2020 UofL Recap
Perhaps the craziest year on record and one that will be remembered for ages in the world of sports, 2020 has finally come to a close. Of course, it ends with another schedule change with women’s basketball.
Virginia has had some issues with COVID-19 so the game on Jan. 3 has now been postponed. The Jan. 1 game that Walz had hoped for does not appear to be happening. The Louisville vs North Carolina game has now been set for Jan. 5 at 2:30 p.m. I think most of us are a bit confused about a midweek midday game, but if the Cards get to play we can settle for it.
So let’s look back at 2020 for many of our sports including some of the highs and lows:
Womens Basketball- they had some nice highs including reaching #2 in the AP Poll. They also had a strong spring portion to last season, including hosting the USA National Team, and winning six straight at the end of the regular season that included a win at then-#4 NC State.
The lows are pretty obvious- COVID-19. There was no NCAA Tournament last season so we sadly sent off last year’s squad with an early ACC Tournament exit. The basketball team also had a stretch in February where they lost three straight games (one to the USWNT), but they did end up finding their feet.
Lacrosse- Lacrosse had a promising season going that started with a dominating performance at Cincinnati that Pauline and I enjoyed a road trip up to. Rachel Flores was on pace to set some Louisville and possibly NCAA records in goal with her 95 saves.
The downsides are far and few for lax. They still are not up to the competitive level of play that Scott Teeter wants. They took ugly losses to Denver and North Carolina.
Softball- A team that was on a hot streak when things abruptly ended was softball. They had won three straight and four of five. Celene Funke looked like she had not missed a beat, already recording three triples before conference play began.
However, softball had an ugly rough patch that put them at 10-13. Many of their losses came when they scored two or fewer runs, something we did not expect to see in this offense.
Volleyball- The VolleyCards had a solid 5-2 outing in their fall portion of the season. They were impressive with their defending that saw them high in the rankings in blocks, led by Amaya Tillman.
Both losses came in sweep fashion. Even if the sets were close it has become a rare sight to see the Cards get swept against teams we’ve seen them beat in recent years.
Field Hockey- This is a team that has plenty to praise in the “good” category. They started the year 8-0 including surprising victories against UNC, Duke, and BC. We can only assume they would have been ranked #1 at some point. They tied their highest finish in the conference at runner-up.
The lows would mostly be falling at the end of the regular season to Syracuse before falling 4-2 in the ACC Championship after not surrendering more than two goals in any prior match.
Soccer- Soccer had a solid season, even if the record showed 4-5. Emina Ekic scored seven goals in nine matches, putting her on pace to have a career high in goals in a season had it been a regular year. She’s now preparing to play pro ball hopefully in the NWSL. Gabby Kouzelos had a career season in goal, including nine saves against Florida State.
The five losses were a little rough for what we wanted. Three of those were expected against FSU, UNC, and Virginia. The Cards had the UNC game won before falling apart late in the second half, so it is enough to put as a downside.
We certainly hope 2021 is a much better year overall, but we hope many of our teams can continue their respective successes from 2020.
Do you have any favorite 2020 moments? Please share with us as we love hearing YOUR input and experiences. We also will miss and forget things here and there, especially with reviewing an entire year, so who knows what you might have remembered that we forgot.
Don’t forget that YOU are Cardinal Couple and we would not exist without you. We appreciate everyone who follows, interacts, and contributes. 2020 was an incredible challenge for us seeing as we went months without any true UofL women’s sports, and we hope we were able to give you a good 2020 run at Cardinal Couple.
As always, we are excited for the new year and what great things the Louisville Cardinals will bring us.
Happy Thursday and Happy (early) New Year! Go Cards!
Jared
Hey Ho!
ReplyDeleteIt's Dave O
I wish the Cardinal Couple gang and all readers a hopeful New Year.
Hope here that we all can receive an effective COVID vaccine. Hope that sports can eventually return to what we consider normal. Hope that we will all be able to some kind of normal existence. Hope that UofL athletics has successes in their endeavors. Even the simple hope that I can sit around the clubhouse and enjoy a beer after 18 holes with the guys I used to play golf with.
I'm ready to look ahead. I think we all have had enough of 2020. It's been like that movie you go to, found it horrible but you stayed in the theatre, hoping it would get better, but it never does.
I spoke with a neighbor earlier this week. We were masked, distanced and just standing on the sidewalk in front of her house. She told me she looked forward just to being able to socially interact with people again in 2021. She's lost a boyfriend, saw her uncle die of COVID and lost her job. She revealed to me that she sat in her living room one night and seriously wondered if it all was worth it anymore. There were pills and vodka in front of her on a table. The temptation was there.
She found hope, though, in just a simple phone call from a fellow ex-co-worker. The ex co-worker wanted to bring her some home-made cookies. It was then she realized that sometimes the smallest of gestures can bring about the biggest feelings. Loneliness is a terrible thing. Isolation is worse. We are social beings. She saw a light in the darkness, though. The simple pleasure of sitting on her porch with a friend, eating cookies and unloading their feelings on each other.
Meanwhile, I continue to be the ringmaster at the Watson five-ring circus. This morning, I await my turn just to use the bathroom. Five individuals and two dogs in a house made for three.
I am hopeful for the fun you, at Cardinal Couple, will bring us all in 2021. Paulie, you've assembled a great cadre of columnists. I look forward to each of your entries every day.
Remember that the acronym for HOPE is -- Hang On Pain Ends. i have to remind myself that there are still good things out there. My family is together and well. I'm not on a ventilator and I have a home, food and sustenance. there are better days ahead, I truly believe that, and I will wait, I will be patient and I will hang on. I hope you will too.
All the best.
Dave O
Great words, Dave O ! I hope for a WBB National Championship, walking into a store without a mask on and a president that isn't an egotistical jackass.
ReplyDeleteNick O.
It's Bellarmine Saturday at noon!!!
ReplyDeleteI wanna see them play as much as I'm sure they wanna play😁
It's becoming a full time job just keeping up with the schedule adjustments (and the CC crew group chat is active collaboratively trying to stay on top of it).
DeleteAnd not completely pull our hair out
DeleteAin't it the truth...
ReplyDeletePaulie
And the schedule juggling continues:
ReplyDeleteNKU *TOMORROW* (Friday)...ACCNX, no fans in person
Pitt on the 7th now "Postponed"
2021 to 2020...hold my beer.
ReplyDeleteHAPPY NEW YEAR CARDINAL COUPLE STAFF AND READERS ! Let's make it a good one.
ReplyDeleteCurtis "Be Kind" Franklin