Cards Prepare for Virginia -- Spring Sports Media Day I -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Prepare for Virginia

Get your naps in today because it's going to be a late one!  Louisville basketball is set for an ACC showdown against Virginia tonight at 8:00.

Virginia comes into the KFC Yum! Center carrying a 7-11 record with a 2-5 conference record.  On the other side, the Cardinals are 18-1 and sit at 7-0 atop the ACC.

The Cavaliers, or unofficially but more commonly called Wahoos, have had a tough schedule that features an 0-5 mark against ranked opponents.  A major factor behind that is their league worst 59.1 points per game.  They are almost no threat from three-point range, averaging just over four per game.

Defensively, the Hoos are not much better.  They allow 62.6 points per game.  Unlike the Cards, who have been fortunate with Kylee Shook, Bionca Dunham and E Balogun swatting shots, Virginia averages just two blocks per game.

Keep an eye on Jocelyn Willoughby.  The senior leads the ACC with 19.6 points per game.  Willoughby has made 98 free throws and 37 minutes per game are also top in the conference.

Coaches across the league, including Jeff Walz, seem to think she's a "guaranteed next level" player once here collegiate done are done.

Outside of Willoughby, the Wahoos struggle to find players who can score.  Dominique Toussaint, another senior, is averaging 10.1 points per game.

They did earn a pair of wins in conference play this year.  Virginia took down Duke at home in a 66-63 nail biter and defeated Boston College on the road in a 69-52 dominating performance

Louisville owns the series 9-2.  They are 5-0 at home against Virginia.  Last year, Louisville ran away with a 71-49 at Virginia.

If you're not in attendance at the game it looks like this one is on ACC Network Extra as of right now but hopefully a local channel will pick it up.  You can always tune into 790 AM on the radio to listen to the ever wonderful duo in Nick Curran and Adrienne Johnson.

It is 90's night tonight in the KFC YUM! Center.

No doubt we'll hear a lot of Green Day, Alice In Chains, LL Cool J and Beastie Boys on the soundboard. I wonder if Al Greener and the pep band will attempt any Metallica?


Spring Sports Media Day:  Part I

The Spring Sports are rapidly upon us, and, in a few cases, already started.

This year, the Spring Sports Media Days have been divided into two different days. Today, the media will here from Swimming and Diving, Women's Golf, Women's Tennis and Track and Field. Next Thursday, Men's Tennis, Softball, Lacrosse, Men's Golf and Rowing will greet the press.

We'll attend and have all the comments for you here in audio form later today in our Thursday article, Be sure to check back to hear the words from the student-athletes and coaches Arthur Albiero, Whitney Wade Young, Mark Beckham and Dale Cowper. Lunch is at 11:30 and the squads start at noon.

THE INTERVIEW LINKS:

WOMEN'S GOLF WITH COACH WHITNEY WADE YOUNG AND LAUREN HARTLAGE

TRACK AND FIELD WITH HEAD COACH DALE COWPER AND STUDENT ATHLETES GABRIELA LEON AND CHRISTIAN BUCKLEY

WOMEN'S TENNIS WITH HEAD COACH MARK BECKHAM AND STUDENT ATHLETE RHEA VERMA

SWIMMING AND DIVING WITH HEAD COACH ARTHUR ALBIERO AND STUDENT ATHLETES NICK ALBIERO AND GRACE OGLESBY


Speaking of food earlier (we got pizza for lunch at the Spring Sports Media Day) Jared has revived an old feature we used to run here at the site:


Bring Back the Burger!

Before I joined the cast here at Cardinal Couple there used to be a feature burger on the site. It was a popular feature, and, people still ask about the possible return of it here at the site.  I will try to pick up that duty for a while... at least until the end of basketball season or so.

One thing I will try to do is focus on either local places or places that have few stores, so no McDonald's, Wendy's, Steak N Shake, etc.

