Cards in NCAA track and field - Rucker, Braunies get honors

.
TUESDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE

Gwen Rucker came to Louisville to
play hoops and volleyball but
the wide net sport won out.

-Four LADY CARDS get NCAA berths in Track and Field.

-Gwen Rucker, Taylor Braunies named to USA squad

-Atlanta Dream (minus Angel) romp Brits.

-California Girls....

Two UofL Women's Volleyball team members have been named to the 36 athletes that are competing in the USA Volleyball Open National Championships down in Dallas, TX.

Taylor Brauneis took over the
setter spot as a freshman.

Gwen Rucker, a middle hitter from Lexington, KY, and setter Taylor Brauneis are on the USA A2 roster. Rucker will be a senior this upcoming season and originally came to Louisville to participate in both volleyball and basketball. Rucker was a valuable post player for Jeff Walz's Lady Cards basketball team for two seasons...going to an NCAA Final Four with the Cards as a freshman. She decided to concentrate on volleyball her final two years at UofL and was a starter for Leonid Yelin's squad last year. With new coach Anne Kordes on board at UofL this season, Rucker's leadership and experience with the volleyball squad will be counted on for the Volleyball Cards.

Brauneis, from Crystal Lake, IL. came to the Louisville campus last year and quickly established herself as the Cards starting setter. She had 1100 sets for the Cards last season and has also sang the national anthem at Cardinal home matches. (Not while playing during a game...) . Congrats to both of these "wide-netters"!!

**********************************************************************************

D'Ana McCarty will compete in
two NCAA Championship events.

Four UofL women's track and field squad members have punched their tickets for the NCAA Championships. The title seekers:

-Chinwe Okoro (Discus)

-Rachel Gehret  (High Jump)

-D'Ana McCarty (hammer throw and shot put)
-Khadija Abdullah (shot put)

The girls will move on to Drake Stadium, on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and compete from June 8th. -June 11th.

***********************************************************************************

No Angel for Atlanta in\
the 31 point Dream win.

The Atlanta Dream had no trouble with the Great Britain National Team overseas...romping to a 82-51 exhibition team...but it's interesting to note that they did it without projected starters Angel McCoughtry and Erika de Souza. McCoughtry is on the shelf for awhile with a sprained knee and de Souza missed the trip to attend to some affairs back home in Brazil. Doesn't seem either was missed too much, though, against the Brits.

CoCo Miller led the way for the Dream with 21 points, who are the first WNBA team to play in England.

The trip was part of spreading the WNBA brand to England and the game is the only tune-up the Dream will get before beginning WNBA play this upcoming weekend.

*********************************************************************************

If it seems that the Cal Bears women's softball team has been in the commonwealth of Kentucky forever...they have been. With a 9-0 romp of Kentucky in the 3rd game of the Super Regionals in Lexington,

Cal pitcher Jolene Henderson adds
"Cat-Killer" to her resume. She also knocked
Louisville out of the NCAA Tournament

the Bears end a two week stay in Louisville and Lexington. Once again, Jolene Henderson proved her mastery of the pitching circle...limiting the Wildcats to just three hits in the final game. Kentucky forced the deciding game after beating Cal 8-0 in game two of the Super Regional. Cal won the opening contest Saturday 1-0. 

Cal moves on the the WCWS Championships with the win. If Henderson continues pitching like she's been lately...the Bears may not make it back home until fall...

The WCWS Championship Series participants are:

- Arizona State (Pac 10)
- California (Pac 10)
- Alabama (SEC)
- Florida (SEC)
- Oklahoma (Big 12)
- Oklahoma State (Big 12)
- Baylor (Big 12)
- Missouri (Big 12)
.