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

Golf Just Misses Cut in NCAAs -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Women's Golf Finishes 7th in Lexington

Louisville women's golf gained ground in the third and final day of the NCAA Regional held at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, but they were only able to move up from ninth to seventh in the event. The top six teams qualified to advance in the tournament. Louisville shot a team best round with an 8-under on Wednesday, led by Bailey Burkett's career best round of 4-under. The Cards finished 8-over par on the tournament, just four strokes back of sixth-place TCU. 

Louisville managed to be the highest finishing team without a player shooting under par over the 54-hole tournament, with Carmen Griffiths and Thienna Huynh tying for the team lead with a T21 finish at 1-over. Bailey Burkett was close behind at +2, a T25 finish. Unfortunately for the Cards, they not only miss out on advancing as a team, but Miami's Olivia Grenborg will be the individual advancing from the Lexington Regional. Grenborg carded a 4-under score for the tournament, finishing tied for fifth. Kansas State's Carla Bernat paced the field with a final score of -12. FSU had the two players who tied for second, with Mirabel Ting and Lottie Woad shooting 10-under. Georgia Southern tied KSU for second in the tournament and finished with the most players under par (three). Also advancing were Southern California and Vanderbilt. 

Overall, Louisville had a decent season, but they'll surely be disappointed to miss out on advancing. It was a tough task, but golf's a tough game. We'll look ahead to the squad getting back out on the course in the fall as they turn their sights to the 2025-26 season. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We've reached the point in the season where it's hard to have wins to talk about. At this stage of tournament time, only so many teams can keep winning. But Paulie, Jared, and Daryl will still work to bring you the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics this week. I'm out for other obligations, but we're getting creative to make sure we get the show back on track after last week's Derby absence. No promises on exactly when this week's episode will be posted, but 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

ACC Softball..Louisville's "second season" begins today -- Women's Golf in Lexington region -- WEDNESDAY CARDINA COUPLE

CAN CARDS PITCHING GET THEM THROUGH THE ACC TOURNAMENT?

And, so, it has come down to this for Louisville women's softball. The ACC Tournament, The single elimination test of 12 teams. Louisville is the 10th seed in the affair and that means they have to play first day, against seven-seed Virginia. Win, and advance, Lose and ,in the Cards case, the season is over. 

The chance of Louisville advancing thru the tournament and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament is basically down to how the Cards pitching staff can perform. It's four games in four days and the opponents get tougher the further you go. #2 seed Clemson awaits the winner of Louisville vs. Virginia.

When we look at the nucleus of Alyssa Zabala, Brooke Gray, Sam Booe and the rest of the seven on the Cardinals pitching staff, is the skill and ability there to quell the bats of ACC competition for four days? The Cards bats have been pretty much in a deep slumber at times...and lately it's been an on-again, off-again, performance for the UofL hitters.

So, what gets UofL into the NCAA dance? I'm going to hypothesize that UofL needs to reach the Friday semifinals to even get a sideways look by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. 26-24 and 9-15 in conference doesn't exactly speak volumes...but a good performance in the conference tournament just might get them in. Winning the ACC Tournament definitely would...but, four wins in four days might be too big a task for these Cards. 

 

Anyway, 5 p.m. in Newton, Mass...on Boston College's home field... (or thereabouts -- starting times depend on the previous two games...) is when "second season" begins for Cards softball. 

Let's hope the arms are firing out of the circle and the bats are productive. 

WOMEN'S GOLF COMPLETES SECOND DAY OF NCAA TOURNAMENT QUALIFYING. 

After two days in the Lexington Regional, the Cards have gone from sixth place to ninth place. They currently are 10-over par 298 on Nicholasville's Keene Trace golf course and nine strokes behind the qualifying pace to move on. 

None of the Cards golfers has an under-par day in the second round...Carmen Griffiths and Bailey Burkett both fired two-over par 74's to lead the Louisville golfers. 

FSU was far and away the leader after the regional with seven under par after round one.  Tied for second are Kansas St. and Georgia Southern.  They increased that two -14 under par at the end of day two.  Georgia southern improved to five under and in third is Kansas St.at even.

paulie

WGolf heads to Lexington regional -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good morning readers, 

Happy Cinco de Mayo to those who celebrate.

Photo: Courier Journal

Post-Derby blues are in full force as the work force heads back to its regularly scheduled programming.  All those tasks you pushed off because 'its Derby week' have now crept back upon us..  

It was a wet day out at the track for the first Saturday in May.  My last time at the track was 2016 and the last time in the infield was likely 2008 or 2009.  My group was in the infield for the day and my calves are feeling it as a result of trekking in the mud and up and down Central Avenue all day.

Now that its summertime, its definitely time for me to get back to my golf game.  Speaking of golf...  the Women's golf program were selected to participate in the post season tournament so let's cover the Cards on the golf course.  

