Cardinal Countdown -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good Monday morning readers,  

It's officially move in week for students as classes will begin next week.   For me, our team will also be in the process of moving back onto Belknap campus full time by the month of September.  If there's one constant about UofL its that nothing is permanent.  

So the countdown to the Cardinal athletic calendars is winding down to its final digits and the next time you hear from me, we will have a match recorded.   

Soccer

3 Days

Field Hockey

18 Days

Volleyball

18 Days

Golf

 

28 Days 

Basketball

About 85 days 

Lacrosse

About 185 days 

Softball

About 185 days 

As Always, 
Go Cards 
~Daryl 

Preseason Cards Womens Soccer Predictions -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 WILL 2025 WSOC CARDS BREAK .500? 

With WSOC at UofL starting in just five days, I figured it might be a good time to look at the schedule and give a prediction on how the squad might do. With last year's squad going 7-6-5, one can only hope that the 2025 squad can improve on that. 

Unfortunately, the rest of the ACC doesn't see the Cards being a league title contender. The Cards were predicted to finish 14th out of the 17 teams in the ACC in a preseason coaches poll.. 

Louisville starts off 2025 with (2) road games against SEC schools. Opening at Auburn won't be an easy task for the Cards and I'm going to predict that they drop this one to the Auburn squad. Next up, a trip to Vandy, a squad that made it to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen last season and upset #1 tanked FSU in the NCAA Tournament.  Unfortunately, I don't see a win in Music City for the Cards in their second match of the season. 

The Cards begin their first home series against Detroit Mercy. Surprisingly, Detroit Mercy is 1-0 all-time against the Cards and is coming off a 10-8-2 season. They did go 7-1-2 in the Horizon League and could come in and give the Cards all they want. But, I look to the Cards to play them well, and this just might be the first "tie" of the season for Karen Ferguson Dayes squad. Wright State is up next for UofL, and it i here where the Cards get their first win of the season. USC Upstate comes in next for a Thursday 3 p.m. match (which is a bit confusing...3 p.m. on a Thursday?) USC Upstate was 10-5-4 last year but I can see Louisville getting the win here. After all, UNC defeated then 8-0 last year in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 

Coastal Carolina comes to town next and was 8-7-6 last year. I see Louisville picking up their third win of the season in this one. Kent St. comes to town to open Sept. action and I am seeing the Cards getting their fourth win of the season against the Golden Flashes. The streak of home games ends with Dayton coming to visit. Dayton has owned the Cards in the series with a 13-4-1 win record over UofL, and the two teams battled to a scoreless tie in 2025 in Louisville. I'll go out on a limb here and give the Cards a narrow win. 

Conference play begins Sept 11th for the Cards when they visit FSU. The Cards probably won't win this one in Tallahassee and the schedule doesn't get any easier with a visit from Virginia Tech, who finished second in the ACC last year.I see the Cards falling to the Hokies.  Clemson is the next to visit Lynn Stadium and the Tigers come in as a preseason top ten prediction, so the Cards will most likely fall to the Tigers.   

Miami visits Louisville next and the Cards will face a squad that has eight transfers in. It's hard to say just how good the Canes will be, but we should have a fairly good idea in the Cards 12th game of the year. I see Louisville getting their first conference win.

A  three game road trip is next for UofL...starting at Notre Dame. Unfortunately, I see the Cards dropping this one and also the next away game...at Wake Forest. Next is a trip to Boston College. The two schools are basically a "pick 'em" but since BC is hosting, we'll give this one to them. 

Virginia travels to Louisville next and the Cavs are hovering around the top ten ranking in the preseason poll. They should come in and get the win. NCST lines up next for the Cards and Louisville should get this win over the (2024) 4-10-4 Wolfpack in Raleigh. The regular season ends the day before Halloween when SMU comes to call on the Cards. I do see the Cards ending the season with a win, and a 8-9-1 record overall. 

Got a different take? Weigh in at the comments section.

CCHRP

It was Paulie, Case and Jared on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast Saturday and the guys discussed a lot of soccer, volleyball and a bit of golf. Give a listen at the link below:

Catdinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast 8/9/25

paulie 

More Volleyball Updates -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Ranked 4th by AVCA

Last week I wrote about the love the Cards received from the ACC voters in the preseason polls, so this week I get to talk about the same recognition from the AVCA. The 2025 preseason poll was announced earlier this week, and the national runners up find themselves ranked 4th. Former head coach Dani Busboom Kelly returns to the top of the rankings with her new team as the Nebraska Cornhuskers narrowly edged out the defending NCAA Champions, Penn State. 

