Lacrosse Adds New Assistant Coach -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Riley Ewing Joins Lax Staff

Photo by GoCards

Riley Ewing has joined the Louisville lacrosse staff and will serve as an assistant coach beginning the 2026 season. Ewing spent the last two seasons at George Mason.

During her two seasons as an assistant coach at George Mason, the Pioneers posted strong results. They finished last season near the top in the country in successful draw controls, something Louisville has been looking to improve on. In 2024, George Mason recorded double-digit wins, highlighted by a 6-0 start to the season.

Ewing has also spent some time playing for Team USA. She helped Team USA win gold at the 2024 Women's Box Lacrosse Championships. She scored seven goals and five assists in the championship game.

Photo by Jared

An Ohio State alum, Ewing sits high on the single game, season, and career record books at Ohio State. She will provide much-needed assistance at Louisville, providing a strong focus on draw controls and offense.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

More Academic Honors for Lacrosse -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Lax Recognized by IWLCA

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about the stellar academic season the Louisville lacrosse program had as it pertained to All-ACC Academic honors. The Cards had 23 honorees, if you'll remember, which was a program record. That recognition has moved beyond the ACC to the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association. The IWLCA announced their Division I Academic Honor Roll yesterday and Louisville placed 12 student-athletes on the list. 

The IWLCA Honor Roll is for upper classmen (juniors, seniors, and graduate students) that have maintained a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher. Including the 12 Louisville players, the list includes 1,163 student-athletes from 124 different institutions, which is a testament to the academic accomplishments of lacrosse programs across the country. 

Louisville was also named as an IWLCA Academic Honor Squad, which recognized the team's 3.65 GPA for the 2024-25 academic year. Louisville's individual honorees and their majors are below:

Aubrey Bagenstose (psychology/history)

Ava Coyle (marketing/finance)

Maggie McMahon (business administration/sport administration)

Negai Nakazawa (sport administration)

Tiffany Natoli (biology)

Erin Nicholson (accounting/finance)

Ashley Osborne (nursing)

Cece Reilly (communications)

Marley Scott (business administration)

Abby Scully (communications/management)

Izzy Seikel (marketing)

Izzy Szejk (communications/strategic communications and social media)

Congratulations, again, to these Cardinals on their accomplishments!

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

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

Softball takes game 1 vs UVA in extras --LAX falls at ND -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Good morning and happy Friday readers!  We are officially 2 weeks from the Derby weekend which I am very much looking forward to.  Get your fascinators ready ladies!!! 



Softball

The Cards are on the road in Charlottesville, Virginia for an ACC series with the Cavs ahead of the holiday weekend.  The Cavs are celebrating their seniors this weekend and UofL is celebrating a 3 game winning streak taking game 1 of the series Thursday evening.  Its just the second loss for the Cavs at home this season.  

The Cards eek out a victory over the RPI Top 25 Cavaliers 6-5 in 9 innings. Alyssa Zabala got the start in the circle and looked to complete the game heading into the 7th inning with a 5-1 UofL lead.   After giving up 3 hits in the inning, UofL head coach Holly Aprile made the pitching change. She finished her day giving up 8 hits and 4 runs (3 in the 7th) and 4 strikeouts.

  

Brooke Gray got the win in 2.2 innings of one-hit softball in the circle.  

Easton Lotus finished with 4 hits on 5 plate appearances, scoring 2 runs. Char Lorenz had a 2 run HR to put the Cards ahead 5-1 late in the game.  

The last time UofL and UVA faced off was in 2023 in Charlottesville when the Cards swept em. 

1st inning

The Cards had 5 batters appear to open the game but count come up with any runs.   The Cavs came out swinging to get on the board early with a single and a double and a SAC bunt in-between to score the games first run.  But I will say I think it was a bad defensive effort that allowed that first runner to get on board to begin with. 

2nd inning

Pretty anticlimactic inning as the score remains the same throughout.  

3rd inning

A single up the middle for Lotus to start the offensive punch for the Cards before Lookadoo found herself looking at a bases loaded situation. She singled over third base to score 2 runs and then some defensive chaos throwing the ball around allows for some advancements and then a play at home which was reviewed and upheld as out at the plate. Card up 3-1 

4th inning

Both squads with 1 hit and 1 left on base but no runs to show in the inning. 

5th inning

Three up, three down for both squads for a quick inning. 

6th inning

Zabala started the 6th with a 10 pitch at bat that should've been a strike 3 called on a beautiful pitch on the inside corner but instead resulted in a single to CF which is quite deflating but the Cards were able to get out of the inning unscathed. 

7th inning

A Lotus single to left followed by a quick slap homerun to left center put the Cards in a comfy position heading into the final frame of regulation. But the Cavs would respond with 3 hits and runners on the corners and a chance to tie it at the plate.   Coach Holly Aprile makes the pitching change and put Lindsey Mullen in the circle instead.  She threw just 6 pitches facing 2 batters for the night, giving up a home run and a single putting the Cavs in a position to win in walk off fashion.  Aprile makes another pitching change putting Gray in to clean up the mess.   To extras we go... 

8th inning

The Cards had 3 hits but were unable to plate any runs it in and defensively it was 3 up, 3 down for UVA.

