Oct. 30, 2009
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Editor’s Note: Vanderbilt will open its 2009-10 campaign with an exhibition game against Union (Tenn.) Friday night at 7 p.m. CT inside Memorial Gym.
Say this much for the Commodore women’s basketball team: They do not back down from a challenge. Coming off a season where they won another SEC Tournament Championship and garnered a Sweet 16 appearance under the leadership of seniors Christina Wirth and Jennifer Risper, this year’s senior class is taking it upon themselves to build on last year’s triumphs instead of dwelling on the difficulty of change.
“What is there that’s not different (from last year’s team)?” said senior guard and second-team preseason All-SEC selection Merideth Marsh. “We lost two key starters, but I think this year we are going to (have) more team-oriented leadership. You’re going to see different people step up. There are going to be some freshmen who step up and you’re going to see some juniors and seniors step up.
“There are a ton of people raising the bar.”
Thus, the Commodores hope that raising the bar means the team will have another opportunity to raise an SEC Championship banner, something that is a driving force for this senior class that has already won two SEC titles. In order to get there, though, the team realizes that complacency is not an option.
“I think every year that I’ve been here, we’ve been progressively getting more up-tempo,” said senior guard Jessica Mooney. “I think we’ll be really exciting to watch.”
A large part of this progress has been made because of this senior class’ contributions, as they are one of the more decorated classes in school history. Now, following the examples set by Wirth and Risper, it is they who have the reins to their team’s fortunes, and its future.
“I would definitely say Merideth and I are the more vocal leaders…,” Mooney said. “Ashlee (Bridge) and Lo (Lauren Lueders) definitely are not as vocal as we are; they lead more by example by trying to work hard in everything they do. They’ve definitely stepped up for us because they’re playing positions they haven’t played before.
“Whatever they need to do to help the team, they’ll do.”
This sense of responsibility and team-first mentality ultimately has fueled a win-now mentality for Coach Melanie Balcomb’s squad, resulting in a sense of urgency and energy that is expected to show up on the court this season.
“We’re going to try to bring more energy all the time,” Marsh said. “Last year, yeah, we did bring a lot of energy… but this year, we’re more athletic so we can jump higher and run faster.”
Hence, since they have grown more athletic and cohesive over the past several years, Vanderbilt women’s basketball–led by this year’s seniors–is ready to jump to new heights as a program overall. However, this is not to say the senior class isn’t proud of their collective accomplishments they aim to build upon.
“This has been awesome,” Mooney said. “Every single person that I have come in contact with, all of my teammates from freshman year until now, I’ve had a special relationship with all of them.
“I would never have wanted any other teammates.”