2022 UofL Hall of Fame Class -- Volleyball Back on ESPN -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

2022 Louisville Athletics Hall of Fame Class Announced

(Louisville's first Jazz, and a great one)

Eight Cardinal alums were named to the 2022 Louisville Athletics Hall of Fame, five men and three women. Jazz Covington (women's basketball), Nicole Youman (field hockey), D'Ana McCarty (women's track and field), Chris Dominguez (baseball), Eric Whitlatch (men's swimming), Tony Belt (men's track and field), Andre Black (men's track and field), and Dr Raymond Shea (football staff/administration) are the announced honorees.

Jazz Covington (2003-2007) is one of Louisville women's basketball's top scorers in program history. Her 1,805 points, 14.4 ppg, 942 rebounds, 7.4 rpg, and 33 double-doubles all rank in the top 10 in their respective categories. She won multiple Big East and Conference USA awards.

D'Ana McCarty (2007-2011) is a two-time NCAA Champion for Louisville, where she took home the 2009 and 2010 weight throw titles. McCarty became the first female athlete at Louisville to win a national title. She took multiple Big East titles, both indoor and outdoor, and still holds the Big East indoor weight throw title 12 years later.

Nicole Youman (2007-2010) was one of the first Louisville field hockey players to earn All-American accolades. Her 52 career assists is still a Louisville record. Her 142 career points and 45 career goals rank second and third all-time, respectively. Youman was arguably the best player in the Big East her senior year.

I was in middle and high school for most of these Cardinals' collegiate careers and was even in elementary school for part of Covington's career. Although I never got to see any of them play in person their legacies live on and have helped build three incredible Louisville programs.

Volleyball Back on ESPN

As Abba said, "Take a chance on me." ESPN did that when Louisville volleyball visited Kentucky recently. The ratings came out with an estimated 302,000 watching the match on TV. The ratings were good enough that the Cards have had two more matches this season slated for the main ESPN channel.

For a sport that's had four regular season games aired on ESPN in 25 years, adding two more this season to make that a total of six in 25 years and Louisville being a part of three of those is outstanding! Not only do the players and coaching staff deserve credit, but the Louisville fan base showing their overwhelming support deserves credit.

When #2 Louisville visits Florida State on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 3:00 p.m., you'll be able to catch this on ESPN. The other primetime match for the Cards will be when they host Georgia Tech on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 1:00 p.m.

The Cards start the road trip in Coral Gables at Miami tomorrow night, I'll have more on that tomorrow since I'll be filling in for Daryl, who apparently has become a professional music festival attendee. 

Let's hope to keep up that 302,000 viewers to view Noles and Cards or surpass it!

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Dream drop another one...Youman, Juneau BIG EAST All-Academic... Okoro wins shot put

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE PRESENTS:

-Dream interrupted by Di & Mercury

-Five from UofL named to BIG EAST awards

-Chinwe Okoro wins Nigerian shot put

-What do you think?

The tough early season sledding continues for Angel McCoughtry and the Atlanta Dream. Last night it was our favorite here at CARDINAL COUPLE, Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury putting an "L" on the Atlanta record...with a 92-83 win in Atlanta.

Di is seen here asking George Bush to
give up the presidency and join the WNBA

Di had 20 for Phoenix and Candice Dupree contributed 18 in the Mercury win. Atlanta got Angel McCoughtry to toss in 24 - her second best performance of the season- and Courtney Paris added 13 but it wasn't enough to keep Atlanta from sliding to 2-6 on the season.

The Dream trailed by 20 points in this floater with five minutes left and never had an answer for the Mercury's fast paced tempo. The Dream used to run the ball pretty well too...but never got rolling last night. Atlanta gets San Antonio Sunday.

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Two Lady Cardinal student-athletes were selected for BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Awards. UofL's Nicole Youman (Field Hockey) and Sara Maude Juneau (golf) received the prestigious honors- a total of five Cardinals were named...giving Louisville the most student-athletes on the list out of all the BIG EAST schools. Joining Sara and Nicole were Chris Philpott (football), Michael Eaton (cross country) and Austen Childs (tennis).

Youman also had 19
assists her senior year.

Youman was the 2010 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and scored 17 goals her senior year. She was a four year starter for former Cardinal field hockey coach Pam Bustin and hails from Black Mountain, Australia.

Juneau was also named BIG EAST Player of the Year in her sport...golf...and it was the second year in a row she captured that honor. She led the BIG EAST with a 73.2 stroke average and was ranked in the nation's top 25 women's collegiate golfers by Golfstat. 

Congratulations to these five Cardinals who have combined successes on the field of play with academic excellence. The award is given to only one student per sport each year and academics, athletics and volunteer service to the community are the judging criteria.

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Former UofL track and field star Chinwe Okoro won the Nigerian shot put event, throwing her career best of 16.79m/55-1. Her toss qualified her for the 2011 All-African games. Okoro will also attempt to qualify in the discus today.

Okoro was part of the
Cardinal throwing team.
They were the best in
the BIG EAST

She was a valuable thrower for the Cardinals program a UofL and finished her senior season with All-American honors in the discus and shot put at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

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Does it matter if college athletes
are gay or lesbian?

All across college campuses, student-athletes are leaving their high schools and hometowns to arrive on college campuses as incoming freshmen and begin classes. Whatever happened to a summer break? Sue Favor takes a look at the issue on her They're Playing Basketball blog. It's an interesting read and you can access her blog over on the infamous left side of our blog. Also, does sexual orientation matter when it comes to athletes? We've posted a poll over on the left side and feel free to leave your comments and opinions on it here in our comments section. ESPN recently did an article on it that you can read on Sue's blog.
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Lady Cards travel to Xavier to face #5 Muskies

TUESDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE

-Lady Cards meet the monster Muskies

-Youman picks up another award

-Men's basketball romps Chattanooga

Asia Taylor, pictured right, and her front line teammates for the

University of Louisville women's basketball team will have their work

cut out for them tonight in the Cintas Center, Cincinnati, OH. when

they face the #5 Xavier Musketeers at 7 p.m.

XAVIER (2-0) features the all-world front line duo of 6'6" bangers Ta'Shia Phillips and Amber Harris. The pair are averaging 18.5 ppg. each this season and part of four Muskies in double figures. Guard Speical Jennings also returns from the 2008-09 team that lost to Louisville 66-55 in the last meeting...a game where Candyce Bingham went off for 23 points and 10 boards in the road win for Louisville. Angel McCoughtry added 16 points and 11 boards.

The Cards are 6-2 lifetime against Xavier. In the 2008 meeting, head coach Jeff Walz told the team that someone else besides Atlantic 10 Conference 1st teamer Phillips would have to beat Louisville, if the Cards were going to lose. Louisville did an effective job with employing a double team on Phillips...holding her to five points in the Xavier loss.

