Monday, July 31, 2023

Sky soar over Phoenix....Dana and Liz meet in WNBA -- Monday Cardinal Couple

 

104-85 CHICAGO SKY OVER PHOENIX MERCURY



It was a relatively quiet day for UofL women's sports Sunday, but we did get a WNBA matchup between the homestanding Chicago Sky (Dana Evans) and the Phoenix Mercury (Liz Dixon). the two Cardinals great played together for a couple of years at UofL, if you will remember and were on some fabulous Cardinals teams in 2020 and 2021. The two were on two Cardinals squad that lost just eight games over the two years they played together. 




They did not get a ton of playing time in yesterday on their WNBA squads...Evans saw 18 minutes, a rebound, two assists and three points and Dixon had three minutes and a rebound. 

It is Liz Dixon's first year in the WNBA, so you have to surmise that the longer she stays, the more time she'll pick up She's on her second, t-day contract with Phoenix...I'm guessing that being a backup to Brit Griner and Megan Gustafson isn't one of the most ideal situations to be in , but they are two very good centers to learn from and -- with Griner needing a brief break from WNBA action --  I am hoping "EBreezy's" time picks up. The Mercury need wins, they stand at 6-18. Who would have figured a team with Taurasi and Griner would have such a unarchiving mark? 



Evans went to Chicago after starting and staying  in Dallas briefly her rookie year. She's developed into a steady, dependable point-guard, behind Marina Mabrey and Courtney Williams and you have to figure that she's being groomed for a starting role down the road for the Sky. She's a hard worker, a superb shooter and can distribute with the best of them . Evans also has a very deadly three-point touch and has excellent passing skills. She had a decision to make, after her junior year -- she made the right one (in my opinion) by staying in college. 

Evans was selected in the WNBA Draft, Dixon wasn't. It just goes to show that if you want it bad enough, play hard enough and show someone you have the skills to compete and contribute, good things CAN happen.



A glance at the current UofL WBB roster makes one wonder what current Cards might be WNBA players in the future? You have to love "O"'s chances (Olivia Cochran)...and Sydney Taylor has the potential to draw a lot of WNBA action if she can go on a prolonged three-point barrage this season. Taylor played well in the recent USA showing, and "Swish" led them in scoring several times. Hmmm...I wonder if she and Heidi roomed together? 

Will any of the current players on Walz's roster reach the pinnacles (or higher) of Liz and Dana?  I'm no prophet or fortune-teller but I can see half this roster getting a lot of eyes on them from WNBA scouts for WNBA rosters and roles. And, that's the beauty of it. You have to show WNBA scouts that you can do a lot more things than score and, if you play for Jeff Walz, you have to be able to do a lot more than just score...


paulie


Sunday, July 30, 2023

Who would be on your Louisville WBB TBT team? -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

 A TBT TEAM FOR LOUISVILLE WOMEN"S BASKETBALL IS NO EASY SELECTION

(Jeff McAdams, the regular Sunday writer, is off chasing beautiful Nordic women around on a cruise, so I am filling in for him. I wish I was chasing beautiful Nordic wome around, too, but Sonja might object)  -- Paulie



It was with a bit of sadness we saw "The Ville" bow out of the TBT (The Basketball Tournament) on Saturday in Freedom Hall. Earlier in the day, our intrepid photographer and writer Jared Anderson came up with a women's Cardinals version of a TBT roster. And, he did quite well with his picks, I think. I've got my own team, as well, so let's have a look on who might play on this fictitious team in this fictitious tournament for the women.

Here's Jared's roster:

-- Asia AD Durr                                 -- Emily Engstlet

-- Myisha Hines-Allen                       -- Kasa Robinson

-- Monique Reid                                -- Kylee Shook

-- Dana Evans                                   -- Jaz Jones

-- Sam Fuehring                                -- Sara Hammond

He also had Cortnee Walton as a player/asst.coach, Jess Laemmle as an assistant coach and Becky Burke as the head coach.

This is not a bad roster at all. You have scoring, rebounding and toughness. 

I looked at his picks, did some thinking and cam up with the roster below. 

-- Asia AD Durr                                    -- Asia Taylor

-- Angel McCoughtry                           -- Arica Carter

-- Monique Reid                                  -- Dana Evans

-- Jaz Jones                                        -- Emily Engstler

-- Sherrone Vails                                 -- Liz Dixon

I'd have Candyce Wheeler as an assistant coach, Becky Burke as an assistant and put Sam Purcell in the head coaching chair. Cortnee Walton would make a fine player/assistant coach.


