IN PHOTOS: The ball is in the air

The Commodores struggle through the first half of their spring season with some wins and some losses.

Julia Rosenberg running for the Commodore Challenge, as photographed on Jan. 13, 2024. (Hustler Multimedia/Arianna Santiago)

By Ophelia Lu, Deputy Photography Director

February 11, 2024

As the spring semester progresses, the Commodores started off their spring season with mixed results. The Memorial Magic seems to be waning, but tennis and track and field have taken home promising opening results.

Men’s basketball

Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball has had a rough time with this season’s SEC playoffs. The team secured their first SEC win of the season against Missouri on Feb. 6, narrowly winning 68-61. Before then, SEC opponents dominated the court and left the Commodores struggling with a 0-7 standing, projected to win the least amount of games since the 1946-47 season if the losing streak continued. Before the first win against Missouri, the Commodores suffered losses of 78-75 to Alabama, 59-56 to Ole Miss, 80-65 to Auburn and 75-62 to in-state rival Tennessee at home. The team’s first rematch against last year’s second round SEC opponent Kentucky also ended in a large-margin loss of 109-77. The absence of Quentin Millora-Brown and Liam Robbins has forced Vanderbilt to play a new frontcourt alignment with Ven-Allen Lubin, Tasos Kamateros and Carter Lang. This main adjustment of the team’s existing court dynamic has taken a significant toll on the Commodores’ performance this season. Currently, the Commodores are second-to-last in the SEC ranking with 6-16 overall and 1-8 in conference play.

Women’s basketball

With 17 total wins as of Feb. 9, the women’s basketball team has officially marked the highest season-win total under Shea Ralph. However, the team has suffered a few collapses in recent conference play with a 4-6 standing. The Commodores began the home SEC season with a close loss of 65-63 to Missouri, bounced back with a 53-50 win over Auburn, then fell to Ole Miss at 67-61, Alabama at 74-66 and LSU at 85-62.

Men’s tennis

The Commodores have dominated the court since the beginning of the spring season. After stellar performances in the first doubleheaders against the ETSU Buccaneers (6-0) and the TSU Tigers (6-1), the men’s team opened the season with 2-0 and continued to sweep the following games against Tennessee Tech (7-0) and Alabama A&M, dominating the season with 4-0 overall start. The streak continued with two successive wins against Belmont and Butler.

Women’s tennis

Stumbling a little in away matches against UCF, Miami and TCU, the women’s tennis team picked up its momentum in the home game against Memphis, sweeping with a 4-0 win. In the first round of ITA match-ups, the Commodores lost against No. 17 Tennessee but secured victory in a rematch against Miami. The team remains undeterred after some losses and is in motion for more wins down the line.

Track and field

Vanderbilt Track and Field opened the 2024 season with the Commodore Challenge. The team finished with several top-10 finishes, personal best times and a new school record. The team’s performance further improved at the Vanderbilt Invitational, where the Commodores took home 11 top-five finishes against 44 other competing teams. On Feb. 9, Vanderbilt hosted the Music City Challenge. The Commodores were up against 50 different schools, including SEC foes Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi State, Georgia and Ole Miss.

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About the Contributors

Ophelia Lu, Deputy Photography Director

Ophelia Lu (’26) is from Los Angeles and is double majoring in biomedical and electrical engineering in the School of Engineering. She previously served as a staff photographer. When not covering events and sports games for The Hustler, you can find her listening to a lot of music, studying at Starbucks or lying on Alumni lawn. She can be reached at [email protected].

Kadyn Lee, Staff Photographer

Kadyn Lee ('26) is majoring in economics in the College of Arts and Science. She is from Atlanta, Georgia and loves photography, The Weeknd and spending time with friends. She can be reached at [email protected].

Lana English, Staff Photographer

Lana English (‘27) is from St. Louis and is majoring in neuroscience in the College of Arts and Science. Outside of The Hustler, you can find her drinking coffee, doing New York Times word games or getting nostalgic looking at old pictures. You can reach her at [email protected].

Josh Rehders, Photography Director

Josh Rehders ('24) is from Houston and is studying computer science in the School of Engineering. When he is not shooting for The Hustler, Vanderbilt Athletics or freelancing, he enjoys finding new music and good food. He can be reached at [email protected].

Nikita Rohila, Deputy Social Media Director

Nikita Rohila ('25) is from a small town in Arkansas and is majoring in psychology and medicine, health and society in the College of Arts and Science. During her free time, she enjoys roaming around the city and getting cinematic-style shots for her photography account! You can reach her at [email protected].