Nebraska received 40 first place votes compared to 21 for Penn State, but the Huskers only had 1,490 points
while Penn State had 1,459. Functionally, that means that almost everyone that picked Nebraska to be 1st picked PSU second, while voters who gave the Nittany Lions the nod saw teams like Pittsburgh as the potential second-best program. Pitt, by the way, was the top-ranked ACC program in a preseason poll that includes four ACC teams in the top 10. Pitt was the clear third choice, receiving 1,338 points. That put them on an island well behind PSU for second and almost 100 points ahead of the Cards (1,240) for third. The other ACC teams in the top ten were, unsurprisingly, Stanford (6) and SMU (10).

Texas came in fifth, just behind Louisville with 1,223 points, and led the way for the three-team SEC contingent in the top ten. Kentucky was seventh and Texas A&M ninth. The final spot in the top ten went to Wisconsin, adding a third Big Ten team and boxing the Big 12 out completely. Arizona State was the highest ranked Big 12 program in 13th. 

While the ACC had the largest number of teams in the top ten, the voters found the league to be very top-heavy. Only one other team made the top 25, with Georgia Tech coming in at 22. North Carolina was functionally 28th, as the third team receiving votes. The SEC matched the ACC's five teams, though they nearly had a sixth with Tennessee the first team out. The Big Ten swept with seven teams in the Top 25. 

Coaching Changes Announced

The preseason polls weren't the only big news of the week, as Dan Meske announced some late changes to his coaching staff with the season just around the corner. The first of those was titling Sarah Petkovic as the Chief of Staff. Petkovic has been the Director of Operations for the Cards for 14 years and is entering this season in that role with a third head coach. The title change appears to be more of a sign of respect for the value that Petkovic brings to the program than a general change in job duties. Her role will be to "focus on the development of current student-athletes, including personal and player development as well as leadership skills", to "strengthen the profile of of Cardinal volleyball by collaborating with [local] coaches, alumni, and the local and national volleyball community", and to "manage the program's revenue share, helm alumni and donor relations for the program, [and] assume the role of general manager."

That's a mouthful of a job description, but it boils down to adding the general manager and financial sharing aspect, which is new to programs across the country in the changing college athletics landscape, to the existing duties of the Director of Ops. Petkovic's origin story is pretty fascinating. The Louisville native walked on for the Cards after graduating from PRP where she lettered in volleyball, basketball, and track. She was a defensive specialist for Louisville until shifting to the libero position when it was created. Petkovic earned a scholarship for her final two seasons for the Cards and set records for digs in a single season with 534 and digs in a single match with 39. In 2002, she was a member of the All-Midwest Region team and First Team All-C-USA. After graduating, she spent five years as a member of the United States National Team. So yeah... not bad for a local kid who walked on.

The other coaching announcement was the return of Tori Dilfer Stringer to Louisville. Dilfer Stringer will serve as the team's "offensive consultant" which I suppose is a way of saying "offensive coordinator" for a sport that doesn't necessarily "call plays". Tori brings quite the pedigree to the coaching staff herself, as she wraps up playing professionally after most recently playing for the Columbus Fury in the PVF. Tori also represented the USNT for two years. After transferring to Louisville from TCU as a junior, she immediately made an impact. She was twice named the ACC Setter of the Year and First Team All-ACC and she became the first Cardinal to be named to the All-American First Team. Yeah, that last one surprised me too. The honor in 2021 also came after she helped Louisville go undefeated in the regular season and reach its first ever national semifinal. 

Congratulations to both Sarah and Tori on the announcements of their new roles!

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We're back this week with four in the (virtual) studio. We'll talk about all the recent news as well as games actually around the corner. It should be a lively show, so come and join us! Check out the show after it posts around 1PM, and be sure to subscribe so that it comes to your feed automatically. 