9th inning

Ally Alexander walked to get on base and ultimately score the game winning run on a fielding error from UVA and Maddi Grant doubling to right field to push the run across.  The Wahoos got two runners on but where unable to respond. 

The Cards win! 

Lacrosse

Louisville went to South Bend for the last match of the 2025 season and fell 6-17 against the Notre Dame fighting Irish. UofL finishes the 2025 campaign with a 7-10 record and a 1-8 mark in ACC play. The Irish had lost their 4 previous matchups and finished 7-8, 2-7 ACC.


ND scored in the first minute of the game and the Cardinals responded a minute later when Negai Nakazawa sent a feed to Maggie McMahon who delivered her 12th goal of the season. ND scored nine unanswered goals to close out the first quarter. Reese Whiteman for her team-best 25th goal of the season but the Cards could not come back from the early deficit and went into the break down 10.

This is the Health Science Campus of UofL - Downtown - the School of Medicine

I am working on finishing up a pretty awesome UofL related project here in the coming weeks that I am looking forward to sharing soon =)

As Always
Go Cards

~Daryl 

WOMEN'S COACHES COACHES RECEIVE CONTRACT EXTENSIONS -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 TEETER, COPELAND GET CONTRACT EXTENSIONS

Two of the coaches in the University of Louisville women's programs recently received contract extensions.

Scott Teeter, head women's lacrosse coach, got contract enhancements and a three year extension, thru June 30, 2028. Teeter is in his eighth year at Louisville, and came in and basically rebuilt the program after the Kellie Young debacle. In 2024 Lacrosse reached the ACC Quarterfinals, and has also set a new record for goals and saves in a game by a player and the team. 

All-American Nicole Perroni ended with a 55 game scoring streak and a 54 game goal scoring streak. Perroni was also naked as an assistant coach for Colgate University for the 2025 program and the program is 7-6 this season and is in fifth place in the Patriot  League, currently on a three game win streak. 

Teeter's squads get it done in the classroom as well, achieving the IWLCA GPA Award in four of his years here. 

Derek Copeland also received an extension on his contract...the Cards head women's rowing coach has rebuilt and revitalized the program, while competing in one of the toughest conferences in women's rowing. Copeland was named head coach in 2014 and was the guiding force behind the continued improvements of the multi-million dollar Louisville Rowing facility on River Road. the G. Garvin III Rowing Center. The facility has offices for Copeland, two assistant coaches, boathouse manager and a graduate assistant. It also has a student study area and lounge, showers and can accommodate 80 student athletes with an equipment room and weight training center. 

Congratulations to both these hard working dedicated coaches, who may not always receive the notoriety and public recognition as some of the others in the women's programs but are important program builders and leaders in the UofL coaching community. 

paulie

Louisville Softball beats B.C. -- Lax loses to Duke -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Softball Survives a Slugfest and Lacrosse  Loses on Senior Day

Both the main Louisville women's Spring sports found themselves in action on Saturday -- even if it was in two different locations. We'll start today with the LAXCards. The Cards Lacrosse squad hosted #9 ranked Duke for their senior day at the L.L.S, but the Blue Devils left with the "W" a 17-7 handling of the Cards, who said "goodbye to their senior class. 

LAX

"I thought we battled for 60 minutes. Duke is a very good team, a balanced team and a very deep team. I thought we played a lot of defense today and took them deep into the shot clock, and we came close on a few possessions that Duke was able to cute...we had some really good moments but Duke was able to make us pay for out mistakes."  --  Louisville head coach Scott Teeter. 

Our Jared Anderson conducted the post game interviews...hear them HERE

Duke (12-3, 6-2) jumped ut to  2-0 lead in the first quarter, before the Cards got their first goal from Maggie McMahon. The Blue Devils responded with three straight goals and ended up taking the first quarter 5-2 after UofL's Lauren Figas scored with a minute remaining in the quarter.

McMahon scored again early in the second quarter, but it would be the final Cards scoring tally of the half, as Duke responded with five straight goals to go in to the half with a commanding 10-3 advantage. 

Duke added four more goals in the third quarter an the Cards were just able to respond with an Abby Scully goal, making the contest solidly in favor of the Blue Devils 14-4 going into the fourth.  

Each squad tallied three more goals in the fourth, the Cards goals coming from Negai Nakazawa, Izzy Seikel and Maggie McMahon's third goal of the afternoon. 

(LAX photos by Jared Anderson)

SOFTBALL

Meanwhile, up in Newton, Mass...the Cards Softball squad won a slug fest against the Boston college eagles 14-13.

Louisville jumped ut to an early 4-0  lead in the top of the first, and extended it to a 10-2 lead in the third inning when they got key his from Easton Lotus and Char Lorenz. 

Boston College decided to make a game of it , though, and touched the Cards for four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

Louisville exploded again in the top of the sixth inning with four runs, including a double from Carmyn Lookadoo and triple from Chelsea Mack to make it 14-7. 

Boston College still had life in the bats, though, ans went for five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, creating a 12-12 contest. The Eagles put Louisville away in the top of the seventh and appeared to be on a rally in the bottom of the seventh when scored a run and had two on in their final at bats, but the Cards reied the next two BC batters to escape with the 14-13 victory.

Brooke Gray was credited with the Louisville win, one of four pitchers the Cards used in the slugfest, and Gray improves to 7-6 on the season.  

