News on Norika....Around Campus -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Norika Konno at FIBA U19 World Cup

To start with, I just want to give everyone a heads up that “Norika” keeps wanting to autocorrect to “not okay”. Seeing that we will hopefully be talking about one of our newest women’s basketball players for the next four years go ahead and make note of that on your (not so) smart devices.

However, Konno is in the news for something good. FIBA released a list of 19 players to watch at the U19 World Cup at the end of July and the lone Louisville Cardinal represented was one of them. FIBA had the following to say about Konno:

“Intensity, speed, scoring, a three-point danger and always crashing the boards well for her positions, she can be a basketball dynamite on any given day.”

You can see Konno with Team Japan while Jeff Walz corrals Team USA. The event will be held July 20-28 in Bangkok, Thailand.( Let’s hope the Wolfpack from the  movie Hangover doesn’t decide to make a guest appearance)!

Welcome Back to Campus

I decided to check out what all the brouhaha was about surrounding these new electric scooters popping up on campus and in the city. You download an app, sync your bank card information and can ride around for so much money per minute. It’s pretty neat and gave me a great opportunity to explore campus earlier in the week.

During my travels it seemed summertime campus was not as quiet as it may seem. Several of our UofL teams are hard at work preparing for upcoming seasons. Field hockey had a full-on practice going on. Lacrosse was in the midst of a camp with Coach Teeter and his hat standing at midfield. I ran into Emina Ekic near campus, who told me they’ve been working on conditioning with lots of running. I didn’t stay to talk to her for more than a minute or so -- as my scooter was on the clock.

It’s nice to see players back on campus and teams preparing for the upcoming seasons. It means fall sports start soon and for us at Cardinal Couple, it can’t come soon enough!

Be sure to check back here tomorrow for Paulie's interview with Bionc Dunham.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Dani Busboom Kelly headed to Ft. Lauderdale -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Volleyball Skipper To Coach at USA Volleyball High Performance Championships

Another UofL head coach, another USA gig. 

This time it's Dani Busboom Kelly but she won't have to travel nearly as far as Jeff Walz has to perform duties with student-athletes.

Busboom-Kelly will coach with the USA High Performance National Team athletes in Fort Lauderdale, FL from July 18-22. The competition is designed for Volleyball student-athletes that are looking to play against equally talented, top flight competition. The ultimate goal is the Olympics or the USA National team for the participants, as well as giving the coaches a chance to get more familiar with USA Volleyball. 

Dani coached the US Collegiate National team to a gold medal in July 2018 at the European Global Challenge in Croatia. 


Interesting to note that there will be three different types of volleyball at the performance championships...indoor, beach and sitting. 

We wish Coach Dani a safe and productive time in Florida. 


IN THE 'HUNT' FOR TRIO OF TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOLERS

We don't "do" a lot of recruiting news here at CARDINAL COUPLE, but it seems that the Cards are interested a trio of girls who play for the same AAU team and are 2020 prospects. 

The three with 2021 recruit Raven Johnson after taking gold
in the 3X3 U 18 Championships. 

Madison Hayes, Treasure Hunt and Olivia Cochran all play for FBC Hunt on the AAU circuit. They were former teammates of new Cardinal Elizabeth Balogun. Cochran is currently ranked #21 in the ESPN HoopGurlz 2020 rankings. Hayes, who was also Tennessee's Class 3A Miss Basketball last year checks in with a #25 ranking and Hunt is listed at #36. 

Louisville has just one 2020 commit so far...6'1" Canadian standout Merissah Russell. 

The Cards currently have five players in their final year of eligibility on the 2019-20 roster in Jazmine Jones, Bionca Dunham, Yacine Diop, Kylee Shook and Jess Laemmle. Word on two of the three recent transfers into the program and their 2019-20 eligibility (Liz Dixon, Elizabeth Balogun) is expected in latter July. 


Have a teriffic Tuesday

Paulie
xxxxx 

Compiling a "Best of" list no easy task -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SHE WAS THE BEST AT...

When one looks at the 12 sports that UofL competes in for NCAA DI athletes, there are an incredible amount of athletes to consider over the years. In women's basketball alone, since 1975, there are almost 225 letter-winners.