For Louisville (3-1) to pull the upset this year in the Queen City, the Cards will have to do an effective job on Phillips again this year and also deal with Harris in the paint. Between Keisha Hines, Asia Taylor, Antonita Slaughter and Sherrone Vails...the Cards have shown improved ability to go to the boards but they will need their finest effort of the season to combat the towers that Xavier has at the ready.

The Cards have been effective in the fast break, transition game and if they can get this aspect of their offense in gear tonight, it will benefit greatly if Louisville is to win. If Xavier packs back in a zone, outside shooting specialists Becky Burke, Tia Gibbs, Antonita Slaughter, Shoni Schimmel and LaToya Johnson will need to be on the mark.

This is the first of three road games for Louisville and not too bad a trip for the zealous Cardinal fan. Cintas Center is a little over two hours from Louisville and the Muskie fans are pretty enthusiastic about their team, so any "Red" in the seats would be a boost to Walz's crew.

No TV for this one, but the broadcast can be heard on WKRD 790 AM/101.7 FM and at http://www.uoflsports.com/ . Jim Kelch and Paul Sanderford handle the call.

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Field Hockey's Nicole Youman has added another honor to her career here at UofL by being named to the NFHCA All-American second team. Youman was the 2010 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year. The Black Mountain, Australia native was a four year All-BIG EAST selection during her playing days for Pam Bustin and shares the school record for most goals in a game with five against Central Michigan.

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Nice performance last night by Pitino's Cards in the 106-65 romp over Chattanooga. The more WE see sophomore Steven Van Treese play...the more we are impressed about how much better he has gotten this season. Louisville has demonstrated a powerful and deep front line this year with VanTreese, Rakeem Buckles, Terrence Jennings, George Goode and Gorgui Dieng. Depth during the brutal BIG EAST schedule that awaits the Cards is essential and it looks like the Cards have five guys who are pretty much interchangeable and still effective.

Cards rack up honors in Field Hockey and Volleyball

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Field Hockey puts four on All-West region team

-Volleyball gets five on All-BIG EAST team

-Preview of the UofL vs. SEMO women's basketball game

-Football Cards host WVU

Welcome to the weekend! We're glad you made it! Shoni Schimmel (pictured here with her sister Jude) hopes you have as much fun at the Lady Cards basketball game tonight against SEMO as she is having in this candid.

Nicloe Youman and Hayley Turner have been selected to participate on the 1st Team National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division 1 West Region team. Fellow teammates Rachel Hollenbach and Tuli Lim were placed on the 2nd team. All are seniors except Turner.

Youman was the Offensive Player of the Year in the BIG EAST and holds the Louisville school record for season and career assists. She, Hollenbach, Turner were All-BIG EAST selections and Lim was selected to the All Big East Tournament team with them.

The Flock (13-7, 5-1) narrowly missed getting an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament despite being ranked as high as sixth during the season and being in the top ten for six weeks.

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It's BIG EAST Volleyball Tournament time and Louisville had five Cards selected to the All-Conference teams. Lola Arsenbeckova made the 1st team and Emily Juhl, Taylor Brauneis, Gwen Rucker and Amanda Simmons were selected for the 2nd team. Arsenbeckova is a sophomore, Simmons a senior, Rucker a junior and Juhl and Brauneis is a freshmen. Louisville drew the second seed for the event in Pittsburgh and will await 1st round action to see who their opening opponent will be in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals and semifinal matches will be shown free at http://www.bigeast.org/ and ESPNU will televise the finals on Sunday.

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Southeastern Missouri State visits the KFC YUM Center for women's basketball tonight against the Lady Cards. It'll be your last chance to catch Walz's bunch at home until Dec. 2nd. SEMO (1-2) comes into the game following a home opener loss to Northern Iowa on Wednesday 70-57. The Cards (2-1) romped Houston Baptist Wednesday in the YUM 100-34.

The RedHawks are expected to be a contender for the Ohio Valley Conference title this year and the team from Cape Girardeau, Missouri is led by 6'1" soph. forward Brittany Harrel and 5'7" junior guard Bianca Beck. Juco transfer Karley Evans, a 5'9" junior guard collected eleven points in the loss Wednesday and 5'10" forward/guard Ballie Roberts is one of several dangerous long distance shooter. The RedHawks rely on speed and quickness to get it done, so they'll try to turn this one into a track meet...since their size doesn't come anywhere close to Louisville's.

For Walz's crew...it'll hopefully be a repeat of the transition game and defensive dominance that they displayed against Houston Baptist. Expect the Cards to once again play many different combinations and all 13 players if they are able to gain an early advantage on the Red Hawks.

It's a directional school. Although the remote possibility of a "trap game" scenario does exist, WE at CARDINAL COUPLE aren't very worried and think the Cards will put on another fun display of steals, three pointers, creating Red Hawk turnovers and running the transition game for layups.

WAZOO Sports network will televise the contest and Jim Kelch and Paul Sanderford will handle the radio duties on WKRD 790 AM/101.7 FM. Tip off is 7 p.m.

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Louisville football hosts the West Virginia Mountaineers Saturday at noon in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Charlie Strong's guys need one more win to become bowl eligible. WVU has won 10 out of the 12 lifetime meetings between the schools and already has 6 wins on the season. Louisville will have their hands full with the speedy running backs in the Mountaineer stable and WE don't expect the Cards to defend their home turf successfully. Make it WVU 33- Louisville 17. WE hope we're wrong...Play huge, defense.

Kickoff is at noon.

Field Hockey falls in the BIG EAST semis to UConn

SUNDAY EDITION OF C.C.

-Field Hockey falls to UConn

-Volleyball downs Pitt

-Rowing gets a second in Hooch

-Football Cards win at 'Cuse

-The "Big girl" misses by a head.

Lots of things going on Saturday to catch up on today. Pictured here, the belly dancers caught CARDINAL COUPLE'S attention at the Dos Equis hospitality tent in the Churchill Downs grandstands on Saturday Breeders Cup Day. Poor little thing must have been freezing out there...

Pam Bustin's TEAM CARDINAL Field Hockey squad lost 2-1 to #4 Connecticut on Connecticut's home field yesterday in the BIG EAST Field Hockey semifinals. The Cards trailed 2-0 at the half and despite a hard fought effort and being one player short, they fall and await to see if they'll be included in the 16 team NCAA Tournament. The Huskies got both their goals with less than 11 minutes remaining in the first half. Louisville scored in the second half when senior Tuli Lim took Hayley Turner's pass for Karah Nall and fired it into the net.

