Field Hockey 2015 Class and Softball Academy -- Tuesday Cardinal Couple

Field Hockey Signing Class

Well, it took a while, but we finally have word of the Field Hockey freshman class for 2015.  This freshman class signed in the early signing period in November and will be on campus and hopefully contributing to more success for UofL Field Hockey this fall.

The class consists of five young women, with two hailing from eastern Pennsylvania, two from eastern Virginia, and the last...to keep with the "eastern ____" theme...from eastern Louisville.

Annie Himsworth

Annie comes to us from Trappe Pennsylvania, which just a bit outside of Philadelphia.  A midfielder, Annie has an impressive resume' playing with Perkiomen Valley High School and the X-Calibur club team.

Himsworth was named to the All-State team in Pennsylvania twice while playing for Perkiomen Valley HS,  but her most impressive list of accomplishments come from her club play with a number of appearances in various levels of the USA Field Hockey organization including the Futures Elite program, Junior Olympics, and the Junior National Camp.

Abby Julius

Abby also comes to us from the Keystone State, from Hummelstown, PA near Harrisburg, but played on the same club team with Annie Himsworth.  Abby played forward for Lower Dauphin High School, and travelled nearly an hour and a half to play club ball at X-Calibur outside of Philadelphia.

Abby and her high school team captured two state titles, in 2012 and 2013, as well and numerous local and regional honors.  Individually, she has picked up a number of local and regional first team honors, as well as NFHCA all-region and all-state honors in 2013.  In the USA National Team system, she saw success on the U17 team, as well as the U19 indoor team, as well as being involved in the Junior Olympics, and the Futures Elite program.

Madison Land

Moving south, Madison will make the roughly 10 hour drive from Virginia Beach, VA...its easy, just get on I-64 and get off when you get to Louisville...where she played forward for Cape Henry Collegiate High School.  While at Cape Henry Collegiate, Madison was on two state championship teams and was on the all-state first team in 2012, with an all-state honorable mention in 2013.

Playing for the TCOYO club team, Madison helped the club to a Top 10 national Indoor ranking and a Top 25 club team ranking overall.  Madison has also qualified for the National Indoor Tournament for the past five years and participated in the Futures Elite program.

Taylor Stone

Still in Virginia, Taylor lives in the Washington DC area, in Herndon, playing midfielder for Herndon High School and the Rampage club team.  Taylor has gathered numerous local and regional first-team and all-tournament team selections.  She has also participated in the USA National Team program as a member of the U17 National Training team.

Katie Walsh

Back here in Louisville, Katie Walsh will be joining the cards from Ballard High School here locally, and the IFHCK club.  A midfielder, Katie and Ballard made it to back to back state semifinals appearances in 2012 and 2013.  Katie was named to the all-state tournament team in 2013 and 2014, along with a number of district and regional honors.  A member of the Kentucky Select first team from 2012 to 2014, she was also nominated for Miss Kentucky Field Hockey in 2014.

Katie led her IFHCK club team to a gold medal in the U19 National Festival and also participated in the Futures Elite program in 2014 and 2015.

fiveOtwo Softball Academy

I had the pleasure, after doing the Cardinal Couple radio show Saturday, of visiting the grand opening of fiveOtwo Softball Academy in the Lyndon area.

The Big Wol was one of the most devastating hitters in
Louisville Softball history

Katelyn Mann did it
all for UofL softball

fiveOtwo Softball Academy is a new venture started up by UofL Softball alumnae (2013 graduates) Katelyn Mann, and Alicja Wolny.  The facility features two indoor, climate-controlled, and well-lit batting cages as well as available instruction on many aspects of softball play by Katelyn and Alicja.  Other instructors are able to rent the cages as well, and a number of other UofL Softball alum are already on-board to provide other instruction at the facility.  


Other instructors on board are: Chrisanna Roberts providing instruction at all fielding positions and hitting,  2nd baseman extraordinaire Katie Keller providing instruction on hitting and infield play, Chelsea Jordan specializing in outfield play and left handed hitting and slapping, and if you're looking for pitching instruction Rachel LeCoq is available to share of her expertise.

fiveOtwo Softball Academy is available on the web at http://www.502softball.com/ and on twitter as @502softball.