COULD WBB HOLD A SUCCESSFUL THE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT? --SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 HOW ABOUT  A WOMEN'S THE BASKEBALL TOURNAMENT?

Angel McCoungtry would have been fun to watch in a women's The Basketball Tournament

Always great to get a chance to watch basketball in the middle of July, even if it is on the men's side of the ledger and the single-elimination The Basketball Tournament. 

If you've watch any of the games, Louisville has a team called The Villians. THE VILLE TBT squad is a men's team, based on University of Louisville men's basketball team players trying to take down the $1 million dollar prize for winning the event against 60 other teams based on schools or cities. The Ville knocked off their first opponent...Boston vs. Cancer on Saturday. Always great to see games in Freedom Hall. Some of my best basketball memories were in Freedom Hall, men and women's games. 

Could The Basketball Tournament work on the women's side? 

Imagine Asia Durr on a Louisville women's The Basketball Tournament team!

The idea is an intriguing one. One would think Louisville, Kentucky and/or IU could definitely field women's teams for such an event...but could the event raise a 32 team or larger tournament , single elimination and could the find a sponsor to get close to the $1 million grand prize for the eventual winner...which the winning men's team receives. ? 

Could the get network television coverage for such an event, and, most importantly, would they be able to get sizable crowds to attend games, like the men  have been able to do for the men's games in Freedom Hall? 

Imagine a UConn WBB The basketball Tournament team. 

One would think the women might be able to get a competitive field of schools for send an alumni team. Certainly names like UConn, Stanford, Texas, Oklahoma, Memphis, Mississippi St, and many other school-based teams would be willing to hire a coach and enter a team. 

The Louisville team would be an interesting nucleus. what players would you like to see on it?

And, would WNBA plyers be willing to take a few games off their WNBA team game to participate in it? 

There is the premise, Feel free to leave a comment on whether you would like to see and watch and attend a women's The Basketball Tournament.

CARDINAL COUPLE Radio HOUR PODCAST

Case joined me...on the weekly Cardinal Couple Radio Hour podcast Saturday. It was a lively show and we covered a lot of topics. Check it out at the link below: 

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

paulie

Cardinals Suit Up for Team USA -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Field Hockey Cards at Senior Nexus Championship

As we've become accustomed to, the University of Louisville is well represented at the USA Field Hockey Senior Nexus Championship. The event which brings together the athletes who trained at seven Senior Nexus Training Sites takes place this weekend in Virginia Beach. The event is part of the Team USA camp program to develop talent for the USA Field Hockey program for World Cup and Olympic competitions. 

This year, nine Cards are on site for the event, including two newcomers to the program. Returning players are Izzy Bianco, Emily Eaton, Lauren Masters, Sophia Parker, and Rylie Wollerton. A few of those names will be familiar to Cardinal Couple readers who have heard of this event before. Bianco, masters, and Parker have been part of the Team USA pipeline for a number of years. Also joining that group are two redshirt freshmen: Alessia Cicuto and Mary Wordelmann. Cicuto's inclusion is likely good news for Cardinal fans who weren't sure what the goalkeeper situation would look like for the Cards this season. Finally, the two newcomers are incoming freshman Jaelen Perez and transfer Addy Jay (who will come to the Cards from Boston University). 

Best of luck to all those participating!

Cardinal Swimmers at World University Games

Louisville swimming is also represented on the national stage, with this event taking place a bit farther away than Virginia Beach. The World University Games are underway in Berlin, Germany, and Cardinals are already doing quite well. Caroline Larsen, Ella Welch, and Julia Dennis are among the swimmers turning in their collegiate colors for the red, white, and blue. Louisville also has two men competing, with Denis Petrashov and Guy Brooks representing their home countries of Kyrgyzstan and South Africa, respectively. 

Larsen and Welch each got off to a hot start in the 50-meter butterfly, with Larsen finishing fifth and Welch sixth in the prelims, moving them to the semifinals. Both then qualified for the finals, as well, with Larsen posting the fastest time and Welch coming in .42 seconds later for fifth. 

Larsen also already has a gold medal, which she and Julia Dennis helped win in the 400 Free Relay. Team USA crushed the competition in the prelims, posting a fastest time nearly four full seconds ahead of second place. To assert their dominance further, the relay crew beat the prelim time by 1.5 seconds with a 3:36.21 in the finals on their way to gold. 

Congratulations and good luck as the event continues! 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

After a couple of weeks away, the show returns this week. We'll have three on board as Jared snaps photos at Freedom Hall for The Basketball Tournament. Paulie, Daryl, and I will bring you the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics with competition just around the corner. 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

Campus update -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

So glad for another weekend to be here, looking forward to keeping it chill in our house, which isnt always bad. 

