commodore nation, may 2012

May 2012

HOMETOWNHEROES

Tony Kemp

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

VUCOMMODORES.COM

table of contents

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2 Compliance Corner Send us your questions

4 National Commodore Club Black and Gold Spring Game

7 More from McGugin By the numbers

8 My Game Tennis senior Charlie Jones

10 Hometown Heroes 11 Baseball’s Tony Kemp 13 Tennis’ Ryan Lipman 15 Golf’s Lauren Stratton 17 Football’s Wesley Johnson

14 Championships at Vanderbilt Hosting NCAA women’s golf nationals

17 Joe Fisher on Spring Football “The Voice...” gives his take on workouts

19 My Turn Rod Williamson’s monthly column

21 Three Things with... Lacrosse coach Cathy Swezey

23 David Williams Q&A Discussing multipurpose facility

24 Last Shots Renderings of multipurpose facility

11

To 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.

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M AY 2 0 1 22

Editorial

Publisher: Vanderbilt University

Editor-in-Chief: Chris Weinman

Director of Communications: Rod Williamson

Designers: Jeremy Teaford

Chris Weinman

Digital Image Specialist: Julie Luckett Turner

VU Photography: Daniel Dubois

Steve Green

Joe Howell

Jenny Mandeville

Anne Rayner

John Russell

Susan Urmy

Contributors: Brandon Barca

Andy Boggs

Ashley Crosby Sterling Frierson Larry Leathers George Midgett

Kyle Parkinson

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: Sophomore Tony Kemp grew up in Franklin, Tenn., but he currently lives wherever a ball is hit in left field. Photo by John Russell, VU Photography.

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

SUBSCRIPTION: To subscribe, contact Chris Weinman by e-mail at [email protected]

ADVERTISEMENT: To advertise with Commodore Nation, please contact Vanderbilt IMG Sports & Entertainment Properties.Jeff Miller, general manager 615/322-4468; [email protected]

Commodore Nation is printed using (10% post-consumer) 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]

C O M P L I A N C E

CORNERThe Vanderbilt Athletic Compliance Office would like to thank everyone who reads Compliance Corner. We’re glad to be a resource for you. In order to better serve you, we’d like to extend the opportunity for you to submit topics to be covered in this section.

Please contact us by email at [email protected] or on our Twitter or Facebook pages. We look forward to hearing from you!

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The Commodores achieved unprecedented success in 2011 and 2012. The baseball team made its first-ever appearance in the College World Series, the football team played in its fifth bowl game in school history, the women’s cross country team won its first-ever SEC Cross Country Championship, and the men’s basketball team won the SEC Basketball Tournament. Through your National Commodore Club membership, you helped make all of this possible.

It’s now time to renew your membership for 2012-13. We encourage you to help take our athletic programs to the next level by taking your giving to the next level prior to our deadline of May 31.

You’re a part of VANDERBILT’Ssuccess

NationalCommodoreClub.com | (615) 322-4114

Please renew today!

NCC priority deadline : May 31

M AY 2 0 1 24

CORNERCOMMODORE CLUB

PHONE: 615/322-4114 • ONLINE: NationalCommodoreClub.com

NCC BlaCk aNd gold spriNg game CeleBratioN — april 14

NCC members Brenda and Dr. Jimmy (BA ’73) Clark, and Chris and Suzanne (BA ’01) Jones with their son Parker

Josh Minton, with NCC members Paige and Patrick Boze and Katie Watts with her son Brady

To celebrate Black and Gold Weekend, National Commodore Club members gathered on McGugin Lawn before the spring football game. They enjoyed food, fellowship and fun.

NCC members Ken and Madelyn (BS ’70) JohnsonNCC members Jim and Barb Dyer, and Emma and John Perry

2012 Home footBall games

The NCC is ready for the 2012 football season, and we invite you to join us for our pregame tailgates before home football games.

08/30 vs. South Carolina (Thursday)

09/15 vs. Presbyterian

10/13 vs. Florida

10/20 vs. Auburn

10/27 vs. Massachusetts (Homecoming)

11/17 vs. Tennessee * To retain your parking and seating benefits for 2012-13, remember to renew your NCC membership by May 31.


Anchor downon the best football parking NCC priority football parking is your best option for Commodore game days. Enjoy the tailgating fun before the game and a short walk to Dudley Field for the game.

To receive priority football parking in Lots 1, 1A, 2, 3 and 4, a donation to the National Commodore Club is required at the levels listed below. You must have an NCC-issued parking pass to park in these lots on football game days.