So, to pick a "she was the best at" list isn't an easy thing to do. I'll offer some candidates, though, for each sport and give my pick. Feel free to chime in on your agreements and disagreements in the comments section. Since rowing and track & field are so heavily dependent on multiple and many student athletes to compile a result, I'll skip trying to pick a "best of" in those two areas. 

CROSS COUNTRY

I'll present the names Michelle Molodyna and Dorcas Wasike as a couple of candidates here but I think Wasike is the "best ever" in Louisville women's cross country. ACC Runner of the Year in 2018, All-American and lowest time in the 5K, she has a season left to compete. 

FIELD HOCKEY

There is one name that comes to mind immediately: Ayeshia McFerrran.  "The best goalkeeper in the world" gets my vote...but the offensive stats of Jessica Javelet (2003-06) and her record of 176 goals is worth noting. Nicole Woods made the All-ACC team three years in a row and that is an incredible accomplishment. I go with McFerran, though.

GOLF

Three viable choices here with current rising senior Lauren Hartlage, Cindy LaCrosse (2005-09) and Sara Maude-Juneau (2007-11). LaCrosse has the most "wins' by far with 3092, and the highest win percentage...so I will go with her but a strong senior season out of Hartlage could replace her. 

LACROSSE

I had to cut my list to five players here and they are all very good at what they did. Bergan Folly, Tessa Chad, Nikki Boltja, Kay Morissette and Hannah Koloski were leaders and stars. Maybe my pick here is a bit biased, but no one could take a game over like Kay Morissette (2013-16) and that's my choice, although one could make an argument for any of the five listed. 


SOCCER

Charlyn Corral (2012-13), Gabrielle Vincent (2015-18) and Christine Exeter (2010-13)  are three players that set the course of Louisville women's soccer excellence. Erin Yenney and Emina Ekic deserve recognition, too, for their UofL careers....but Corral accomplished so much in just two years -- it's hard to take anyone above her. 

SOFTBALL

Once again, a wealth of talent to choose from in two decades. Alicja Wolny (2010-13) and Melissa Roth (2007-10) led the team in batting for three years and Kristin Wadwell has the career pitching records in games started, innings pitched, shutouts and wins. Aja Sherman, Nicole Pufahl, Chelsea Bemis, Marysa Becker, Katie Keller and Tori Collins also had incredible careers at Louisville. I'll go with Wadwell, since pitching is maybe the biggest key in winning softball games. A tough call. 

SWIMMING AND DIVING

Not much competition here, as Kelsi (Worrell) Dahlia career at UofL speaks for itself. Mallery Comerford, Andrea Cottrell and Tanja Kyllianen all deserve a shout out of recognition for their accomplishments as student-athletes, as well.


TENNIS

Rebecca Shine, Julia Fellerhoff, Julie Guess, Meg Peavy and Mariana Humberg made my final five. Fellerhoff (2011-14) was All-Conference all four years at UofL (Big East and AAC) and also Freshman of the Year. She edges out Peavy, who had an incredible 100-20 record in three years. 

VOLLLEYBALL

Lola (Arslanbekova) Robison, Tess Clark, Katie George, Molly Sauer and Melanie McHenry accomplished many things and have received many honors at UofL. 2145 kills is a stat that will be hard to beat, though, and it was Lola who accomplished that from 2009-12.. She gets my nod as "best ever" in Volleyball . McHenry has been a strong force for three years, though, and a big senior season just might have her taking over as my "Best of". 

BASKETBALL

Angel McCoughtry, Asia Durr and Shoni Schimmel made my top three list here. 2779 points scored in a career will probably never be topped, though...so I go with #35 Angel McCoughtry. 

The skill, determination and hard work from McCoughtry these many years is something any basketball player can learn from and adapt as a guide to success. 





Got a different take on any of these? Let me know. After all, as we say on our radio show..."You are Cardinal Couple and we never forget that." 


Paulie
xxxxx

Wishing Well to the WUGs -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WUGs Wrapups

We've been covering the World University Games, which are formally called the 30th Summer Universiade.  "The WUGs" is so much more fun to say, though.

Alas, the games are wrapping up, with the last competition and closing ceremonies happening today.

Case covered the results for Molly Fears in Diving yesterday, graciously leaving me the volleyball competition to recap.