(Get me that damn ball and get out of my way...)


You've probably got some own ideas on some players who might be on the roster. My dear Sonja looked at this roster and mentioned that, despite the current hard feelings concerning her....Hailey Van Lith would be a choice she'd have to put on this squad. I talked with the illustrious David Watson Saturday evening and he mentioned Jazz Covington and Shoni Schimmel as "must haves" on his roster. Case Hoskins said "A-Tayy"  and Angel were "must-haves" and you be wise to build your roster around that...

We are, of course, basing the roster on the players during the heyday of their careers. 

Feel free to leave a roster of your own in the comments section !


CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST




Four of us jammed into the phone booth yesterday to participate on The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour podcast. Jeff is in the Nordic regions looking for girls named Helga or Heidi we have heard and we missed him. Eithet that, or we forgot totell him we were podcasting. Maybe he stood outside and checked ID's. I don't remember. .

It was a fun, fast paced show where we discussed Jared's honeymoon (sorry, girls -- he's "off the market" now,), Daryl's construction projects and Case's ambition to be a gumshoe detective in a 1940's noir thriller  Jared took photos of the entire show, including 178 selfies and I slept through most of it. 

Oh, yeah. We actually talked a lot of Uofl women's sports, too. How's women's soccer, Field Hockey, women's basketball and WNBA suit ya?

You can hear the rebroadcast by clicking Louie at the top of the page. 

paulie. 

Saturday, July 29, 2023

More Coaching News -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

It's not often we get so much coaching news so close to the start of fall seasons, but the news firehose continues. With teams returning to the playing surface next month, we'll have more to talk about than news and notes, so stick with us for just a couple more weeks.

T&F Returns Familiar Face


Joe Franklin continues building out his new track and field coaching staff. For the pole vaulters, it will be a bit of "meet the new boss; same as the old boss." The university announced the addition of Brooke Rasnick to the new coaching staff, where she will fill a position she previously held for nine years with UofL. Rasnick will be an assistant coach specializing in pole vault. She departed Louisville after a stint in the same role from 2013-2022 to focus on a company she founded, Elevate Athletic Recruiting, to provide consultation and coaching to parents and athletes working to navigate the world of collegiate track and field recruiting. She also served as a private pole vaulting coach in the Louisville area.

Rasnick's headshot from 
EAR website
Rasnick's return comes with a hefty amount of accomplishments, as you may recall pole vaulting being a position of strength for the Cards in recent years. Under Rasnick, Louisville pole vaulting brought in an individual national title, 12 NCAA All-American performances, five individual ACC Championships, 52 All-ACC performances, and eight school records. The driver of much of that success was Gabriela Leon who made Rasnick one of just two female coaches to lead a pole vaulter to a Division I national title when she won it in 2022. 

Prior to her first stint in Louisville, Rasnick coached at Kent State University from 2010-2013, leading the pole vaulting squad to five MAC titles and 13 All-MAC performances. Her first year as a coach was with Oregon, where she assisted a pole vaulter to a pair of All-American honors and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Rasnick was an accomplished athlete herself, making it to the NCAA preliminaries all four years at Wichita State and qualifying for the NCAA Championships twice. She was a seven-time All-MVC honoree.

It's not often you get to call an assistant coach a home run hire, but I think if anyone would qualify, it would be Brooke Rasnick. We're looking forward to her guidance keeping Louisville in the upper echelon of an exciting event.

Field Hockey Promotes Bell


The other coaching news is a call coming from inside the house as well. This one is a promotion rather than a return, as Justine Sowry has announced the promotion of Debbie Bell from field hockey's director of operations role to that of Assistant Coach/Operations Coordinator. As the name implies, Bell will still be responsible for many of her previous duties as DO, working as the game day operations liaison and coordinating day-to-day management of the program. Her role will expand on the coaching side, as she focuses on the goalkeepers and game day preparation, as well as guiding the overall leadership development of the field hockey players.

Bell served as the DO for six years prior to this promotion. Before coming to Louisville, Bell was an assistant at Columbia University for two years, a position she took on after serving as an assistant at Manhattanville College for two years. She has worked with the USA Field Hockey Futures Program since 2009 and previously held coaching roles with Rye High School, Bates College, and (to bring today's column full circle) Kent State.