One parking pass will be issued per NCC membership. All parking passes will be mailed in August.

Reserve your priority parking spot today!

To score the best football parking, renew or join the

NCC by May 31, 2012.

NationalCommodoreClub.com (615) 322-4114

M AY 2 0 1 26

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More from McGugin

McWhorter, Davis nominees announced

Black and Gold Banquet honors student-athletes

6 seconds shaved off Kristen Findley’s personal best time in the 1,500 meters on April 20 when she broke VU’s school record in the event by running 4:17.45 at the Vanderbilt Invitational.

10 consecutive home non-conference victories for the Vanderbilt lacrosse squad, which included a 5-0 record this season.

11 birdies at the 2012 SEC Championship for Marina Alex, who narrowly missed capturing her second league crown by finishing runner-up last month at Blessings Golf Course.

26 student-athletes from basketball, bowling and swimming who made the 2011-12 Winter SEC Academic Honor Roll.

213 total games played in the men’s tennis team’s marathon victory over No. 19 LSU—includ-ing four tiebreakers—in the first round of the SEC Tournament.

300 meters of track that will surround a 120-yard field inside the newly revealed multipurpose facility scheduled to be completed at the Student Recreation Center in 2014.

631 rushing yards Zac Stacy needs to become VU’s all-time leader in the category, passing Frank Mordica’s 2,632 yards rushing from 1976 to 1979.

NUMBERSBy The

C ross country’s Jordan White and football’s Chris Marve earned top awards at last month’s annual Black

and Gold Banquet, Vanderbilt’s student-athlete awards dinner.

Marve won the coveted Jim Robins Award, which goes to the student-athlete whose life embodies devotion to learning, service to the community and achievement in athlet-ics. Marve was a two-time team captain, an all-SEC linebacker and led the Commodore defense the last several seasons.

White earned the Dr. Jerry Reves Award for having the highest cumulative grade point average—a 3.889 in medicine, health and society. White will graduate this month with plans to continue her education.

White also was voted as the Female Comeback Player of the Year after overcom-

ing a leg injury to help her team win the SEC Cross Country Championship and finish sixth at the NCAA Championship. Basket-ball’s Festus Ezeli was the Male Comeback Player of the Year.

Ezeli also was voted Mr. Commodore, an award which honors graduating seniors who best represent their sport, all student-athletes and the campus community. Cross country All-American Alexa Rogers was Miss Commodore.

Other awards included: Nia Washington of the track and field team honored with the Community Service Award; Bowler Brittni Hamilton’s perfect 300 game and Brandon Barden’s athletic 73-yard touchdown recep-tion won Plays of the Year; Cross country’s Grace Orders and baseball’s Tony Kemp named Newcomers of the Year.

F ootball player DeAndre Jones and track and field/cross country athlete Louise Hannallah were Vanderbilt’s

nominees for the 2012 H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholar-ship, while baseball player Drew Fann and track and field athlete Nia Washington represented the Commodores as nominees for the Brad Davis Community Service Post-Graduate Scholarship.

The McWhorter award has been pre-sented by the Southeastern Conference since 1986 to the league’s top male and female scholar-athletes.

Hannallah will graduate this month with a degree in psychology. A member of the Psi Chi International Honors Society for psychology, she has been recognized on Vanderbilt’s dean’s list and the SEC’s Aca-demic Honor Roll. Hannallah was a captain of the cross country squad, which finished sixth in the nation at the 2011 NCAA Wom-en’s Cross Country Championships.

A mechanical engineering major, Jones also will earn a bachelor’s degree this month. A member of the dean’s list and the SEC Academic Honor Roll, he was awarded

a Global Summer Fellows Grant to study in Morocco last May. Jones was the recipient of the Liberty Bowl Scholar-Athlete Award after earning Vanderbilt Student-Athlete of the Month honors in November.

Fann earned his bachelor of science degree in human and organizational devel-opment in May 2011. He has served as a mentor for children at Eakin Elementary School and organized a child safety event at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. A native of Murfreesboro, Fann was the chief organizer of the Second Harvest Food Bank/Vanderbilt Baseball canned food drive.

Washington will graduate this month with a degree in medicine, health and society. As part of the Women Empowerment Proj-ect at the Tennessee Department of Cor-rections, she led classes covering subjects that helped attendees receive their GED. Washington also has served as mentor with Men of Valor, which assists youth in the Nashville community, and taught Eng-lish classes to local adults and children in Machalilla, Ecuador.

