Game week!

By Weinman - We're only four days away from the first women's basketball exhibition of the 2009-10 season, when Union University visits Memorial Gymnasium on Friday, Oct. 30, for a 7 p.m. CT tip.

This past weekend, the Commodores went on an overnight team-building retreat south of Nashville. The squad took a video camera along and captured some behind-the-scenes footage, so come back to vucommodores.com later this week to check it out.

WBB teaches healthy habits

By Weinman - Three seniors from the women's basketball team -- Lauren Lueders, Merideth Marsh and Jessica Mooney -- headed to Coopertown Middle School in Robertson County this morning to deliver a quick message about healthy habits during a Children's Health Week presentation.

A few hundred kids in grades four through eight got advice on staying hydrating, getting plenty of sleep and making smart eating choices. The Commodores also asked some healthy eating trivia questions (What fruit has 200 seeds on every piece...? Answered in the Photo Gallery), taught the children some pre-activity stretches and hosted a quick relay race.

For excerpts from each of the student-athletes' presentations and highlights of the relay race, check out the following video:

Workin' for the summer

By Weinman - For rising seniors studying Human and Organizational Development (HOD) at Vanderbilt's Peabody College, the summer is normally spent receiving some real-world training through a number of internship programs.

One such senior on the women's basketball team is Lauren Lueders (pictured above with VU great Charles Davis and the arm of News Channel 5 producer Brian McKeegan). Lauren has spent the summer as an intern with the News Channel 5 Sports staff, working alongside the same members of the media who previously have interviewed her for stories on the Commodores.

Fellow rising seniors Jessica Mooney and Ashlee Bridge have also spent the summer as interns in Nashville, all while balancing school work with basketball workouts.