Quietly overshadowed by the giant to the east that is Pat Summitt and her Lady Volunteers, for years the Vanderbilt women's basketball team has succeeded but gone unnoticed.
This past season, the Commodores finally received recognition as a team to be reckoned with and lived up to the billing, and for that they our Vanderbilt Women's Team of the Year, winning their third Southeastern Conference Tournament title since 2004 and advancing to a second straight Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
The Commodores struggled in the early going with just an 11-4 record in non-conference but came into their own after that.
With a star-packed line-up led by All-American Christina Wirth and Defensive Player of the Year Jen Risper, Vanderbilt used Melanie Balcomb's well-coached combination of crisp shooting and stellar defense to roll to its best conference start ever under her tenure at 10-2. That run included finally beating Summitt in January, the first time the Commodores had done so in nearly seven years in a 74-58 rout.
Although Wirth and Risper led the team all year long, other players emerged as forces. Merideth Marsh, despite being just 5-foot-6, became the SEC's best 3-point threat, making nearly 50 percent of her shots from beyond the arc, and tying a Vanderbilt school record with eight in one game in a 84-68 win over then-No. 9 Florida. Hannah Tuomi was among the nation's leaders in shooting percentage and led the team in rebounding. She was sorely missed when she had a stress fracture in her ankle that sidelined her for the entire postseason.
Despite not having Tuomi, Vanderbilt still rolled to the SEC Tournament championship, with Wirth earning MVP honors and the team earning its 10th straight NCAA Tournament bid. The Commodores didn't stop their run there, defeating Western Carolina and Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament to advance to a second straight Sweet 16. Fourth-seeded Vanderbilt then met top-seeded Maryland in the regional semifinal, losing a thriller 78-74 despite leading the first 38 minutes of the game.
It was a heartbreaking end but the season was still another huge success for a very underrated program.
Honorable mentions:
Bowling
Set school record with five tournament victories, No. 1 ranking, 5th place finish at nationals, Josie Earnest named NCAA Player of the Year
Tennis
10-7 record and 6-4 conference mark, pursuing 12th straight Sweet 16 berth
Swimming
Captured first dual meet victory since 2006 in December with win over Centre and Rhodes, set three school records at SEC Championships with 10th place finish as program continues resurgence