Louise Hannallah DeAndre Jones Drew Fann Nia Washington

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CharlieJones

Senior Charlie Jones has battled injuries throughout his Commodore career. This spring, however, he was moved into the tennis team’s No. 1 position after junior Ryan Lipman’s season was cut short. Jones posted 13 wins in 22 matches at No. 1 and has been ranked as high as 34th in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. A native of Destrehan, La., he has already accepted admission to Vanderbilt Law School this fall.

on his first experience with tennis: “My parents sent me to a summer camp when I was 9 or 10 that was all sports, and they would let you choose whatever sport you wanted to play in the afternoon. They had basketball and swimming and all that, and I would always choose tennis. I’m not really sure why, but it was always most fun to me.”

on pre-match routines or superstitions:“I’m kind of boring in that regard. I try not to eat too close to a match. I’d much rather play on an empty stomach than a full stomach, so I try to eat a long time before I play. I’m not always in the same mood going into a match. If I’m really wanting to be alone and listen to music, I’ll do that. I have a favorite pair of compression shorts I wear. That’s about as odd as it gets.”

on moving up to no. 1 after Ryan Lipman’s injury:

“It was disappointing, because obviously we would have been much better having Ryan out there, too. My coaches told me what kind of opportunity I had, playing one. It’s a lot different, because every week you’re playing somebody ranked really high, so you have huge individual opportunities every time you play. I’ve tried to take advan-tage of it. I’ve done a lot better than I would have expected if you would’ve asked me how I’d do at one. Most guys at one are big, and huge servers; that’s been most of the guys I’ve played so far, and I’ve found a way to win a lot of them.”

My Game

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on mentoring the squad’s six freshmen:“It’s been definitely a growing process for the freshmen and for me and our other senior, Alex DiValerio. I told the freshmen, ‘This is your first year of college and this is my first year trying to lead a team, so we’re in the same boat in that regard.’ It’s been a lot of fun. They came in as the No. 1 class in the country, but they’ve improved so much—the way they’re playing tennis right now, compared to how they were a couple months ago, is ridiculously different. They’re so much better, and they get better every day. They all have good atti-tudes.”

on balancing school with tennis:“In some ways it’s been really difficult, in some ways it’s been a blessing. I don’t know if I had so much time on my hands that I’d be better off academically; the discipline that athletics teaches you is second to none. You don’t get that anywhere else. I know I have to get my school work done. I know I have to go to the training room. My schedule is always the same routine. It’s very rigid. There’s not much room for messing around.”

on his plans after attending Vanderbilt Law School:“A lot of stuff I’ve done in undergrad has had to do with international policy. That’s what I’m most interested in. Ideally, I would want to get my law degree and go to D.C. and try to work in government to some extent, maybe with the State Department. I don’t really have any lawyers in my immedi-ate family, so I don’t know that much about it all. When I get there it could all change.” n

Jones with mother, Laurie, and Head Coach Ian Duvenhage.

The 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Champion-

ship will take place May 18-28 at the Dan Magill

Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.

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A total of 27 Commodores claim Nashville or one of its surrounding areas as home. Here’s the full list:

Student-athlete Sport High SchoolScott Aiello Football CentennialBrandi Byner Lacrosse EnsworthPaige Cahill Lacrosse Harpeth HallWill Clinard Baseball East RobertsonDrew Fann Baseball OaklandJanetra Gleaves Track & Field Cane RidgeJosh Gregory Football Davidson AcademyDaniel Hagaman Football BrentwoodAndrew Harris Baseball Montgomery Bell AcademyAlyson Hasty Track & Field Brentwood AcademyJohn Jenkins Basketball Station CampKedren Johnson Basketball Marshall CountyWesley Johnson Football Montgomery Bell AcademyTony Kemp Baseball CentennialDerek King Football Brentwood AcademyFitz Lassing Football Montgomery Bell AcademyJosh Lee Baseball IndependenceRyan Lipman Tennis Home SchoolD.J. Luna Baseball Brentwood AcademyThad McHaney Football Brentwood AcademyBrian Miller Baseball IndependenceDana Schwartz Soccer BrentwoodLauren Stratton Golf IndependenceGrace Stumb Soccer Harpeth HallWesley Tate Football Pope John Paul IIJoe Townsend Football HendersonvilleZander Wiel Baseball Blackman

HOMETOWNHEROES

lauren stratton•golf

ryan lipman•tennis

tony kemp•baseball

Many Vanderbilt student-athletes chose to attend college close to home

wesley johnson•football


A rriving at Vanderbilt in the fall of 2010, Tony Kemp wrote on his freshman questionnaire that one of the reasons

he had chosen to be a Commodore was “to go to Omaha” (and the College World Series).