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WGolf starts fall season in one month -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Good morning everybody,

We are one month from the UofL WGolf season starting and I must admit, I have been craving a round of golf lately but the heat and just trying to take it easy in the month of July has kept me away from the course.  I actually haven't played since Memorial Weekend, which is way too long ago.   I do believe the annual press box scramble should've been held this past Monday out at the UofL golf course.... Cardinal Couple's invite must've gotten lost in the mail....   

UofL Health Science Campus 

WGolf

Head coach Whitney Young announced the 2025-26 UofL women's golf schedule Wednesday afternoon. The slate will include 9 regular season tournaments over the fall and spring seasons. In the spring season, the Cardinals will host the 9th annual Moon Golf Tournament in Melbourne, Florida.

The fall season begins in Texas for the Cardinals as they travel to Corinth, Texas to take part in the Sam Golden Invitational. The 2 day event is hosted by North Texas and will be held September 8-9.  

Later in September, hosted by Vanderbilt, the Cards head down I-65 for the Mason Rudolph Invitational. Held in Franklin, Tennessee the 3 day tournament will be held from September 19-21.

Up next for UofL is a trip to Arkansas for the Blessings Collegiate Invitational. The event will be held from September 29 - October 1 and it will be the fourth time in the last five seasons that the Cardinals will compete in the event. The Cardinals placed 6th overall in 2021, 9th in 2022 and 8th last season at the Blessings.

Next for Louisville, the final 2 tournaments of the fall season will take place in North Carolina. First up is the Pirate Collegiate Classic, hosted by East Carolina in Greenville and it will take place from October 6-7. The final fall tournament will be the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational, hosted by North Carolina, from October 17-19. It will be the third time in the last four seasons the Cardinals will compete in the event. In the fall of 2022, Louisville finished 4th out of 14 teams in the tournament.

We will cover the spring portion of the schedule after the new year :D

As Always, 
Go Cards 

~Daryl 

Women's Soccer Summer Accolades -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cardinals Honored in Summer Play

As the summer club season comes to a close and collegiate players return to their respective campuses to prepare for fall play, a handful of the many Cardinals to have participated have been acknowledged for their performances over the past couple months. The players announced as receiving awards were all playing for teams associated with the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) so any players that were participating in USL W play may still be acknowledged if that league decides to do postseason awards. 

In all, 19 players on Louisville's roster participated in summer play in some fashion, with at least 11 of those in the USL W league for Racing Louisville, Lexington SC, Indy Eleven, and NC Courage. That means that, at most, eight players were in ECNL play, though it may have been fewer as some of the clubs are difficult to nail down their affiliation. The reason I mention the numbers is that four Cards were honored in ECNL play, which means that it was at least half of the contingent. Not too shabby.
 

First up was Amelia Swinarski, playing for Internationals SC in northeast Ohio. Swinarski is a sophomore midfielder for the Cards from Madison, Ohio. She earned the best honor of the bunch as she was named the offensive player of the year for the Lake Erie Division. Swinarski played in 13 games for Louisville as a freshman, totaling 1 goal and 1 assist in 391 minutes. Her lone goal was the game winner against NKU. She took four shots, put two on frame, and converted one of those. If you boost the volume of those attempts and put more shots on target, that could turn out quite nicely for the Cards, and it appears to have worked for Swinarski in club play. 

The remaining three players to be awarded were all tagged to the Best XI teams for their respective divisions. Those honors went to Emma Kate (EK) Schroll (Southeast - Peachtree Division), Liza Suydam (Mid-Atlantic - Commonwealth Division), and Kiley Peat (Atlantic - Carolinas Division). Suydam and Peat are both among the many newcomers for the Cards this season. 

EK Schroll is a midfielder for the Cards who will look to expand her role in her senior season. She played in 14 games last season, starting three, and had two assists in 584 minutes. She took nine shots, put three of them on target, but wasn't able to find the back of the net. 

Liza Suydam is a junior midfielder who transferred from Monmouth following the 2024 season. This will be her first of two years of eligibility for Louisville. Suydam had a fantastic two years for Monmouth, scoring 16 goals and totaling 12 assists in her first two seasons. She led the team with 22 points on nine goals and nine assists while starting all 20 games last year and also started all 19 games as a freshman. Those seasons led her to, among other honors, 2023 Rookie of the Year in both the ECAC and the CAA, 2023 Second team All-CAA, 2023 CAA All-Tournament Team, 2024 First Team All-ECAC and All-CAA, and 2024 CAA Co-Midfielder of the Year. Apparently those good vibes continued with her club season. 