WGolf

Photo: UK Golf Club

For the 15th time in program history, the Cardinals were picked for postseason play and announced as one of 12 teams to compete in the Lexington, KY regional.

The 3 day, 54-hole tournament will be played May 5-7 and the top 5 teams of each region will advance to the National Championship. The top individual not on an advancing team will also punch their ticket to the National Championship, which will be held May 16-21 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

Louisville is one of three ACC teams in the Lexington Regional, joined by #1 seed Florida State and #9 seed Miami. There are 4 teams ranked in the Top 25 competing in the regional including #3 Florida State, #9 USC, #15 TCU and #22 Vanderbilt. There are 8 teams ranked inside the Top 50 including #28 Kansas State, #34 Georgia Southern, #40 Pepperdine and the 46th-ranked Cardinals.

The Cards are coming off an 8th place finish at the ACC Championships last week in Greensboro. Carmen Griffiths and Veronika Exposito led the way with a tied for 25th overall finish at 5-over-par. It was Griffiths highest finish at the ACC Championship in her career and it was Exposito's first appearance at ACC's in her freshman season.  

UofL academics

Photo: UofL Instagram

UofL graduation spring ceremony will be held next Saturday May 10 at the KFC Yum! Center.   

As Always, 
Go Cards 

~Daryl

Golf Makes NCAAs; Winning Programs -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Women's Golf in Lexington Regional

Louisville women's golf was named to the Lexington regional as the number 8 seed in the NCAA selection process this week. The team is making their first regional appearance since 2022, with individuals having advanced to this point in prior seasons. Louisville will be joined by Florida State, USC, TCU, Vanderbilt, Kansas State, Georgia Southern, Pepperdine, Miami, WKU, Morehead State, and Fairleigh Dickinson in the three-day event at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville. 

The regional event is a 54-hole tournament that will take place from May 5th to May 7th. Five teams will advance and the top individual outside of the top five teams will also advance. Carmen Griffiths is playing in her fourth regional in as many seasons, making the Albuquerque Regional with the team in 2022 and being selected as an individual in the last two seasons. Griffiths was one of Louisville's top performers at the ACC Championships last week, finishing tied for 25th at +5. Griffiths was joined by freshman Veronika Exposito at that score in Greensboro.

The Cards have stiff competition in their quest to move on to the NCAA Championships which will be in Carlsbad, California May 16-21. FSU, USC, TCU, and Vandy are all ranked in the Top 25 nationally and the top eight seeds in the regional are all top-50 (Louisville is 46th). With only five spots available for advancement, Louisville will need a strong performance across the board. Playing close to home should help, if for no other reason than being accustomed to the weather. 

We'll have more on this team as the event gets underway just after Derby. 

UofL Tops Among Power 4 Fall/Winter Sports

The University of Louisville athletic program is getting close to firing on all cylinders again. They're at least close enough to be the winningest program among Power 4 schools for the 2024-25 season in the primary four fall/winter sports. Louisville's football, volleyball, and men's/women's basketball teams finished the year with a combined 75.2% winning percentage, better than all others. Those marks came over significant teams you may have heard of in all of those sports, as the Cards bested Texas (74.4), Oregon (72.5), TCU (71.7), and Florida (71.1) to round out the top five. 

Despite what felt like a year where more was possible in women's basketball, the Cards still finished with a 22-11 record overall. They were 13-5 in conference and advanced in both the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Walz's squad was only narrowly outperformed by the surprise resurgence of the men's team, which finished 27-8 on the year. The volleyball performance was certainly a major driver in Louisville's overall program success, as Dani Busboom Kelly led the team to a 30-6 record and an NCAA runner-up finish in her final season at the helm. As we've mentioned on the site and the show, Dan Meske looks to have another strong group on his hands in spring play as the Cards move into a new phase as a team. 

As a college sports town, Louisville just feels more vibrant when UofL is doing well. The energy in the city is better and that was apparent in the fall. As Louisville baseball makes its return to the national ranks, vibes are good on one end of UofL's campus, while softball works to find consistency on the other. A rising tide lifts all ships, as they say, so here's hoping the success among the teams doing very well continues to buoy those that could be doing better. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WSOC fall 5-0 vs UNC -- FH vs 'Cuse and Vball vs Clemson preview -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

We're so back readers, its Friday and its another edition of Fridays with Daryl so it's gonna be a great one!  Welcome to the tenth month of the year too, we are officially in double digits on the wedding countdown.  

Enough about me, lets get to the athletics!! 


Soccer results

Final - Cards 0   UNC 5

Photos: Jared Anderson

The Cardinals flew south to Chapel Hill for a matchup with the #3 Tar Heels.  

First Half - 2-0 UNC   UNC jumped on the Cardinal defense fast scoring in the first 6 minutes as Kate Faasse outmanuever the Cards goalie for a possession and booted it in for the first score. The Tar Heels closed the half with an insurance goal when Aven Alvarez scored in the 37th minute.  

