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The Moments of 2021

A look back at the top Vanderbilt Athletics stories of 2021

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Commodores Nation will not soon forget 2021, a year of challenges, bold change and continued excellence for Vanderbilt Athletics.

From championships to ground-breaking initiatives and historic accomplishments, Vanderbilt student-athletes, coaches, alumni and supporters came together to celebrate unforgettable moments and reimagine what is possible. It wasn’t an easy year, but it was a good year to be a Commodore.

In no particular order, here are some of the more memorable moments from the year:

Vandy United

Launched as the largest undertaking of its kind in university history, Vandy United is a $300 million investment campaign that reimagines the student-athlete and fan experiences. Through major facilities and operational enhancements and an enhanced game day experience, the Vandy United initiative commits to creating the best student-athlete experience in college sports and further strengthening the university’s connection with the Nashville community.

In November, Vanderbilt Athletics publicly revealed artistic renderings for new facilities and improvements to existing facilities on the Vanderbilt campus.

Welcoming Shea Ralph

Vanderbilt ushered in a new era of excellence when it named Shea Ralph women’s basketball head coach in April. A seven-time national champion as a student-athlete and assistant coach, she is one of the college basketball’s most respected and well-known rising stars.

Ralph spent 13 seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Connecticut. As an All-American guard and later as an assistant coach under Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma, she was part of 12 Final Four appearances. As a student-athlete, Ralph finished her career with 1,678 points to rank eighth in Connecticut’s storied record book. She also ranked among the program’s top 10 career leaders in assists (456), steals (252) and field goal percentage (.579). As a coach, she mentored student-athletes like Renee Montgomery, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart who excelled on the court and grew into powerful voices for progress off the court.

 

 

Another Run to Omaha

For the fifth time in program history, Vanderbilt baseball traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, for the College World Series.

The Commodores, who defeated East Carolina in a Super Regional at Hawkins Field, were one of eight teams to play on college baseball’s biggest stage in June. Vandy then beat Arizona, Stanford and North Carolina State to advance to a best-of-three finals against SEC rival Mississippi State.

Vanderbilt was one win away from its third national championship before the Bulldogs won the last two games to claim the title.

 

 

Men’s Golf Takes Two Trophies

In the span of a little more than three weeks in the spring, the Vanderbilt men’s golf team captured two of the more significant trophies in program history.

The Commodores beat Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas, respectively, at the SEC Championships in April on St. Simons Island, Georgia, for a second conference title in four years. In May, Vandy bested 13 teams at the Golf Club of Tennessee to capture the NCAA Kingston Spring Regional championship–the first regional title in program history.

Vanderbilt would go on to reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona.

 

 

Clark Lea in the Win Column

Late on a Saturday night in Fort Collins, Colorado, Vanderbilt gave Clark Lea his first victory as a head coach when a Joseph Bulovas field goal secured a 24-21 triumph at Colorado State.

Hired in December of 2020, Lea finished his inaugural season 2-10, but getting that first victory under his belt will be a lasting memory for the former Commodore fullback and his staff.

 

 

Olympic Commodores

Originally scheduled for 2020, the delayed Summer Olympics had a hint of black and gold.

A former Vanderbilt cross country and track and field student-athlete and the first female Olympian in school history, Lily Williams earned the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games as a member of Team USA in the team pursuit event of track cycling.

Williams is just the third Vanderbilt student-athlete to win an Olympic medal, joining Jeff Turner, who won gold with the 1984 USA men’s basketball team, and Casey Weathers, who won bronze with the USA baseball team in 2008.

Matthias Schwab also became an Olympian when the former Commodore star competed in the men’s golf tournament.

Competing for his native Austria, Schwab shot a four-day total of 275 (-9) to finish tied for 27th overall. Schwab saved his best round for last, shooting a 4-under-par 67 on the final day.

Shortly before officially joining Vanderbilt as track and field associate head coach in August, Ashley Kovacs also had her own Olympic moment. A former standout thrower as a collegiate student-athlete, she coached husband Joe Kovacs to a silver medal in shot put in Tokyo.

SEC Champions Conclude Season

Vanderbilt’s soccer team had to wait until May to complete its successful 2020 season, exiting the NCAA Tournament after a 2-0 loss against Penn State in Cary, North Carolina.

After a remarkable run to win the 2020 SEC Tournament with four victories, Vandy played three spring exhibitions and three regular-season matches ahead of its fourth consecutive NCAA tourney appearance.

Earlier in the year, defender Myra Konte became the first Commodore selected in the National Women’s Soccer League draft. The North Carolina Courage selected Konte in the third round.

All-In for Althea

Althea Thomas, one of the top assistant coaches in the nation, was named Vanderbilt’s director of cross country and track and field in July.

Thomas brought 18 years of coaching experience to Nashville and most recently served as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for Georgia, where she led the men’s and women’s sprints, hurdles and relays.

The 2021 USTFCCCA South Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year, Thomas has coached two individuals to NCAA titles, two NCAA East Regional champions, 16 conference champions and 30 All-Americans.

Laning’s Legacy Grows

Vanderbilt senior civil engineering major Nick Laning earned SEC Men’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors for the second straight year. Laning is just the second student-athlete in SEC history to win the men’s honor more than once, joining Kentucky’s Jacob Thompson.