Kiley Peat, along with her twin sister Karina, is a freshman for the Cards this season. The Peats have spurned family tradition a bit, as their parents both went to NC State (father - soccer; mother - cheerleading) and their older brother plays soccer for UNC Asheville. Their high school team were two-time MEC Conference Champions and two-time NC 4A East Champions. Kiley, a defender, was named 4A All-State and First Team All-MEC twice and was named to the All-Region team three times. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WBB Update --WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 WALZ UPDATE ON WBB

From Walz presser:

Many players remained on campus during the summer .Getting Visas straighten out to get to campus for some was another issue and although not a lot of team work was done o organized the group got to know each other better by working out and shooting together each day and Walz says he knows who will be on the roster by now and is getting it set. 

Walz is excited for Steph Norman's chances at Arizona St. She and new head coach Molly Miller have been good  friends for a long time.

 Let's take a look at the "new" coaching assistant layout at UofL, It will be different to look over at the Cards bench and not see Steph sitting over there. 

Brittany Morris did a lot of wonderful things working on Wes Moore's NC State coaching staff for four years and has veteran coaching experience at other schools as well.

Wes Moore went back to the "old" by bringing back Simon Harris. It is the third time in his career that he has rejoined the Wolfpack.

 Who will be the Cards players you'll be watching closely and expecting to lead the way?

It's been a series of changes for the Cards. Look back to 2020. Walz's assistants/associates were Sam Purcell, Norman, Jonneshia Pineda and Beth Burns (although she wasn't officially listed as an assistant, everyone knew she was). . That 2020-21 squad went 26-4, with two loses to NC State. Fla. State and Stanford. What a roster that was with Parker, Smith, Balogun, Evans, Van Lith and Konno...to name just a few

Soo....half a decade later...how will this current group of Cards WBB players match up compared to that group? Roberts, Randolph, Juffermans, Istanbulloglu, Berry and the transfers in?

Stay tuned, it should be a fun ride. 

paulie

Breakout Candidates for Field Hockey -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Breakout Candidates for Field Hockey

Chloe Plumb

The final of our 'Big Three' fall sports to look at breakout candidates is field hockey. Louisville had its worst season in ages last year mainly due to a large graduating class the year before and younger players being thrust into more impactful roles. They should be back on track this season.

As always, players who have already made large impacts or have preseason or postseason accolades are not eligible as they already have high expectations. This excludes players like Rylie Wollerton and Izzy Bianco from being on this list.

Emily Young

Chloe Plumb enters the back half of her collegiate career and is entering her first season without Aimee Plumb being on the team. While she hasn't exactly lived in her sister's shadow by scoring four goals herself last year, this is a prime opportunity for the younger Plumb to have a breakout year.

Emily Young split time in the cage last year and will have some competition for the starting goalkeeper spot again this fall. Having a good chunk of a season under her belt already including a nine-save performance against Cornell, Young is in a good space to command the cage again and be one of the best keepers in the ACC.

Emily Eaton

Emily Eaton had a decent showing as a freshman last year. Oddly enough, she was one of the top offensive players when she graduated high school, tallying 18 goals her senior year, but transitioned into a defensive role at UofL. With a year of Division I field hockey under her belt, I think she'll ease into the defensive role better and help strengthen a defensive unit that struggled greatly last year.

We will have plenty of coverage once the season begins.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

WNBA update -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good morning readers, 

Welcome back to a new week.  Hope you get to enjoy some of the lovely local temperatures in the coming days.  We've got the KY State Fair coming up in the next couple weeks to go along with a new calendar school year and athletics seasons.  

With not much whispers coming from the UofL athletics departments lets give a quick update on the WNBA season as we are under 40 days from the end of the regular season.

Starting in 2025, the WNBA Finals will be a best-of-seven game series, a change from the previous best-of-five format. This expansion to seven games means the Finals will follow a 2-2-1-1-1 format, where the higher seed hosts games 1, 2, 5, and 7 if necessary. The first round of the playoffs will also see a change, with a 1-1-1 format ensuring all teams in the first round have a home game.