Second Half - Faasse connected for her second goal of the match in the 62 minute The TarHeels converted a penalty kick before the clock ran out. Aria Nagaal and Asha Means connected on theeir first scores of the season as well, after UNC went deep onto their bench with a 3-0 lead. Final 5-0

Kailey Kimball was in the net for the Cardinals giving up 5 goals and making 4 saves.   The Cardinals offense finished with just 3 shot attempts on the evening.  

Golf results

The Louisville women's golf team closed out the final round of the Blessings Collegiate Invitational on Wednesday afternoon finishing in eighth place. In the final round, the Cardinals shot a 33-over-par as a team and they finished with a 58-over-par 922 for the tournament.

Beatriz Barrios finished with a 4-over-par 76 in the final round, the lowest round for the Cards on Wednesday. She finished the tournament tied for 13th overall at 9-over-par 225. The tie for 13th is her best finish in a tournament this fall.

The team will be back in action next weekend as they travel down to North Carolina. The Cards are competing in the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Classic that begins on Friday, October 11 from the Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill. The tournament will be three-days long and complete on Sunday, October 13.



Volleyball preview

VolleyCards battle Clemson tonight . First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. It can be viewed on the ACC Network Extra. This one on campus at the LNFCU. 

Clemson is currently 8-5 overall and 0-2 in ACC play.
The Tigers are coming off a 0-3 loss to SMU on Sept. 29th.

Mia McGrath leads Clemson in kills with 140 on the season.   Devan Taylor has 1516 career digs to sit at third all-time. She needs 8 more digs for second most all-time for Clemson.  Taylor recorded 34 digs vs. Wofford, tied for eigth-most in a single match in Clemson history. Neea-Maria Joki was named ACC Freshman of the Week (9/16)  after recording 39 kills, 12 blocks, and 53.5 points.

Field Hockey

The #16 ranked field hockey team will return to ACC play this weekend when the Cardinals hit the road to face a pair of ranked opponents starting with a matchup at #15 Syracuse Friday at 4 p.m.  You can watch it on the ACC Network Extra.  

The Cardinals are 5-5 and 1-1 in the ACC losing their last two games by a single goal to the #12 ranked BC Eagles and #4 Ohio State Buckeyes. Rylie Wollerton leads the team with five goals and has added two assists. Emily Young and Brandelynn Heinbaugh have split goalkeeper duties have been splitting the goal keeping duties.

Syracuse leads the series with the Cardinals 14-9 and won the last matchup at Trager 4-1 on 10/20/23. Syracuse comes in with a 6-3 overall record and 1-2 in ACC play. In the last two, the Orange lost 1-0 in a shootout loss to #9 Duke on Sunday and prior to that, the Orange picked up a 1-0 win over Wake Forest on Friday.

Bo van Kempen leads the team with six goals and two assists in eight games while Willemjin Boogert has two goals and four assists in nine games for the Orange.  Louise Pert carries a 1.57 goals against average and has helped Syracuse to three shutouts.

Also wanted to give a quick birthday shoutout to Justine Sowry.  Happy Birthday Coach!!! 

As Always, 

Go Cards!! 

~Daryl 

Saturday Shuffle - Saturday Cardinal Couple

The Saturday Shuffle

The shuffle is both in your writers here on Cardinal Couple - due to travel arrangement Case and I have swapped days.  Case will be doing tomorrow's write in my place.  But its also for the quick change that at least Jared and I will be doing after today's Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast to get downtown for the Volleyball match.

Golf

Golf is hosting the The Cardinal Cup at the UofL Golf Club out in Simpsonville.  After the first day of play the Cards hold the third spot as a team with a collective nine over par, but two players on the squad, Thienna Hunyh, and Carmen Griffiths, are individually involved in a three way tie for 3rd at one under par.

Beatriz Barrios is competing individually for the Cards, meaning her score doesn't contribute the team's overall score, but perhaps she should be as she's currently in a tie for 7th place after the round.

Yesterday's round was slightly delayed thanks to the last of the (badly needed) rain that came through the Louisville area over the past couple of days, but did get started only slightly delayed and looks to be going off today without any hitch whatsoever.

Field Hockey

Goal keeper Brandelynn Heinbaugh
and the penalty kill squad

The Field Hockey team was also in action yesterday against top ranked Northwestern.  The Wildcats prevailed in the action 2-0, which is disappointing for the Cards, but not unexpected based on rankings and past experiences with Northwestern as they are a fine Field Hockey squad indeed.

The Wildcats scored one goal in the first and third quarters, but were silent in the second and fourth.  Unfortunately, they were able to prevent the Cards from finding the back of the goal the whole game, sealing the win.

