Spirit Squad NCA & NCA Results -- WNBA Draft -- Louisville Tragedy -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

What started off as a typical post-spring break, post-Easter Monday for the City of Louisville, things quickly went south as two separate incidents occurred in the heart of downtown. We will come back to that at the bottom of today's post.

Cheer and Ladybirds Find Success at NCA/NDA Championships

The Louisville Cheer and Louisville Ladybirds squads spent the last few days in Daytona competing at the NCA and NDA Championships. The various squads found quite a bit of success in their time there.

Louisville All-Girl Cheer Wins

The Louisville All-Girl Cheer squad took home the crown in the Advanced All-Girl Division 1A, pushing their reign to nine straight titles. They posted a final score of 96.9421.

Louisville Small CoEd Places Second

The Louisville Small CoEd Cheer squad placed second in the Advanced Small CoEd Division 1A. They finished with a final score of 94.8912.

Louisville Large CoEd Places Second

The Louisville Large CoEd Cheer squad also placed second in their respective division, Advanced Large CoEd Division 1A. They finished with a final score of 96.8148, less than one point shy of first place.

Louisville Ladybirds Places Second in Team

The Louisville Ladybirds placed second in the Team Division 1A. They finished with a final score of 95.65, just .05 points shy of first place.

Louisville Ladybirds Finishes Fourth in Hip Hop

The Louisville Ladybirds took fourth in the Hip Hop Division 1A. They finished with a final score of 94.0571.

Louisville Ladybirds Finishes 11th in Jazz

The Louisville Ladybirds finished 11th in the Jazz Division 1A. They finished with a final score of 91.7714. This is the first time in over 15 years that the Ladybirds have competed in the jazz division.

Louisville Cheer Places Three Teams in Stunt Groups

The Louisville Cheer squads had three teams place in the four-person stunt groups. Myah, Taylar, Shekinah, and Kristen placed second with a score of 93.7222. The group of Maddie, Mya, Kaylee, and Ella finished eighth with a score of 90.3333. The group of Aoi, Whitney, Meghan, and Madie finished 11th with a score of 73.25.

All Louisville groups compete at the highest level possible so these results are that much more impressive. Plenty of other Division I athletics programs competed in Division 1 (not 1A) or in the intermediate divisions.

WNBA Draft

The 2023 WNBA Draft was last night and we saw 36 players selected in the WNBA Draft. Alas, we had none of the six graduating Louisville Cardinals selected. 

Picks:

1- Aliyah Boston (South Carolina, Phoenix Mercury)

2- Diamond Miller (Maryland, Minnesota Lynx)

3- Maddy Siegrist (Villanova, Dallas Wings)

4- Stephanie Soares (Iowa State, Washington Mystics, then traded to Dallas Wings)

5- Lou Lopez Sénéchal (UConn, Dallas Wings)

6- Haley Jones (Stanford, Atlanta Dream)

7- Grace Berger (Indiana, Indiana Fever)

8- Laeticia Amihere (South Carolina, Atlanta Dream)

9- Jordan Horston (Tennessee, Seattle Storm)

10- Zia Cooke (South Carolina, Los Angeles Sparks)

11- Abby Meyers (Maryland, Dallas Wings)

12- Maïa Hirsch (France, Minnesota Lynx)

13- Taylor Mikesell (Ohio State, Indiana Fever)

14- Shaneice Swain (Australia, Los Angeles Sparks)

15- Leigha Brown (Michigan, Atlanta Dream)

16- Dorka Juhász (UConn, Minnesota Lynx)

17- LaDazhia Williams (LSU, Atlanta Dream)

18- Madi Williams (Oklahoma, Seattle Storm)

19- Ashley Joens (Iowa State, Dallas Wings)

20- Elena Tsineke (South Florida, Washington Mystics)

21- Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu (South Florida, Seattle Storm)

22- Alexis Morris (LSU, Connecticut Sun)

23- Kayana Traylor (Virginia Tech, Chicago Sky)

24- Brea Beal (South Carolina, Minnesota Lynx)

25- Victaria Saxton (South Carolina, Indiana Fever)

26- Monika Czinano (Iowa, Los Angeles Sparks)

27- Destiny Harden (Miami, Phoenix Mercury)

28- Taylor Soule (Virginia Tech, Minnesota Lynx)

29- Kadi Sissoko (USC, Phoenix Mercury)

30- Okako Adika (USC, New York Liberty)

31- Paige Robinson (Illinois State, Dallas Wings)

32- Txell Alarcón (Spain, Washington Mystics)

33- Jade Loville (Arizona, Seattle Storm)

34- Ashten Prechtel (Stanford, Connecticut Sun)

35- Kseniya Malashka (Middle Tennessee, Chicago Sky)

36- Brittany Davis (Alabama, Las Vegas Aces)

Monday Tragedy in Louisville

*The thoughts and opinions by Jared Anderson may not reflect that of the entire Cardinal Couple team. This section talks about gun-related deaths in Louisville and may be triggering or upsetting to some.*

While our goal is to cover the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics, sometimes other events occur that we need to address. There were two separate incidents yesterday that happened within a couple hours of each other and just a few blocks from each other.

The first incident happened at the Old National Bank building on Main Street next to Louisville Slugger Field. A former employee entered the building before the bank began normal operating hours and opened fire, killing four and wounding at least nine others.

The second incident happened just outside one of the JCTC buildings near the corner of Chestnut Street and Market Street. The shooter(s) dispersed before emergency personnel arrived on scene and left one person dead and another injured.

We tend to avoid politically-related topics at all costs here at the site... but when something hits so close to home it cannot be avoided so I am speaking on my own behalf here. While all Louisville students, including all Louisville student-athletes, woke up and began a normal day today, five people in Louisville did not wake up today. Many of us have grown up in this city and have great love for the city and community and now we suffer a tremendous amount of pain. It hits worse when it's close to home.

Change needs to happen to prevent these senseless acts of violence from continuing on in the future. I urge you to get involved in the push for change by contacting lawmakers and making sure to vote better people into office. Doing nothing changes nothing. 

We here at Cardinal Couple mourn and offer our condolences to those affected by yesterday's tragedies.

Have a good Tuesday and Go Cards.

Jared