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

A small..but mighty crew on board for the CCRHP yesterday...as Case and Paulie took to the internet to catch up on Cardinal women's athletics. 

The lads covered LAX, softball, and other Cards Women's sports subjects in a podcast that ran well over the normal hour of podcasting..

You can catch up on all the fun and knowledge on the Cardinal Couple You Tube site, along  with a lot of other groovy stuff...check it out below !  

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast 4/12/25.

paulie

LAX stumbles at Virginia 17-3 -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 OFFENSE STUMBLES AT VIRGINIA

Whoever made off with the Louisville Lacrosse offense against ACC foes...please return it and we won't ask any questions . A mere seven goals in three ACC games certainly isn't the way to build ip a NCAA Tournament viable resume or win games, but it seems to be the mode this team is stuck in currently. 

#9 Virginia took  the opportunity to be the latest ACC school to pummel the Cards beleaguered defense, putting up 17 goals on the Cards, and playing most of the second half with a running clock, as the Cards could just get a goal each out of out of Reese Whiteman, Izzy Seikel and Cece Reilly. 

The loss drops the LaxCards to 6-8 overall and 1-6 in ACC contests. with just three contests left in the regular season., Louisville chances of making the ACC Tournament are getting bleaker and bleaker...and if they did manag to finish eighht, they'd get rewarded by having to face either North Carolina or Boston College. Currently, they are in a three way tie with Notre Dame and Pitt at ninth spot..

Saturday's match vs, Virginia wasn't a pretty thing to watch, unless you happen to be a Hoos fan. The Cavs jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter, before the Cards got two goals and left the first quarter trailing 6-2.  

The second quarter had UVA and Louisville trading scores, then Virginia went on a 4-0 run to end the half and take to the locker room comfortably ahead 11-3.

Although the Cards offense output was absent in the second half, UVA managed to tack on two more third quarter scores and win the fourth quarter 4-0 for the final 17-3 win. 

UVA had a 38-14 shot advantage and a 29-7 shot on goal edge. 

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST. 

Four of us gathered around the microphones for the Saturday podcast. We had a great time, discussing flooded basements and backed up pipes...plus softball, the basketball transfers in and out and lacrosse. Good to be back after a bit of an absence due to a number of reasons

Big news for the Carsd would be Nyla Harris transferring out of the program... 

Hear Daryl, Case ,Jared and I at the link below: 

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST 4/5/2025

paulie

Transfer News; Saturday Schedule -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB Adds Skylar Jones

In today's college basketball landscape, the transfer portal gives and it takes away. Earlier this week, we learned that Nyla Harris chose to depart Louisville for UNC. That one stings a bit, and it will be hard to replace her veteran leadership and heart on the team. That said, the Cards announced an incoming transfer to help bolster the scoring and experience, although not from the post. 

Louisville is bringing in Skylar Jones from the University of Arizona. Jones is a 6'-0" guard from Chicago who will be a junior in the 2025-26 season. In her freshman season for the Wildcats, she was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team as an honorable mention. As a sophomore, she started 25 games and appeared in 32, averaging 10.7 points, 3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.6 steals. Her career night came against TCU, when she dropped 30 points on Van Lith and Co. That may have been part of what caught Jeff Walz's eye, since no one other than Jayda Curry could score against the Horned Frogs for Louisville. 

Jones is the first of likely multiple players that will be called on to bolster a depleted guard rotation. Louisville loses Jayda Curry, Ja'Leah Williams, and Merissah Russell to graduation and rising sophomore Izela Arenas has announced her intent to transfer. Jones joins Imari Berry and Taj Roberts as the only returning guards to see significant minutes last season, with Reagan Bender and Rebekah Graves also listed as guards on the roster. 

April Showers in Louisville 

If the Cards aren't on the road, I struggle to see how they'll play in any outdoor events today. As Daryl mentioned yesterday, Louisville softball announced their cancellation of today's double-header as far back as Thursday. The rain isn't set to let up here or anywhere nearby, as Louisville Metro crews were already setting flood gates yesterday afternoon and Louisville MSD announced that the city's combined sanitary/storm system was nearing capacity. 

Plenty of rain, but no rainbows likely today

All that is to say that Louisville Field Hockey is still acting like they will host their spring tournament at Trager Stadium today and tomorrow. It's an astroturf field with good drainage, but this weather seems absolutely abysmal to participate in any outdoor activity in. I'm already dreading walking from my car to the indoor golf facility tomorrow. There is also lightning in the area, threatening any sports with delays. Louisville is scheduled to kick off the event at 10 AM today, so we'll see. 

Lacrosse is on the road this weekend, but they're at Virginia, and I'm pretty sure Charlottesville is on this same path of weather. Their game against the top-ten Cavaliers is set for noon. The Cards are coming off of an exciting win over Liberty and would desperately like to get back into the win column in the ACC. That game will be available on ACC Network Extra. 

Track and field are taking part in split events, but both are west of the Rockies, so hopefully they are spared of the sogginess. The teams are at the Jim Vargo Invitational (Stanford) and the Jim Click Shootout & Multis (Arizona). Yesterday, the Cards picked up three wins, with Ashley Callahan (pole vault) and Jayden Ulrich (discus) taking the top spot in Arizona and Lauren Bettencourt (1500m) taking gold in Stanford. Both events continue today. 