#2 Myisha Hines-Allen -- Photo credit: John McClellan | The Next

As of Sunday evening, the Minnesota Lynx lead the league with an impressive 24-5 record.  They last lost to the Atlanta Dream (18-11) a week ago.  The closest behind them are the New York Liberty at 5.5 games back with a 18-10 record. 

#11 Dana Evans -- Photo Credit: Chris Poss | The Next

Of the former Cardinals currently on WNBA rosters, the Las Vegas Aces (Dana Evans) have the best record at 14-14.   The Mystics lost to the Dream 99-83 and Emily Engstler contributed 4 points and assist and a rebound in 10 minutes on the floor.  Shes averaging 2.7 ppg 3.2 rpg & 1.3 apg.  The Wings lost to the Fever on Friday 88-78 and MHA had 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.  Shes averaging 6.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 2.7 apg.  The Aces beat the Valkyries 101-77 where Evans had 7 points, 4 assists and 1 rebound.  Shes averaging 6.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg and 2 apg on the season.  

As Always,
Go Cards

~Daryl 

Breakout Candidates for Soccer -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Breakout Candidates for Soccer

AG Gibson

Women's soccer looks to take another step in the right direction this fall. After a 7-6-2 season last year, UofL is hopeful to improve on that record. We saw a couple folks transfer out from last year but a good core remained.

No single player had eye-popping stats last year and none earned any All-American or All-ACC honors outside of academic accolades. Karsyn Cherry has proven to be the go-to player the last couple seasons so we will look at players outside of her with potential breakout seasons. Mackenzie Geigle was a scoring machine for the Cards last year so I am considering her ineligible for this list too.

Emersen Jennings

Fina Davy took no time earning a starting role as a freshman last year. Her scoring numbers of one goal and two assists weren't eye-popping, but she kept defenders on their toes when she had possession. She has a chance to make a big jump up this season.

AG Gibson is a local kid that was one of the best in the state during her high school career. She started most of the season her freshman year last year, leading all freshmen on the team in minutes. I don't expect her breakout season to be scoring related as much as helping Louisville establish a strong midfield and have better ball possession against other teams.

Emersen Jennings

Emersen Jennings is entering her final season with the Cards. She's had a couple injuries that prevented her from maximizing minutes on the pitch and usually came in as a reserve player. She appears to be healthy entering this season and can use her speed to stretch the offense and keep defenders on the run.

Louisville starts on the road for the first two games of the year but they will play at Lynn Stadium for the first time in 2025 on August 21.

Happy Sunday and Go Cards!

Jared

Volleyball Preseason Poll -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Receive Preseason Love in ACC 

Earlier this week, Jared wrote about the potential breakout candidates for the Louisville volleyball team. Coincidentally, the ACC preseason polls were announced a few hours later, and the coaches have their own opinions on Louisville's potential stars. 

Three Cardinals were named to the Preseason All-ACC Team: Cara Cresse, Chloe Chicoine, and Nayelis Cabello. None of these players should come as a major shock. Cresse was one of four Cardinals to be named to an AVCA All-American team last season (honorable mention) and Chicoine was on an All-Region First Team. Chicoine was also on the All-Big Ten second team last year. Cabello was named as the ACC Freshman of the Year, so her inclusion on the list is also fairly straightforward. 

What the Cards will be looking for is more players to work their way onto the list. Louisville is second in players named, behind Pittsburgh with four. SMU and Stanford are also tied with Louisville at three. Miami has two, while Georgia Tech, UNC, and Notre Dame have one player each to round out the list. 

The preseason team also fairly well aligns with the Preseason Coaches Poll. Louisville finds themselves in second in the league with 271 points. Louisville trails Pitt, who had 279 points, and narrowly beat out Stanford (264) and SMU (243). Notre Dame is the lowest team with a player named to the preseason team, as the Irish were picked to finish just 12th. At the top, Louisville gathered four of the first-place votes, with Pitt picking up 10. Stanford had the two outstanding votes. 

It's sure to be a tight race in the ACC. Louisville may have hoped that the recent lack of form from Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, and FSU meant that they could focus on the Panthers, but Stanford and SMU have kept it a multi-horse race at the top of the league. With no conference tournament, every match will be critical to determine a champion. We'll see what Dan Meske can do in his first season at the helm. 