Some sounds and sights from around campus this week

With the summer storm season in full swing i think its a great reminder to avoid driving during them and also DO NOT enter any standing water.  With the large dumps of rain, the UofL area tends to flash flood pretty bad.   Just dont chance it.  

I returned some library books earlier this week (did not finish them)

Standing in front of UofL Ekstrom Library facing the quad

With that said, I know I've said it before.. you never know who you may run into on campus and for me, it was the great Anna Debeer in line for coffee in the SAC. 

I got a chance to have a quick chat with Anna sans boot!   

She said she was healing well and working on finishing up her MBA.  I told her thanks for the great season and I just SO WISH she was able to play in the title match because I swear they would've won it all had she been able to suit up.  She said it was hard watching from the sidelines.  And for inquiring minds, it looked like she walked away with one of the pink refreshers as her drink of choice. 

I appreciate Anna taking the time to chat me up for a few.

Here's a pic for proof :D 

In line at Starbucks 

As Always,
Go Cards

~Daryl 

Former Card Advances Coaching Career -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Callie McKinney Departs Bellarmine WSOC

Following one season at the helm of the Bellarmine women's soccer program, former Cardinal Callie McKinney has left Louisville but returned to the ACC. McKinney has accepted an assistant coaching position with the SMU Mustangs, effective immediately. 

Photo via gocards

McKinney, from Franklin, Tennessee, played for Louisville from 2016-2019. After graduating with her bachelor's degree in exercise science at UofL, she received a master's degree in health science at Bellarmine. During that time, she joined the Bellarmine program as a graduate assistant in 2020, and was promoted to permanent assistant coach in 2021. In March of 2024, she was announced as the head coach and made her official collegiate coaching debut at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium against the Cards. She had previously served as a head coach in the summer of 2023 when she led the Racing Louisville USL W League team. 

Though the Knights didn't have a great season last year, McKinney did lead them to their best conference mark since joining the ASUN in 2020. Bellarmine was 5-12-3 overall, but finished 4-6-1 in conference. The mark was good enough to grant the Knights their first appearance in the ASUN tournament since 2021, and they won their first round game in a shootout over Austin Peay. 

McKinney's move, though technically a demotion in responsibility, is a big step up in coaching prestige. SMU is not a women's soccer power, but the ACC certainly is. To move into an assistant coaching position in the top conference in the sport is definitely an improvement in role. Her move also means that she will return to Lynn Stadium after all this season. The Cards aren't set to play Bellarmine in 2025, but they will host SMU. As she was honored in the opening game of the 2024 season, I would anticipate an acknowledgement of her accomplishment when the Mustangs visit Louisville on Senior Day on October 30th. 

While this move is great for Callie McKinney, it does leave Bellarmine in a bit of a lurch. Their roster currently lists Othaniel Yanez as the only member of the coaching staff. Yanez, another former Cardinal (2006-2009), joined the staff as an assistant alongside McKinney's head coaching elevation last season. With only a month before the season, I would anticipate Yanez to serve in at least an interim capacity. 

Best of luck to Callie in her new endeavors!

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Jared Looks at Field Hockey Schedule -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jared Breaks Down the 2025 Field Hockey Schedule

Hey Cardinal Couple readers, Jared checking in today as Paulie is recovering from his vacation to Gatlinburg. He should be back on the site in a couple days.

Another fall sport that is rapidly approaching is Louisville field hockey. This squad had an uncharacteristic off year last year. A major part of that was the departure of nearly half of the starting 11 from the previous year due to graduation and the expiration of the COVID-19 eligibility. With the 2025 team having a little bit more experience, we certainly expect to see Justine Sowry's squad back to its traditional form.

Louisville has a couple scrimmages against Bellarmine and Miami (OH) with the former being at Trager and the latter on the road. The Knights shouldn't be much of a challenge but the Redhawks could give us a good glimpse of how the Cards match up against a quality opponent.

UofL opens the season with their first two regulation matches at home against Michigan State and Ohio. The Spartans play in the ever-dangerous Big Ten (B1G). However, they sit near the bottom of the conference ever year. The Bobcats have not been a strong team over the last several years and should hopefully be an easy early season game. I have Louisville winning both matches to start the year.

Louisville then makes a trip to Bloomington for a pair of matches against Drexel (neutral site) and host Indiana. Drexel has been a plus-.500 for quite a while and did get a top-20 win each of the last two seasons. I still think the Cards pull off the win. Indiana is another Big Ten team that sits near the bottom of their conference. Louisville has won the last 10 in the series, outscoring the Hoosiers 29-3. The Cards should walk away from the weekend with an improved record of 4-0.