Congratulations to Debbie and we look forward to seeing her in a more active role on the sideline.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast


We're without Jeff this week, so we won't be able to bring you the show live, but the podcast goes on, nonetheless. We'll have everyone else back, including the returns of Jared and Daryl, so it should be an exciting show. We're just over a week away from Louisville returning to the field with a women's soccer exhibition. Despite not being able to tune in live, you can check out the podcast around 1PM, or whenever it pushes to your player of choice, by hitting the links below. This week's episode won't be posted to YouTube, but you can listen back to past episodes any time.

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link
Anchor (podcast host): Link
Apple Podcasts: Link
Google Podcasts: Link
Overcast (free account required): Link
Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link
RadioPublic: Link
Spotify: Link





Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Friday, July 28, 2023

Cardinals in the ACC -- LAX edition -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Hello again readers and Happy weekend




Between house renovations and the baseball season I really don't know where this summer went.. I do know that I hate it outside right now though so catch me making the most of my AC unit and doing nothing when I can swing it.   

The next school year is going to begin in a couple weeks too and I wanna cover the last program for the ACC review I've been doing the last couple months..  Louisville Lacrosse.  






Lacrosse


Vs Boston College 1-10 series history (2015-2023)

Vs Clemson
0-1 series history (2023)

Vs Duke 2-9 series history (2014-2023)

Vs. North Carolina 0-10 series history (2015-2023)

Vs Pittsburgh 1-2 series history (2022-2023)

Vs Syracuse 1-13 series history (2009-2023) 1-8 since joining the ACC

Vs Virginia 0-9 series history (2015-2023)

Vs Virginia Tech 7-4 series history (2008-2023) 5-4 since joining the ACC




2023 record 5-12 , 2-7 in the ACC
2022 record 7-11 , 1-7 in the ACC
2021 record 5-11, 1-9 in the ACC
2020 record (Covid Year) 5-4, 0-2 in the ACC
2019 record 5-13, 0-7 in the ACC
2018 record 6-11 , 0-7 in the ACC
2017 record 11-8 , 3-4 in the ACC
2016 record 12-6, 3-4 in ACC
2015 record 10- 8 , 2-5 in the ACC





ALL ACC Awards

2022 - Caroline Blalock as a grad senior Named USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American Honorable Mention...Emily Howell was named All-ACC Second Team and Ava Coyle was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team.
 
2021 -  Caroline Blalock as a grad senior named All-ACC Second Team, Bella Karstien Named to All-ACC Freshman Team

2020 – (COVID year)

2019 -   Tessa Chad named Named All-ACC Second Team

2018 -  Emily Howell named Second All-Team ACC

2017 - Defender of the Year, Jr G Brittany Read

2016 - Kaylin Morissette, earned all ACC First team honors Sr., Louisville, Midfield Cortnee Daley, Sr., Louisville, Midfield earned all ACC second team honors



At the helm...




Scott Teeter is in his sixth year as head coach of the University of Louisville women's lacrosse team. He is 28-50 in five years at Louisville.

In his first season at Louisville in 2018, the Cardinals won five of their first six games before finishing the season with a 6-11 record.

Thoughts?



If you look at the number as they are, they don't immediately scream 'success' or 'improvement' right? But for this program you have to dig a little deeper. The Cardinals face some of the top national talent and have also put together some of the toughest schedules out there in recent history. So you need to give them some credit for that.

If you also look at Coach Teeter's entire coaching history, you'll see that he was able to take his previous school's program to regular undefeated conference records and to the NCAA tournament over a course of 14 year span. Teeter also inherited a tumultuous program here that needed a reboot. Id like to see what Teeter and the LAX program can put together next season.


As Always
~Go Cards

Daryl

Thursday, July 27, 2023

Getting to Know the Coaches: Cross Country -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Our next edition of Getting to Know the Coaches takes us to a sport that saw some major coaching changes recently. After 10 years as head coach of Louisville's cross country and track and field programs, Dale Cowper stepped away. Cowper helped put both programs on the map before wanted to take more of a backseat role as an assistant coach at EKU.

Joe Franklin, director of cross country and track and field


Joe Franklin was named as the director of Louisville's cross country program on June 16. He comes to Louisville after 16 years as the head coach at New Mexico.

While at New Mexico, Franklin helped put the Lobos on the national stage. They won team titles in 2015 and 2017 while finishing runner-up in 2018 and 2022. He won three National Coach of the Year awards there.