Tatum Kroon

Brandelynn Heinbaugh had three saves in goal for the Cards, as did the Northwestern goal keeper, but that was the sum total of the shots on goal for the Cards while NW had seven.  Tatum Kroon came up with the extra couple of defensive saves for the Cards.

It's been a bit of a rough start this season for Field Hockey as they now sport a 2-3 record.  To be fair, however, the schedule laid out for them this year is certainly no cupcake with all three losses coming to top 15 teams.

The squad will be back in action, bringing in Cornell to Trager Stadium, tomorrow at 4pm, with streaming available on ACC Network Extra.

Volleyball

Two teams are in action today, and we'll take them in order of start time.

Volleyball takes on Northern Iowa today at 1:30, downtown at the KFC Yum! Center.

This, notionally, is one of the easier contests the volleyball squad will face in their non-conference slate, with perhaps last weekends opponents ranking higher in the "easier competition" tally.  However, don't dismiss UNI out of hand.

The Cards are 0-3 versus the Panthers all time, with the last meetup being in 2017 in Minneapolis for the first round of the NCAA tournament.  The Panthers swept the Cards in that one.

There is an interesting storyline embedded in this match, however.  Payton Peterson is a freshman with the Cards, starting this fall after a stand-out high school career winning seven state championships in her time at Dike New-Hartford High School, between Volleyball and Basketball.

We've mentioned this feat here in Cardinal Couple before, however what we haven't mentioned is that Payton is one half of a pair of twins.  And her twin, Jadyn, who also wears number 21, is a freshman on the UNI team.  Let's not stop there, however, as their mother, Bobbi Peterson, is the head coach of UNI.  Father Duane Peterson played football at UNI, older sisters Bailey and Sydney, also a pair of twins, played volleyball at UNI, and aunt Michelle Bolte is Director of Operations for the UNI squad.  Quite a family affair, there.

This match is available on ACC Network Extra, but with it being contested at the KFC Yum! Center, tickets are available for this one.

Soccer

Soccer is in action this evening on the road up in Pittsburgh with a 7pm start.

The Cards and Panthers both kick off their ACC slate of games with this one, and both come into the match with similar records.  The Cards are 5-1-2, while Pitt is 6-1-1.

Neither team have been playing top-level teams and with similar records, this could be an interesting and competitive contest.

Look for more hopefully some more in depth analysis of this one from our Soccer guru Case in tomorrow's article.

ACC Network Extra, again, is the coverage for this one.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

(A blast from the past, back in the days of a basement on a hill)

Despite some travel and health issues, the CCRHP crew will have three on the call today.  We will be making an extra effort to end right at noon, rather than dribbling over as we tend to do in order to ensure that Jared and myself have time to make it down to the KFC Yum! Center for Volleyball.

You can catch the live stream at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TAfnxryzLU

 

or it should get uploaded as a podcast this evening at its Spotify home.

 

-- 

JMcA

Gameday in the Ville -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL



Welcome back to the weekend! It's also Friday the 13th to kick off the spooky season. I saw Olivia Cochran and Merissah Russell the other day grabbing some lunch at the SAC and told them I was excited for another season to get started.

Field Hockey

6 p.m. ACC Network

The #9 ranked Cardinals are in the middle of a 5-game home stretch and have a giant matchup with #1 Northwestern today at 6pm over at Trager Stadium.

Louisville leads the series 9-4 with the last meeting coming in the 2023 NCAA tournament where the Cards fell to the Wildcats 3-2. 

Northwestern brings in a 4-0 season with 2 ACC wins against #5 Duke and #17 BC 2-0 and 1-0 respectively. Maddie Zimmer and Olivia Bent-Cole lead the Wildcats with three goals apiece, while Ashley Sessa has dished out a team-high four assists. Annabel Skubisz has surrendered only one goal in four games, carrying a 0.25 goals-against average while posting three shutouts. The Wildcats are coming off of a 2023 NCAA runner-up appearance.

Volleyball  

The VolleyCARDS are hosting the Cardinal Classic at the KFC Yum! Center this weekend. 

UofL will face Northern Iowa on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.and No. 9-ranked Creighton on Sunday at 1 p.m.

WGolf

The Golf team is bringing back the Cardinal Cup at the UofL Golf Course this
weekend. It’s the first time the event has been held since 2019.

The first round of the tournament is set to start at 9 a.m. ET on Friday (weather permitting) with tee times from hole 1 and hole 10. Fans can follow along with the live stats here or our social media channels for updates throughout the tournament.

As Always, 
Go Cards

~Daryl 

UofL Women's Golf Records Fourth Place finish -- Wednesday Cardinal Couple

 CARDS SWINGERS PLACE FOURTH IN NICHOLASVILLE

TCU grabs the UK sponsored Bettie Lou Evans Tournament

The days of Lauren Hartlage may be over for Louisville women's golf, but the 2024 version of the Whitney Young coached squad is dong quite well for themselves. 