A three-game homestand against Northwestern, Iowa, and Ohio State will be a demanding stretch for the Cards. Northwestern is the reigning national champions. They were the runner-up the previous two seasons and won it all in 2021. I think the Wildcats hand Louisville their first loss. Like Louisville, Iowa had a down year last year and plans to be on the rise again this season. The Buckeyes and Cards have split the last six meetings with Ohio State winning on golden goal last season. This stretch will be a bit bumpy that I think will be a 1-2 outing and Louisville's record will move to 5-2.

A road trip to Saint Joseph's (PA) and Stanford is next on the schedule, thankfully with many days in between. The Hawks are the national runner-up and will defend their home turf well. Of all the sports Stanford is excellent at, field hockey is not one of them. The Cards will go 1-1 on the road and their overall record will be 6-3.

The Cards get to come home and will welcome Wake Forest and Bellarmine, this time for a regulation match. The Demon Deacons have been back-and-forth in the ACC and and the Knights have struggled since making the switch to DI. This is a prime opportunity for Louisville to build some momentum with a pair of wins and improve to 8-3.

Louisville visits the state of North Carolina next, facing Duke and North Carolina. The Tar Heels are the best field hockey program of all time with 11 titles. They have missed the Final Four once over the last 15 years. Duke is another powerhouse field hockey program. Playing on the road for these two matches will be not fun and the Cards will drop a pair and fall to 8-5.

The final stretch of the season begins with California and Virginia visiting Trager Stadium. Cal has been average over the years and despite stealing one from the Cards last year, I think Louisville gets its revenge. Virginia has had Louisville's number recently, winning four of the last five. I give the Cavaliers a slight advantage, moving Louisville's record to 9-6.

The regular season concludes with a trip to Boston College and coming home to host Syracuse. Both teams made the NCAA Tournament last year but Louisville has historically done well on the road against the Eagles. I give Louisville the edge here. Syracuse has had the Cards' number the last three years, but I think Louisville grinds out a Senior Day win. Louisville wraps up the regular season 11-6.

NCAA Tournament chances will depend on how well the Cards do in the ACC Tournament. Their rpi won't be an issue, but less than 20 teams make the tournament so Louisville needs to find a way to stand out to the committee. An ACC Tournament run could be just that.

(All photos by Jared)

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Jared Looks at Soccer Schedule -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jared Breaks Down and Predicts Women's Soccer Schedule

As we inch closer to the start of the 2025-2026 Louisville sports season, final rosters and schedules have fallen into place, allowing us to take a closer look at each team and take a stab at how we think they will do this season.

The first women's team to start their season this fall is women's soccer. While the 'Kickin Cards' have not had the success we had hoped over the last few years, a new season is always on the horizon.

This season opens up with road trips to Auburn and Vanderbilt, both teams who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year. The Commodores upset 1-seed Florida State to get to the Sweet Sixteen. It would be a tall task to earn a round win in there, but I see the Cards dropping both of those matches.

Louisville then head to Lynn Stadium for a six-game homestand. The first trio of matches come against Detroit Mercy, Wright State, and USC Upstate. The Spartans were the only team of that grouping to make it to the NCAA Tournament last year, where they got demolished by North Carolina in the opening round. All three matches should be wins for the Cards.

The back half of the homestand features Coastal Carolina, Kent State, and Dayton. The Flyers are the only team of that grouping to have a spectacular season last year, but Dayton was upset in the A10 Championship to miss out on the NCAA Tournament. Dayton also took down Louisville 1-0 last season. Louisville should be able to beat the first two of this grouping but I think the play Dayton to a draw, bringing their record to 5-2-1.

From here on out, Louisville moves to ACC play, something that has doomed the Cards in the past. They start by heading to Tallahassee to defeat Florida State. The Seminoles are a top tier team every season and should be able to defend their home turf with easy.

Louisville gets a three-game homestand after that against Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Miami. The Cards and Miami did not face off last year. Louisville drew with Clemson and was blown out against Virginia Tech. The Hokies went on a bit of a dark horse run in the tournament, making it to the Elite Eight. Virginia Tech should win again this year, but I see the Cards playing to an even draw against their other two opponents in this stretch. Louisville's record moves to 5-4-3.

A road trip to Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and Boston College follows. The Cards tied Notre Dame and Boston College last year, but did not face Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons were the runner-up in the NCAA Tournament. While Wake Forest should get a win in Winston-Salem, I think the Cards pull off a road win and a draw against the other two in this grouping, moving their record to 6-5-4.