Never mind that Vanderbilt had never been to the College World Series. Kemp already had called his shot months earlier.

“My mom and I were sitting on the couch, watching when Vanderbilt was playing Florida State [in the 2010 NCAA Super Regional],” Kemp said. “When [Vanderbilt] lost, we were pretty upset, but I remember saying to her, ‘It’s okay, because next year is gonna be the year.’”

The 2011 Commodores, of course, did make history last June by defeating Ore-gon State in an NCAA Super Regional at Hawkins Field to earn the program’s first trip to Omaha.

“That team was unbelievable,” Kemp said. “From a pitching standpoint, from a hitting standpoint, we did so many things well. And we had amazing leadership from guys like Curt Casali, Sonny Gray, Grayson Garvin and Taylor Hill.”

For his part, Kemp had an unbelievable year. He became only the second Com-modore to be honored as the Southeastern

Conference Freshman of the Year by league coaches.

But Kemp is quick to acknowledge his teammates when asked about his personal accomplishments. Outgoing and confident, he accepts praise with a laugh as he shares credit with those around him.

“Winning SEC Freshman of the Year, that should be a team award,” Kemp said. “There’s no way that I get the hits or any other stat if we don’t have the pitching or the defense. It’s definitely a team award. It’s very humbling to be in the same category as a Pedro Alvarez.”

Kemp was named to the College World Series All-Tournament team after he batted .400 in VU’s four games. His name also went into the record books when he recorded the first hit at TD Ameritrade Park in CWS history.

The Omaha fairy tale almost didn’t come true for the Franklin native. He had originally committed to East Carolina University, the school where his brother Corey had been a second-team All-American in 2008. But the lure of going to school 15 miles away from his home was too great, and when Head Coach Tim Corbin offered him a scholarship, Tony decided Vanderbilt would be a better fit for him.

“Having your family come to games, you can’t get much better than that,” Kemp said. “This a great place to be, with Coach Corbin—all the coaches—and from an aca-demic standpoint, you can’t get better than Vanderbilt.”

Even with his busy schedule, Kemp still finds a little time to get home. He estimates that he has been home four times during the spring semester.

“You definitely can’t take that for granted,” Kemp said. “My mom makes good home-cooked meals—loaded mashed potatoes, carrots, a steak on the grill. And she makes some good sweet tea—that’s definitely my favorite.”

Kemp has taken fellow sophomores Conrad Gregor and Joel McKeithan down to Franklin to see his high school, Centen-nial. He also makes sure to get by Showtime Sports Academy when time allows. Kemp has trained at the batting cage of that facil-ity—run by major league scout Tony Naile—since it opened in 2007.

There he hits with former high school teammates like Tyson Ashcraft, who plays at Lipscomb, or Matt Williams, currently of the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He also met Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Ben Zobrist in the cages at SSA.

“We’d hit and talk,” Kemp said. “Ben has been a great Christian guy to get to know, and to see him in the Tampa Bay Rays orga-nization doing great things, it’s just awesome to know that he’s a down-to-earth guy.”

Kemp’s positive nature and his enthusi-asm seem to permeate everything he does, both on the field and off. On top of his out-standing skill set, his attitude has made him an invaluable member of Vanderbilt’s base-ball team.

“Tony’s value goes well beyond the white lines,” Corbin said. “He is an energy source for our team. He does a lot of things to help us win and is fun to watch play.” n

Hometown Heroes

Tony Kemp: Centennial

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Living less than 20 miles away allows Tony’s mother, Catherine, to attend almost all of his home games.

Tony Kemp’s love of baseball began at a young age.

M AY 2 0 1 212


Ryan Lipman: Second-generation VU netter

R yan Lipman was born at Vanderbilt Hospital. His mother, the former Lisa Tamborello, was a four-year Vanderbilt tennis letter winner. His parents started him in the game at a young age.

“They used to go out and hit when I was maybe 3 years old,” Lipman said. “And they just gave me a tennis racket and fed me a few balls, and that was that.”

By the time Lipman was heading toward eighth grade, he was already a lauded junior player. The decision was made to home-school Lipman, his brother and sister, partly because the travel required by junior tennis was interrupting Ryan’s studies at school. Home-schooling provided a chance to fit tennis and school into his routine.

“The flexibility was unbeatable,” Lipman said. “I could wake up and play tennis, come home and do school work, then go back out to the court again in the afternoon.”