Cardinal Couple NCAA Pick 'Em

Although Karen J has locked up first place, second will come down to the championship game as Thomas and Tim F are both locked at 52 points. There will be no need for a tiebreaker in this one; the two picked opposing champions. Thanks again to everyone for playing! 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We're finally back this week after getting everyone through various obstacles. We'll watch the rain fall out the window as Paulie, Daryl, and I record this week's show, with a potential appearance from Jared dependent on his puppy duties. 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

Lacrosse Hosts Liberty -- Tennis Beats Virginia Tech -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Lacrosse Hosts Liberty

Louisville lacrosse looks to bounce back from a loss with a midweek game against Liberty today. The Cards and Flames will square off at noon at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium.

The Cards enter the match 5-7 on the year and 1-5 in the ACC. Fortunately, they are able to step away from conference play momentarily.

Liberty has had a hot start to the season with an 8-3 record. All three losses came against ACC teams (20-5 to Virginia, 23-1 to North Carolina, and 15-6 against Pittsburgh). They do have a win against then-ranked Richmond by one. Most recently, the Flames defeated Queens University 18-17 with the winning goal coming with five minutes left in regulation.

Louisville won the only meeting between the two teams last season 11-8 on the road. The Cards held a one-goal lead entering the fourth quarter before pulling away.

Women's Tennis Upsets Virginia Tech

Photo by GoCards

Louisville women’s tennis earned a major win over the weekend, taking down #37 Virginia Tech 4-0. The win improves the Cards’ record to 10-7 on the year and 2-6 in the ACC. This is the first ranked win in nearly two years for the Cards.

The last time Louisville hit the 10-win mark was the 2022-2023 season. They have only hit the 10-win mark three times since the 2018-2019 season. The two conference wins is the most for the Cards since the 2020-2021 season when they went 3-10 in the ACC. Louisville has never surpassed three conference wins since joining the ACC.

In collegiate tennis, teams play a best-of-seven score. Despite a trio of doubles matches, only one doubles point is awarded. The other six points are determined in the individual matches.

The Cards took the doubles point after the teams of Berta Miret / Lika Peresypkina and Alice Otis / Allie Gretkowski won. The Cards won the first three singles matches with Gretowski, Elena Noguero, and Elisabeth Lila.

The Cards are back in action against ranked Georgia Tech on Friday at 4:00pm.

(photos by Jared unless otherwise noted)

NCAA Pick 'Em Update

We're down to the final four, so there are just a few more points on offer. The race for second is still close, but Karen J has locked up first place as she holds a three point lead. Tim F and Thomas both need South Carolina to beat Texas to challenge Karen's score, but a South Carolina victory would clinch the win for Karen J by giving her another point. 

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards Fall in Lax and Softball -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Second Quarter Dooms Lax Cards

A rough day on Floyd Street for two Louisville women's sports squads Saturday

Louisville lacrosse couldn't overcome a porous second quarter as they fell to #4 Stanford 15-2. The loss drops the Cards to 5-7 on the year and 1-4 in the ACC.

It took less than two minutes for the Cards to score, but it would be their only lead of the game. Stanford would score a couple quick goals. Louisville would hold Stanford scoreless over the next eight minutes before another goal by the ACC newcomers right before the end of the period gave them a 3-1 lead. The second quarter was all Stanford as they outscored Louisville 8-0. The Cards trailed 11-1 at the break and were facing an uphill battle with a running clock.

The third quarter, while quick with the running clock, was rather uneventful. Stanford added a pair of goals to go up 13-1. Stanford added a couple more goals with a Louisville score sandwiched in the middle.

Lauren Figas and Reese Whiteman scored the two goals for the Cards, who were limited to just 18 shots on the day.

On the defensive end, J Pleck recorded nine saves with 15 goals allowed. She now has 107 saves on the year. Ashley Osborne recorded her 100th ground ball of the season. 

Louisville returns to action on Tuesday at noon when they host Liberty.

Softball Silenced Against Duke

Louisville softball's lone run came with two outs in the seventh inning in a 5-1 loss to #19 Duke. Duke takes the series lead 2-0 with the final game of the series slated for today at noon.

Duke was able to capitalize on a pair of Louisville defensive miscues to score a run in the top of the first inning. The Blue Devils were able to add another run in the third, but the damage was limited with multiple runners on base at the time. A solo home run and a pair of hits plated two more runs for Duke. They added an insurance run in the seventh for a strong 5-0 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, a double by Ally Alexander and walks by Maddi Grant and Madison Pickens loaded the bases with one out. Easton Lotus was able to send a ball deep to left center to drive in a run, but the rally came too late.

Alexander and Pickens combined for four of Louisville's six hits. The Cards left seven runners on base. Duke pieced together five runs on 10 hits but the Louisville defense stranded nine Duke runners on base.

Alyssa Zabala got the start in the circle but took the loss after allowing four hits and three runs. Sam Booe came in for the back half of the game and allowed six hits and two runs along with a pair of walks.

The Cards drop to 20-14.

WBB Elite Eight Set

UofL women's basketball at Lacrosse

The last of the Sweet Sixteen games were played yesterday and the NCAA Women's Elite Eight is set.