The "Chip and Putt" Cards finished fourth in the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational recently...tweny  strokes back of tournament winner TCU and just nine strokes behind in-state rival UK.

The tournament is named after Bettie Lou Evans, who coached the UK Wildcat women's golf squad from 1979-2001 and passed away in 2023. 

Thienna Huynh

For the Cards, Thienna Huynh led the way. She was four over par for three days with a 220. It was good for a 10th place finish overall. Closely behind her was Carmen Griffiths, who finished with a 221 for 54 holes. Millie Cottrell and Bailey Burkett finshed with a 224 for Louisville. 

The squad prepares for the Cardinal Cup, which begins on friday. The event will be held at it's traditional home course, the UofL Golf Club out in Simpsonville, KY. 

Carmen Griffiths

paulie

WGolf releases 2024-25 schedule -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

Good morning and happy weekend everybody! Its been perfect golfing weather this week and funny enough, the Cardinals golf program announced its schedule for the 2024-25 season earlier this week as well. I've been trying to play as many rounds as possible while also planning a wedding. Were about 23 weeks away from the big day!

The start of the new school semester is quickly approaching too which means the annual Press Box Scramble should be coming up... I wonder if my invite got lost in the mail...

WGolf

The University of Louisville schedule features eight regular season tournaments and one match play event over the fall and spring seasons, including two tournaments the Cardinals will host. In the spring, they will host the eighth annual Moon Golf Tournament in Florida and in the fall, the Cardinal Cup returns for the first time since 2019.

After the Cardinal Cup in mid September, the Cardinals will take a trip to Arkansas and then to North Carolina for the Tar Heel Invitational.

The final tournament of the fall brings the Cardinals to Huntsville, Alabama.

The first tournament of the spring season will be the preveiously mentioned eighth annual Moon Golf Invitational, hosted by the Cardinals at the Suntree Golf Club in Melbourne, Florida.

A trek to the Lone Star state is up next as the Cardinals will head south to Austin, Texas.

The final regular season tournament will take place in Clemson, South Carolina.

The 2025 ACC Championships will be hosted at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina.

I look forward to following the Cardinals out on the course next season! 

As Always, 
Go Cards!

~Daryl 

Louisville Players Join USL W League; Golf in NCAAs -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Set to Represent Racing Louisville Once More

Photo by Jared Anderson

We've talked at length about what Louisville City and Racing Louisville have brought and can continue to bring to the Louisville community and to the University of Louisville on the soccer front. Starting last season, we saw that direct impact come to fruition with the introduction of the USL's W-League. The W-League is "pre-professional" but is not completely analogous with the Racing Louisville Academy. Last season, four Cardinals wore purple over the summer. This season, that number falls to three, but the Cards will have their first player coming directly from the Academy. AG Gibson was on last year's W-League team, but 2024 will be her freshman season for Louisville. Also returning are Brooke Dardano and Betsy Huckaby. Savina Zamborini and Autumn Weeks competed last season. 

Racing Louisville and UofL will both miss the services of Ella Sanchez this year. The Ballard phenom that came up through the Academy announced last summer that she would forgo college and the NWSL to sign a professional contract in Mexico. The W-League schedule will consist of 10 games, starting on May 14th and ending on June 30th. Home games will be played at the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center. Louisville will begin and end their season there against Indy Eleven. 

Ryskova T4 After Round 1; Griffiths T51

Photo by University of Louisville Athletics

Hana Ryskova and Carmen Griffiths made it to the NCAA Regionals as individuals this season for Louisville women's golf. While both talked about how exciting it is to have their team on board during Media Day, they weren't quite able to get that same level of advancement this season. Having golfers qualify for the regionals is still quite a feat. Unfortunately, with the way that the NCAA Championship is structured, both golfers are competing for one spot. 

From each regional location (six) the top five teams and the top independent individual will advance to the finals, which are set to be played May 17-22 in Carlsbad, California. After the first round, Ryskova's -2 sees her sitting at T4 overall, but is T2 in the individual standings. Ryskova is tied with Kate Petrova, out of Evansville, and the pair are two strokes back of Notre Dame's Lauren Beaudreau. Those three will tee off together at 10:05 this morning in East Lansing for the second round. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Swing, Jump, Throw, Run, Swim - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Golf en México

The Golf team took an excursion south of the border...no, not to Taco Bell, but really south of the border, for the Collegiate Invitational held in Guadalajara.  That's a rather unusual, but certainly pleasant locale this time of year.  The event was apparently hosted by Virginia, and your guess is as good as mine as to how they came to host an event in Western Mexico.

The Cards finished 10th overall in the competition, with Carmen Griffiths being the top scorer for the Cards, finishing in a tie for 9th place.  Beatriz Barrios wasn't too far behind, in a tie for 16th two strokes behind Griffiths.

Golf will return back to the states but staying south, heading to Melbourne FL for an event starting the 18th.