The final stretch of the season includes Virginia, NC State, and SMU. The Cavaliers won their opening match of the tournament last year while the other two did not make it. Virginia will come into Lynn and earn a late-season victory to help their conference record, dropping the Cards down to .500 overall. I think the Cards split the other final two matches, ending their season 7-7-4, missing out on both the ACC and NCAA Tournaments.

Louisville returns a strong and veteran corps from last season so we could see a plus-.500 season, but Louisville's history in the ACC provides some doubt that they will be able to compete with many of the big dogs in the conference. Only time will tell.

(All photos today by Jared)

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

UofL Golf adds new assistant coach -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good morning readers, 

UofL is gearing up for the fall semester and Monday mean new employee orientation.  And my favorites are the ones where I get a chance to meet those involved with the athletics programs.  

UofL Golf

Whitney Young adds Tristyn Stasi (maiden name Nowlin) to the coaching staff this offseason. The 26 year old from Richmond, KY is an alumnus of the University of Illinois where she competed from 2016-2021 and attended Madison Central High School.

In fact, in college, Stasi’s best and worst finish came in 2018 in the Cardinal Cup, her sophomore season. Finished her career with a 73.40 scoring average, the best in a career in Illinois history. She first joined the Epson Tour in 2022.  In her 2023 campaigns she completed in 18 events, 10 cuts made, $11,813.

To read more of Tristyn's college resume click here.

Lets make it a great week. 

As Always, 
Go Cards 
~Daryl

Final Batch of All-ACC Academic Teams Announced -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

T&F, Rowing, and Softball Smart Cards

First - I apologize for the late post today. Second - if you thought we were done with All-ACC Academic teams, surprise! But this is the last one for the 2024-25 seasons. The league finished announcing the remaining honorees, so here goes nothing. As I mentioned the other day, the requirements for inclusion are a 3.0 GPA for the previous semester, a 3.0 cumulative GPA, and competition in at least 50 percent of the team's contests.

Rowing topped lacrosse for the most honorees, surpassing lacrosse's 23 with 31 of their own. That's quite the feat, since the roster holds only 43 names overall. That's 72% of their players, which also tops the 64% from lacrosse. All in all, very impressive, and it's a program record. Thirty-one players is quite the handful to name, but you can see the entire list here on gocards.

Track and field had 32 players overall announced, but that is inclusive of the men's and women's side. The women made up 20 of those, which is quite the showing. Those honored, and their T&F specialty, were Olivia Alessandrini (distance), Keira Antoni (sprints/hurdles), Ashley Callahan (pole vault), Sophia Day (jumps), Lucy Fellows (multis), Maya Follmer (multis), Emma Heckel (distance), Soledad Jean (jumps), Olivia Jenkins (sprints), Demaria King (throws), Ellie Maurer (distance), Sharvari Parulekar (jumps), Layla Roebke (distance), Synclair Savage (jumps/sprints), Maddie Seaby (distance), Lydia Stuart (pole vault), Iliana Triantafyllou (pole vault), Jade Whitfield (throws), Chelsea Williams (sprints), and Kiyah Yeast (sprints).

Last, but not least, comes softball. Softball had a strong list as well, and some of the first-time awardees may very well have been multiple if they weren't transfers. Softball has a unique addition to the requirements, based on how the positions work with playing time, so pitchers need only to have appeared in 20% of the team's contests. In all, the softball team had thirteen honorees. Three players made the list for the third time: Ally Alexander (SR), Sam Booe (SR), and Alyssa Zabala (JR). Four more were honored for the second time: Maddi Grant (SR), Easton Lotus (SR), Chelsea Mack (JR), and Katie Thatcher (SO). The first time honorees were Bri Despines (JR-transfer), Riley Janda (FR), Camryn Lookadoo (SO-transfer), Char Lorenz (SO), Taylor Monroe (FR), and Madison Pickens (FR). 

Once again, congratulations to all of these Cardinals on a job well done on the playing surface as well as in the classroom. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Girls Basketball Takes Over Expo Center -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Run 4 The Roses in Town This Weekend

The Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center is full of basketball courts this week as the annual Run 4 The Roses Classic and Run 4 The Roses Championship events take place from July 10-12 and July 13-15, respectively. The R4R event is a massive exposure event for middle and high school basketball players, drawing teams and coaches from all over the country. In fact, a coworker from a different office has been making use of some of our spare space in the Louisville office as he is in town with his daughter for the games. 