2-seed TCU and former Cardinal Hailey Van Lith took down 3-seed Notre Dame 71-62. The Irish had one of their worst offensive performances of the season .

1-seed Texas survived a scare against 5-seed Tennessee and won 67-59 in the battle of the orange teams.

2-seed UConn took down 3-seed Oklahoma and former Cardinal Payton Verhulst. Paige Bueckers went off for a career-high 40 points.

1-seed USC and former Cardinal assistant coach Beth Burns took down 5-seed Kansas State and former Cardinal Zyanna Walker 67-61 in a battle that came down to the final seconds.

Today's games feature 1-seed UCLA vs 3-seed LSU and 1-seed South Carolina vs 2-seed Duke.

(All photos today by Jared)

Happy Sunday and Go Cards!

Jared

Games at Home and Away (?) -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Welcomes Duke for Weekend Series

After a brief road trip last weekend, Louisville dragged something back home with them from North Carolina. The Cards will return to Ulmer this week for a three game slate against the Duke Blue Devils. Duke is approaching their tenth season of play, and they're a bit down on previous seasons. That said, they're still no slouch. Following their home sweep at the hands of Florida State last weekend, they took out some frustrations on East Carolina in the midweek game, taking down the Pirates 11-0 in five innings. 

The Blue Devils are 4-5 in conference, right in the middle of the pack and one game ahead of Louisville. They've had some big losses so far, like Louisville, but they've also grabbed a few major wins, something the Cards can't quite say. Duke has wins this season over (in chronological order) #24 Mississippi State, #2 Florida, #16 Nebraska, and #4 UCLA. They haven't won a ranked game in seven attempts since that February 23rd game, but Louisville's lone ranked win of the season came at FAU on 2/16. Granted, the Cards have had many fewer opportunities. 

Louisville is narrowly outscoring Duke overall 198-191, but they're down 37-48 in runs scored in conference play. That's alarming, given the two teams' opponents so far. Every game is a new opportunity, though, so Louisville will see if they can right the ship against conference foes this weekend and earn their second series win of the season. First pitch tonight is scheduled for 6PM and the game will air on ACC Network Extra. 

Lacrosse Hosts Annual Military and First Responders Day

Louisville lacrosse sees no rest for the weary in a loaded ACC. The Cards are 5-6 overall but just 1-4 in conference play. In fairness, those conference games have come against three teams in the top-15, with two of them being ranked first and second in the nation. After a tough loss to Clemson on the road, Louisville returns home for another big match as they take on 4th-ranked Stanford. Tomorrow's game will be the Military and First Responders game for Louisville, which may be a bit triggering for Stanford. 

The Cardinal are 9-3 this season with wins over ranked (at the time) USC, Colorado, Virginia (away), and Yale. Their losses came in double OT on the road at Syracuse and at home to Boston College. No shame in those. What's a little odd, though, is that they followed the home loss to BC on Saturday with a midweek loss on the road at Army. Uhhhh... Huh? 

Louisville shouldn't take that loss to mean anything other than that Stanford slipped up. The Trees have shown themselves to be more than capable of blowing teams out, including a 23-4 win over Virginia Tech who, as you may remember, gave the Cards a fair waxing earlier this season. As Louisville will play just nine conference games this season, they'll need to win out if they want to finish above .500 in conference play. That's a tall order, so I'd settle with a couple of nice upsets. Tomorrow's noon game at LLS would be a good place to start. 

Volleyball Plays Vanderbilt at Central Hardin

Louisville volleyball is also in action tonight as they kick off their spring slate. The Cards will officially be the away team for tonight's match, but they'll have a shorter drive than the "hosting" Vanderbilt. The two teams will play at Central Hardin High School in Elizabethtown. The match was originally scheduled to be played at E'town High School, but the venue change came just a few days later. 

This will be the Commodores' second spring match and their second in a high school gymnasium. The first was much closer to home, as they hosted Tennessee at Brentwood High School two weeks ago. Brentwood is an exurb of Nashville. The 2025 season will be the first for Vanderbilt Volleyball. 

The 'Dores are helmed by Anders Nelson, a former associate head coach at UK. They'll be led on the floor by transfers, as you might expect in today's climate and for a new program. They've added Sydney Conley from Florida State and Jacquelyn Moore and Isabella Bareford from Loyola Marymount. Perhaps the gem of the class is Kamryn Chaney, the 2024 Ivy League Player of the Year who was also named to the AVCA All-North Region First Team. Chaney, an outside hitter, comes from Princeton. Vandy will also sport a local connection. Their first ever program commit came from Hailee Mack, a libero from Louisville who played at IMG Academy. If that name rings a bell, it might be because her father was the head men's basketball coach at UofL. 

On the Louisville side, this will be the start of the Dan Meske Era for the Cards. Louisville will see what life is like without a handful of familiar faces, as along with Dani Busboom-Kelly, the Cards move into a new season without Anna DeBeer, Elena Scott, Charitie Luper, Sofia Maldonado Diaz, and Phekran Kong. That's... um... a lot of hitting to replace. We'll see what Dan has in store for the Cards soon. Tonight's match is at 7:30pm and admission is free.