Louisville was hindered when senior Nicole Youman was penalized with a red card and ejected from the game. According to the rules of Field Hockey, no player could substitute for her and the Cards had to play 10 against 11 the rest of the match.

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Volleyball improved to 10-1 in the BIG EAST with a 3-1 road win over Pitt yesterday. Big for the Cards was Lola Arslanbeckova...with 20 kills...part of the Cards 58. Louisville won the games 25-18, 25-2, 18-2 and 25-19. Louisville got big games from Emily Juhl (10 kills) Taylor Brauneis (43 assists) Caitlin Welch (20 digs) and Amanda Simmons (six blocks).

The Cards had 21 kills in the final game of the match after losing the third game due to a weak .172 hitting percentage

A quick turn around for the Volley Cards, they travel to WVU for a Sunday match against the 'Eers at 2 p.m.

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Cardinal Rowers got a runner up finish in the Head of the Hooch meet in Chattanooga on Day One of the event. The 4+ team in the Women's Championship event lost to Texas by just three seconds over the 5,000 meter course. The Cards will have four entries in the Women's Open 8+ event today. The 8+ team in the Women's Championship event finished seventh to Texas.

Louisville had 10 boats entered in the various events yesterday. The Novice 4+ team finished 10th to Duke and the Women's Championship Double finished 12th out of 20.

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Congratulations to the University of Louisville Football Team in grabbing a 28-20 win on the road at Syracuse. No Froman, no Powell? No problem for Louisville, who got a 98 yard rushing effort and 2 TD's from freshman Jeremy Wright and two TD tosses from senior quarterback Justin Burke. The Cards hadn't won a BIG EAST road game in their previous 12 attempts.

The Cards got huge defensive efforts from Brandon Heath, Rodney Gnat and converted on a crucial 4th and inches late in the game to keep the ball out of Syracuse's hands.

Louisville goes to 5-4 with the win and will face the USF Bulls next Saturday in PJCS.

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ZENYATTA came flying down the Churchill Downs stretch yesterday but narrowly lost to BLAME by a head in the Breeders Cup Classic yesterday at the Twin Spires. Throngs of disappointed fans filed out in disbelief after the final race of the day.

CARDINAL COUPLE, although disappointed in "the Big Girl's" loss, couldn't cry too much...having hit a $1425 late .50 cent pick three. Down slightly on the day...WE pressed the "all" button in the ninth race, followed by DANGEROUS MIDGE, BEHKABAD and AL KHALI in the second leg and ZENYATTA, BLAME and FIRST DUDE in the final. The $54 wager left the pocket almost empty but it was filled nicely after the BLAME upset victory. Yes, we had to fill out the IRS form...WE also had the exacta and trifecta in the final race, a mere $30 investment there brought back a payout of $240 on the $1 boxes. WHEEEEEEEE!!!!!

On the day, our selections were pretty good. If you had put $2 across the board on each of our top 4 picks in all eight BREEDERS CUP races, you would have made a $8 profit. Of course...CARDINAL COUPLE didn't follow its own advice early and some foolish early Daily Double and Pick 4 selections left us a little in the "red" leading up to the 9th race. All's well that ends well...

We did see one of the most incredible runs we can remember in a long time from 2 year old colt UNCLE MO in the BREEDERS CUP JUVENILE. Trained by Todd Pletcher and under John Velazquez, he flew away from the other nine rivals at the top of the stretch and roared to a 4 length victory. He's my early Derby pick for next year. Stunning...

Can Zenyatta go 20 for 20?

SATURDAY AT C.C. :

-The "Big Girl" goes for No. 20

-Youman named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year.

-Swimming downs WVU

-Football faces Syracuse

Zenyatta, pictured here, faces the boys today in the Breeders Cup Classic. She's going for her 20th. win in 20 starts. WE think she'll get it today. More on the 'Cup at the end of today's articles. Photo copyrighted by Charles Pravata and a beauty of the "Big Girl"

Nicole Youman has been selected as the BIG EAST Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Year. The senior forward has 17 goals and 19 assists so far this season. that's good for top honors in the BIG EAST and sixth in the nation. Nicole was also selected to the all-conference first team, along with Cardinal teammates Hayley Turner and Rachel Hollenbach. Goalie Erin Conrad got second team honors.

The Cards begin BIG EAST play today...facing #3 UConn. Game is at 1:30 p.m. and can be seen on BIG EAST TV.

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The UofL swimming teams splashed past visitor West Virginia in a dual meet yesterday. For the ladies, the Cards swept the 200-medley relay and 100 yard backstroke early en route to a 186-105 victory over the 'Eers. Therese Bergstrom won the 100 breaststroke, Aileen Cole took the 50 and 100 free and Eszter Povazsay took the 200 backstroke. Louisville dives back into the Ralph Wright Natatorium again today against Pitt.

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Charlie Strong's 4-4 football Cards head to Syracuse without leading rusher Bilal Powell or starting QB Adam Froman in the lineup because of injuries. The 6-2 Orange have won their last two...over WVU and Cincy. Game time is noon.

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Yesterday's Breeders Cup was just plain cold and brutal yesterday if you happened to be outside. If you put $2 across the board on all our picks yesterday, you basically broke even. We did a little better than that, hitting a couple of exactas and a huge late Daily Double that paid $371.00 for a $1 wager. We spent considerably more that that to hit it...but the "all" with 1,4,5,10,11,12 $66 wager gave us a $305 profit and ended the day in a very nice way. Today's picks follow:

BREEDERS CUP JUVENILE TURF

MASTER OF HOUNDS looked great in 5 European races and gets Lasix for the first time today. AIR SUPPORT took to the turf quite well in the Grade 3 Pilgrim and Rajiv Maragh returns to ride for Shug McGaughey. MADMAN DIARIES will set the early pace and if Jeffrey Sanchez gets her too far ahead, they'll have a hard time catching the gelding. BANNED has two straight wins and will appreciate the early pace. He could sweep them all in the stretch.

BREEDERS CUP SPRINT

GIROLAMO will try to go wire to wire like he did in the Vosburgh win and Alan Garcia is one of the best sprint jockeys out there. BIG DRAMA stumbled last time out or he would be 3 for 3 and will fight for the early lead. The rail helps here. SMILING TIGER is another one that will contest for the early lead and Russell Baze has won on him 3 times. ATTA BOY ROY returns to the dirt where he has 3 wins and 2 close seconds. Having Calvin Borel on top doesn't hurt this closer's chances.