No CCRHP This Week

Hosts are scattered this week for various reasons, so we'll have the week off from the show. Next week will mark the last season before competition, so we'll work to bring you an episode looking at the specific upcoming games. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WTennis adds freshman -- New school year -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Gooooood morning readers and welcome back weekend.   

Its also a officially a new school year now that we are in the month of August.   We have the new faculty hire orientation today and I'm looking forward to meeting a large group of them and welcoming them to campus.  

There was a very large tree that fell down behind the president's office, Grawemeyer Hall, Thursday morning during one of those strong summer storms so the grounds crew is probably working tirelessly to get that cleaned up last night before the new staff and students start arriving.   They should probably just take the whole tree down as it looks to be very old and not very aesthetically pleasing. 

Photo: Karen Johnson 

Women's Tennis

from gocards.com

-- Anshika Jaswal of Toronto, Canada has been added to the University of Louisville women's tennis roster. She will enter the school year as a freshman for the Cardinals.

In 2024, she was the Bramalea Open Champion and a 2024 Caledon Open Finalist. She was also a finalist in the 2024 Harold Green City of Toronto Championship Open and in the 2024 Caledon Fall Colours.

She was a 2023 and 2024 Under 18 Fischer Outdoor National Championships competitor as well as a 2023 Yonex U16 Ontario Junior Outdoor Closed Provincial Championships Quarter-finalist. In 2021, she was a Yonex Junior Doubles Championships Finalist

She was ranked in the top 60 in Canada G16 and in the top 80 in Canada's G18. She was also ranked in the top 40 Women's Open Ranking in Canada.

"I am excited to welcome Anshika to Louisville Women's Tennis," said UofL head coach Mark Beckham. "She was recommended to me by one of my former players because of her character, work ethic and potential. We need a certain type of person in the program and she is a really good fit. Anshika is joining an experienced team, so she will have time to develop with her teammates and the strong coaching staff I have now. She is definitely going to impact the team in a positive way because she is ready to work and earn everything she gets."

As always
Go Cards, 
~Daryl 

Breakout Candidates for Volleyball -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Breakout Candidates for Volleyball

Jared checking back in this week as we played some musical chairs with coverage this week. All good for everyone here at Team Cardinal Couple. 

With things still pretty slow this summer, we continue to look forward to the upcoming fall seasons. Each season, we see players have breakout years and go well above and beyond what their expectations are. Star players and players that are preseason All-American or All-Conference do not qualify as they are already expected to have big years.

Payton Petersen

With the graduation of key players such as Anna DeBeer, Elena Scott, and Charitie Luper, there are plenty of key roles that need to be filled. Transfer Chloe Chicoine is already a top-tier player with high expectations and returners Cara Cresse and Nayelis Cabello already have preseason and postseason honors to their names, so we won't give them breakout contender marks.

Hannah Sherman has played a backseat role to Cresse and Phekran Kong in past years. PK has graduated so her biggest competition is Cresse. You often rotate a pair of middle blockers in a match so it is Sherman's time to step in and shine. She has shown glimpses of her raw strength in the past and she could be one of the top blockers in the ACC this year.

Hannah Kenny

Payton Petersen played a limited role last year as an outside hitter. She sat behind DeBeer, Luper, Sofia Maldonado Diaz, and Reese Robins, and often only played as a sub in blowout matches. When DeBeer went down, Petersen had a chance to show off what she is capable of and didn't let the fans down. She will see plenty of reps this year and can truly make a name for herself this year.

Hannah Kenny is a true freshman that could see valuable minutes. I think Kamden Schrand gets the nod at libero, but Kenny is similar to Scott in terms of size, versatility, and having a background as a setter in high school. If she cleans up her serve receive a little then she could be fighting for that libero spot by the end of the year.

Hannah Sherman

The Cards are two weeks away from their Red and Black Scrimmage at LN Arena on Friday 6:00pm ET.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards Partner for Kids Running Program -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Track and Field Athletes Give Back

Today's column is a little off the beaten path, but it's inspired by a story I heard on Louisville Public Media's daily morning news podcast. If you aren't familiar with Louisville Public Media, it's the organization that operates WFPL, WFPK, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, and more. It's a great source for local news and they have a neat app. Ok, random pitch over. 