Track and Field Split the Party

UofL Track and Field competed in a couple of different events this weekend.

First, in Albuquerque, NM, Alba Cuns Iglesias posted an eighth place finish in the triple jump in a personal record of 12.81m.  That equates to a smidge over 42 feet.  Impressive to say the least.

Zoe Yeast, meanwhile was participating in the weight throw at the Meyo Invitational in South Bend Indiana, also finished eighth, and had a top throw of 18.03m, or 59 feet and almost two inches.

The next action for Track and Field sees them heading up to Chestnut Hill, MA for Boston College's Eagle Invite.  The Eagle Invite will be a two day event, on the 9th and 10th.

Swimming and Diving

Arthur Albiero's squad was at home yesterday for a meet against Cincinnati, with the well ranked Cards easily taking the competition, 204-90.  The men's side was similarly successful against the Bearcats.

The news here, however is that this was the Senior Day event for Swimming and Diving.  Yes, you read that right, and it caught me just as off-guard.  There is one more event, two weeks from now, for the Cards before the ACC Championship.  It is also a home meet, but it's a two day invitational, the Louisville Invitational, so logistically more difficult to do Senior Day honors.

With a substantial point win over the Bearcats and in head to head competition, you might expect a number of individual and relay event wins for Louisville, and of course you'd be right.

Gabi Albiero led the way with wins in the 50 free, the 100 fly, and both relays (200 medley and 200 free).  Chistiana Regenauer joined Albiero on both relays and also picked up an individual win in the 100 free.  Lindsay Gizzi won both the one and three meter springboard diving events while Else Praasterink is off competing in Doha Saudi Arabia for her native Netherlands at the World Aquatics Championships.  It is good to see Louisville adding some depth to their developing diving side of the squad.

In that 200 Medley relay, Albiero and Regenauer were joined by Cecilia Viberg and Tristen Ulett.  The B-team touched second, with contributions by Karoline Barrett, Kim Herkle, Ella Welch, and Julia Dennis.

Paige Kuwata won the 1650 freestyle (1650?  Seems oddly specific...it's roughly equal to 1500 meters...come on NCAA, just switch to meters already).

Paige Hetrick and Ulett finished one, two in the 200 free.  Ulett also won the 100 back.  Fernanda Celidonio finished atop the podium on the 100 breaststroke with Viberg on the second step.  Summer Cardwell touched first in the 200 fly with Kuwata being next.

Albiero, along with Welch, and Lucy Mehraban filled the whole podium in the 50 free.

Something you don't see too often with the timing precision available today, after Regenauer touched in the 100 free, Celidonio and Barrett tied for 2nd.  Bianca Costea touched fourth for the complete sweep of the event.

Herkle in the backstroke, was joined on the podium by Jordan Durocher, and Zoe Vogelmann.  Ella Welch won the 200 breaststroke.

Another 1-2-3-4 in the 100 fly with Albiero bringing along Barrett, Ulett, and Hetrick.  The 500 free was topped by Ulett, with Maddie Luther reaching 2nd.  Ulett then also won the 200 IM to wrap her day.

And finally, to wrap the event, Albiero, Regenauer, Dennis, and Welch set a pool record, achieving an NCAA A-cut in the process, in the 200 free.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

(Maybe the ony reason to go to Raleigh...to visit with Ms. Wuf)

And, finally, in what may be the biggest news of the day, Paulie took his first step back into the Cardinal Couple waters after major surgery by joining the CCRHP call yesterday, delighting Daryl, Jared, and I also on the call.

With some spring sports getting underway this week, we did do a bit of a preview of Softball and Lacrosse, but the bulk of the time was spent on talking about WBB and trying to find a path through the this last home stretch of games to look the best for NCAA selection.  Basically no one expects to make it through this gauntlet unblemished, so how to put our best foot forward is the question.

Get the podcast to hear the long awaited and joyous return of Paulie to the Podcast at:

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cardinal-couple/episodes/Womens-Basketball-Enters-the-Home-Stretch-as-Spring-Sports-Kick-Off-e2fal53

-- 

JMcA

Spring Around the Corner -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Spring Sports "in" and Gearing Up for Action

We've been talking about it for quite some time, but with the calendar officially turning to February, it means spring sports are within view. Already, some have been in action. And the others are just around the corner.

We've talked about the track and field program having success so far this season, and that has continued with performances at three separate meets this weekend. That's right, three. The team added the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Indiana to the calendar, which was apparently a boon to Jayden Ulrich. Ulrich, returning to the state where she began her collegiate career, threw a new indoor personal-best for a result that ranked fifth nationally this season. Her throw won the shot put event by over a meter. Back in the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center, Ellie Maurer won her first event in the unseeded 3000m and Kiyah Yeast placed second in the 200m with a top-10 all time program pace. Natalie Lark took bronze in the women's pole vault. Lucy Fellows came fifth in the long jump.