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Lax Crushes Xavier — WBB Bracket Breakdown — THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Lacrosse Defeats Xavier in Blowout Fashion

Louisville lacrosse made a Wednesday night trip to Cincinnati. The Bearcats weren't the opponent at the end of the trail this time, though. Instead, the Cards had their sights set on the Musketeers of Xavier. Louisville would go on to win, 19-6.

The Cards raced out of the gate with three goals in five minutes. Xavier cut the Louisville lead to one, but the Cards led 7-3 after the first quarter. Louisville outscored the Musketeers 4-1 in the second quarter for a comfortable 11-4 halftime lead.

Coming out of the break, the two teams traded goals. After that, it was all Louisville as the Cards scored five straight to close out the third quarter and lead 17-5 and have a running clock. With the running clock in play for the entirety of the fourth quarter, the Cards were able to relax, but still took the final period 2-1.

10 different Cards scored in the game. Reese Whiteman and Maggie McMahon each recorded hat tricks. J Pleck played the first half in goal, logging five saves to go against four goals allowed. Hanna John took over the second half with four saves and two goals allowed.

Louisville improves to 5-5 on the win. They remain on the road and visit Clemson on Sunday. 

Jared Breaks Down the Women’s Basketball Bracket

Blank NCAA Bracket

We are one day away from the start of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. Arguably, the best time of the year has finally arrived as we get three weeks of nearly non-stop basketball.

Here at Cardinal Couple, we have a long-standing tradition of hosting the Cardinal Couple Pick Em Contest. We hope to have you participate.

Today, I’ll break down some of my thoughts on the bracket including exciting match-ups and potential upsets. Remember, these will all be my personal thoughts and opinions. You’re welcome to take it into consideration on making your brackets, but do so at your own risk. If I go 0-for-63 and you copied me, well… good luck!

Spokane 1 Region

I like 10-seed Harvard over 7-seed Michigan State for a first round upset. The Ivy League likes to play dark horse when it comes to NCAA Tournament time and Harvard has a good chance to play that role this year.

8-seed Richmond vs 9-seed Georgia Tech is interesting mostly because of 8-9 match-ups have been pretty even. The Yellow Jackets have been trending in the wrong direction while the Spiders had won 17 straight before falling in the A10 Championship. I'm going against the ACC here.

Host seeds rarely lose in the opening round of play, but 4-seed Baylor could fall victim to this against 13-seed Grand Canyon. The Bears have been nearly unbeatable on their home court though. The Antelopes lost just twice all year and have the best win percentage in the NCAA while cruising through their conference.

I have a hard time seeing the regional final being anyone but 1-seed UCLA vs 2-seed NC State. UCLA lost twice all season, both times to USC. Wes Moore is always tournament ready and has a team of veteran players. I'm going with UCLA to go to the Final Four in this region.

Birmingham Region 2

5-seed Alabama seemed to stumble down the stretch over the last two years. Their offense has made up for their porous defense. 12-seed Green Bay is riding a 22-game win streak, but that win streak doesn't feature much top talent. Being a 5-seed can be tough seeing as the 4-seed line and a chance to host was right there in front of them so the homecourt advantage is gone. If there is a 5-12 upset, I think this is the most likely one, but my gut says Bama sneaks by.

2-seed Duke vs 7-seed Vanderbilt is a likely possibility in the second round. Duke has one of the stingiest defenses in the country, which helped them win the ACC Tournament. Vanderbilt has the frontrunner for National Freshman of the Year in Mikayla Blakes, who has scored 50+ points twice. Thor's hammer vs Captain America's shield will be fun to watch.

If 6-seed West Virginia can get past 11-seed Columbia or Washington then I could see them upsetting 3-seed North Carolina. It would be defense vs defense in that game, but the Tar Heels don't have a good offense to begin with.

1-seed South Carolina seems to be a title contender every year. I don't see any reason why they aren't this year. I do think 2-seed Duke squeezes out a tight one against 7-seed Vanderbilt in the second round, but I don't see them being able to take down the Gamecocks.

Birmingham Region 3

5-seed Tennessee has been hit-or-miss this season. They could fall in the opening round to 12-seed South Florida if the Bulls get hot from three, but they could also take down 4-seed Ohio State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. I'm just not sure the Lady Vols can piece together back-to-back strong performances.

11-seed Iowa State was one of the final teams in but were able to hold on to beat a tough 11-seed Princeton team in the play-in game last night. Last year's "Freshmen Five" took the NCAA by storm. While only four of them returned to the Cyclones for a second year, I like their chances against a streaky 6-seed Michigan team.

2-seed TCU vs 7-seed Louisville will be a must-watch even for non-Louisville fans. Jeff Walz vs ex-Cardinals player Hailey Van Lith could get interesting and have plenty of drama. With TCU playing at home, I have to give it to the Horned Frogs, but I'm going with 3-seed Notre Dame to take them down in the Sweet Sixteen. The Irish went through a questionable two-week stretch to close out the regular season, but a starting lineup full of WNBA players will have things figured out for tournament time.

I think 1-seed Texas is the weakest of the four 1-seeds. Notre Dame got the best of them in December and I think the Irish do that again.

Spokane Regional 4

5-seed Kansas State has been not good since Ayoka Lee went out with injury. She could return for the NCAA Tournament, but if she doesn't then I like the odds 12-seed Fairfield has for pulling off the upset.

