March 14, 2016
By Jerome Boettcher | Subscribe to Commodore Nation
Tennis was an added perk.For Maggie Leavell, her ideal collegewould be a great academic institutionthat would offer an excellent education andprovide her with the tools and open doors toexcel in the workplace.
Vanderbilt fit the bill for the Memphis native.Plus, she could walk on to the tennis team. Thiswas a chance she couldn’t pass up, especiallyconsidering her mother, Janet (Wepfer) Leavell,played tennis for the Commodores in the 1980s.
“For as long as I can remember, Vanderbilthas always been my dream school,” said Leavell,now in her senior year with the Commodores.”Being from Tennessee, and Vanderbilt being thebest school in Tennessee, that definitely madeit appealing. But because my mom went andplayed tennis at Vanderbilt, that always beena dream of mine to follow in her footsteps. Mycousins and my aunt and uncle went to Vanderbilt,too. It has just become a family tradition.”
Leavell isn’t the only Commodore donningthe same black and gold colors their parentswore. At least five current student-athletes haveparents who also played sports at Vanderbilt.
The fathers of football teammates CalebScott and Donovan Sheffield both played onthe gridiron for the Commodores. Chuck Scottwas an All-American tight end in 1983, tied thethen-NCAA record for touchdowns in a seasonby a tight end (nine) and was a part of the 1982Hall of Fame Bowl season. Robert Sheffield wasa cornerback at Vanderbilt from 1993-96, andDonovan is actually a third-generation collegefootball player.
Redshirt sophomore Penn Murfee lettered inswimming and diving and finished fifth at theTennessee state swimming meet in 2013. TheNashville native and Montgomery Bell Academygraduate ultimately chose the baseballdiamond but he comes from a family of swimmers.His brother, Jack, swam at Virginia, andhis father, John, swam at Vanderbilt when theschool had a men’s swimming team. John ownsthe school records in the men’s 50- and 100-yard freestyle events.
Perhaps the most notable current Vanderbiltlegacy is junior forward Luke Kornet on themen’s basketball team. Both of his parents wentto Vanderbilt and his father, Frank, was an All-SEC standout who played for the Commodoresfrom 1986-89. He was drafted in the secondround by the Milwaukee Bucks and played twoseasons in the NBA.
Luke has made a name for himself in threeyears as the 7-foot-1 forward has provided aspark on defense and a lift with his accurate3-point shooting. But he still has fans come upto him to let him know they watched his dadplay in college, too.
“It is funny when people come up and they aretalking about my dad playing,” Luke said. “I thinkour times are definitely separated. That we havethis school in common is definitely a cool thing.I still don’t think I really realize it now and I probablywill (think about it more) when I’m gone thatit was really cool that I got to play here.”
With parents who played sports collegiately,or even professionally, there is a tendency tobelieve they directed their children toward thatspecific sport. Luke Kornet said that wasn’t thecase with his father.
Though he coached both Luke and his sister,Nicole, who plays at UCLA, Frank Kornet encouragedhis children to play many sports. And theydid, as Luke and Nicole also played baseball andgolf in addition to basketball.
“People like to think since he played he mighthave pushed us,” Luke said. “If we asked him to,he would help us out. But if not, he just let usplay. He likes to sit back and enjoys watchingas opposed to having to coach. I think he likesit a lot better (now) because he doesn’t have toworry about that whole dynamic of still being acoach and a dad.”
Maggie Leavell doesn’t feel any pressurebeing a second-generation Vanderbilt tennisplayers. Quite the opposite, actually. She sees itas a special bond she shares with her mother.
And she knows her mom is a proud Commodoreparent. When she was 12 years old, Maggieand her twin sister, Neely, played in a nationaltournament in Nashville. While they were therethey swung by Vanderbilt, stopped at the tenniscourts, showed them around and even snappeda picture of her daughters under an awning thatread “Home of the Vanderbilt Commodores.”
“I think it is really unique because not a lotof people can say, ‘Oh yeah, my mom went toVanderbilt and also played tennis here,” Maggiesaid. “I haven’t come across that many people(who can say that). It is just cool that we get toshare that experience.”