Anyway, the point of this is to talk about the new program being brought to Louisville called Run Your City. Run Your City is a national nonprofit that, according to the website (runyourcity.org) is "dedicated to building an inclusive running community, giving every child - regardless of ability, gender, or background - the chance to grow [into] healthy, confident, and inspired individuals." The purpose of the program is to provide free access to youth athletics by way of a child-centered coached running program. The organization was founded in 2018 in Charlottesville by UVA athletes and has grown significantly since then, including a chapter in Rwanda.

image from Julia Schmitt via LPM

Three Cardinals have come together to bring a chapter to Louisville. Run Your City Louisville will be a free running program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The current plan is to hold weekly sessions on Sundays for six weeks. The Louisville teammates bringing this program together as co-presidents are Riley Griffith, Julia Schmitt, and Layla Roebke. Griffith and Schmitt are redshirt freshman while Roebke recently graduated. All three are cross country and distance track runners. Their goals for the program are to teach about proper running techniques, how to work as a team, and balancing nutrition and exercise. The co-presidents are also joined by UofL students (and teammates) Emma Heckel, Madeleine Seaby, Brooke Lahee, and Lauren Bettencourt. 

Here is a link to the full LPM article, which is absolutely worth reading. One of the main things that stood out from it was the discussion on the inequity of youth sports. Having nieces and nephews currently in the youth sports scene, I definitely understand all that comes with it. Outside of the outright equipment and team costs, there is also time and travel for numerous events and practices. Even having been bombarded with fundraising for various teams, I was struck by the statistic shared from a 2022 Aspen Institute study which says that the average American family spends nearly $900 per year per child for a single season. The wording of that was a little tricky, so I went to the study source and broke it down some. The reported cost in fall 2022 was an average of $883 spent in a year for a single season of a single child's primary sport. That's a lot of money!

Even just looking at that figure, it seems obvious that it would be inequitable across children of different backgrounds, but the study breaks it down further. As the family income rises, so do the costs for travel. Extrapolating, that would imply that affluent families are taking talent even farther away from families with fewer resources, somewhat diluting the talent and experience of others. Families making $150,000 or more spent 65% more on travel than families making between $50,000 and $149,999, while they spent 83% more on travel than families making less than $50,000. The study (linked in the article and here) breaks the numbers down even more across different demographics, but the point is clear: Run Your City can offer an extremely valuable opportunity.

 

stats from Run Your City

Children with access to youth sports don't just experience improved physical health, but improvements to mental health, sociability, and future successful outcomes. Louisville is not alone as a city with an issue in this area, but it is stark. According to Southwest YMCA regional sports director David Oliver, who oversees all YMCA sports programs in west and south Louisville, cost is a significant driver for those programs being much smaller than in other YMCA regions. Even the registration costs can be a deterrent. 

Riley Griffith said it best when quoted by LPM: "We really just want to give  opportunity to get out there and be a part of something and have a fun, low-pressure experience with sports, so that even if they don't stick with running, even if they don't stick with sports, they get to have that opportunity.” 

I can't think of a better statement that I'd rather see from an ambassador for my alma mater. I wish the very best to Griffith, Schmitt, and Roebke as they get the program off the ground and hope for continued success for the program in future years. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Days Until Each Sport -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Days Until...

As we wind down the days of July, we quickly approach August, which will put UofL sports on the composite calendar. All three of the major women's sports for the fall are on the schedule for August.

Soccer

16 days until the first regulation match against Auburn on the road

23 days until the first home match against Detroit Mercy

Volleyball

17 days until the first scrimmage, Red vs Black

32 days until the first regulation match against Auburn

Field Hockey

24 days until the first scrimmage against Bellarmine

31 days until the first regulation match against Michigan State

We hope to have as much in-person coverage as possible  at the home events for each of the 'Big Three'. We are aware of some changes with media credentialing this season, but do not believe this should impact us as we do not cover football or men's basketball.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Campus update -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

Good morning 

Its remains a sports news desert so playing off of Paulie's venue post from Sunday's Cardinal Couple,  here are some pics I snapped over the last few weeks when walking around campus... most likely on my way to get coffee or lunch.  There was no way I wasn't braving walking around in the heat for no reason. 

Ulmer Stadium

L&N Arena 

Jared and I think this is some newbie vball players heading to class

Outside Ekstrom Library facing the quad

Move in days is scheduled for August 13-17th with classes beginning Monday, August 19th.   I will be elbows deep onboarding faculty this week.   Make it a great week! 