6-seed Iowa is not the same without Caitlin Clark, who could solve or hide a lot of problems. They have a tough match-up against one of the hottest offenses in the country in 11-seed Murray State. Without the Hawkeyes playing in the comfort of their home arena, I think the Racers can pull off the upset.

7-Oklahoma State against 10-seed South Dakota State is intriguing. I don't think the Cowgirls will "lose" this game as much as I think the Jackrabbits "steal" it. South Dakota State's schedule was full on NCAA Tournament teams and they still only lost three games. Their only bad loss was losing to to Texas by 46. 

1-seed USC vs 2-seed UConn is inevitable. The Trojans took the regular season meeting by two points. I think this could be the "Game of the Tournament" similar to Iowa vs LSU last year. Paige Bueckers gets her fairytale ending with a Final Four.

Jared's Final Four: UCLA vs UConn and South Carolina vs Notre Dame

Jared's Bracket

UCLA, Richmond, Ole Miss, Baylor, Florida State, LSU, Harvard, NC State

South Carolina, Indiana, Alabama, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Duke

Texas, Creighton, Tennessee, Ohio State, Iowa State, Notre Dame, Louisville, TCU

USC, Mississippi State, Kansas State, Kentucky, Murray State, Oklahoma, South Dakota State, UConn

UCLA, Baylor, LSU, NC State

South Carolina, Maryland, West Virginia, Duke

Texas, Ohio State, Notre Dame, TCU

USC, Kentucky, Oklahoma, UConn

UCLA, NC State, South Carolina, Duke, Texas, Notre Dame, USC, UConn

UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame, UConn

UCLA, South Carolina

UCLA - combined final score 120 points

Blank NCAA Bracket

Katy's Bracket

UCLA, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Baylor, Florida State, LSU, Michigan State, NC State

South Carolina, Indiana, Alabama, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Duke

Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan, Notre Dame, TCU

USC, Mississippi State, Kansas State, Kentucky, Iowa, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, UConn

UCLA, Baylor, Florida State, NC State

South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina, Duke

Texas, Ohio State, Notre Dame, TCU

USC, Kentucky, Oklahoma, UConn

UCLA, NC State, South Carolina, Duke, Texas, TCU, USC, UConn

UCLA, Duke, Texas, USC

UCLA, Duke

UCLA - combined final score - 105 points

(today's photos by Jared unless otherwise noted)

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Softball Defeats NKU; Lacrosse Faces Xavier -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Sink Norse in Six 15-4

Coming off of a tough weekend against Virginia Tech, Louisville needed a get-right game. Taking on the Norse of NKU (entering at 11-13), the Cards had a chance for just that. Louisville scored early and often, putting up three runs in the first before scoring in every inning but the second (and non-existent seventh) en route to a run-rule drubbing of the team up I-71. As an aside, I also spent the day in Northern Kentucky on Tuesday, but my day was less enjoyable than the Cards'.

The Cards opened with an Easton Lotus triple followed by a walk. Stop me if you've heard this one before: Chelsea Mack then stole second. With a pair in scoring position, Bri Despines brought both home on a single. Not to be repetitive, but Bri Despines then stole second. The steal turned out to be academic, as a double from Char Lorenz likely would have scored Despines anyway. After a strikeout, Lorenz ran herself off the basepaths with a caught-stealing at third. Ally Alexander was stranded at first after a single, but Louisville led 3-0. 

Alyssa Zabala was given a get-right opportunity of her own, and she started off hot with a line-out to left followed by a pair of easy grounders for a 1-2-3 inning. Two quick outs in the top of the second meant Louisville faced an uphill battle to score, but Lotus and Mack tried with a single and a bunt single to advance. A ground out stranded them both. Zabala's strong start continued with a strikeout, another outfield liner, and a fly to center field. Six-up, six-down. Cards still led 3-0. 

NKU made a pitching change to start the third and Lorenz welcomed the new pitcher with her second double of the day. Taylor Monroe advanced her with a sacrifice bunt, and Alexander's second single came with an RBI. Maddi Grant took an HBP, followed by a pop-out. Another bunt single, this time from Madison Pickens, loaded the bases, but a ground out ended the threat. Cards extended their lead by one to 4-0. 

Zabala looked to be cruising to another quick inning when started with a ground out and a pop out. Unfortunately, things weren't as they seemed, and NKU found a groove against the Cardinal ace. With two outs, the Norse rallied for single, walk, RBI single, RBI single before a ground out ended the inning. Louisville's lead was trimmed to 4-2, but they still didn't seem in much danger. 

The danger was lessened even more when the Cards took to the plate. Chelsea Mack singled (and stole second), and Despines doubled to right. Mack was pinned by the chance that the ball could be caught, and she was surprisingly slow to react to it falling. She made the safe play to stay at third, which turned out to be smart when Lorenz hit her third double in as many at bats. Monroe and Alexander both flied out to left before Grant realized it might be better to go to the right. She homered to right center to tack on two more runs and Louisville's lead had ballooned once more, this time to six runs at 8-2. 

Zabala's struggles continued in the fourth, as she opened with a pair of singles. A strike out broke up the hit parade, but only briefly, as two more singles scored another run. Katie Thatcher inherited a tough situation with the bases loaded, but she worked a strike out for the second out of the inning. A wild pitch moved every runner up 60 feet (including one to home), but a ground out ended the inning. From there, Louisville would go on to score, giving Thatcher the win. I still haven't quite figured out the softball win statistic, so I can't explain this one. In my view, Thatcher didn't inherit the tying runner on base, and Zabala pitched more than half the game, so Zabala still should have earned credit for the win. Whatever. 