Swimming and Diving have also been busy. After taking care of business against UK last weekend, they had a tough tri-meet hosted by Indiana last night. The Cards (M15 / W8) faced Indiana (M6 / W9) and Wisconsin (M22 / W14) and split the meet. The Cards topped Wisconsin on both sides of the pool but Indiana took care of business in their home waters. In the event, Louisville took wins with Gabi Albiero (200 fly, 100 free), Christiana Regenauer (100 fly) and Ella Welch (100 breast). Louisville took second in the 200 Medley Relay (Karoline Barrett, Welch, Regenauer, Albiero), the 200 freestyle (Summer Cardwell), the 50 free (Regenauer), the 200 breast (Kim Herkle), and the 100 fly (Welch). Julia Dennis came third in the 50 free, just 0.07s behind Regenauer. On the diving side, Lindsay Gizzi was top for Louisville with Else Praasternick in Doha. Gizzi finished fifth in the 1M dive and fourth in 3M. 

Louisville women's tennis continues to beat up on Austin Peay, as the Cards are undefeated against the Governors all time. Yesterday, Louisville won the head-to-head 5-2 in the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. Louisville picked up the doubles point and got singles wins from Germany Davis, Jamilah Snells, Berta Mirat, and Lillian Mould. Louisville moves to 3-1 on the season, suffering a defeat to Middle Tennessee last weekend. The Cards have a week off before taking on Marshall and Furman on the road next week.

Women's golf is enjoying some sun and warmth at the Guadalajara Country Club for the Collegiate Invitational. Through the first round and a half played yesterday (as scheduled; the second half of the second round and the third round are today), Louisville stands at 16-over-par and tied for fifth in the tournament's 12-team field. Florida State leads with a 4-over. Carmen Griffiths leads the way for the Cards, as she enjoyed a tie for the lead after a 3-under first round. The front nine bit back a tad in the second round, pushing Griffiths to 2-over through nine holes, placing her in a tie for fourth overall after 27 holes. Rylee Suttor and Hana Ryskova are tied for 20th overall at 5-over. Suttor had a 3-over first and is 2-over through nine, while Ryskova had to bounce back from a 5-over first and sits at even-par in the second. Play continues today.

Lacrosse and softball will become more than just hypotheticals this week. Both teams start their seasons on February 9th. While both are on the road, the situations are quite different. Louisville softball heads south for the winter (like plenty of other people in Louisville, to be fair) to get nice weather while there's none to find at Ulmer. Scott Teeter and Co, on the other hand, will head to Denver for what may be their most brutal weather conditions games of the season. Plenty more to come on those sports in the coming weeks. It's time to get excited for the dreary grayness of winter in the Ohio River Valley to wind down. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

I'm out of the show this week, but Daryl, Jared, and Jeff will still take you on the exciting ride that is the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. After all the air time we gave it last week, Louisville moved right back into the lead of the ACC the very next day. The crew will talk the two basketball wins plus whatever else Jared thinks of to get them on their way.  As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Word of the Day at Media Day is "Excitement" -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Optimistic Spring Sports Media Day

Despite the gloomy weather outside the Planet Fitness Kueber Center yesterday, everyone inside the media room was in high spirits for the Spring Sports Media Day. (No word from the WBB locker room a few doors down; the soundproofing is pretty good in the building.) As Jared mentioned yesterday, Louisville gave the microphone to men's and women's golf, softball, diving, and lacrosse. The general mood was one of anticipation. All of the coaches and most of the players talked about being excited for the spring to come. I'll let the pressers speak for themselves for the most part, and I'll pick out my highlights.

Women's Golf

Coach Whitney Young was joined by Carmen Griffiths and Hana Ryskova to kick the event off. Coach Young noted that the team was coming off of a successful fall campaign and was happy to have everyone back for the spring. She talked about having her most experienced team (from a resume perspective) in her time as coach and liked the team's chances to have more than just an individual representative at the NCAA tournament this season. She noted how difficult it is to be competitive when one of your top players is out for injury.

Griffiths was happy to have represented the team last year but would definitely like to have her teammates along with her in this year's NCAA tournament, and Ryskova was glad to be in the midst of what she hoped to be her first full season not hampered by other issues. Everyone got a kick out of Coach Young pointing out that it was all well and good to say that but that Ryskova was getting her wisdom teeth removed next week.

Women's Golf: Coach Whitney Young, Hana Ryskova, Carmen Griffiths

Softball

Like Coach Young, softball head coach Holly Aprile was excited to build on last season and try to repeat or top the NCAA regional appearance. Both players that were invited, seniors Gabby Holloway and Daisy Hess, acknowledged a feeling of unfinished business after last season. They weren't thrilled with the way the season ended in the regional, feeling that they could have done more in that event. That said, the feeling was still optimistic. The team has 11 newcomers (which I've discussed) and 11 returners. No one mentioned the departures too much, focused instead on the incoming players that will add to the team. 