Last year, Laning became the first Vanderbilt student-athlete to receive the men’s award.

Dores in the Draft

Vanderbilt’s baseball program enjoyed yet another historic day this summer when two Commodores were selected in the first 10 picks of the 2021 MLB Draft.

Jack Leiter was selected No. 2 overall by the Texas Rangers, and Kumar Rocker went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Mets.

Leiter and Rocker became the 11th and 12th top-10 overall picks, respectively, in the Tim Corbin era (2003-present).

Bowlers Bring Home a Title

The Vanderbilt bowling team captured its third Southland Bowling League championship since 2015 with a 4-2 win over Louisiana Tech in March. Mabel Cummins won the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.

With the title, Vanderbilt earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the quarterfinals before losing a close competition against eventual national champion Nebraska.

Tennis on the Big Stage

The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a win over Ball State in May. Although the Commodores subsequently lost to Ohio State, they reached the second round for the 25th time in the past 26 tournaments. That stretch includes 11 consecutive second-round appearances for a program synonymous with excellence.

Individually, Christina Rosca’s postseason journey ended only after a loss in the quarterfinals of the singles championship. Ranked No. 43 in the nation entering the tournament, she became the fifth Commodore to reach the quarterfinals–and the fourth to do so since 2017.

 

 

Leiter’s Big Day

After his freshman season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jack Leiter wasted little time making headlines to start the 2021 campaign.

On March 20, Leiter walked the first South Carolina batter he faced at Hawkins Field before retiring the next 27 in a row for the first regular-season no-hitter in Vanderbilt history since 1971. The hard-throwing righty struck out 16 hitters and threw 124 pitches.

Duvenhage Gets 200

In February, Vanderbilt men’s tennis head coach Ian Duvenhage recorded his 200th victory with the Commodores. The career milestone came in a 6-1 win over Lipscomb.

The winningest coach in Vanderbilt men’s tennis history, Duvenhage has now won 204 matches at the helm. That includes eights trips to the quarterfinals of the SEC Men’s Tennis Championship and 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Lacrosse Reaches Tourney

The Vanderbilt lacrosse team finished a successful season with a trip to the NCAA Tournament, where it fell to Jacksonville University in Gainesville, Florida.

Vandy ended the campaign with a 12-7 record, the second-most wins in program history, and came in second in the American Athletic Conference. The NCAA Tournament appearance was the seventh in program history and first since 2010.

Pair of Dores Earn Hall of Fame Nods

Two Vanderbilt coaches added “Hall of Famer” to their biographies during the past year.

Vanderbilt head women’s golf head coach Greg Allen was inducted into the Women’s Golf Association Coaches Hall of Fame  in Las Vegas, Nevada. Allen is the 53rd member of the WGCA Coaches Hall of Fame.

Vanderbilt lacrosse head coach Beth Hewitt was inducted into the Upstate Lacrosse Foundation’s Hall of Fame Class of 2021. The former high school and college All-American was honored at an induction ceremony in Syracuse, New York.

Yu, Sattelkau Rep Vandy at NCAA Tournament

Vanderbilt was well-represented at the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship in May, as Louise Yu and Celina Sattelkau competed as individuals for a national championship.

Sattelkau tied for 53rd overall, wrapping up a remarkable sophomore campaign in which she tied for 11th at the NCAA Regional in Columbus, Ohio and finished third overall at the SEC Championships. She was a first team All-SEC selection and recorded five top-10 finishes during the season.

Yu tied for 97th at the event.

Anthony and Perfection

Vanderbilt senior Angelica Anthony made history in October in New York when she fired a perfect game–just the second in Vandy bowling history.

Anthony scored her 300 at the Dezy Strong Classic, the fifth perfect game of her own bowling career. The San Antonio native helped lead the Commodores to the team title in the event.

Dansby, Wright Earn Rings

Two of Vanderbilt’s own reached the top of the Major League Baseball mountain in November.

Dansby Swanson and Kyle Wright helped the Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros in the World Series. Swanson had the game-winning assist in the ninth, when he fielded a grounder to short and threw to first base for the final out to clinch the victory.

The championship was the first for Atlanta since 1995.

 

 

Pippen Goes Off in Cincy

In one of the final games of his breakout sophomore season, Scotty Pippen Jr. went off for 36 points in a win at Cincinnati in March.

Pippen went 11 of 14 from the field, made 11 of 12 free throws and had four steals, three assists and three rebounds as the Commodores beat the Bearcats 82-64. Pippen went on to be named first team All-SEC and averaged 20.8 points per game–a program record for a sophomore.

 

Shelby Becomes an All-American

Vanderbilt junior Taiya Shelby was named an honorable mention All-American by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Shelby became just the second Commodore to earn outdoor All-America accolades in the 400 meters, joining Ryan Tolbert (1997) in that select group. Shelby is just the ninth student-athlete in program history to earn outdoor All-America honors and the first since Kristen Denk in 2019.

At the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Shelby finished 17th overall in the 400. Shelby raced to a seventh-place finish in her heat and stopped the clock at 52.63, just seven-tenths of a second shy of the NCAA final.

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