The Cards scored seven more runs over the next two innings, and Thatcher continued to hold NKU without any more runs. The result was an 11-run lead after six innings, which promptly ended the game an inning early. Louisville's offense came from starters and substitutes alike, including a three-run homer from Riley Janda. Janda's home run was the freshman's first of the season (and her collegiate career). It was also part of a 21 hit effort from the Cards, who also walked three times and struck out only twice. With the hit-by-pitch, Louisville put up a team on-base percentage of .694. That's the type of offensive output that will win you games, even with nine runners left on base. 

The wild pitch in the fourth was Thatcher's only blemish. She threw two more hitless innings, needing a total of just 25 pitches for her two and two-thirds. She didn't add any more strikeouts, but didn't walk anyone either. It was a very good showing. Zabala, despite the flurry of hits, had an ok outing. She was chased, sure, but she was fairly unhittable right up until she wasn't. Her dominance will be back, of that I have no doubt. 

Of Louisville's 21 hits, nine went for extra bases. Five doubles, two triples, and two homers. Spicy. They added four steals to their season total, and had just one CS. Char Lorenz was the star, going 4/4 with five RBI, but it's hard to overlook 3/3 with a walk from Mack, 4/5 with 3 RBI from Despines, or 3/5 with two runs (and stranded thrice) from Lotus. Further down the order, Pickens and Alexander went 2/3. It was a team effort, and we'll look to see the success continue when the Cards head to Chapel Hill for a three-game set with North Carolina. 

Lax Looks for Non-Con Boost

ACC Lacrosse is a gauntlet. Louisville was reminded of that fact over the course of their last three conference matchups. The Cards were respectable on Saturday against the top-ranked Eagles in Chestnut Hill, but they still came away with another big loss. Like the midweek following the UNC loss, Louisville will make a short road trip to face a beatable non-conference opponent. On March 5th, that was Vanderbilt, who the Cards took down 13-9. Today, it is Xavier. 

The Musketeers are just 1-6 so far this season, having beaten Gardner-Webb last week (did you know they sponsored WLAX?) before losing their most recent game to Wofford (did you know they sponsored WLAX?). This will be Xavier's second game against an ACC foe this season, having lost 16-9 in Durham at the beginning of March. Despite the relatively close mark there, the Musketeers have lost big to Akron (15-6), Cincinnati (18-11), and South Florida (20-4). Their closest losses to Bucknell (12-8) and Wofford (14-12) have come, along with the 13-5 win over GW, in the last four matches. They're joined, though, by that clunker in Tampa. 

This will be the second meeting between Louisville and Xavier in lacrosse, with the Cards having won the first last season 15-7. It is only Xavier's third full season as a program, and they are working to build off of a pair of 4-win seasons to open the history books. Louisville will look to play spoiler to those aspirations this evening as the Cards try to return to .500 on the year. Tonight's match will get underway at 6pm and be available on FloSports. 

NCAA Tournament Pick 'Em 

With just a couple of days left, don't forget to get your entries in for the Cardinal Couple NCAA Tournament Pick 'Em. Paulie and I will be keeping track of the scores, and the first and second-place finishers will be treated to brunch at Cracker Barrel or First Watch. Sending your entry is simple. Just tell us who wins each game in the comments. Provide a points total for the national championship as a tiebreaker. Formatting is largely up to you, but here are my and Lindsay's picks as examples.

Case

Spokane 1

UCLA, Richmond, Ole Miss, Grand Canyon, Florida State, LSU, Harvard, NC State

UCLA, Ole Miss, FSU, NC State

UCLA, NC State

UCLA

Spokane 4

USC, Miss State, Kansas State, UK, Murray, Oklahoma, So. Dakota State, UConn

USC, UK, Oklahoma, UConn

USC, UConn

UConn

Birmingham 2

So. Carolina, Utah, Alabama, Norfolk St., WVU, UNC, Vanderbilt, Duke

SCar, Alabama, UNC, Duke

SCar, Duke

Scar

Birmingham 3

Texas, Illinois, USF, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Louisville, TCU

Texas, OSU, ND, TCU

Texas, ND

ND

Final Four

UCLA, ND

UCLA - 161

Lindsay

Spokane 1

UCLA, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Baylor, George Mason, LSU, Michigan State, NC State

UCLA, Baylor, LSU, NC State

UCLA, LSU

LSU

Spokane 4

USC, California, Kansas State, UK, Iowa, Oklahoma, So. Dakota St., UConn

Cal, K-State, Oklahoma, UConn

K-State, Oklahoma

K-State

Birmingham 2

So. Carolina, Indiana, Alabama, Maryland, WVU, UNC, Oregon, Duke

SCar, Maryland, UNC, Oregon

SCar, UNC

Scar

Birmingham 3

Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Louisville, TCU

Texas, OSU, Michigan, Louisville

Ohio State, Louisville

Ohio State

Final Four

K-State, Scar

South Carolina - 142

To date, these are our only two entries. Lindsay and I like brunch, but at least make us work for it!

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case