Lipman was consistently ranked in the nation’s top 30 throughout his junior career. By his senior year of high school, he was ranked as the No. 3 player in his class by Tennis recruiting.net. When it came time to head to college, Lipman had his choice of a num-ber of universities in the southeast, includ-ing Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Virginia. Even with a former Com-modore tennis player in his household, the decision wasn’t clear cut from the beginning.

“Mom went to Vandy,” Lipman said. “But my dad went to Tennessee. I grew up a split fan. In the end, [Vanderbilt] was just the best combi-nation of tennis and academics, and I felt that the coaching staff allowed me the best oppor-tunity to play professionally after college.

“My parents were actually pushing me away from Nashville to try and see a new city, get a new experience, but everything was too good to move from here.”

Lipman played at No. 1 singles for the Commodores from day one, earning first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors as a freshman and sophomore. Last year he missed the Commodores’ final two matches and pulled out of the NCAA Singles Cham-pionships due to injury. He would have hip surgery in May.

Doctors told Lipman that recovery from the surgery usually takes nine months to a year. But he was determined to return sooner, working tirelessly to rehab and get

back on the court. After not playing during the fall season, Lipman entered January’s SEC Indoors in Lexington, Ky., but was forced to retire in the first set of his first match.

In March, the decision was made that Lipman would take a medical redshirt. He’s now closer to 100% physically but will not burn a year of eligibility in the season’s last month. Still, from the sideline, Lipman has remained a vital part of the Commo-dores’ squad, helping coach VU’s younger players through their matches.

“[Head Coach Ian Duvenhage and assistant coach Jamie Hunt] let me do that in the fall,” Lipman said. “I went to two of the fall tournaments, sat on the bench with the guys and helped coach. They thought it would be a great learning experience for me to develop my own thoughts and how to broadcast that to my player.”

Senior Charlie Jones, who took over the No. 1 position vacated by Lipman, praised his teammate’s sideline contribution.

“He’s been invaluable to the team this year,” Jones said. “He’s probably not used to the off-to-the-side role, but he’s definitely embraced it.”

And while Lipman lauds Jones for doing “an incredible job” at the No. 1 position, Jones knows that having Lipman back next year will mean a lot to the Commodores.

“He’s out there beating us every day in practice. We can’t wait to get him back.” n

Lipman, a second-generation ’Dore, shows off his All-SEC plaque with his mother (top). The junior has relished the opportunity to help his teammates (bottom left) while he rehabs from hip surgery.

Hometown Heroes

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Ryan Lipman’s tennis career began at age 3.

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2012 NCAA Women’s Golf ChampionshipsVanderbilt Legends Club

May 22-25

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N ov. 20, 2009, was the day that Vanderbilt administrators submitted their initial budget proposal to the NCAA Divi-sion I Women’s Golf Committee. Four months later, it was

announced that the Vanderbilt Legends Club would host the 2012 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship. When the tournament finally arrives later this month, it will be the culmination of years of preparation.

Last summer, Lori Alexander was appointed Vanderbilt’s Director of Championships. Having already coordinated numerous SEC and NCAA events as a sport administrator for women’s basketball, soc-cer and lacrosse, Alexander was well-versed in running high-profile events. But putting together Vanderbilt’s first opportunity to host a national championship has been no small task.

“Manpower is probably our biggest need,” Alexander said. “We’ve figured out hospitality, and to feed everybody—all of the employees, officials, volunteers—we’re looking at 250 people working the event.

“It’s also a little more challenging coordinating all of the different pieces and making the NCAA’s requests work at our site. While it is our home course, it’s not an on-campus facility.”

Alexander has convened a tournament committee once a week since December. Before that, the meetings were monthly. She speaks with representatives from the NCAA nearly every day and reports in on frequent conference calls.

While this may be Vanderbilt’s most high-profile rodeo, it’s not the school’s first. Not even this semester. In March, the first and second rounds of the women’s basketball championship came to Memorial Gymnasium.

Like the golf tournament, hosting basketball required a long bid-ding process. It also guaranteed that an event would be played at Vanderbilt whether or not the corresponding Commodore team was part of the tournament field.

In basketball, Head Coach Melanie Balcomb has made the field of 64 in each of her 10 seasons with the Commodores. Only 24 teams advance to golf’s national championship event. Vanderbilt must place in the top eight at its NCAA Regional Championship (May 10-12) for

the chance to play on its home course two weeks later.

Head Coach Greg Allen’s golfers have been up to that challenge. After sending only freshman Marina Alex to the national tournament in 2009, Vanderbilt has gone as a team in each of the past two sea-sons. The Commodores fin-ished 10th last year in College Station, Texas, after a seventh-place showing in Wilmington, N.C., the year before.

