Cardinal Couple: Tajianna Avant-Roberts to UofL -- FH & VB -- Swim Sinks Against Tennessee -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Friday, October 13, 2023

Tajianna Avant-Roberts to UofL -- FH & VB -- Swim Sinks Against Tennessee -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Friday, folks! Case and Jared tag-teaming this one today as Daryl continues her vacation and Paulie is taking care of a personal matter. We have a full slate today so buckle in!

Tajianna Avant-Roberts Commits to UofL WBB

(Photo posted by SportsCenter on X)

Who said Jeff Walz only brings in transfers? The mastermind head Louisville WBB coach landed a five-star commit for the 2024 class this week. Tajianna Avant-Roberts (also seen shortened to Tajianna Roberts) announced on X (formerly twitter) and Instagram this week her commitment to join the Cards.

Tajianna Avant-Roberts chose Louisville over Cal, Virginia Tech, Duke, and Kentucky. Based on the new ACC structure and the UK rivalry, Louisville will face all of them next season.

Her social media accounts are @taj__roberts on X, @tajianna.roberts on Instagram.

Avant-Roberts is a 5'-10" guard from La Jolla, California. She is playing her senior season at IMG Academy in Florida after playing her first three seasons at La Jolla Country Day. In three seasons, she averaged 12.6 points, 5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.3 turnovers. As a junior, she averaged, 12.3 points, 6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 turnovers.

Avant-Roberts played club ball for the Cal Sparks Club, which won the 2023 U17 Nike EYBL Nationals. She also plays for the Boo Williams GBB AAU team in the Nike EYBL. Avant-Roberts is the #25 recruit in the HoopGurlz 2024 rankings. She's a five-star with an overall score of 96. Per the ESPN rankings, Avant-Roberts comes in as the #14 overall guard, #8 guard when excluding players listed only as PG, and #18 among guards and wings combined.

Hopefully Louisville's latest recruit will make an appearance in the stands at the KFC Yum! Center this coming season. The Cards open the season at Cincinnati on Nov. 6.

Last season, Louisville finished fourth in the ACC regular season, made it to the ACC Championship game after upsetting Notre Dame, and then was one of three ACC teams to make the Elite Eight.

Volleyball Hosts Pitt at the Yum

Second to only Kentucky on Louisville's rivalry list is Pittsburgh. Louisville and Pitt have battled it out in epic matches long before the ACC days, but both teams have garnered national attention in recent years with each of them appearing in the Final Four in both 2021 and 2022.

The Cards and Panthers split their regular season last year with each team protecting their home court. When the true matched mattered- the NCAA Tournament- it was Louisville coming out on top 3-2.

Who can forget that jaw-dropping 15-2 final set?

Pitt enters the match with a 15-2 record. They opened the season with a loss to BYU and fell to Oregon a few matches later. They are a perfect 6-0 in conference play highlighted by a five-set win against Georgia Tech. Pitt has swept all other ACC opponents.

This match will be played at the KFC Yum! Center at 7:00pm and will be aired on ESPNU (TV and online). I was able to find lower bowl tickets as low as $15.00 as of last night. You'll find Jeff , JAred, Paulie and Sonja representing the Cardinal Couple contingent at the match.

Field Hockey Visits Duke

Louisville Field Hockey has another tough road test today against #2 Duke. The Blue Devils are 12-1 on the year while the Cards are 11-1.

Duke's lone loss came against Northwestern (currently ranked #1), but defeated ranked Maryland, Liberty, Syracuse, Boston College, Harvard, and Virginia. They are 4-0 in overtime games, going 2-0 in single overtime and 2-0 in double overtime. Like Louisville, Duke has constructed an impressive resume.

Former Louisville head coach Pam Bustin is currently in her 13th season as Duke's head coach. Her team has tallied 38 goals this season (2.92 per match) while only allowing 13 goals. Northwestern is the only team to score more than two goals against Duke, while Bustin's squad has shut out opponents five times.

Louisville took down Duke in a shootout at Trager Stadium last year.

Swim Sinks Against Tennessee

#3 Louisville women's swim and dive fell in a tight knit meet against #6 Tennessee, 152-148. Gabi Albiero continued her dominance by taking the gold in the 50M freestyle and 100M freestyle. Louisville took the top four times in the 50M freestyle. Diving prodigy Else Praasterink won the 1M and 3M springboard events. Paige Hetrick won the 100M butterfly and was a part of both winning relay teams.

The season is still young for the swim and dive team, who return home to the Ralph Wright Natatorium on Nov. 3 to take on Notre Dame.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Case and Jared

2 comments:

kstarksr10/13/2023 10:20 AM
Refreshing to see us getting actual high school recruits again.
Roberts makes the third for next year 👍
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