Of course, if you have read or tuned in to Cardinal Couple regularly, you know the Tori Dilfer was one of the setters on the women's volleyball team at the WUGs this summer as part of the US Collegiate National Team program.

The results, to my mind, were a little disappointing.  The US team faced 5 different opponents in 6 matches, and finished the competition in 9th place.

The format of the competition is a little unusual, but laudably designed to give every team a chance toplay the same number of matches.  16 teams are divided into 4 pools of 4 teams each.  After pool play a tournament bracket is seeded with all 16 teams.  At each match of the tournament bracket, the bracket is split in half with winners advancing to matches competing for higher finishes, and losers dropping to compete for lower overall finishes.  Coming out of a tough Pool D with Japan, Italy, and Switzerland, the US had a record of 1-2, meaning they were seeding in the bottom half of the bracket, competing for positions 9-16.  In the bracket, the US won out, beating the Ukraine to move up to competing for positions 9-12, Argentina to be able to compete for positions 9 and 10, and finally a rematch with Switzerland to win the 9th place finish.

Individual stats are not available for the matches, so we have very little feel for how Tori did with the team, but are confident she represented the Cards well.  We look forward to see her on the floor at "L&N Federal Credit Union Arena" nee Cardinal Arena in 34 days for the Red and Black scrimmage and in 41 days for her first official match as a Cardinal against Miami (OH).

Cardinal Couple Circus

I would say the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour went off the rails yesterday, but, really, I don't think it was ever on the rails to begin with.  Paulie, Case, Jared, and myself were in studio.

We had a lots of fun, oh so much fun, and ragged on Paulie quite a bit, but thankfully there are not a lot of sporting events to talk about.  We did catch up on some basketball news, mostly Cards in the Pros, with updates on Sam Fuerhing heading to Germany, and then veering wildly (though with connections every step of the way) to Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe and the US Women's National Team in Soccer.

Strap in and check it out, and match up with us in the Cardinal Couple Quiz.

Case blew the bonus question and I won the quiz in the bottom of the ninth.



Link Below: 

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/467484750699733/

-- 

JMcA

Quick News Roundup -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

It's been a surprisingly busy week for current and former Louisville Cardinals across all sports considering we are in the heat of summer. I'll leave the volleyball news from the World University Games to Jeff for tomorrow, but plenty happened this week otherwise. Let's take a quick look. 

Swimming/Diving at the WUGs

Three former and current Cards took on the world in Italy during the World University Swimming and Diving events. Diver Molly Fears was the University of Louisville's first diver ever to compete for the USA. She ultimately finished 11th. Daniel Sos and Gregory Tarasevich represented Hungary and Russia, respectively. Sos finished 6th in the 200m IM and 19th in the 400m IM while Tarasevich earned a gold medal and two silver medals in the 100m backstroke, the 200m backstroke, and the 4x100 medley relay.

Hartlage Heading Back to Amateur Championship

Lauren Hartlage will be making her third straight appearance in the USGA Women's Amateur Championship after she finished tied for first in the Walnut Grove Country Club Sectional Qualifier in Dayton, Ohio. Hartlage shot a 3-under and, coincidentally, tied for first out of 75 competitors with a person right next to her in the alphabet. While Hartlage finished with a 69 on the 18 hole course, I shot a beautiful 64 on the par 3, 9 hole course by my house yesterday. I'd say I'm right on her heels. Fellow Cardinals Delaney Shah and Lauren Thibodeau will compete in their own sectional qualifier in Massachusetts on Monday. They'll be fighting to join Hartlage in the 156 player field for the tournament, which will take place August 5-11 at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Mississippi.

