 27 years before Vanderbilt would win its next tournament title in 2007. Like the 1980 team, the 2007 team also lost its opening game before winning out.

The 1980 team was led on the field by catcher Scotti Madison, who earned first team All-America and All-SEC honors. Also earning All-SEC plaudits that season was third baseman Bill Hench. Vanderbilt was unable to carry its momentum from the SEC Tournament to the NCAA Tournament that season. The Commodores lost their two games in the NCAA Tournament and finished the season with a 34-21-1 record. n

Hitter’s Approach

1980 SEC Tournament Champs

Commodore Flashback: 30 Years

M AY 2 0 1 018

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 19vucommodores.com

M AY 2 0 1 020

Quick Hits

• Sonny Gray was named SEC Pitch-er of the Week on March 29 for his performance against Kentucky. He allowed four hits, while striking out six and walking three in a 7-0 Com-modore win.

• Vanderbilt junior A.J. Ogilvy decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2010 NBA Draft. Ogilvy also hired an agent, therefore concluding his college career.

• Jermaine Beal was eliminated in the first round of the ESPN 3-Point Shoot-ing Championship on April 1.

• Beal scored 17 points for the Her-shey’s team at the Reese’s Collegiate All-Star game on April 2.

• Beal was one of 22 of the nation’s top seniors to play in the game.

• Beal was one of just 64 seniors se-lected to participate in the 2010 Portsmouth Invitational, which show-cases the game’s top seniors for the upcoming NBA Draft.

• Thomas Davis was Vanderbilt’s male

nominee for the H. Boyd McWhort-er Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship.

• Vanderbilt held its annual Black and Gold Scrimmage on April 10.

• Ten members of Vanderbilt’s football team were voted to the squad’s lead-ership council in 2010. Selected were Larry Smith, Kennard Reeves, Brandon Barden, John Cole, Joey Bailey, Adam Smotherman, Tim Fugger, Chris Marve, Sean Richardson and David Giller.

• Brian Reese, the associate director of student athletics for football, lacrosse and bowling at Vanderbilt, was named director of athletics at Presbyterian Col-lege on April 6. Reese had been with Vanderbilt since 2002.

• Hudson Johnson and Trey Del Greco

placed in the top 20 as Vanderbilt fin-ished 10th at the SEC Championships.

• Vanderbilt finished ninth at the Bancorp South Intercollegiate on April 6. Senior Hudson Johnson paced the team by placing 25th.

• Hudson Johnson earned his seventh

top-20 finish in eight events this year, placing 12th at the 2010 Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational on March 21.

• Freshman Ryan Lipman was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the third time this season on April 14.

• With Vanderbilt’s April 11 win at LSU, the Commodores won three straight SEC matches for the first time since 2003.

• Lipman was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time this sea-son on March 24.

• Head Coach Ian Duvenhage earned the 400th victory of his career on April 4 when VU downed South Carolina, 6-1.

• Vanderbilt finished its 2010 home sched-ule with a 9-2 record.

• Head Coach Melanie Balcomb an-nounced the signing of Clair Watkins (Matthews, N.C.) to a National Letter of Intent.

• Merideth Marsh was eliminated in the first round of the ESPN 3-Point Shoot-ing Championship on April 1.

• The bowling team placed fifth at the NCAA Championships.

• Vanderbilt had four bowlers selected to the 2010 All-America team by the Na-tional Ten Pin Coaches Association.

• Senior Josie Earnest and sophomore Brittni Hamilton were named to the first team, while freshman Jessica Earnest was named the national Rookie of the Year and senior Brittany Garcia earned honorable mention plaudits.

• Vanderbilt was selected to compete in the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in school history.

• Sophomore Marina Alex captured the SEC individual championship and her first individual title as a collegian on April 18. The last individual to win an SEC title was May Wood in 2004.

• The team placed second at the SEC Championships, which was their best finish since winning in 2004.

• Vanderbilt tied for third at the Bryan Na-tional Collegiate on April 4. Sophomore Marina Alex paced VU by finishing sixth at the tournament.

• Alex earned her first SEC Golf of the Week award on March 31 after finishing second at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational. It marked her sixth top-five finish of the season.

• After losing three of its first four match-es, Vanderbilt won a school-record 10 straight matches.

• Junior Claire Leonard was named the ALC Defensive Player of the Week on April 13 for her play against Ohio State.

• Sophomore Sarah Downing was named ALC Offensive Player of the Week on April 6.

• Junior Katherine Denkler was named ALC Offensive Player of the Week on March 31. Denkler also was named to WomensLacrosse.com’s Honor Roll for her play.