Just searching "Run 4 The Roses" will yield numerous posts from athletes wanting to draw attention to themselves as well as teams indicating they'll be in attendance to scout. One such post, from Tennessee Tech, feels like a recruiting opportunity for the team just as much as a chance to scout. 

This year, the events will be played on 88 courts and host 2,910 teams. With a guaranteed four games for each team, you can bet that it's quite the jam-packed space. I confirmed with the aforementioned coworker that it can be a bit difficult to "play to the whistle" when you can hardly tell which court a whistle is coming from. Nevertheless, the event has tons of value for the athletes to get in front of scouts from the next level, as the website boasts that 2,037 college coaches are credentialed. You can bet that if Jeff Walz and Kenny Brooks aren't among them, they've sent representatives. 

The event is also open to spectators. If watching loads of competitive youth sports is your kind of thing, you can head down to the Expo Center during any of the event times listed below. Spectator tickets are fairly reasonable, given the scale, as you can get a day pass for $30 or an event pass for $85. Granted, you might also pay half that in parking thanks to the Fair Board's wonderful parking policies, but that's neither here nor there. 

Might we see the next great Louisville player stand out this weekend? Surely there's a chance. It might even be a player not yet on anyone's radar, such is the nature of a huge exposure event like this. One thing is for sure, with more hotel compression in Louisville than the Kentucky Derby, the annual Run 4 The Roses hammers home that Kentucky is a basketball state and Louisville is a basketball town. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

No CCRHP This Week

When we skipped the show last week for the 4th of July, we anticipated returning to the booth this week. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we'll be off again this week. In the middle of the summer slump, you're not missing much on the news front, but we'll aim to get back into the swing of things next week as we are just about a month out from the fall schedule getting underway. 

WBB Video Coordinator on Team USA -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 


Finally my favorite day of the week again... 

Its also 7/11 day... not sure if that means free slushies anymore. I also dont know where a 7/11 is located in Louisville anymore but, it used to mean something around here! 

Other than that 'get off my lawn' rant... A small flutter of some news through the UofL sports programs as we get some Team USA news but its not exactly new news.  

A familiar face around the UofL WBB program, our very own Lamont Russell being asked back to serve in a familiar role.   

WBB

Photo from: Lamont Russell X account

from gocards.com -  Louisville women's basketball Director of Video and Graphic Design LaMont Russell will be representing the United States as he was named the video coordinator for USA Basketball's U19 National Team for the upcoming FIBA U19 Women's World Cup, held in Brno, Czech Republic.

This is the third year in a row Russell has been selected by USA Basketball as he was the video coordinator for the 2023 AmeriCup squad that competed in Leon, Mexico and held the same position last year for the FIBA U18 Women's World Cup team that competed in Colombia. The 2024 squad came away with the gold medal last year, which qualified them to compete in the FIBA U19 World Cup this year.

In Brno, USA Basketball will compete in Group A alongside Israel, Hungary and Korea. The red, white and blue will tip off vs. Korea on July 12 before taking on Hungary the following day, both at 2:15 p.m. ET. Group play concludes against Israel on July 15 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The FIBA U19 Women's World Cup, which was launched in 1985, features the world's top 16 U19 national teams who qualify based on their finishes the previous year at the biennial U18 zone championships. The USA has won the gold medal in nine of the last 10 competitions, including the last three.

Make it a great weekend, everyone. 

As always, 

Go Cards 

~Daryl 

Spring ACC Smart Cards -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Spring Sports See Many on All-ACC Academic Teams

All-ACC Academic Teams are being announced this week, and while we haven't heard about softball yet, the remaining spring sports are well-represented in the league. Requirements for inclusion are a 3.0 GPA for the previous semester, a 3.0 cumulative GPA, and competition in at least 50 percent of the team's contests. 

Tennis announced five honorees. Allie Gretkowski (R-SR; Sports Administration) and Berta Miret (SO; Neuroscience) each earned the nod from the league for the second time. Teammates joining them for the first time were Alice Otis (JR; Marketing), Germany Davis (SO; Political Science), and Elisabeth Iila (Psychology). 

Women's golf had a touch more than a handful, with six golfers being named to the list. That group was led by Carmen Griffiths (SR; Exercise Science) picking up her third All-ACC Academic honor. Beatriz Barrios Fernandez (SR) and Millie Cottrell (SO) are both majoring in Sports Administration (SPAD) and both were honored for the second time. SPAD is a popular major among Louisville athletes, as freshman Bailey Burkett, honored for the first time, is also in that program. The other two first-time honorees were transfer Thienna Huynh (JR; Political Science) and Veronika Exposito (FR; Finance). 