As Always, 
Go Cards 

~Daryl 

The Louisville women's Fall Sport that you'll follow the most? --SUNDAY CARDINAAL COUPLE

 SIX WOMEN'S FALL SPORTS MAKE UP THE UOFL LINEUP

Louisville women's sports is getting closer for the fall season. By this time next month, we'll be actively following Cards Women's Soccer, Field Hockey, Cross Country, Golf, Swimming and Track and Field.

The Cards have had a lot of outstanding players grace these fields (and bodies of water) over the years. And...Louisville has some excellent venues where the Cards compete. I challenged a friend the other day to match up the sport with the facility. She did well, getting four out  of six right. How would you do? 

--Lynn Stadium

--UofL Club

--Ralph Wright

--Trager Field

--Cardinal Park

--Tom Sawyer

(answers at end of column)

How many of these places have you been to follow UofL women's sports? And. how many are on campus? See if you can correctly match the sport up with the location and your attendance. 

I have been fortunate to watch Cardinal women's sports at all six. If you are still having trouble with the alignment, I'll make it easier for you by naming a player that has performed for the Cards at a venue.

--Lynn Stadium...Charlyn Corral

--UofL Club...Lauren Hartlage

--Tom Saywer ...Lauren Bettencourt

--Cardinal Park...Synclair Savage

--Ralph Wright...Gabi Albiero

--Trager Field...Jessica Javalet

The Cards participate in the ACC in all six sports. A trip down Floyd Street on the UofL campus will take you by Lynn, Trager, Cardinal Park and Ralph Wright. Three of the facilities are outdoors and have press boxes, one is an indoor participation venue. 

The Cardinal Couple crew has actively covered events at these venues and you fund plenty of articles and photos of the Cards in action at them. We hope to see you out there in 2025. A poll of our Cardinal Couple columnist indicated that volleyball was their favorite of the UofL fall women's sports. 

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

Our old banner from the days of WCHQ

Daryl, Case and myself were on yesterday's podcast of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. We had a lively discussion on quite a few different subjecst as we draw closer to fall sports. Check it out at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CviS6U8K-XA&list=PL1b1cLmDIkuqdZZ6JxJjQnvKVWnHWVOIy&index

Answers: 

Lynn Stadium -- women's soccer

UofL club -- golf

Ralph Wright -- swimming

Trager Field -- Field Hockey

Cardinal Park -- Track and Field

Tom Sawyer -- Cross Country

paulie

 

One Month to Go -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

All Fall Sports in Action Soon

As the calendar gets ready to turn to August next week (which feels incredibly soon), that means that all of the primary fall sports that we cover here at Cardinal Couple will be in action within a month. While we are still a few days out of that being true for actual "competition," every team has a scheduled event by August 23rd.

Women's soccer will be the first to get underway, with matches on the road at Auburn and Vandy. As is typical, Louisville is likely to play a couple of closed scrimmages before those matches against SEC teams, but we're very unlikely to learn anything other than the fact that they happened. Karen Ferguson-Dayes's squad will actually return to Lynn Stadium for their first home game before the other two sports play their first scheduled matches, as the Cards take on Detroit Mercy on August 21st. 

That will be a busy weekend, as volleyball and field hockey will get started then as well. Field hockey will host their first scrimmage against Bellarmine on the 22nd and we'll get our first taste of fall volleyball under Dan Meske on August 23rd for the Alumni Match. 

So far I've held off on giving my full prediction of the Louisville women's soccer season in writing, even though I've discussed it at length on the show. I'll keep milling on it for another week, but you can expect my thoughts about the upcoming campaign as we turn the calendar. 

As the summer slump finally winds down, we'll be keeping our eye out for the Louisville Fall Sports Media Day, where we'll get to hear from all of the coaches about their thoughts on their teams entering the season. Once we hear it, we'll be sure to share those thoughts with you here at Cardinal Couple. All three teams have some reasons to be optimistic, so we'll see just how chipper the coaches are at the event. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll have three this week (really, this time), as Paulie, Daryl, and I will bring you the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics. We'll talk about the news that was over the past week, as there is only so much prognostication we can do about the upcoming fall sports seasons. Check out the show after it posts around 1PM, and be sure to subscribe so that it comes to your feed automatically. 

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case