• Sophomore Ally Carey was named Divi-sion I Offensive Player of the Week on March 27 by WomensLacrosse.com.

• Carey was named Division I Player of the Week on March 22 by WomensLa-crosse.com.

• Carey was also named ALC Offensive Player of the Week on March 23.

• Head Coach Ronnie Woodard an-nounced the hiring of Assistant Coach Sebastian Vecchio.

• Vanderbilt announced the signing of Nashville native Grace Stumb to a Na-tional Letter of Intent. Stumb attended Harpeth Hall.

• Catherine Newman was Vanderbilt’s female nominee for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship.

• Chelsea Preeg was named SEC Wom-en’s Tennis Player of the Week on March 25 for her play against Notre Dame and Georgia Tech.

• Vanderbilt hosted its first track meet since 2008 when it hosted the Black and Gold Invitational March 26-27.

• Vanderbilt earned eight individual victo-ries at the Black and Gold Invitational.

• The wins included a new 100-meter dash school record by Anna Carr, who posted a mark of 11.92. Carr later broke the record at the Vanderbilt Invitational on April 17 with a time of 11.80.

• Carr also set a personal best in the 200 meters en route to claiming the title with a time of 24.50.

• Buky Bamigboye won the high jump, VU’s team of Carr, Bamigboye, Hill and Jackson won the 4x100-meter relay.

• Also claiming wins were Louise Han-nallah (3,000 meters), Rita Jorgensen (800 meters), Katherine Hendricks (pole vault) and Mallory Hitt (javelin).

Men’s SportsWomen’s Sports

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 21vucommodores.com

M AY 2 0 1 022

One is known for his play on the basketball court and the other for his play on the football field, but despite starring in different

sports, John Jenkins and Wesley Tate have been linked for years.

Natives of Hendersonville, Tenn., just north of Nashville, the two became household names in high school for their prominence on the playing field. If one wasn’t having his highlights shown on the local news on Friday nights, the other likely was.

The two shared the spotlight for the class of 2009, but once both arrived at Vanderbilt they shared more than just the spotlight—they shared a room. Since August, the two Sumner County natives have roomed together in the Commons.

Although they were linked together as being the top two high school athletes in the area, each knew little about the other besides what they saw on T.V. or read in the paper until they moved in together.

Despite growing up less than five miles apart, the two never attended the same school. Jenkins played basketball at Station Camp High School, a public school. Tate played football and basketball at Pope John Paul II High School, a private school. The only interaction they had with one another came during early meetings on the bas-ketball court when both were involved with AAU basketball.

“I never had to guard him, but I remember that he’s a really good player and he’s got pretty good hops,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins was the first to commit to Van-derbilt and signed in November 2008. Tate would sign a few months later, in February.

Since Jenkins was the lone freshman signee on the men’s basketball team, he was able to select a roommate, which led him to Tate. Jenkins connected with Tate by sending him messages on Facebook to see if he’d be interested in rooming together.

“We decided it would be a good idea to room together since he was the only fresh-man coming in,” Tate said. “He wanted to room with me and I wanted to room with him, so the coaches worked it out so the two of us could room together.”

The time spent together has only embold-ened a friendship that appeared to be natu-ral from the outset. The two didn’t know much about each other when they stepped on Vanderbilt’s campus in August, but now each considers the other as a best friend.

“It’s been really fun,” Jenkins said. “We’re like brothers now. He was always the guy in football in our county, and I was the guy in bas-ketball. Now, we’re always around each other, and it’s something I’ll always take with me.”

Although any down time is a rarity for the roommates, being from the area and hav-ing the opportunity to room together has enabled Tate and Jenkins to make the short trip home together on a few occasions.

“It’s good to get away sometimes and get back to where you’re from, and that’s something we’re fortunate to do being local,” Jenkins said.

However, rooming together has not come without its challenges. Because the two play sports that fall during different times of the year, one person’s busy time is often the other’s down time and vice versa.

“It’s been interesting, but we kind of under-stand when the other one needs sleep,” Tate

said. “Sometimes when I’m most busy, he doesn’t have as much to do. And when he’s in season, I don’t have as much to do. We have different schedules.”

The different schedules lead to many early-morning wakeup calls for one or the other throughout the year.

“When I have conditioning at six, the alarm will go off and he’ll say, ‘Cut that off, man,’” Jenkins said. “Other than that, it’s not too bad. We’ve gotten used to everything. In the beginning it was a little different, but as the year has gone on, we’ve become used to it.”