Gabby Holloway talked about the team building more camaraderie and trust in the next player up to be capable of filling a gap and how that helps every player perform better. She mentioned that the team is focusing on what went well for them last season and how they can build on those things while working to rectify issues as well. Personally, she noted that she's trying not to make any moment too big and to "be where [her] feet are."

Daisy Hess talked about the experience of going to an NCAA tournament after transferring in and how the decision to exercise her fifth year was easy as she wanted to build on another full year in the Louisville program. She discussed how last season she was coming into a position that wasn't fully known at the time of her transfer: where she would fit in in the infield or on the team in general. Now that that is behind her, she's excited to build on that last season.

Coach Aprile talked about the transfers, specifically calling out Kylie Goff, Bailey Richardson, and Riley Frizzell. She confirmed that Goff will take over starting catching duties and that the team has been working hard to get familiar with her since the waiver process was resolved. Goff was unable to participate in the team's fall ball games.

As you might expect, Brooke Gray is a topic of discussion, and the team is very excited for what she brings from a talent, confidence, and local presence perspective. Their focus is making sure her transition to the collegiate level is smooth.

Softball: Coach Holly Aprile, Gabby Holloway, Daisy Hess

Diving

We noted that it wasn't clear why swimming and diving were broken up for this media day, but that was addressed right out of the gate. While diving is usually included with Arthur Albiero's press conference, the program felt there was a lot happening on the diving side that deserved an independent platform (no pun intended). Else Praasternik was a major topic of discussion, but she wasn't present as she is already at the World Championships in Doha, working to qualify for the Olympics. A fun anecdote that we learned yesterday was that Praasternik's recruitment was a total flyer for Coach Ryan Rougeux. He recruited her based on some old videos of her dives and two video calls. I'd say it has panned out so far.

Lindsay Gizzi was in attendance as well, and talked about how it was a dream for her to transfer to a Power 5 program, so making the NCAA Tournament was a cherry on top. One of the things that drives the team is that they're very "lovey" and support each other strongly. While swimming is very active, the diving competitions and practices leave a lot of time available to talk and build those deep connections. She also talked about how she loves competing against a rival (in response to the UK meet being brought up). She says everyone cracks under pressure but it takes one thing to put you over the edge in those environments and she feels she has that.

Speaking of the environment, it was interesting to hear Coach Rougeux talk about how unique it is for Louisville diving to be able to thrive in the chaotic environment of a dual meet. Most diving competitions are quiet and stuffy. You don't hear cheering until the diver is under water. For UofL, the crowd creates a raucous environment for swimming that the Cards' divers are prepared for while their competition is usually thrown for a loop.

Diving: Coach Ryan Rougeux and Lindsay Gizzi

Lacrosse

After appearances from men's golf and a departure from the agenda that saw Ashton Gillotte and Quincy Riley discuss their decisions to stay and what they're looking for next season, Coach Scott Teeter was joined by Sara Addeche and Nicole Perroni to talk about the upcoming lacrosse season.

Like every other coach, Coach Teeter was excited about the season to come. Like I said, that was the word of the day. For a peek behind the curtain, the teams come in the room one at a time, so it's not as though they know what their counterparts said before them. Coach Teeter was encouraged by the team's performance against Denver, who went on to make the Final Four last season. He said that opening against Denver and Colorado each year is definitely a good measuring stick because the teams know each other so well. He's hoping for a better performance on the road this year as they have struggled with the weather and altitude in years past.

Another point of optimism was the large veteran presence on this year's team with the addition of some key newcomers. In the past, it has been opposing ACC teams with six or seven 5th-year players and this time it's Louisville's turn. That segued well for Nicole Perroni to talk about how she knew was going to exercise her fifth-year option pretty much as soon as it became a possibility when she was a freshman. Her goal is to help prepare the rising upperclassmen for their leadership roles when players like her depart. 

Teeter also praised the benefit of having a veteran in goal this season and how important it is for that position to be locked down. Sara Addeche talked about how one of her points of emphasis has been continuing to develop her relationships with the defenders. After the presser was over, I let her know that she wasn't the only one that became a goalie to avoid running. I was in the same boat when I played soccer. 

Thanks to Jared, I had a great question teed up about the upcoming rule changes that will be implemented this season. All three attendees will feel those rule changes differently, so I was happy to get their candid responses. The NCAA brought on these changes without much input from the coaches or players and you can tell from their answers how Louisville's team feels about them. I imagine that feeling is common across the league, but everyone will have to deal with it nonetheless. Coach Teeter talked about how the team has been working to expand the playbook and practice with unique player number situations in anticipation of the season to come.

Lacrosse: Coach Scott Teeter, Sara Addeche, Nicole Perroni

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case