Vince Lin, Staff Photographer and Graphics Staffer

Vince Lin (‘27) is from Zanesville, Ohio, and is majoring in computer science. Vince is a staff photographer and plans on covering sports and concerts. Outside of school, you can find him at the gym, rowing, lifting weights, playing games with friends or sleeping. You can reach him at [email protected].

Payton Ohler, Staff Photographer

Payton Ohler (‘27) is majoring in civil engineering in the College of Engineering. Beyond academics, she is involved in SPEAR, Gen Action and Run Club, and loves coffee. She can be reached at [email protected].

Megan Landis, Staff Photographer

Megan Landis (‘27) is from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and studies engineering in the School of Engineering. When not writing for The Hustler, you can find her listening to music, reading or spending way too much money at shops around Nashville. You can reach her at [email protected].

Miguel Beristain, Senior Staff Photographer

Miguel Beristain (’24) is a philosophy and cellular and molecular biology double major in the College of Arts and Science from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. When not shooting for The Hustler, he can usually be found playing Magic the Gathering, exploring new restaurants or practicing guitar. He can be reached at [email protected].

Michael Tung, Staff Photographer

Michael Tung ('26) is majoring in computer science. He is currently a staff photographer and is originally from Dublin, Ohio. His interests are photography, engineering, all things aerospace and music. He can be reached at [email protected]

George Albu, Staff Writer and Photographer

George Albu (‘27) is majoring in medicine, health and society in the College of Arts and Science. When not working for The Hustler, he enjoys taking long walks around campus, reading or watching video essays about anything and everything online. He can be reached at [email protected].

Alysa Suleiman, Staff Writer and Photographer

Alysa Suleiman (‘26) is from Cupertino, Calif., and is majoring in political science and communication studies in the College of Arts and Science. As a amateur cook, she also enjoys testing out dorm recipes as often as possible. You can reach her at [email protected].

Alessandra Salvini, Staff Photographer

Alessandra Salvini (‘27) is majoring in political science in the College of Arts and Science. Outside of The Hustler, she loves live music, sports and being outdoors. She can be reached at [email protected].

Ashley Hofflander, Staff Photographer

Ashley Hofflander (‘27) is from Las Vegas, and is planning on majoring in medicine, health and society with a business minor on the pre-dental track. When not taking photos for The Hustler, she is probably at a coffee shop doing work and listening to music. You can reach her at [email protected].

Royce Yang, Staff Photographer

Royce Yang (‘27) is planning to major in political science in the College of Arts and Science. He can occasionally be observed curating an extensive collection of Bach or attempting to identify helicopters around the Medical Center based on their noise. You can reach him at [email protected].

Chloe Kim, Staff Writer and Photographer

Chloe Kim (‘26) is majoring in Psychology with a minor in computer science and Spanish in the College of Arts and Science. She is on the club tennis team and likes to write poetry and short stories in her free time. In addition to writing, Chloe loves to draw and take photographs for The Hustler! She can be reached at [email protected].

Alondra Moya, Staff Photographer

Alondra Moya (‘26) is majoring in child development in Peabody College. When not shooting for The Hustler, you can find her spending time outside, at the gym or watching stand-up comedy. You can reach her at [email protected].

Savannah Walske, Staff Photographer

Savannah Walske (‘26) is from San Francisco and is double majoring in psychology and Spanish in the College of Arts and Science. When not shooting for The Hustler, you can find her playing guitar, photographing pretty Californian landscapes and obsessing over her dog. You can contact her at [email protected].

Harmony Wang, Staff Photographer

Harmony Wang (’26) is from Taipei, Taiwan, and studies political science and human and organizational development at Peabody College. When not shooting for The Hustler or freelance work, you can find her in the gym, spending time in nature and running to get her third coffee of the day. She can be reached at [email protected].

Arianna Santiago, Senior Staff Photographer

Arianna Santiago ('24) is from Bremerton, Wash., and studying electrical and computer engineering in the School of Engineering. When not shooting for The Hustler or for freelance work, Arianna can be found leading campus tours, organizing events for University Catholic, attempting to study and procrastinating her lab reports. You can reach her at [email protected].

Bella Guzman, Staff Writer and Photographer

Bella Guzman (‘26) is from Charlotte, N.C., and studies human and organizational development and sociology in Peabody College. When not writing for The Hustler, you can find her training in the gym, listening to a new podcast or planning her next travel adventure. You can reach her at [email protected].

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