He spent 13 years as the head coach at Butler before New Mexico, where the Bulldogs going to the cross country championships eight teams in his tenure.

Before his days as a DI head coach, Franklin was an assistant coach as Purdue for three years and a head coach at DePauw for a season prior to that.

He ran cross country and track for four years at Purdue as a student.

Baylee Mires, assistant coach




The first person hired under Joe Franklin is assistant coach Baylee Mires. Mires is no stranger to the ACC after spending the last two seasons at Florida State and Notre Dame, helping lead many student-athletes to ACC honors.

Mires graduated from Washington and then went on to run professionally for the Brooks Best Track Club and Under Armour following her collegiate career. She was a multi-time All-American.

Whenever a new head coach comes in you often see a change in the support staff, which is what we are seeing here. There are still a couple of assistant coach vacancies that should be filled in the coming weeks before the season begins.

The cross country season runs in the fall with indoor track and field happening in the winter and outdoor track and field in the spring.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!
Jared

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Interviews with Cardinals women's soccer's Karen Ferguson Dayes and Field Hockey's Justine Sowry -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

THE FALL INTERVIEWS

It has become a tradition over the years for me to do preseason interviews with many of the women's sports coaches at UofL.. I usually break these up between the fall and the spring.

I got out on a steamy, hot Tuesday to talk with Women's soccer and Field Hockey. I respect and like both coaches -- (Karen Ferguson Dayes and Justine Sowry) a lot -- and they have been on campus a combined 33 years. 

The interviews were great, in my opinion, but the ordeal of transferring them from my DR-50 Tascam Recorder to my computer was quite the ordeal. I forgot how! 

I sent out a "HELP!" text to our writer group and Jeff answered me and helped walk me through the process -- all the way from Iceland, where he is starting his vacation. Now...that's dedication! 

Here are the interviews: 





https://www.dropbox.com/t/rGRruhnxlHnNWW4C

https://www.dropbox.com/t/FSX62WEnDxu5PJ3d


I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as I did doing them.  






paulie





Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Getting to Know the Coaches: Women's Soccer -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Getting to Know the Coaches: Soccer


We continue our journey of getting to know coaches for various women's teams. This edition features the women's soccer coaches.


Karen Ferguson-Dayes, head coach




Coach KFD is one of the longest tenured coaches at Louisville and the longest Louisville women's soccer has had in its history. She took over in 2000 as the eighth head coach in program history.

Ferguson-Dayes is the winningest coach in program history, having over 200 total wins. She is the only coach in program history to lead the Cards to the NCAA Tournament.

Before coming to Louisville, Ferguson-Dayes was an assistant coach at Connecticut for three seasons. The Huskies made it to the Elite Eight or further in all three of those seasons. She was an assistant coach at Boston University for two years before that.

As a player, KFD spent her entire time at Connecticut, making it as far as the Final Four and being named to the All-Tournament team. She also played for the US National Team for two years.

Nick Stirrett, assistant coach




Stirrett joined the Cards during the summer of 2021 and is beginning his third season with Louisville.

He came to Louisville from Oregon State, where he was an assistant coach one year and an associate head coach the following year. The Beavers had one of the biggest improvements in a one-year stretch in NCAA women's soccer history.

Stirrett was at Illinois for three years as an assistant coach prior to Oregon State. He worked with the goalkeepers as well as being their recruiting coordinator.

He was with Penn State as an assistant coach for one season in 2015. The Nittany Lions won the national championship that season.

Before his transition into Division I, Stirrett was the head coach for the men's soccer team at Mount Union for two years. Before that, he was a head coach at Northern Illinois, DePauw, and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Hunter Norton, assistant coach




Norton has been with Louisville for eight seasons. The most recent six seasons, Norton has been an assistant. He was a volunteer assistant the first two years.

Prior to Louisville, Norton spent all four of his collegiate careers playing for Georgia Southern. He started every game in his career and earned multiple SOCON honors.

Jing Hughley, director of operations

Hughley has been with the Louisville women's soccer program since 2009, being the director of operations for the entirety of that period. She played a program support role for all Louisville sports for four years prior to that.

Hughley was a volleyball player at Louisville and never played soccer in college. She was a setter and earned several Conference USA accolades. The Cards made the NCAA Tournament in all four of her seasons.