Tournaments that are bid out are only one piece of the championship puzzle. Some sports—including baseball, lacrosse, tennis and soccer—play the early rounds of their respective NCAA tournaments at the home of the higher seed. In those cases, venues are not known until after NCAA selections have been announced. But with a limited num-ber of teams, the events are often not unlike regular matches.

Then there are conference tournaments, which often have a set schedule that rotates among member schools. This fall is Vander-bilt’s turn to host the 2012 SEC Cross Country Championships, and administrators already are making preparations at the Commodores’ home venue, Nashville’s Percy Warner Park.

While none of these events reaches the scope of golf’s national championship week, VU is embracing every opportunity to play host.

“We have gone out and invested money for events like these in order to provide a better home-court advantage to our teams,” Alex-ander said. “But it’s also a great window to the university. With the number of people that will be here and those that will be watching, it’s great to get Vanderbilt’s name out there.” n

Vandy becoming championship destination

Lori Alexander


J ust shy of her 15 birthday and about to enter high school, Lauren Stratton moved from the Pacific Northwest to Spring Hill

in 2005. The first order of business for the three-time Oregon Junior Girl’s Golf State Champion was to find a new home course. At the time, the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin was half-public, and Stratton took up residency on Legends’ South Course.

After capturing two TSSAA Class AAA individual state championships, Stratton opted to stay in the area to play her collegiate golf. While she feels right at home at Legends, she doesn’t feel that her prep expe-rience there gives her too big of an edge these days.

“I really didn’t play much of the north side, which is our main course,” Stratton said. “It’s just more of a comfort level. I don’t go home very often, because things are pretty busy at school. But it is an option. Every once in a while, I like to get home for chicken pot pie. A home-cooked meal is nice.”

This season, Stratton climbed all the way to No. 3 in the nation in Golfweek’s individ-

ual rankings after posting a stroke average of 70.8 during the fall. Her average went up slightly this spring after she carded an 86 in the final round of an event in Louisiana. It was later discovered that she had played with a kidney stone that would require sur-gery. Stratton would recover quickly and

barely miss a step, pacing the Commodores at their very next event less than a month later.

With Legends hosting the national championship this month, Stratton is excited for the opportunity to play in front of her home fans, many of whom cannot make it to September’s Mason Rudolph Championship. But the junior knows that her squad must first take care of business at the NCAA Regional championship to ensure they are still playing in the last week of May.

“[Friends from high school] support me throughout the year,” Stratton said. “But they don’t get to see me play very often, so it would be nice to show them what I can do on that stage. We just have to get through regionals first and make sure we get there.” n

Hometown Heroes

Lauren Stratton: Independence

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Lauren Stratton

Stratton entered the spring season as the No. 1 ranked player in the Southeastern Conference.

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TRANSPORTATION for these upcoming events.

DATE EVENT LOCATION

5/4-6 Baseball - Vanderbilt vs. Knoxville, TN Tennessee

5/8 Baseball - Vanderbilt vs. Nashville, TN Louisville

5/11-13 Baseball - Vanderbilt vs. Baton Rouge, LA LSU

5/17-19 Baseball - Vanderbilt vs. Nashville, TN Ole Miss

5/3-5 Women’s Lacrosse - ACL Gainesville, FL Tournament

5/10-13 Women’s Track -SEC Baton Rouge, LA Outdoor Championships

5/17-28 Women’s Tennis - NCAA Athens, GA Championships

5/22-25 Women’s Golf - NCAA Franklin, TN Championships Vanderbilt Legends Club


G oing through the college selec-tion process as a prep star at local Montgomery Bell Academy, Wesley

Johnson made a concerted effort to keep Vanderbilt’s home city advantage out of his decision. But since joining the Commo-dores, he admits that being close to home certainly has its advantages.

“I tried to make that not a factor, but now being here for three or four years, it’s nice having my parents here,” Johnson said. “I see them a lot. I kind of put pressure on them to make sure they’re tak-ing care of me. I think my mom misses it, so I take advantage of that. But I made sure to not take that into account when I was deciding.”

Those advantages include being able to bring the guys over for an occasional home-cooked meal. When the Johnsons host offensive line dinners at their home in Forest Hills, the menu varies. But Johnson’s father, David, is usually grilling. “Chicken, barbe-cue, he’ll mix it up, and my mom will make the sides.”

On the field, Johnson has been a main-stay on the offensive line for the past two seasons. After redshirting in 2009, he was named the SEC’s Offensive Lineman of the Week in his third career game, a 28-14 victory at Ole Miss.

