Oct. 21, 2011
Vanderbilt starts its season Saturday at Alabama A & M’s Tri-Meet in Huntsville. The Commodores will join Alabama State and NCAA newcomer Alabama-Birmingham for a series of traditional and Baker games.
Time and Place: Warm-ups begin at 11:00 a.m. with play beginning at 11:30 at the Alabama A & M Health and Wellness Center.
The Format: There will be a round-robin of traditional games with Vanderbilt starting off against Alabama A & M, then moving to Alabama State and finishing with UAB. A championship bracket will then be determined by won-loss records. The Baker series will be a 4-game format with Team 1 playing Team 4.
Many to Travel: Coach John Williamson will travel 10 Commodores and says everyone will compete with circumstances dictating exactly how that unfolds. For example, freshman Nicole Mosesso is nursing a tender back so Williamson will carefully monitor her activity.
Familiar names: Unlike a year ago when the Commodores battled through a difficult fall season with a relatively inexperienced team, four regulars from last year’s NCAA runner-up return. They include Brittni Hamilton, Vanderbilt’s 2010-11 Female Athlete of the Year, Jessica Earnest and Samantha Hesley, two stalwarts that earned All-America honors a year ago, and junior Sarah O’Brien, who last year at this time had just undergone the first of two corrective hip surgeries, but toughed it out and was a key person in the final rotation.
Missing Lauren: Lauren Rhein, a popular junior and last year’s team captain, has been on an extended leave from school this fall with a family medical matter.