BREEDERS CUP TURF SPRINT

SILVER TIMBER roared past them in the Woodford and Julian Leparoux will try to do the same today. BRIDGETOWN comes out of the strong Kenny McPeek barn and will be flying late. STRADIVINSKY will try to take them wire to wire with Johnny Velazquez in the irons and CENTRAL CITY will go to the lead with him. Robby Albarado loves the Ronny Werner trained colts chances.

BREEDERS CUP JUVENILE

UNCLE MO is our best bet of the day. Velazquez has a monster under him and they won't catch him today. BOYS AT TOSCONOVA ran second here to start her career in the Ky Juvenile Cup and will make a race of it. BIONDETTI has won all three of his English races and will draw a huge price. Beware. STAY THIRSTY tries a mile and sixteenth for the first time but should love the extra distance.

BREEDERS CUP MILE

GOLDIKOVA will try to win this race for the third year in a row and she is in great form right now. Make it so. GIO PONTI is a dangerous foe and will be flying late under Ramon Dominguez. COURT VISION will be another late flyer and the colt seems to respond well when Albarado is on board. SIDNEY'S CANDY will be on or close to the lead and could last if the closers don't respond. Also, GET STORMY will want the lead here and is another that has wire to wire speed.

BREEDERS CUP DIRT MILE

COOL COAL MAN is my longshot special here. Leparoux has this horse's attention. Look out late. MORNING LINE will vie for the lead and has new jockey Javier Castellano excited about his chances. TIZWAY will track the pace and will be the probable favorite. MINE THAT BIRD returns to the track where he won the Kentucky Derby...Borel's off but Mike Smith will provide a good ride. This one could be a "all" button to start the late Pick 3...

BREEDERS CUP TURF

WORKFORCE has dominated the European circuit and will romp these if the turf is to his liking. DANGEROUS MIDGE is another European that can get out and go. He may get the lead and refuse to surrender it. BEHKABAD chased WORKFORCE in the Arc and will do the same today. AL KHALI is dangerous at a huge price and gets turf specialist Leparoux's services today. Honestly, if WORKFORCE doesn't go..it's wide open.

BREEDERS CUP CLASSIC

ZENYATTA will make her usual huge charge from way back in the stretch and pass them all again today for Mike Smith and John Shireffs. BLAME has won five of his last six, had three wins here at Churchill and will challenge. FIRST DUDE is poised to run a huge one for Dale Romans and Robby Albarado. If anyone can keep up witn Zenyatta in the stretch, it's "the Dude".

LOOKIN AT LUCKY has three wins in a row and is getting along well with rider Martin Garcia. Another stretch flyer than ZENYATTA will have to contend with.

Good luck to all and dress warmly if you go today

Jockeys call Louisville their home now

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Albarado and Lanerie at CD

-Some observations on the YUM!

-Field Hockey Senior Game

With the UofL Field Hockey, Volleyball and women's basketball team busily preparing for their next contests, CARDINAL COUPLE takes a look today at another big event taking place in the "Ville" this weekend...The Breeders Cup at Churchill Downs. Pictured left, Robby Albarado, who will ride FIRST DUDE in the Classic. Pictured right, Corey Lanerie...one of Churchill's up and coming riders.

Both Albarado and Lanerie spoke to a capacity crowd at the monthly Sportsmen Supper Club meeting Tuesday night. The riders are back in Louisville to participate in the Fall Meeting at Churchill Downs. Robby and Corey call Louisville their home now, have houses here and have moved their families to Louisville. They'll compete in the weekend racing and both are "keep an eye out for" contenders in any race that they might ride in.

Corey Lanerie, originally from Louisiana, is big time now. After riding the Louisiana and Florida circuits for several years...Lanerie has committed himself to racing at Churchill, Keeneland, Turfway and Ellis Park on the Kentucky circuits. Considered a dangerous option on any turf or distance event, Lanerie is also known as being the guy who "fired" top trainer Steve Asmussen.

As Corey tells the story, several years ago...he was getting the ride on a lot of "Ass"mussen's horses. And doing well. One particular afternoon, though...he was on an Asmussen mount and the horse simply didn't respond. After the race, Steve blistered Corey for his ride on the horse. Having gone thru similar episodes with Asmussen, Lanerie held his tongue but informed his jockey's agent to turn down anymore offers to ride for Steve again. In common terms, the decision is liking refusing to drive a BMW when you're tooling around town in a washed out Toyota Pickup. The two have somewhat mended fences, but in jockey circles..the legend of the story still remains.

Lanerie won't have a mount in any of the two day Breeders Cup events but will have plenty of mounts in the Fall Meet at Churchill. He gives it his all every race and has made this writer extremely happy over the years with his ability to boot home runners at longshot prices.

Albarado will be on board for multiple mounts in the Breeders Cup. Like Lanerie, he got his start riding at Delta, Evangeline and other "bush" tracks in Louisiana. He was the rider for CURLIN, one of the best to ever step foot on a race track.

Robby will tell you, though...that MINESHAFT is his favorite ride of all time. The multiple stakes runner never tossed out a poor performance and he and Albarado teamed up for one of the most thrilling rides that this writer can remember in the 2003 Jockey Gold Cup Stakes...blowing away the competiton in the Saratoga stretch.

He'll pilot FIRST DUDE in the Classic and Robby isn't ready to concede the race to ZENYATTA just yet. He feels the "the Dude" hasn't run his best race yet and will like the 1 1/4 mile distance on Saturday. He also questions whether the big gal ZENYATTA can handle the distance and dirt at Churchill. Could be wise words.

Both jockeys are in agreement that Churchill will continue to lose riders, trainers and owner to tracks that have casino gambling available. Purses and dollars talk in this industry. Both also enjoy night racing at Churchill Downs. Albarado did confide that his favorite track to ride at was Keeneland, though...Lanerie indicated his favorite spot to mount up is where "the horses are hot and he had good mounts." Both dream of winning the Kentucky Derby. Don't we all?

Watch both these guys in the Fall Meet at Churchill. Your wallet will thank you.

CARDINAL COUPLE will post some selections for both days of Breeders Cup racing beginning Friday Morning. (You may want to skip accessing the site.) In defense, WE cleared over $200 in profits last year on the Breeders Cup days. This year is a tough one...for the fields are very full and the competition keen.

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I've been to the KFC YUM! Center a total of three times now and find more and more to like about it each time I go. Parking hasn't been a problem, I did "hi-line" it last trip and forked over the $10 to park underneath the facility. Can't say I'll be back there...but I've had no problems leaving after events and game and love the easy access to I-64 East.