Last season, Johnson started all 13 games, moving mainly between center and left tackle. His versatility has been invaluable for a sometimes undermanned offensive line.

Entering his third season as a starter, John-son knows he must be a leader for his posi-tion group.

“I’ve developed and seen my role change,” Johnson said. “When I was the young guy, I was just worrying about myself. Now I’m thinking about myself, but I’m also trying to help Coach Hand out as much as I can and give the younger guys additional support, and maybe a different perspective. I just want to help them do what the coaches want.”

Johnson is continuing MBA’s legacy of producing VU football standouts. Hall of Fame quarterback Bill Wade, linebackers Hunter Hillenmeyer and Moses Osemwegie, and placekicker Bryant Hahnfeldt—VU’s career scoring leader—are among those who have chosen to attend college just down West End Avenue from their high school.

As someone who appreciates the benefits of being a local product, Johnson hopes he can help persuade others in the area to sup-port their local team by “showing people in Nashville that they’ve got a pretty good SEC team right in the heart of the city.” n

Hometown Heroes

What we learned in spring football

Wesley Johnson: Montgomery Bell Academy

C oach Franklin knows we have to find a way to get our best athletes on the field. This spring, he accomplished

that with several young prospects.Franklin’s decision to move Kris Kentera

and Josh Grady to new roles paid big divi-dends during the spring and will add to the Commodores’ overall offensive punch in 2012.

Recruited as quarterbacks, Kentera and Grady switched positions with the Commo-dores owning quality quarterback depth in senior Jordan Rodgers, junior Austyn Carta-Samuels and freshman Patton Robinette. I thought both Kentera and Grady showed a great deal of ability and promise. Kentera still needs to add some bulk for the rigors of the SEC, but he showed excellent hands and playmaking ability in an H-Back role. Grady has an explosive first step off the line, and showed great speed and decision making at wide receiver. At the spring game, Grady also served notice that he could be a weapon as a wildcat quarterback.

On defense, I thought Chase Garnham did an excellent job moving to inside linebacker and I really liked Karl Butler’s abilities at the new “Star” position.

As much as anything, I’m excited about the approaching season. Just think about the possibilities of having Warren Norman at full strength with Zac Stacy, of having Ryan

Seymour back fully healthy on the offensive line, and getting guys like Rob Lohr and Javon Marshall back with the defense. n

Jordan Rodgers hands off to Zac Stacy for one of his two rushing attempts in the Black and Gold Spring Game.

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Wesley Johnson—with parents Arlene and David—attended Montgomery Bell Academy before coming to Vanderbilt.

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Wesley Johnson

by Director of Broadcasting and “Voice of the Commodores” Joe Fisher

Follow Vanderbilt Football @Vandyfootball

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It’s My Turn

by Rod Williamson

Gaining a mental edge

I f there is one thing I’m positive about in the wide world of sports, it’s the power of positive thinking.

The longer I’ve watched athletic compe-tition, the surer I am that the player that can compete fearlessly, has the mental toughness to overcome adver-sity and who truly expects to win usually will win. I believe the only time the mental edge is not critical is when there is an overwhelm-ing difference in the skill levels, which is unlikely to occur in the Southeastern Conference.

Those talking heads dissecting big-time sports could serve the viewers better if they could figure out who has the mental edge. It’s often hard to tell because every athlete knows the “right” things to say; but brave talk might mask doubt. If I were a television execu-tive, I’d have a sports psychologist added to my team of analysts.

I could fill this magazine and many more with examples, but here are a few.

exhibit A: Sophomore golfer Charlie Ewing has elevated his game this spring to the point where he was our leader at the South-eastern Conference Championship. His play was much better than the fall semester, when his scores were erratic and he didn’t even qualify for the early tournaments.

Was it an improved iron game, a new putter or extra time on the range? Perhaps. But the biggest reason was his improved attitude on the course, the result of working with a gifted golf psycholo-gist who eliminated his tendency to get angry with himself. He has become Cool Hand Luke on the links.

exhibit B: Assistant Bowling Coach Josie Earnest was a two-time NCAA Bowler of the Year but since joining our coaching staff two years ago she has not bowled much herself; her job is to help get the Commodore team ready to compete.

Josie recently entered the prestigious USBC Queens, which was one week after the NCAA Championship. She had little time to pre-pare. The Queens is equivalent to the USGA’s U.S. Women’s Open, a professional tournament attracting the sport’s biggest names. Amazingly, she defeated a handful of Hall of Famers, made the nationally televised finals and picked up a nice check.