Women's soccer has the first event of the 2023 season for Louisville Athletics when they face Miami University in a scrimmage in Oxford on August 6.Their first home event is on August 17.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!
Jared

Monday, July 24, 2023

Women's Soccer Looking to Improve This Season -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

CARDS HOPE ADDITIONS WILL BOOST SCORING AND BOOST 2023 CHANCES



There weren't many satisfied with last season's 6-8-2 record for Louisville women's soccer. Louisville managed only 13 goals, while allowing 22. A 3-7 ACC mark kept them out of the conference tournament and they went 3-4-1 at Lynn Stadium. 

So, head Coach of the Louisville WSOC program, and her assistants went to work. Job #1 was to find some scorers. Gone were Maisie Whitsett and Karson Cherry, who was the leading scorer in 2022. The coaches brought in five transfers and five freshmen -- roughly 1/3 of the roster we'll see in 2023. Two Europeans -- Viktoria Wik and Fiona Gai(ss)er.. My keyboard doesn't have the weird "b" ...which, in German sounds like "ss", so we'll go with the pronunciation spelling. (Good luck with that one, ESPN and ACC TV announcers.) She's one we'll be developing or seeking out a nickname for pretty soon, I expect. Fiona had seven goals for her German squad Bayern Munich and has been on the German Women's Youth National team. Victoria represented Denmark on their U-17 National squad. 

They sound like they could be scorers and play forward (Fiona) and midfielder (Viktoria). We'll watch them closely. 


Karsyn Cherry does return. She's the defender who was the Cards second-leading scorer and the only other Card who scored more than one goal last season beside the departed Whitsett.

Consider this...Louisville WSOC lost four games by just one goal last year. So, eight more goals in those four games and the Cards are 10-4-2 Allowing just 1.38 goals a contest, the defense took care of business for the most part, and -- don't forget -- the ACC had five schools in the top ten . There's not a tougher conference in women's soccer than the ACC and North Carolina, Florida State, Duke, Noter Dame, Virginia and Pittsburgh all promise to be challenging foes in 2023. 


Only three of the 14 schools that play ACC WSOC had losing overall records last year and North Carolina defeated FSU in the national semifinals to face UCLA. The Bruins took the title. Only four ACC squads made the 32 team tournament. 

The Cards do get FSU in Lynn Stadium year. It'll be one you don't want to miss. 

I'll be interviewing head coach Ferguson-Dayes Tuesday and will run the interview (along with my Justine Sowry interview) in my Wednesday article....so, don't miss it !  "Coach KFD" begins her 24th season at the helm of the program...she's got seniority over all the Cardinals coaches on campus. 


paulie 


Sunday, July 23, 2023

Title IX - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Title IX - Let's Be Careful




In an article yesterday in The Oregonian/Oregon Live, Oregon Ducks beat reporter James Crepea outlines allegations that the University of Oregon has been giving disparate treatment to the Oregon Beach Volleyball team, and doing so rather egregiously to the degree the external experts think OU may be in violation of Title IX.

I want to give a quick rundown of the allegations before bringing the subject back to Louisville athletics.

Title IX is, of course, the law passed in 1972 that prohibit sex-based discrimination in any school or education program by any organization that receives federal funding from the federal government.  Given the prevalence of federal grants, scholarships, and student loans, that is nearly every educational institution in the country.




OU has funding for no scholarships for Beach Volleyball...which makes the program the only program in the power five conferences to fund no scholarships, across all sports.  While some Beach Volleyball players at various schools also play Indoor Volleyball, that is not the case at OU.  OU's Beach Volleyball team has had to drive in University vans, many hundreds of miles across the country to go to competitions, at times sharing hotel rooms between three and four players and sharing beds in the process.  In at least a couple of occasions, the team resorted to staying with families of players and sleeping on air mattresses.  Credit to the various families for stepping up, but shame on OU.

The budget for the OU Beach Volleyball program in 2021-2022 was under approximately $300,000, with the next lowest team budget at the school approximately $834,000 for the Men's Tennis team with a significantly smaller roster.  The team plays in a public park that has no locker room facilities, or even a place for players to wash the sand off of their feet before getting back in their cars.

The OU Beach Volleyball was not recognized at Ducks Football games when every other program in the school was brought on the field for recognition.  The only facilities that the Beach Volleyball team does have available to them is a locker room that is shared with visiting basketball teams.




In maybe the most damning comparison, the OU acrobatics and tumbling team funds more than 12 scholarships in a sport that is "only" an "emerging sport" in the NCAA, while Beach Volleyball emerged from the "emerging sport" status to a full championship sport in 2016, and yet Beach Volleyball has no scholarships available at OU.