Seating is also quite grand. Although CARDINAL COUPLE is on Media Row for UofL women's basketball games...our seats for the Rick Pitino pledges are lower level and right above the bourbon bar. Is this heaven? I did saunter up to the 300 level to see the view and can understand some of the complaints about visibility, height and seeing the viewing screens. Look, it isn't nearly as bad as Rupp's rafters and the seats are way more comfortable. You get what you pay for. The Arena is simply the best out there. A jewel on the Ohio. Go early, take some time to visit the lounges and food stands and enjoy the atmosphere. And, get UofL women's basketball season tickets! Jeff Walz has a Juggernaut waiting for you to come see them play. Tennessee next Friday. Be there,

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Nicole Youman and Rachel Hollenbach have been selected to play in the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association Division I Senior Game. They'll take part in the contest on Saturday, November 20th. at the University of Maryland.

Youman has been a four year starter for TEAM CARDINAL. She leads the BIG EAST in goals, assists and points this year. She also holds the UofL records for single season and career assists and most goals in a game....five of them this year against CMU.

Hollenbach has started for three years and been an integral part of Pam Bustin's offense. She's produced four goals and two assists this year.

A tip of the hat and salute to these two fine examples of doing it the right way in college sports. Good luck against the Huskies and in the BIG EAST Tournament this weekend...Flock!

Arslanbeckova, Youman earn BIG EAST honors

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE PRESENTS:

-Nicole Youman named BIG EAST Player of the Week

-Lola Arslanbeckova named BIG EAST Player of the Week

-UofL Women's basketball season ticket plan

Two UofL women's sports athletes have been selected for top honors for their performances last week. Here's the details...

Nicole Youman, senior forward from Black Mountain, Austrailia, has been named the BIG EAST Player of the Week in Field Hockey for her efforts last week in the TEAM CARDINAL wins against Villanova and Iowa. She ended up with eleven points...scoring three times and dishing out five assists in the 6-0 whitewash of Villanova and 4-1 win over Iowa. Youman leads the BIG EAST with 15 goals and 18 assists on the season...good for 48 points.

This is her third BIG EAST Player of the Week honor this season. The Cards (11-5, 4-1) travel to Providence (4-11, 0-4) for a Saturday match against the Lady Friars (sounds strange, right) and a non-conference Sunday tussle with New Hampshire. The Providence game will end the conference schedule for Pam Bustin's squad. They are second in the BIG EAST standings currently.

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Lola Arsanbeckova, a sophomore outside hitter for the UofL volleyball team was named BIG EAST player of the week in Volleyball for her fine performance in the upset win over Cincinnati Saturday in Cardinal Arena. It's the first such award for Lola or any of the Volley Cards this season.

Lola was spectacular in the Bearcats vs. Cardinals showdown. She had 24 kills and seven digs in the 3-2 win for Louisville. She hit for an awesome .419 in the match. Currently she is fifth in the conference in hitting percentage and third in kills per set.

Louisville is tied for first place in the BIG EAST with the Bearcats at 6-1. They have the next three games at home, beginning with Lipscomb on Wednesday night. BIG EAST foe Georgetown
visits Friday night and the home stand ends with USF on Sunday afternoon. After that, the next five out of six are on the road and the BIG EAST tournament is in Pittsburgh this year. Louisville is 11-5 on the season and currently riding a five match win streak.

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UofL has announced a special women's season ticket basketball package for UofL Alumni and it is quite a deal. This new package includes 4 Women's Basketball season tickets for $160 total. If you purchase the package, you also get 4 additional tickets to the UofL vs. Tennessee game on November 12th. and 4 additional tickets to the UofL vs. UK game on December 5th.

All the UofL women's basketball home games will be played in the state of the art KFC - YUM! Center. The sections available for this special deal are all lower level.

Call Eric Clouse, director of ticket sales, at (502) 852-7254 to get in on the action.

Think about it. 16 home games. 4 tickets each, plus an additional 4 tickets each for two of the biggest games of the year. I didn't major in math but I come up with 72 total tickets here for slightly over $2 a seat. The best entertainment value in town, folks.

Make that call to Eric today and he'll be happy to fill you in on which sections and seats are open. Last I heard, the offer applied to Sections 101-104, 108-114 and 118-120. I've been to the new arena a couple of times now and there are no bad views from anywhere on the lower level.

You might even run into the co-owners of CARDINAL COUPLE during a contest...but don't let that hold you back from getting in the game. WE promise to be nice. Jeff Walz insists. Otherwise we have to run the steps in the arena and try to guard Asia Taylor.

Field Hockey sweeps weekend, tough Soccer loss

MONDAY @ THE COUPLE:

-Field Hockey produces on Senior Day.

-Soccer falls in O.T.

-New Field Hockey blog

Welcome to a new week. An exciting Sunday for UofL women's sports and we have a new entry for the Field Hockey blog. TEAM CARDINAL drove 10 of the orbs pictured here into the cage over the weekend while allowing only one to slip by them. WOOO HOOO! Let's get to the stories:

#10 Louisville Field Hockey sent the seniors off in style by rolling past Iowa 4-1 in Sunday action. The Cards are now 11-5 and assured a berth in the BIG EAST tournament.

The televised match started slowly for UofL. Iowa hit the scoreboard first just a couple of minutes into the game when Kim Scraper snuck one by UofL goalie Erin Conrad for the score. You know what they say about sleeping lions...and the rude awakening only served to fire TEAM CARDINAL up. Defensive pressure got Louisville the ball in good position and Kelsey Rosenmeier took a pass from senior Jenna Ahern to tie the contest 11 minutes into the game. The Cards tallied the second goal off a penalty corner when senior Nicole Youman found Karah Nall near the net and delivered a pass that Nall drove home for a 2-1 advantage. The Cards padded the lead near the end of the first half when Haley Jurich popped a Youman penalty corner past Iowa goalie Kathleen McGraw. The Cards took the 3-1 advantage into the locker room for halftime.

Both teams battled in a strong defensive effort thru the second half until Youman retrieved a Caitlin Collins shot and redirected it into the goal for the final margin. The CARDS out shot Iowa 17-6 in the game and Conrad had three saves.

Louisville takes it to the road for the next two. They'll visit Providence on Saturday, October 23rd. and face New Hampshire on the 24th. Enjoy the spectacular New England fall colors, TEAM CARDINAL and bring two "W"'s home...

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Heartbreak on the road for Louisville women's soccer Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee when the Lady Cards dropped a 4-3 overtime match to Marquette. Louisville (9-7, 3-6) got three scores from sophomore Emily Cardell but dropped to #20 Marquette (12-3-2, 9-0).

The Cards started strong against the Golden Eagles and hit the board first when Cardell was on the receiving end of a Shannon Leamy feed and flew one by Marquette goalie Natalie Kulla. Several minutes later Cardell made it 2-0 when Angelika Uremovich set up a pass that Cardell scored on. The Cards took the 2-0 advantage into halftime.

