April 22, 2014
Russell’s Photo Gallery | 
All-Sports Highlights | Past Black & Gold Banquet Honorees
Vanderbilt’s student-athletes and coaching staffs gathered Monday night for the annual Black and Gold Banquet, which is sponsored by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). A number of awards were announced as determined by a vote of the SAAC membership.
Ryan Lipman of men’s tennis and Kimberly Koehler of the women’s golf team earned two of the top awards.
Lipman was selected for the coveted Jim Robins Award, which goes to the student-athlete whose life embodies the devotion to learning, service to the community and achievement in athletics. Lipman plays No. 1 on the team and served as SAAC president this year.
Koehler won the Dr. Jerry Reeves Award for having the highest cumulative grade point average. She will earn a degree majoring in Cognitive Studies and minoring in Corporate Strategy this May with a current cumulative GPA of 3.960, making the Vanderbilt’s Dean’s List five times to date.
Football’s Carey Spear and lacrosse’s Sarah Tustin were voted Mr. and Miss Commodore by their peers. The award criteria involves graduating seniors who best represent their sport, all student-athletes and the campus community.
Spear also earned the Community Service Award after earning a reputation as one of the campus’ most service-oriented students. Spear has visited three countries to work construction during spring breaks, mentors adults at Safe Harbor of Nashville, visits with patients at Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital and been a member of the SEC Football Good Works Team.
The newcomers of the year were Simone Charley of women’s soccer and track and Matthias Schwab of golf. Charley earned all-SEC freshman honors last fall and just set the school record in the triple jump. Schwab leads the nationally ranked golf team in stroke average and has two Top 5 finishes and one championship despite being slowed by a nagging injury for a month.
Austyn Carta-Samuels and Kristen Gaffney were named the Comeback Players of the Year. Carta-Samuels came back from a torn ACL during the season and with doctors’ approval, played the final three games of the football season and helped the Commodores earn a bowl berth. Gaffney overcame a long rehabilitation after a series of knee injuries to contribute on the basketball court this winter.
SAAC members also voted for their opinion of the top plays of the year. Lacrosse’s Brandi Byner earned the female award for her tremendous play in a game against Denver, advancing the ball all the way down the field to score a goal.
The men’s play of the year was made by quarterback Patton Robinette, whose touchdown run in the waning seconds of the Tennessee football game produced a victory.
Each team voted for its “Shining Star”, the unsung hero on their roster. The winners were Rebekah Dahlman and James Siakam of basketball, Mason Vierra and Maggie Leavell of tennis, Lauren Rhein of bowling, Melissa Roberts of swimming, Sarah Hook from the soccer team, Katie Rose Higgins and Spencer Ciesla of golf, Rebecca Chandler and Andrew Bachman of cross country, D.J. Luna of baseball, Jonathan Krause of football, Ellie Tidman of track and Rebecca Ryan of lacrosse.
The women’s golf team was also cited for its Southeastern Conference team championship and Simin Feng’s individual SEC title.
The banquet also noted SAAC’s annual fundraising charity, Commodores Compete for a Cause in which Vandy teams join together to compete to make a difference in the community. This year SAAC chose Special Olympics of Tennessee as its beneficiary of their fundraising efforts. Men’s tennis was the team that was able to raise the most money.
The banquet festivities also included a video competition in which Commodore teams submitted parody videos to be played in front of their peers during the event. The following two clips were created by Vanderbilt’s women’s golf and men’s tennis squads, with men’s tennis winning the award.