Her secret? “I knew I was not as prepared as I would normally be, so I just focused on each shot. It was about me being myself; if I had looked up and noticed who I was bowling against I would have been in trouble. I tried to control my breathing and stay calm.”

exhibit C: There were a variety of reasons for the football team’s surprising improvement last fall, but well up the list was an improved mental approach. James Franklin had his Commodores playing harder than they realized they could, and they were having fun at the same time.

We could offer enough exhibits to run through the alphabet, but you get the picture. While not every individual benefits or needs to work with an expert to get into the proper frame of mind, there are many that do.

Vickie Woosley is a Vanderbilt athletic staffer, working with stu-dents one-on-one and dealing with a wide range of issues rang-ing from personal problems to performance anxiety to competitive anger/frustration management and more. Her work with any given student-athlete is confidential, and she must be good—her daily calendar is packed.

Someone once said that the difference in talent between the best teams and the bottom feeders is often much less than the dif-ference in attitude between those extremes. And if this is the rule in sports, could not the same statement be true about each of us in our own daily lives? n

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Midfielder Ally Carey will graduate this month as the most decorated athlete in the history of the Vanderbilt lacrosse program. She entered her senior season as a two-time, first-team All-American and has become the school’s career leader in ground balls and draw controls. Carey has been chosen to the 24-woman U.S. national senior team roster for this summer’s North American Challenge Cup, which previews the 2013 World Cup in Oshawa, Canada.

Head Coach Cathy Swezey, concluding her 15th season in Nashville, sat down with Commodore Nation last month to discuss what makes Carey so successful.

1 RAW TALenT. “Ally’s just a gifted athlete. She’s faster and quicker than most of the people she goes up against, and has better stick skills and hands than them, too.”

2 CompeTiTiVe nATURe. “She just hates to lose. You best see it in Ally if, by chance, somebody is lucky enough to strip the ball from her; the way she goes after that person to get the ball back is a little fierce. She

is a competitor to the core, and it’s a big part of why she’s as good as she is.”

3 WoRK eTHiC. “When you have the talent that she has, you could prob-ably sit back on that a little bit, but she never has. She’s always been the kid who sets the example with effort in practice. She never takes one

sprint off. She lifts harder in the weight room than most of the team. She does all the work to be as great as she can be. She’s really a coach’s dream. To have those three attributes in one person is incredibly uncommon.” n

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Ally Carey

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Commodore Nation: What is the expected date of completion?David Williams: Our belief is that it will take 10-12 months to complete once a shovel goes in the ground. Based on the fact that we need to raise another $4 million to $6 million, it is prudent to suggest completion by the summer of 2014. If we are fortunate enough to raise this money and take care of key details on a quicker schedule, we would welcome an earlier completion date.

CN: What is the estimated cost of the project, and how is the funding going?DW: The cost will be in the $30 million area. The university will provide approximately 50 percent of this by allowing debt, while the remainder must come from philanthropy. At this point we’ve raised through cash and pledges about $11 million.

CN: This is a multipurpose facility; about how much time would you expect varsity athletics will occupy the space?DW: Between the primary uses of football, soccer, lacrosse, bowl-ing, track and cross country and the occasional use by other var-sity programs, I estimate varsity athletics will occupy about 25 percent of the total time. The majority of time will be used by club and recreational sports, Health Plus, faculty and staff and occa-sional use by other college or high school teams or events.

CN: From a recreational perspective, what are some new features that will become available?

DW: There will be expanded weight rooms, more multi-purpose/exercise rooms, new squash courts, increased capability for bas-ketball, volleyball and badminton. There will be more exercise machines in more locations. There will be availability for Health Plus assessment and even a demonstration kitchen, where nutri-tion can not only be discussed but demonstrated through special classes.

CN: What are other advantages to this facility?DW: It is fair to say there are advantages that might not immedi-ately resonate. For instance, our bowling team will no longer have to spend 60 minutes per day driving to its practice site. We will have the capability to host major indoor track and field champi-onships on the collegiate or even high school levels. The city of Nashville lacks indoor training facilities for track and field, so I can envision this facility enhancing the sport in our area. Bringing in hundreds of high school athletes is good for Vanderbilt, good for the com-munity and opens up revenue streams. This facility will even-tually be used for good things that we cannot even imagine now. n

Vice Chancellor Williams on Facility

David Williams

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T he Vanderbilt University Board of Trust voted in April to approve the construction of a multipurpose facility along with numerous other improvements to the Student Recre-

ation Center. The facility is scheduled to open in August 2014.

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