Marquette got untracked in the second half when they scored in the 57 minute mark and tied it at the 65 minute mark. Louisville regained a brief lead when Cardell scored her final goal of the game but the Golden Eagles came right back and tied it at 3-3 less than a minute later.

The teams took the 3-3 tie into overtime. Marquette secured the victory early in O.T. when Kerry McBride connected after receiving a corner kick. Marquette out shot Louisville 28-5 in the game and Louisville goalie Taylor Vancil had nine saves. The Cards stay on the road trip...appearing at Seton Hall on Friday to end the regular season.

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Lacey Jurich catches us up on the great field hockey weekend for TEAM CARDINAL. We will run Lacey's Field Hockey entry on the left side of the site as well until it is updated. Lacey writes:

October 16th.

"We had a huge victory over our competitors in the Big East, the Villanova Wildcats. Going into the game we realized that we have to get another Big East win under our belt to make sure we are still doing well in the conference. Villanova has a good reputation to keep fighting throughout the whole game. Our coaches prepared us all week to play our game and we were definitely prepared. We knew that in order to win this game we need to all play together and play 70 minutes. In the first few minutes, we set the tone. Nicole hit a rocket to Karah as she tipped it into the cage. After this goal we kept up the tempo on the field and also on the sideline. The energy was present throughout the entire game. Villanova stayed true to their reputation and they worked hard the entire game...but we outworked them. At halftime the score was 4-0. We knew that Villanova was a tenacious team and would still continue to work hard in the second half. The Cards came out strong again in the second half and ended up putting two more balls in the cage. Erin Conrad had another shutout game and we ended up winning 6-0. This Big East win is another game that will help us get closer to reach our goals."

October 17th

"Today may have seemed to be close to the end for some of the seniors, but all of TEAM CARDINAL knew that we still have a lot more left in this 2010 season. Today was Senior Day. We honored/celebrated our 7 seniors and our student manager before the big game versus Iowa today. This was the last regular season game that we play at Trager Stadium. TEAM CARDINAL was ready to go! We knew that we had to show all of our fans the things we were capable of. Many families were in town to support the Cardinals this week. With all the hype and distractions of Senior Day, we knew that we wanted to win this game badly! We did a great job of controlling our energy and excitement. This was an emotional day for many but also a thrilling day. In the beginning of the game, Iowa had scored a goal but we never got discouraged. When they scored, we decided that there was no way they will get momentum on OUR field. We fired back with a goal about eleven minutes into the game. Since it was a tied ballgame, we knew that we needed to score a few more goals for a sweet victory. We ended up scoring two more goals off of beautiful corner plays to end the half 3-1. We discussed what we needed to do to make sure we can seal the deal. Iowa is known to be a second half team and we knew that we had to work together. With the energy and focus still present, we scored one more goal and the final was 4-1. The 10th ranked Cards now have a record of 11-5. This victory was earned by everyone on TEAM CARDINAL. No one was out of focus and everyone was alert. This was a very memorable day, not only for the seniors, but to all the teammates and people that they have touched. "

Nice work by Lacey on getting us on the sidelines and in the huddles with TEAM CARDINAL. She and her teammates travel to New England this weekend for two games and we look forward to that report.

Volleyball, Field Hockey, Golf successful on Saturday

SUNDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Volleyball snaps Notre Dame win streak

-Field Hockey wins at Rutgers

-Women's Golf second round action

-Soccer today on TV

-How about that Charlie Strong?

A great day for many UofL sports contests yesterday!

Emily Juhl had a career high 16 kills in Louisville's win over Notre Dame 3-1 in CARDINAL ARENA yesterday morning. With the win, the Cards improved to 9-5 on the season and 4-1 in the BIG EAST.

The Cards won the first game behind the strong arm of Juhl and Anastasia Artemeva...overcoming an early Irish lead with a 8-2 run late in the contest to post a 25-21 victory. Notre Dame jumped on Louisville early in the second game, going up 9-4 and although the Cards rallied back to get with two at 22-20 they could get no closer and fell 25-23.

After the intermission, both team battled back and forth in the third game of the match but a key Louisville 7-2 stretch put the Cards ahead 21-15 and went on to score the 25-19 victory. In the final game, the Cards steadily built the lead to hold a 19-11 advantage and finished out to take game and match 25-17.

Volleyball fan Jack Wimsett was in attendance and told CARDINAL COUPLE:

"Juhl was out of this world. She and Anastasia just kept blasting rockets over the net against Notre Dame and Simmons dominated the net with some great blocks. It was a great morning!"

Louisville returns to the court Sunday afternoon to face DePaul. Action begins at 2 p.m.

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Field Hockey pitched a shutout in Piscataway, N.J. Saturday afternoon, blanking the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 2-0 in BIG EAST action. Amber Thomas broke open a defensive battle in the first half when she scooped up a Nicole Youman (WOO HOO! for Nicole!) and sent the ball sailing past Rutgers goalie Sarah Stuby for a one point Cardinal lead. TEAM CARDINAL took the advantage into the half-tine break and continued to hold Rutgers scoreless in the final frame. They added a second goal midway thru the second half when Jenna Ahern knocked a missed Youman attempt (WOO HOO! for Nicole! ) past Stuby for the final goal of the match. Did we mention how much we like Nicole Youman?

With the win, Louisville improves to 9-4 and 3-1 in the BIG EAST. Goalie Erin Conrad had five saves in the game and the Cards outshot the Scarlet Knights 15-10. Louisville travels to Princeton next for a Sunday match in the Garden State against the #3 Tigers. Thanks to Louisville assistant S.I.D. for keeping CARDINAL COUPLE in the loop on the womens' East Coast swing.

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Sara-Maude Juneau continues to find the sweet spot in Carolina, firing a 69 in the second round of the Tar Heel Invitational. Her great round moved her up to 5th place after two days and only five shots off the lead as the teams wrap up play on Sunday. Juneau had a 70 yesterday.

Laura Anderson, pictured above, had a 71 Saturday, her best effort of the season so far, and has a two day total of 147. Anna-Karin Ljungstorm carded a 78 in day two and Maria Castellanos toured the 18 in 80 strokes. Sophomore Candice Wiley impressed with a 73 yesterday, seven strokes better than her opening round 80.

Louisville climbed the ranks to 16th. place after second round action with a 592 total. Alabama leads the pack with 551.

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Louisville Women's Soccer will play on local television today with a 1 p.m. game at Cardinal Park against Georgetown. WHAS-11 TV will show the match live. It is Senior Day for the Cards. While we're on the subject of "futbol"...congrats to UofL men's soccer team...still undefeated after yesterday's 2-1 win over host Rutgers. Bad day to be a Rutgers' fan yesterday...