OU has had over a 2% disparity in scholariship dollars awared between men and women overall.  Title IX allows for a 1% disparity to still be in compliance.

Back to Louisville




OK, so things are bad in Eugene, OR, particularly with respect the Beach Volleyball team, but what does this have to do with the University of Louisville.  We don't even have a Beach Volleyball team.

While I don't have any reason to believe that there is the level of disparity of treatment that is alleged for OU here at UofL...I can't say we're free of it, either.

Dan McDonnell, the head coach of Louisville Baseball, at the end of their season voiced his opinion that Baseball wasn't getting the support that it should be at the University.  Within a month the UofL Athletic Board of Directors had approved $3 million dollar project to upgrade Patterson Stadium.

To be fair, McDonnell and the Baseball team, despite a bit of a disappointing season this year, has been the most successful men's sports program at the University in recent years.



Yet, Volleyball will be playing all but three of their home matches this fall at L&N FCU arena.  Admittedly the arena received upgrades in 2017, and the support facilities for the Volleyball team in the building are quite nice, even while the air conditioning in the arena has proven to be underpowered.  But the arena seats approximately 1,000, which has proven to be woefully inadequate given the success of the Volleyball team since 2019 when they won arguably the biggest upset match in college volleyball history by beating Texas on their home floor in Austin on their way to the program's first Elite 8 appearance.  Given a pair of Final Four appearances in the past two years, including the National Championship match appearance last year, Volleyball now has a multi-year long waiting list for season tickets at L&N FCU arena.




Volleyball is unquestionably the most successful team program in UofL Athletics over the past few years, with really only Baseball and Field Hockey even being in the discussion, and there is no commitment to improve the arena for the team to play in and allow more fans to come and support them.

A reminder that Volleyball is a fully ticketed sport at UofL, and has been since at least 2006 when I started attending, while Baseball has only on-again, off-again, ticketing for some games in the that was begun in the most recent few years.

I understand that Volleyball success has been relatively recent, with what is now considered a national powerhouse squad having been considered "upset queens" in Texas just four years ago, and that it takes time to fundraise and plan for improvements such as these.  But the athletics board of directors approved funding for the Patterson stadium renovation before fundraising has been done, or even specific plans drawn up.

I've been patient, holding off on calling for such a commitment for Volleyball, but the time is now.




Is there disparity in the department's approach to Baseball vs Volleyball?  Yes, I believe so.  Does it rise to the level of being a violation of Title IX?  No, of course it doesn't.  But let's keep our eyes on the ball, here.  Being in compliance with Title IX in the minimum, we should be better than that.

It's time to commit to building a new Volleyball stadium.

-- Jeff McAdams

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Softball Brings in Transfer Infielder -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Bailee Richardson Joins Louisville in 2024


Daisy Hess will no longer be the only former Georgia State player on the Louisville softball roster next season. Hess's former teammate for the Panthers, Bailee Richardson, will join Louisville as a graduate transfer next season. Last season, Richardson led the team in RBIs (33), doubles (8), home runs (9), and slugging percentage (.551). She was 7 for 7 on stolen bases as well. The infielder joined Georgia State after winning back-to-back state championships in high school and being named the defensive player of the year in 2018. 

Similar to Hess, a lot may be expected of Richardson as a touted glove straight out of the gate. We'll have to see how that turns out, but Richardson will also look to give the Cards a boost in an offense that has more holes than expected after the end of last season. For her career, Richardson was a .310 hitter that totaled 29 home runs, 25 doubles, 107 RBIs, and 89 runs. Hitting for average should transfer pretty well across leagues in softball, and Louisville will definitely need some players that can make the most of their time at the plate after losing an OBP leader in Korbe Otis from last season and an RBI machine in Sarah Gordon. 

2022 GSU Softball with Hess (b. row, 3rd from
right) and Richardson (m. row, 3rd from right)
The addition of Richardson may give an indication of what Louisville intends to do about the catcher position. Richardson played some second base, but it feels safe to say Easton Lotus has that position locked down. Richardson's other regular position was the hot corner at third. Louisville has three players listed with catcher as one of their positions on the 2024 roster. Two are freshmen. The third is Ally Alexander, who has primarily played third for the Cards. Sliding Alexander 60 feet and inserting Richardson alongside her former teammate on the left side of the infield could provide the defense Louisville needs, but things might get thorny if one of the freshmen is a better fit behind the plate. The Cards will get one year of eligibility from Richardson before she and Hess graduate from UofL together.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast


