Vanderbilt Athletics Mid-November Weekend Wrap-up: The Anchor

Vanderbilt athletics had a solid weekend.

It all started Friday morning as both men’s and women’s cross country went to Huntsville, Alabama for the NCAA South Region Championships. Vanderbilt women’s cross country had a great morning, finishing in fifth place in the race. Bria Bennis led the team with her fifth place finish. Overall, Bennis finished 13th on the individual leaderboard with a time of 19:51. Her teammate, Claire Peterson, was not too far behind as she finished 17th overall with a time of 19:54. Tyla Lumley finished 20th overall with a time of 19:58.

With their performance, all three Commodores made the NCAA All-South Region Team. Each Vanderbilt runner that participated in the race ran their personal-best times.

“Our ladies started the day with confidence and unshakable execution,” Vanderbilt cross country and track and field head coach Althea Thomas said. “At 4k, we were contending for a top 2 team finish to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The entire team finished with grit and resilience, with Bria (Bennis) leading the pack in a winner’s fashion. Her competitiveness is a marvelous thing to watch and as good as anyone in the NCAA. To have three ladies in Bria, Claire (Petersen) and Tyla (Lumley) finish as all-region is a first for my tenure and one of the many visions I’ve had for the program.”

On the men’s side, Vanderbilt finished in 16th place at the NCAA South Region Championships. Luke Churchwell led Vanderbilt as he finished 60th overall on the player leaderboard with a time of 31:12.

On the soccer field, it was a successful first round for Vanderbilt as the No. 1 seed in its region took down Tennessee Tech 2-0. It was the second time both teams met. The Commodores previously beat Tennessee Tech 6-0 the third game of the season on Aug. 21.

This time around, Tennessee Tech was more competitive, but Vanderbilt dominated time of possession and time spent on Tennessee Tech’s side of the field. The two teams went into halftime deadlocked at 0-0, but in the second half the shots started to go in the net for Vanderbilt.

It all started in the 56th minute as Courtney Jones scored an unassisted goal to go up 1-0 before Mary Beth McLaughlin put the nail in Tennessee Tech’s coffin with her unassisted goal in the 61st minute of the game. Vanderbilt outshot Tennessee Tech 21-2 and 9-1 shots on net.

With the win, Vanderbilt tied its most wins under head coach Darren Amrbose and moved onto the Round of 32 against Clemson in Nashville on Nov. 20.

On the basketball court, Vanderbilt men’s basketball got its fourth win of the season and sustained its undefeated start to the season with a 104-75 win over Arkansas Pine-Bluff. Devin McGlockton was the story of the game, scoring 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds. It was the third time that Vanderbilt has scored 100 or more points in a game this season.

The Commodores three-point shooting was not as sharp (11-for-34), but it was still enough to get the win. Vanderbilt has hit 10 or more three-pointers in all four games this season. The Commodores stay home for its next game against Texas Southern Thursday at 6 p.m. CT.

Today’s Commodores Schedule

There are no games scheduled today.

This Weekend’s Commodores Results Today

Vanderbilt men’s cross country finished 16th place at the NCAA South Region Championships.

Vanderbilt women’s cross country finished 5th place at the NCAA South Region Championships.

Vanderbilt volleyball lost to Alabama 3-1.

Vanderbilt soccer beat Tennessee Tech 2-0.

Vanderbilt men’s basketball beat Arkansas Pine-Bluff 104-75.

Vanderbilt volleyball beat Mississippi State 3-2.

Did You Notice?

Vanderbilt volleyball had a decent end to its regular season over the weekend. On Friday, Vanderbilt took a 3-1 loss on the road to Alabama. Vanderbilt and Alabama split the first two sets with the Crimson Tide winning the first 25-19 and the Commodores winning the second set 25-22. Vanderbilt had its chances in the third and fourth sets, but ultimately Alabama pulled away late and grabbed each of the final two sets 25-21.

On Sunday, Vanderbilt rolled into Mississippi State for its regular season finale and came out with a 3-2 win over Mississippi State. The two teams split the first four sets before Vanderbilt got the win in the tiebreaking fifth set by a score of 15-10.

Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2026 Baseball Season Opener

90 days

Commodores Quote of The Day

[On Rick Pitino suggesting he should be up for Player of the Year] "That's a great compliment, but I try to keep things in perspective. There are a lot of great players nobody has ever heard of."
Bill McCaffrey