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What in the world has gotten into this Charlie Strong football team? Paul and I sat there yesterday in the baking sun and watched touchdown after touchdown and surmised that either Memphis really was that pitiful or Charlie Strong has fined tuned these guys to success. Friday night will be a much more true test of how far Strong has taken these Kragthorpe leftovers when the CardStrong Nation welcomes those dreaded Cincinnati Bearcats to PJCS. The Bearcats did some growling of their own yesterday, smacking around Miami of Ohio 45-3.

The Cards did better with their 56-0 whitewash of the Memphis Kittens. I sure wouldn't wanted to have been in that feline locker room when the sun set to the west of the Pizza Palace.

Field Hockey tops UConn 3-2 in O.T.

SUNDAY @ THE COUPLE:





-Field Hockey wins!





Before a record crowd at Trager Stadium, the UofL field hockey team downed #5 UConn 3-2 in overtime.





Louisville got two goals from Hayley Turner...both on assists from Nicole Youman...the final one the decision maker.





The Cards (7-3, 2-1) opened up the scoring when Nikki Auker took a feed from Simone Attles and found the net. Auker scored a goal also back in 2008...the last time Louisville beat Connecticut. Louisville was able to take that lead to halftime.





UConn tiedthe contest midway through second half and minutes later took a 2-1 lead. Nicole Youman found Turner, though...on a feed to tie it with about a minute left. We talked to Youman Thursday and she stressed to us that she hoped that with UConn keying on her...her teammates might benefit.





That proved to be the case in overtime. Youman got the ball to Turner again and the same result transpired...giving the Cards the contest.





Louisville returns to action Sunday to face St. Louis in Trager Stadium.





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Kim Grieshaber finished 4th and the UofL Cross Country squad 6th overall in the Louisville Cross Country meetat E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer Park.

Cardinal Field Hockey ready to tame Huskies

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

#10 Louisville vs UConn

We devote the Friday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE to the Saturday matchup between #10 Louisville and #5 Connecticut that will take place Saturday at noon in Trager Stadium. We're fortunate enough to have three exclusive interviews with senior TEAM CARDINAL Field Hockey Players and head coach Pam Bustin. The ladies are ready to roll and if they show the determination of Nicole Youman (pictured here) they'll send the Huskies back to Storrs on the short end of the score.

JENNA AHERN

(On the Cards 2008 win over UConn at Trager Stadium)

" I did play in that win. It was the opening of the Marshall Center and a big home win for us. We're hoping to duplicate that again."

(On the rivarly with UConn)

'Definitely our arch rival in the conference. It was a heartbreaker losing to them last year. Maybe it was the theme of the season...heartbreaking, because we had so many overtime losses. WE came out strong but a couple of minutes can lose you a game, so we need to stay strong all the way."

(On scouting this year's UConn squad)

"We need to be ready. Especially on defense, they have skilled forwards..so were looking to skill them outside, delay as best we can on defense. We definitely don't want to give up a lot of corners because they've scored well on those this year."

(Her message to CARDINAL COUPLE readers)

'Come out and cheer us on. WE want your support."

NICOLE YOUMAN

(On the 2008 win over UConn)

"It was one that you don't forget, for sure. They were ranked fourth and we won."

(On getting open to score on UConn)

"It's really a team thing. It's all about all of us working together. About getting that open shot on the goal and if that happens to be me...yeah, that would be great."

(On having an advantage if the game goes to overtime)

"I think so. Because of our passion and determination right now. We've learned a lot from overtime this year and I'd be comfortable going in to it."

(On facing players from the last couple of UConn teams)

"There are a few back from the last couple of years. They have a lot of foreign players that are in and out every couple of years...so there will be a few new faces but there are a few girls that I'll remember from last year."

(A special message to the CARDINAL COUPLE readers)

"It great to have all the fans coming out. The support we've had on our Facebook page...yeah, please keep coming out and hopefully we'll put on a good game, get the win and make it worth their while."


TULI YIM

(On beating UConn in 2008)

"It was a very exciting game! It was an incredible thing...we just played so well together and it really showed. WE got the win and it was incredible.

(On what to expect out of UConn on Saturday)

"They are very skilled. They're the #5 team so it will be great competition. WE know their tendencies. WE really just want to move the ball around, I want to just get the ball to those who will score...trusting them and their abilities."

(Her message to CARDINAL COUPLE readers)

"It's going to be a phenomenal game, so come out and watch. It's going to be very exciting!"


PAM BUSTIN

( On the mood, tempo and tone of the players going in to the UConn game)

"Everyone is really excited. I think that our focus is the key to this match. Having a week to prepare and having it be Connecticut....who we always look forward to playing. It's going to be a balance of keeping the energy high and keeping them relaxed as possible. We've just been taking care of our own business here every day and getting into what we have to do to combat Connecticut."

(On Youman and scoring against the UConn defense)

"Nicole Youman is obviously a very good forward and field hockey player and I'm sure Connecticut has a plan to minimize her impact on the game...but for us we've been working on our entire attack unit, so..hopefully as Nic does what she can to open up other players and maybe distract some of the defenders...we'll be able to take advantage of some of the opportunities and score.


(Do we want to see this one go into overtime?)

"No! But if it has to, we'll do what we have to do to win. Despite what the record shows, we actually played really well in our first two overtime games this year. It's just a matter of us finishing the game. I'd rather win in regulation, but if we have to win in overtime...we'll do it."

(On her pregame talk to the team)

"I think inspiration may not be the issue here. Focus and relaxation...trying to get them ready to go. Balanced...getting them ready for what they have to do to get the result they want. We don't need to be too jacked up for this game. The desire..it's gonna be there."

(To the CARDINAL COUPLE readers)

"Come on out and support us! We've been playing some beautiful hockey this season. We're ranked tenth in the nation right now and we're not satisfied with that. We've been hitting a wall...trying to break thru that tenth ranking. Hopefully on Saturday, with good focus and good support and a good game...we'll be able to climb a little bit up that ladder there.'

What else can be said? Be there, be a part of it and come to know the excitement, dedication and drive that is TEAM CARDINAL.

It's gonna be a good one. Don't miss it. CARDINAL COUPLE will have a full report on the contest Sunday and on Saturday...Paul will have a piece on his visit to practice on Thursday.

Cards field hockey rocks Radford 7-1

Monday Cardinal Couple covers:

- #12 Field Hockey rolls at home

-Women's soccer loses on the road

-Rowing competes in Lemonhead Regatta

-The Hammond question

A busy Sunday for women's sports at UofL. Let's get to the action and results...