Lacrosse led the way in All-ACC Academic Honors as they placed a program record 23 players on the list. Forgive me for excluding classes and majors for a list so long. You can check out  the full post from gocards here if you want to see them all. Just know that the Business School is heavily represented. 

Three-time honorees: Ava Coyle, Negai Nakazawa, Abby Scully, and Izzy Seikel

Two-time honorees: Rian Adkins, Abigail Cole, Karli Kirchenheiter, Maggie McMahon, and Ashley Osborne

First-time selections: Kelsey Commerford, Abbie Dunlap, Riley Engelberg, Charlotte Jackson, Catherine Kangas, Issy Leech, Sophie Macleod, Erin Nicholson, J Pleck, Cece Reilly, Olivia Scorggie, Ella Terrell, Morgan Vasseur, and Reese Whiteman

Congratulations to all of these Cardinals on their academic accomplishments!

Aimee Plumb Honored by CSC

Formerly identified as the CoSIDA, the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America teams have been announced and Louisville field hockey's Aimee Plumb has been named to the At-Large third-team. Plumb is receiving her second national accolade from the group, having been previously honored following the 2022-23 season. Playing in her final season as a graduate, Plumb scored four goals and had four assists, moving up to seventh in program history in points (86) and goals (30) while going to ninth in assists (26). While doing all of this, she maintained a 4.0 GPA en route to graduating with a bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Art.  

Plumb's second naming to the team makes her one of eight players on this year's list to be a repeat selection. It makes her just the second Cardinal to pick up this specific honor multiple times. Plumb joins Jessica Javelet, who made the list in three straight seasons from 2004-2006. 

A huge congratulations to Aimee for a job well done throughout her career. We'll be sorry to see Aimee not suited up for the Cards next season, but we hope to still see her around as her younger sister Chloe looks to help fill the gap in her absence. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Yevheniia Putra will add depth to Louisville WBB front line --WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 6'3" UKRAINE CENTER HAS A WEALTH OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE.

Jeff Walz Has done well with tall European and Russian players over his time at Louisville. Cardinal fans rave over Elif istanbulloglu, who will be a junior on the 2025-26 squad. Many Cardinals fans will remember Yuliva Tokova. Yacine Diop was invaluable for the Cards front line in her playing days  

The newest name to the "EuroCards" list is Yevheniia Putra, a 6'3" freshman that hails from Kyiv, Ukraine. She played for the Ukrainian Senior National team on the 2025 FIBA Women Eurobasket Qualifiers. She played in all six games of the qualifiers and her best performance was against Portugal where she had 13 points and three rebounds. 

She has played in multiple International league and the 20 yr. old freshman and will joiN seven returning Cards as part of a six-player incoming freshman class. There is additional height in the incoming class...with Grace Mbugna from Danville Christian measuring in at 6'5" and transfer, 6'2" Laura Ziegler from St. Joseph. 

In addition, the Cards return 6'4" Isla Juffermans from Austraila and 6'3" sophomore Anaya Hardy  are back.

It will be interesting to see how Walz forms and aligns the 2025-26 Cards. The Cards did have 6'5" Eseosa Imafidon transfer out to Providence but she was seldom used in her two years as a Cardinal. Walz will probably lean on Imari Berry, Taj Roberts and Mac Randolph in the upcoming season...and Reyna Scott comes in from Oklahoma with impressive numbers. 

We wait anxiously for the opener against UCLA in Paris. 

How about a little Grace Potter and the Nocturals to tide us over until then? 

If I was from Paris

paulie

Brittany Morris Joins UofL WBB -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Morris is Newest Asst Coach for the Cards

Photo by GoCards

Following the departure of Stephanie Norman to her alma mater Arizona State, Louisville women's basketball had an assistant coach vacancy. That has been filled with the hiring of Brittany Morris.

Morris was an assistant at NC State for the last four seasons, where she worked under Wes Moore. During her time at NC State, the Wolfpack made three Sweet Sixteens, two Elite Eights, and one Final Four. NC State also won a combined three ACC regular season and tournament championships.

Prior to her time at NC State, Morris spent a year with East Carolina and three with UNC Wilmington. She was a part of UNCW's transition to DI. Morris specialized in recruiting during her time at each school, something she will be a part of at Louisville. 

We will catch more of Coach Brittany Morris this fall for the Louisville women's basketball season.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!
Jared

Summer Basketball Fix -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good morning readers, 

A quick basketball fix for the sports heads and some positive headlines for some former Cardinals... 



Dana Evans scored a season-high 18 points on 7-11 shooting for the Aces (9-9) Sunday afternoon as Las Vegas beat the Connecticut Sun 86-68 to move to an even .500 on the season.

