NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Each week This Week on West End takes a closer look at what’s in store for the Commodores in the coming days.
And this week Vanderbilt fans may want to save all their energy for the weekend.
An action-packed three days will have campus buzzing with activity on West End. Baseball, soccer, lacrosse, women’s tennis and bowling are all scheduled to host exciting home events during the first few days of March.
The Vanderbilt men’s basketball team, meanwhile will be on the road for its final two regular-season contests after a thrilling win over Ole Miss at Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday in the home finale.
Here’s more on all the other happenings around West End this week:
Baseball
After shrugging off its first loss of the 2021 season, Vanderbilt baseball came back to win three straight against visiting Georgia State at Hawkins Field. The Commodores played seven games in a seven-day stretch last week and went 6-1 in those contests.
Vandy will get some rest this week before welcoming in Illinois-Chicago for a three-game series starting Friday at The Hawk. The Flames (1-2) were 4-12 in the shortened 2020 season and an NCAA Regional participant in 2019 with a 29-23 record.
Men’s basketball
Vanderbilt earned its third SEC win of the season Saturday via a 75-70 triumph over visiting Ole Miss at Memorial Gymnasium. The Senior Day triumph improved Vandy to 3-11 in the SEC and 7-13 overall with two regular-season games remaining.
Five Commodores scored in double figures for coach Jerry Stackhouse during the victory over the Rebels.
This week Vanderbilt heads to LSU at to play the Tigers at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. A rematch with Ole Miss looms at 6 p.m. Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi, in the regular-season finale.
Soccer
A unique and exciting opportunity awaits Darren Ambrose’s program as it welcomes in Racing Louisville FC at 5 p.m.
An expansion club in the National Women’s Soccer League, Racing will face a Vanderbilt squad that is 2-0 in its spring exhibition season thanks to a 4-0 win at Middle Tennessee and 3-0 win over DePaul, respectively.
Vandy, the 2020 SEC Tournament champions, will officially begin the 2021 spring season March 11 when it welcomes Kennesaw State.
Lacrosse
Vanderbilt lacrosse (2-2) will look to rebound from its second loss of the season, a 19-6 setback at No. 1 North Carolina. Beth Hewitt’s Commodores have now been beaten by the No. 1 and No. 2 (Notre Dame) teams in the nation this season.
This week features two home games on the schedule as Mercer (0-2) comes to town at 1 p.m. Wednesday and High Point (1-3) makes a visit for a noon contest Sunday. The latter matchup will be played at Vanderbilt Stadium.
Bowling
Head coach John Williamson’s team hosts its annual Music City 300 tournament at the Smyrna Bowling Center this week. The three-day event is scheduled to run Friday-Sunday.
Vanderbilt is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Big Red Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Commodores won a tournament in the fall and another last month – their next will be the 40th in program history since 2006.
Women’s tennis
Vanderbilt got right back into the winning swing of things with two victories over the weekend, a 4-3 triumph over Auburn and 4-1 win against Alabama, respectively.
Vandy is now 10-1 on the season and has gotten 12 singles wins from Marcella Cruz and seven doubles wins from Anessa Lee and Christina Rosca.
This week the Commodores head west to play at Arkansas on Friday and at Missouri on Sunday.
Men’s tennis
The Commodores on the men’s tennis team will look to snap a five-game losing skid Friday when they step out of conference play for a matchup at Middle Tennessee.
Vanderbilt dropped matches at Auburn and at Alabama, respectively, over the weekend to fall to 4-5 overall on the season. After Friday’s match with the Blue Raiders, Vandy welcomes in Arkansas on Sunday.
Women’s golf
The women’s golf team will wear the black and gold in South Carolina where they’ll go up against some top competition at the Gamecock Intercollegiate.
Vandy will be part of a three-day event that begins Monday and features 17 other programs as well as competing individuals. The tournament is played at the 6,398-yard Columbia Country Club in Blythewood, South Carolina.
The Gamecock Intercollegiate is Vanderbilt’s second tournament within a 10-day span.