The two had many high moments during their freshman year, but also faced much adversity. Tate redshirted as a freshman and then suffered a foot injury that kept him out of spring drills. Jenkins spent time in the hospital with a stomach virus.

“When I found out I was redshirting, I was kind of down about that, and he was there to give me advice,” Tate said. “I would also try to help him out being the only freshman on the team. We both had some tough times, and we would give each other encouragement.”

Bad luck seemed to strike at the same time for the roommates. While Jenkins was in the hospital in late January with a stomach virus, Tate broke his foot.

“They both kind of happened at the same time,” Tate said. “I was up all hours taking care of him when he was sick, but I don’t mind it because he’s my best friend.”

The two are no longer in high school, but it doesn’t stop them from reminiscing about those days and jabbing one another about who the better athlete was.

“We go back and forth about who the best high school athlete was, and we reminisce about past games,” Tate said.

Now as roommates and best of friends, the two will have much more to reminisce about for years to come after they finish at Vanderbilt. n

Local Stars Build Friendship at VanderbiltJE

RE

MY

TE

AF

OR

D

Hendersonville, Tenn., natives John Jenkins (right) and Wesley Tate spent their freshman year rooming together.

John Jenkins ( left) and Wesley Tate grew up five miles from one another, but never attended the same school until arriving at Vanderbilt.

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 23vucommodores.com

The Month Ahead

Men’s SportsBaseball5/1 Georgia 6 p.m.5/2 Georgia 1 p.m.5/7 at LSU 7 p.m.5/8 at LSU 6 p.m.5/9 at LSU 1 p.m.5/11 Louisville 6 p.m.5/14 at Mississippi State 6:30 p.m.5/15 at Mississippi State 2 p.m.5/16 at Mississippi State 1:30 p.m.5/20 Arkansas 6 p.m.5/21 Arkansas 6 p.m.5/22 Arkansas 2 p.m.5/26-30 at SEC Tournament (Hoover, Ala.) TBA

Golf5/20-22 NCAA Regionals All Day

Tennis5/14-16 NCAA Regionals TBA5/21-25 at NCAA Championships TBA

Women’s SportsGolf5/6-8 NCAA Regionals All Day5/18-21 NCAA Championships All Day

Lacrosse5/7 at ALC Tournament (Columbus, Ohio) TBA5/16 NCAA First Round TBA5/22 NCAA Quarterfinals TBA5/28 NCAA Final Four TBA5/30 NCAA Championship TBA

Tennis5/14-16 NCAA Regionals TBA5/20-25 at NCAA Championships TBA

Track & Field5/12-15 at SEC Championships All Day5/28-29 at NCAA Regionals All Day

May 12-14 • Commencement

The 2009-10 school year will come to a close with commencement activities taking place May 12-14. The Party will be at 9 p.m. May 12, while Senior Day is May 13 and graduation is May 14.

May 17-18 • MLB Showdown

Former Commodores Jensen Lewis and David Price will meet on the diamond May 17 and 18 in Tampa when Cleveland plays a two-game series at Tampa Bay.

May 31 • NCC Renewal Deadline

The deadline to renew your National Commo-dore Club membership for the 2010-11 school year is May 31. You must renew your member-ship in order to maintain your ticket and parking benefits.

What to Watch For

H ow will A.J. Ogilvy be remembered at Vander-bilt? On April 8, the junior

center announced his decision to sign with an agent and enter the 2010 NBA Draft, therefore ending his college career.

He leaves Vanderbilt as one of the most productive players in school history, but also one of the most scrutinized by fans. In all likelihood, had Ogilvy returned for his senior season, he would have become the school’s all-time lead-ing scorer. The 6-foot-11 Austra-lian averaged 15.3 points and 6.7 rebounds over his career, and is also the school’s all-time leader in free throws made and blocks per game.

In his three seasons at Vanderbilt, Ogilvy was instrumental in guiding the Commodores to two NCAA Tournament appearances, but the trips both ended with first-round exits.

“I definitely have regrets,” Ogilvy said of his career. “The two tour-nament losses the last three years definitely will haunt me. I had a lot of fun. I played in a lot of big games and won a lot of big games, and those are definitely the memories I’ll take with me.”

Ogilvy hopes his future takes him to the NBA, which will hold its annual draft on June 24, but if not, he plans on playing profession-ally in Europe or his native country of Australia.

“My time here is done,” Ogilvy said. “I’ve enjoyed it, but I think it’s time for me to start the next phase in my life.” n

Ogilvy Turns Pro

JOH

N R

US

SE

LL

M AY 2 0 1 024