Jeff Bottari/NBAE via Getty Images

Upcoming games

July 7, 2025

Myisha Hines- Allen is coming off a 5 point 5 rebound performance as the Wings (6-13) beat the Mercury (12-6) on 7/3.  The two will rematch tonight at 10pm. 

July, 8 2025

Emily Engstler is coming off 4 pts 5 rebounds in 20 min on the floor vs the Minnesota Lynx on 7/3. The match up with the Sky is scheduled for 11:30 am for some reason....

As Always, 
Go Cards 

~Daryl 

Enjoying the Extended Weekend -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cardinal Couple Summer Break Continues

Photo by UofL Magazine

With much of the Cardinal Couple crew out traveling and myself hosting company from out of town, we are taking a small break from our regular reporting to enjoy a bit of a summer break. Don't worry, we are only a month and a half away from the first UofL women's sport picking up.

Until then, we all plan to enjoy our holiday weekend with some relaxation... if the post-4th of July firework parties around the neighborhood can stop. Our neighborhood had fireworks going off well past midnight for about the 10th night in a row. 

Wishing everyone a happy holiday weekend. Happy Sunday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cardinal Couple on Vacay -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CC Summer Break

With the 4th of July falling on a Friday, that means that it's a summer break three-day weekend, which means everyone is gone. There also just so happens to be no news this week, so it's a good time for a short and sweet "Gone Fishin'" post. 

I don't think any of us will actually be fishing this weekend, but the Cardinal Couple crew are scattered to the wind this week. As we mentioned, the podcast will take a break this week with eyes on returning next Saturday. 

Wishing you and yours a safe and happy holiday weekend. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Happy 4th of July !! -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

Happy 4th of July. We hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend whatever your plans may be.


Track and Field XC

Some news from yesterday, the ACC announced that the conference championship meet will take place on Oct. 31, 2025, at Tom Sawyer State Park.


from gocards.com

    The University of Louisville has been named the host institution for the 2025         ACC Cross Country Championships.

    The Louisville track & field and cross country programs have now been selected     to host an ACC championship meet in three of the last four seasons after             hosting the ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships in both 2023 and 2025.

    The 2025 ACC Cross Country Championships will be staged at E.P. "Tom"             Sawyer State Park, the site of the 2015 and 2017 NCAA Division I Cross             Country Championships, on October 31, 2025.

    This will mark the second time in program history that Louisville has acted as         the host institution for the ACC Cross Country Championships, having also         hosted the event in 2017.

As always, 
Go Cards

~Daryl 

Cards Takeover on ACCN -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Owns ACCN Today   

As happens regularly during the offseason, the ACC Network has program "takeover" days scheduled this summer. Louisville takes a prime spot with the day heading into a holiday weekend, so if you're missing Cardinal sports, today is a great day to get your fix. 

Unfortunately, two of the women's replays have already come and gone. WBB vs Florida State aired at 2am eastern time and softball vs Notre Dame immediately followed it at 4. The other overnight games were football vs SMU (midnight) and MBB vs Clemson at 6. Wrapping up the morning will be a replay of one of the Miami vs Louisville super regional baseball games, which got underway at 8am. 

There will be a midday break before another baseball replay, this one the win over Oregon State in Omaha, gets started at 2PM. A big volleyball match takes the first evening slot with a replay of #3 Wisconsin vs #6 Louisville starting at 5. That was a fun one, and it's the last opportunity for a women's replay on the day. Nothing But Net with Pat Kelsey as a guest will air at 7 and 7:30 before the final game of the day is football vs Clemson at 8pm. 

It should be a fun stroll down memory lane, but it won't do much to hold us over. Only about six weeks left until fall sports get underway!

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

The Louies -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

The Louies Final Awards

Photo by GoCards

The 2025 "The Louies" Award Banquet was held earlier this week. Following the conclusion of each school year, The Louies recognizes various categories such as leadership awards, newcomers, team moments, and special awards. Here are all of them women's sports winners:

UPS Leadership Award - Female

Gabi Albiero, Swim and Dive

Outstanding Seniors

Baylie McClellan, Ladybirds

Taylor Johnson, All Girl Cheer

Lindsey Hyden, Coed Cheer

Olivia Watson, Pep Band

Nayelis Cabello / Photo by Jared

Staff Support Member

Baylee Burke

Newcomer of the Year - Female

Nayelis Cabello, Volleyball

Tajianna Roberts, Basketball

Louisville Volleyball / Photo by Jared

Moment of the Year - Female

Volleyball defeating Pittsburgh in the Final Four to advance to the National Championship