Nicole Youman continued with the hot stick...scoring three goals and adding two assists at Trager Stadium against Radford. The Flock (7-1) used a big second half to defeat the Highlanders (6-1) by six in front of a nice crowd on the Belknap campus.

Radford hit the scoreboard first when Lara Canker popped back a blocked shot by Cards goalie Erin Conrad less than two minutes into the contest. Louisville countered near the 30 minute mark when Youman set up Simone Attles for a score on Jennifer Wisniewski. The score remained tied for the rest of the first session.

Louisville struck early and often in the final stanza. Youman got the scoring started with a penetrate and shot at the 1:24 mark to put the Cards ahead for good. A couple of minutes later, Youman added her second goal...recovering her blocked shot on Wisniewski and finding the net for a 3-1 Cardinal advantage. Youman picked up her second assist minutes later, finding Haley Jurich on the right side...who planted one deep in the net to make it 4-1.

The Cards continued the scoring fiesta when reserve Heather Stevens drove thru the circle and slapped one in for a 5-1 advantage. Youman picked up her third score less than a minute later, guiding the ball in at the 50:16 mark to put the Cards up by five. Freshman Elizabeth Vance recovered a missed Karah Nall attempt and closed out the scoring for the game.

Louisville out shot the Highlander 21-4 and returns to action at #8 Syracuse...who defeated Rutgers yesterday...Saturday, September 25th.

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Soccer lost their first game of the year in Champaign, Illnois...falling to the Illini 3-0. The Cards (7-1) were guilty of 11 whistles in the contest and #21 Illinois outshot Louisville 8-2 on shots on goal.

#16 Louisville hung tough most of the first half but surrendered the only tally of the half when Taylor Vancil just missed blocking a Megan Pawloski kick to the right corner.

Illinois (7-1-1) increased the margin in the final half thanks to a Julie Ewing feed to a wide open Shayla Mutz who took it past Conrad for a 2-0 lead. The Cards surrendered the final goal of the game late in the contest to Marissa Holden's boot past Conrad.

Karen Ferguson-Dayes brings the Cards back home for a Friday match against DePaul. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Cardinal Park.

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Cardinal Rowing opened the fall season in Bloomington in the Lemonhead Regata on Lake Lemon. (Wonder what color the water was?) The Cards fared well in the dual meet, gathering a win and a tie against the Hoosiers.

In the first race, the Cardinal "A" team defeated the IU "A" crew by three seconds over the three mile course. This one was for crews of four. IU's "B" squad nipped the Cardinal "B" bunch for third.

The Cards and Hoosiers "A" squads battled to a tie in the second event each hitting the line in 17:04 over the distance for crews of eight. Louisville's "B" squad finished third.

Louisville hosts the Red and Black Day next...at the Cardinal Boathouse off River Road on Saturday, October 16th.

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To answer the many e-mails we've gotten about Kentucky girls' basketball star Sara Hammond and her college choice...we can tell you that she's made no decision between UofL and UConn the last time we heard...around 8 a.m. Monday morning...but it's rumored she could announce as early as tomorrow.

We'll keep you posted on any breaking news we hear. Keep those fingers crossed.

UofL Field Hockey Preseaon Preview

As we mentioned yesterday, we are excited about the 2010 UofL field Hockey season and Pam Bustin has given CARDINAL COUPLE the lowdown on Cardinal Field Hockey. Seven words for ya...Gotta go see these girls this year!!!

Pam reports:

The UofL field hockey team for fall 2010 is already gearing up. Many of the players are participating in the USA High Performance Womens' National Championships this month. There are nine regions nationally that offer U.S. High Performance training sites and Louisville is the host of the Midwest site. UofL has players representing the Midwest, Pennsylvania and Mid Atlantic regions. Pam is the head coach for the Midwest and is looking forward to coaching this team which is comprised of the regions best collegiate and future stars. U.S. squad members are also part of the regional teams and the Midwest has four of these players...including 2008 Olympian Carrie Lingo. Representing Louisville will be Karah Hall, Tuli Lim, Rachel Hollenbach and Erin Conrad. This upcoming tournament helps select the various National teams. For more info on the championships, go to:

www.usfieldhockey.com

The 2010 UofL field hockey team welcomes back nine starters and will introduce ten freshmen to Cardinal fans. This mix of returning determination and youthful enthusiasm could lead to the best season in program history. After a self-confessed underacheiving 2009 campaign, the team has re-evaluated and looked within. With their honest assessments and taking personal responsibility for the performance of the team, the 2010 spring was extremely focused and productive.

Leading the charge this fall will be field captain Nicole Youmam (AUS) and vice-captains Jenna Ahern (PA) and Hayley Turner (AUS). The three will work together to lead by example and to guide this strong group toward a championship. Both Nicole and Hayley will be coming off play in Austrailia...and Jenna has been keeping the pace throughout her summer training here in Louisville.

Jenna will be joined in the backfield by Karah Wall (KY), Cait Collins (NY) and Natasha Leickly (OH). They'll be joined by redshirt sophomore Erin Conrad (PA), who will be in the goalcage. Erin has prepared over the last two years for this responsibility and has gained valuable experience through the team's recent matches in Argentina this March and in the USA High Performance competition.

Tull Lim (NC), Rachel Hollenbach (PA) and Turner return to midfield...which creates one of the toughest midfield threesomes in the country. The forward line features Youman, Nikki Auker (PA), Amber Thomas (CAN), Simone Attles (OH), Haley and Lacey Jurich (KY) and Heather Stevens (DE). They'll give the Cards the punch and versatility needed to be dangerous.

The 10 new Cardinals bring a wealth of talent, athleticism and a great competitive spirit to the program. Meghan Ziobro (VA) steps in to challenge Conrad for goalie. Dominique Pasqualichio (PA), Katie Flannery (PA), Sophie Engelkes (HOL) and Nikki Barry (PA) will most likely contribute and develop into key backfield players. Michelle Amon (KY) and Kelsey Rosenmeier (VA) will bolster the midfield and forward spots. Jacque Gerrick (PA), Elizabeth Vance (TX), and Erin Schneidtmiller (KY) will lend their goal scoring talents to the forward positions.

The upcoming schedule this fall is a challenging one. 10 out of the 19 opponents finished the in NCAA top 20. Princeton and Maryland were in the Final Four. The Big East is always a challenge and and Team Cardinal is looking forward to competing at a National Championship level every time they step on the turf.

We'll relay The Flock's schedule and full results in the upcoming months here at CARDINAL COUPLE. A special thanks to Pam for her comprehensive preseason report and amazing accomplishments as the head coach of the UofL Field Hockey program!

If you've never witnesses a field hockey match, you need to go watch the Cards play at state of the art Trager Field on campus. You'll be hooked.