We'll still be without Jared this week but we should have plenty of hands on deck to bring you a full show. We'll have some Globl Jam to talk about after missing last week as well as plenty of news and notes about the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics from the last couple of weeks. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link
Anchor (podcast host): Link
Apple Podcasts: Link
Google Podcasts: Link
Overcast (free account required): Link
Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link
RadioPublic: Link
Spotify: Link





Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Friday, July 21, 2023

Getting to Know the Coaches: Volleyball -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Friday! Daryl is out working hard with the Louisville Bats, who continue to remain above .500. See what happens when Daryl is on the premises? Good things !




While we are about a month away from the start of fall sports, we continue our journey of getting to know the coaches and staff of our various Louisville women's teams. We hit field hockey recently and will look at volleyball next.

Dani Busboom Kelly-- Head Coach




Dani Busboom Kelly has been at Louisville for six years, leading the Cards to the NCAA Tournament in each of them. With the exception of the shortened COVID-19 season, Louisville has not had fewer than 22 wins in any season.

Under her leadership, Louisville has three Elite Eight appearances, two Final Four appearances, and a National Runner-Up finish. The Cards earned their first ever #1 ranking in any poll.

Prior to her arrival at Louisville, Busboom Kelly was an assistant coach at Nebraska, where she also played her entire collegiate career. Nebraska made it to the Elite Eight or further four times and won a national championship during her time as an assistant coach. She also won a championship during her playing days.

Going a bit of an untraditional route, Busboom Kelly worked outside of athletics between her playing days and coaching days. While she did play with the U.S. Women's National Training Team for a stint, she spent some time for in the insurance industry out in Omaha.

Dan Meske -- Associate Head Coach




Dan Meske has been at Louisville since Dani Busboom Kelly arrived on campus. One of his specialties with Louisville is coaching the blocking defense and he is a big factor with the recruiting.

Prior to Louisville, Meske was the head coach at Augustana for two years, compiling a 45-17 record during that span. He helped lead the Vikings to the NCAA DIII Tournament in 2016.

Meske was at Nebraska for eight seasons before Augustana. During his time at Nebraska, he served several roles ranging from a graduate assistant, a volunteer assistant, and a full-time assistant coach. 

As a student-athlete, Meske spent all four seasons playing for Ohio State.

Todd Chamberlain-- Assistant Coach




Todd Chamberlain joined the Louisville staff in 2018, one year after Dani Busboom Kelly took over. One of his primary duties is working with outside hitters while also assisting with recruiting.

Chamberlain spent seven years at Kansas as an assistant coach. He was an assistant coach at Kentucky for one year before that.

As a player, Chamberlain played four years for Ball State. Before his collegiate playing days, he played at Louisville Trinity High School.


Sarah Drury Petkovic-- Director of Operations




Sarah Drury Petkovic took over as Louisville's director of operations when Dani Busboom Kelly was named head coach. She had played with Busboom Kelly with Team USA previously.

Petkovic began her journey as a walk-on at Louisville after playing at Louisville PRP High School before earning a scholarship in the back half of her collegiate career. She set the single season digs record with 534. She then went on to play for the USA National Volleyball Team for five years.

After her time with Team USA, Drury Petkovic went on to be an assistant coach at Louisville Assumption High School and later at Indiana University Southeast.

The Louisville volleyball staff is a veteran crew with loads of experience and accolades. Having already helped lead Louisville to new heights, expectations and goals continue to rise for the program. The one big thing that is left on the agenda is winning the National Championship. The Cards have made several runs at it, maybe this will be the season it happens. 

Happy Friday and Go Cards!
Jared

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Assistant Coaches Added to Several Teams -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


New Faces in familiar places for Cards




After nearly two weeks away, I'm back. Katy and I had a wonderful honeymoon on our cruise ship in the Caribbean and exploring various islands and countries. I'd like to take a moment to thank the rest of the crew here at Cardinal Couple for stepping in and covering for me in my absence.

It appears UofL has been busy while I'm gone, most recently announcing the hire of assistant coaches to three teams. Louisville softball, track and field, and rowing all added new assistant coaches to their respective staffs recently.

Louisville Softball Adds Bryan Sabatella




Bryan Sabatella has joined the Louisville softball staff as an assistant coach specializing in working with hitters. Sabatella comes from Utah Tech, where he spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach.