Athletic Director Award

Anna DeBeer, Volleyball

Elena Scott, Volleyball

Jayden Ulrich, Track and Field

Anna DeBeer / Photo by Jared

Adidas High Performance Award - Female

Synclair Savage, Track and Field

Elena Scott / Photo by Jared

We were fortunate to witness many of these student-athletes and moments in person this past season. While some of these student-athletes have seen their collegiate careers come to a close, we still get to see some of them don a Louisville uniform next season.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Synclair Savage Named ACC Women's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Savage Joins Two Other Cardinals Over Last Four Years

Photo by GoCards

Following an incredibly successful outdoor spring season, Synclair Savage was named the ACC Women's Outdoor Athlete of the Year. Savage won the NCAA East Regional long jump with a mark of 6.64m. This qualified her for the NCAA Championships, where she set a program record in the same event with a 6.72m mark, winning the national championship.

Savage joined Jayden Ulrich (2024) and Gabriela Leon (2022) as recent UofL women's track and field athletes to earn the honor. 

She finishes her collegiate career having one of the most decorated seasons in Louisville history. Savage won six of the seven events she competed in this season. Five of the top 10 marks in program history came this season from the fifth-year senior.

As we have hit the halfway point of the 2025 and Louisville's fiscal year, we can now fully turn our attention to the upcoming fall sports season.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

UofL shifting structurally this week -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good morning readers,

Last day of June already... its been 6 months since Wedding day!

On campus, changes are happening this week where financial systems are converting to new ones on July 1st and the HR dept is also restructuring so it'll be another busy one for me.

There was a budget meeting on campus this past week too in which resulted in the following email to be sent out to the UofL community resulting from decisions made by the board:

"Unfortunately, the challenges facing the university made a tuition increase necessary this budget year. Athletics also will implement a student fee beginning in fall 2025 in support of student-athlete services and student experiences. These were difficult decisions for us, understanding that finances remain the main obstacle to students pursuing higher education."

International Basketball

Elif Istanbulluoglu and the Turkish national team didnt win the FIBA championship but they did qualify for the World Cup.  Elif appeared in 3 games scoring 4 points, a steal, a rebound and an assist in 21 total minutes on the floor.  

As Always,
Go Cards
~Daryl

Jurich ceremony a good start...now lets get him reinvolved in the athletic program --SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 It'sTime To Bring Tom Home

While the Saturday ceremony on campus for Tom Jurich was long overdue and a wonderful sight to see, let's hope it is just the start of his re-introduction to Cardinals Athletics. 

The Tom Jurrich Ceremony

We were a powerhouse in athletics during the Jurich reign, and he certainly would be a huge help to Josh on campus in restoring the Cards to the top of the heap. 

True, we are in the ACC now, and the conference isn't going to roll over and play dead to Louisville athletics to establish superiority...but Jurich always had a knack of getting coaches who could get the best players and this coaching tree that women's athletics has now would no doubt be thrilled to have him back sharing ideas and helping Josh Heird continue to build this program. 

The federal investigation that eventually led to Jurich's termination was a witch hunt...there are so many program who have done far worse, and the board of trustees were idiots for getting rid of the architect of what we see today on campus. 

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

We have much more on this on our weekly Cardinal Couple podcast. Give it a listen below: 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast 6/28/15

paulie

 

Tom Jurich Ceremony Today -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Ceremony Celebrating Jurich on Campus Today

We talked last week about UofL's announcement of Tom Jurich Way coming on a random weekday and how there should be more pomp around it. I'm sure that it's not because of that conversation, but UofL is having a ceremony to honor Jurich today. It's not a curtain call at a football game, but it's still a great celebration. 

Today's ceremony will begin at 10am, so there's still time to get down to campus if you're reading this early. Tom Jurich will speak, and he'll be preceded by John Ramsey and Mayor Craig Greenberg. The event will be held at the Lenny Lyles Plaza between Cardinal Park and Ulmer Stadium. The event is open to the public and fans are encouraged to attend free of charge. 

I spoke last week on the show about how Jurich was Louisville athletics to me growing up. I'm thrilled to see that the relationship between him and the University appears to be on the mend, and I hope that he can act as a somewhat of an advisor to Josh Heird going forward to continue to propel the program in the right direction. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We're back again this week with another threesome on the teebox. Jared, Paulie, and I will talk mostly about the schedules this week as we try to make our way through the summer slump. We'll be off next week for the July 4th holiday weekend, so tune in this week to stay up on the news before the break. Check out the show after it posts around 1PM, and be sure to subscribe so that it comes to your feed automatically. 

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Until next time, Go Cards!

Case