Fuehring Leaving the States

After being cut by the Washington Mystics, Sam Fuehring was unable to land a contract with another WNBA team for this season. According to her Twitter, Fuehring was quite frustrated with the fact that she had to get a job when she clearly believed that she should be playing professional basketball. This is a common trend for athletes (the Knicks should sign Russ Smith) and you can never fault them for believing in their abilities. Fuehring's call to the basketball universe was answered, as she has agreed to a contract with Eisvogel USC Freiburg in the German DBBL. Fuehring will join former Cardinal Peyton Siva in Germany, who has thrived in his opportunity in Deutschland. Siva recently resigned for a two year extension with Alba Berlin. Here's hoping Sam enjoys her time across the pond as much as Siva and can carve out a place for herself in the league.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

The A-Team is back in the studio today after a few mix and match weeks. Daryl will be down on the Waterfront getting her Forecastle on (stay hydrated all you hooligans heading out there), but Paulie, Jeff, Jared, and I will bring you the joy and excitement of Louisville women's sports during the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. We'll have plenty of news and prognostications to discuss, and we'll even have the patented Worldwide Quiz. Tune in to WCHQ FM at 11AM via 100.9FM, the WCHQ App, wchqfm.com, or on Facebook Live.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

A History of Louisville women's sports Chapter 7 - Lacrosse -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

A History of Louisville Women’s Sports Chapter 7: Lacrosse

Happy Friday and welcome to chapter 7 of our history lessons! Today we look at a team that is barely a decade old. The lacrosse team is one of the newest sports at UofL.

"All the way" Kay -- The best ever to step on the LLS turf.

In 2008, Louisville founded a women’s lacrosse team. They found success right away, winning their inaugural game 21-3 against Bryant. They went on to finish the year 12-4.

The Louisville Lacrosse Stadium (LLS) was constructed specifically for the lacrosse team, making it one of the few lacrosse-only facilities in the country. Many schools use a multi-purpose field that has served host to other sports such as track and field, field hockey and soccer. It is an all-turf field with bleacher seating. A press box was added a few years ago.

Louisville has faced 48 opponents in program history. They hold a winning record against 33 teams and are tied with one.

Kellie Young was the first of two coaches in program history. During her 10-year run she had one losing season. The Cards saw Top 10 rankings on several occasions and were a threat in a strong Big East Conference. Young oversaw the transition to the ACC. The AAC does not field women’s lacrosse so the Cards went straight from the Big East to the ACC. Young was relieved of her duties following the 2017 season due to an investigation regarding mistreatment of players.

Scott Teeter came to Louisville in 2018 and has been the head coach for two seasons. Teeter game from Canisius and was head coach of the Canadian National Team. He has spent the last two seasons focused on rebuilding a program that lost over half of its roster. He is set to start season three during the spring of 2020.

This past season saw a couple program scoring records broken. Tessa Chad set records with most goals scored in a game, most goals scored in a single half and most goals scored in a season.

Another big time player was Kaylin Morissette. She is now an assistant coach, making her the first former player to become a coach at Louisville lacrosse. She also played for and coached with Teeter during some Canisius and CNT days. Morissette dominates the record sheet in ground balls and is high on the all-time scoring list.

The pride of Lakeville, MN -- Hannah Koloski

Bergan Foley, Faye Brust and Hannah Koloski also find themselves high on several record sheets in terms of scoring. Monica Negron was a key defender for Louisville Lax from 2011-14, garnered several Big East honors and is still on campus as an assistant director for student-athlete leadership and development. She also serves as a "spotter" for home lacrosse games. 

Lacrosse games are free admission and we should see a few of them make it on TV on the new ACC Network next spring. You can often find many of us at Cardinal Couple out at the LLS covering our lax team.

RADIO

The A-team will be back in the studio Saturday for another episode of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.

Come join us at 11 a.m.-- locally on on WCHQ 100.9 FM, or wtch us on Facebook Live. You can download the WCHQ app or listen live at the station website  wchqfm.com. Paulie has a quiz planned for the "knuckleheads" that you can play along with and the boys have been encouraging me to bring in the euphonium and deliver a song or two.  

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

Jazmine Jones Interview -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

JAZMINE JONES INTERVIEW

On Wednesday afternoon, I had the opportunity and pleasure of sitting down with Jazmine Jones to ask a series of questions . We talked about the past, present and future for the rising senior out of Tallahassee, FL.  

The questions covered a wide array of subject matter, including a typical day in her life, who her role models are, her favorite memories (so far) as a student-athlete here at Louisville and what is important to her in her life. 

The interview is at the link below: 

LINK:  JAZMINE JONES INTERVIEW

Special thanks to Nick Evans, UofL WBB SID -- and, of course Jazmine for making this possible! 

Photos credit: Nick Evans

Have a terrific Thursday !!

Paulie