During his time at Utah Tech, which has been a DI program for three seasons, the Trailblazers ranked as one of the top offenses in the country with a .342 team batting average and 12 doubles this past season. Utah Tech also went 35-18 and won the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season.

Sabatella played baseball at Quinnipiac and was then drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the ninth round of the 2005 MLB Draft.

Louisville Track and Field / Cross Country Adds Wyatt Rhoads




Wyatt Rhoads was announced as the new assistant coach for Louisville track and field and Louisville cross country. Rhoads is the first hire under new Track and Field/Cross Country Director Joe Franklin. He spent the last two seasons at New Mexico and will serve as both an assistant coach and the Director of Operations.

While at New Mexico, Rhoads was assigned to coach the pole vaults, javelin throws, jumps, and multi events (ie heptathlon). New Mexico had an individual win the 2022 Mountain West Indoor title in the heptathlon. 

Prior to New Mexico, Rhoads spent one season as a volunteer coach at Texas Tech. He competed in track and field and football at both Colorado and Iowa State University.

Louisville Rowing Adds Egan Berne and Brian Reifsnyder




Louisville rowing added to assistant coaches to the program in Egan Berne and Brian Reifsnyder. Berne was most recently at Michigan State while Reifsnyder came in from Old Dominion.

Berne had been at Michigan State since 2020 where she coached the Second Varsity 8+ and was one of their leaders in recruiting. Before her time at Michigan State, she spent time as both an assistant coach and interim head coach at Colgate and Gonzaga.

Reifsnyder was most recently an assistant coach at his alma mater at Temple. He was a 2016 graduate and spent time as a coach since 2021. Prior to his coaching time at Temple, Reifsnyder was an assistant coach at La Salle for three seasons, focusing on recruiting, budgeting, and compliance.




UofL's fiscal year begins on July 1 every year so it makes sense for several hires to be announced around this time. The budget was recently approved by the Board of Trustees, which allows various departments and sub-departments to be assigned their budgets, including Louisville Athletics and its teams.

We look forward to seeing what the addition of each of these coaches brings.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!
Jared

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

WBB getting 2024 commits, interest and extending offers -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

THREE TO FOLLOW IN FUTURE CLASSES FOR CARDS WBB


Anaya Hardy


While we're all still abuzz about the 2023-2024 Cards WBB appearance in the Globl Jam, let's add to the out-of-season hoops hysteria and talk about three high schoolers that have drawn the coaches interest in the class of 2024 and beyond. 

We'll start with Anaya Hardy. She's a 6'4" front-liner who hails from Detroit and Renaissance High School in the "motor city". She has committed to come to play her collegiate ball and be a student-athlete at UofL. She chose the Cards over Michigan and Syracuse for her services. She's the first commit for the 2024 WBB class at Louisville. 

She's busy this summer playing with the Michigan Storm tis summer in the Under Armour circuit. As a junior, she average a double-double for her high school squad, that went 24-2 and made it to the finals of the state tournament. 


Jaloni Cambridge


Jaloni Cambrdge is a 5'6" guard that has Louisville on her "final seven" list. She was in town recently playing in the Under Armour event. She's not focusing on college choice right now,, though, according to  her. She's currently channeling her time and efforts toward her AAU squad. She's also transferring to Montverde Academy, in Florida, for her senior year after playing as a junior at the Ensworth School in Nashville. 

There are sources out there that are calling Cambridge the best overall prospect in the Class of 2024. Check her out on YouTube or Twitter, She's the real deal at guard. She scored 41 points in Ensworth's loss in the Tennessee Stare Finals last season in Class AA. 


Bella Ragone

Finally, let's take a look at Bella Ragone.  She just picked up an offer from the Louisville women's basketball squad. She's in the 2026 class and attends Mill Creek H.S. in Georgia. She's the #1 prospect in the state in the 2026 class. 

She was here, too, for that Under Armour Tournament and  she's listed as a 6'2" wing. LSU and Northwestern also recently offered her. 




She'll certainly be one to keep an eye on as she goes through her next few years in high school.

Oh, if the name Ragone rings a bell, her dad Dave was a former UofL quarterback who s now the offensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons. Her mom, who was Marju Sober during her time at UofL, was a star Cardinals basketball player and was C-USA Player of the Week on three different occasions back in 2000. 

Whether it's getting the best out of high school, or getting the best out of the transfer portal, the coaches at UofL WBB are working hard to continue and bring in the best and most talented. 


paulie