For our first feature I'll focus on a place I regularly go for lunch- Kern's Korner.  The locally owned restaurant on Bardstown Rd near the intersection of Taylorsville Rd is no longer owned by the Kern family, but you can often see them working there. You'll also run into a lot of Cardinal fans there.

Their burger is praised as one of the best in town and goes well with a side of chips.  If you visit let them know that Jared from the bank sent you. If they don't throw you out on your ear, enjoy the meal  !!

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Louisville Spring Sports Media Day II recap -- #3 for WBB in poll -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SOFTBALL, LACROSSE, GOLF AND ROWING TAKE THE STAGE


Spring Sports are almost here. 

That may be tough to get your mind around this morning, as another cold, arctic blast descends upon our fair city, but UofL Spring Sports are practicing, in some cases already active, and  ready to roll. 

Yesterday at the Planet Fitness Practice Facility, five different sports were featured in the second of the Spring Sports Media Days. Softball, Rowing, Men's Golf, Women's Golf and Lacrosse all addressed the media. Players and coaches answered questions and the hour-long media opportunity gave us all more knowledge and information on these activities. 

Paulie took part in the festivities and here's some of the things we heard. 

Since we do women's sports here, we'll concentrate on the four women's Cardinal Athletic squads that were there. Dreadfully sorry that the "question asker" volume is so low in the video versions, I've added my audio feed link to these in case you want to hear the questions. 



SOFTBALL

Softball kicked things off and new Cardinal coach Holly Aprile was joined at the microphones by Sidney Melton (Food Mart) and Megan Hensley. They will begin the season in California, taking part in the Cal-State Fullerton's Titan Classic that will take place Feb 8-10. Six schools in all out there (Buffalo, Cal State Fullerton, Idaho State, Northwestern, Utah State and UofL). 

Softball opens the home slate of action with the Cardinal Classic (March 1-3), Visiting the "ville" are IUPUI, Missouri and Indiana State. 

We look forward to great things in Holly's first season! 

LINK: VIDEO LOUISVILLE SOFTBALL MEDIA DAY

LINK: AUDIO ONLY LINK


ROWING

The Rowing Cards look to improve on their fifth place finish in the ACC last year and have Freshman of the Year Violette Legrand as one of many talented rowers returning. Derek Copeland is the head coach of the Louisville rowing squad and this team was ranked at #20 in the final US Rowing/CRCA coaches poll. 

Copeland was joined by coxswain Perie Howard, the "race car driver" of the boat, in his terms and she discussed what her role is in the scheme of things. 

Rowing has several student/athletes that are potential 202 and 2024 Olympic candidates and we see the "girls atop the water" having a huge season! 

We're "still searching" for a video feed of the rowing segment and will add it when/if we find it. In the meantime, the audio is linked up below

LINK: LOUISVILLE ROWING WITH DEREK COPELAND AND PERIE HOWARD


WOMENS GOLF

The "chip and putt" Cards are #28 in the nation, according to GolfStat rankings, and head coach Courtney Trimble has a veteran team and a very talented freshman in Mairead Martin returning. Those two and Lauren Hartlage discussed the season, their time at Louisville and ACC competition. 

Martin, from Kanturk, County Cork Ireland talked about what brought her to Louisville and her game. Coach Trimble is retiring after this year and spent time talking about her replacement, Whitney Wade Young. 

The Cards take on Kentucky Feb. 10th in the Battle of the Bluegrass in Birmingham, AL. We'll be watching and keeping you up on their pursuits.  

LINK: VIDEO FEED FOR SPRING SPORTS : WOMENS GOLF

LINK: WOMEN'S GOLF AUDIO WITH COACH TRIMBLE, LAUREN HARTLAGE AND MAIREAD MARTIN (audio feed). 


LACROSSE

Lacrosse was the final Spring Sport featured on this Media Day and head coach Scott Teeter brought student/athletes "Sweet" Caroline Blalock and Tessa Chad with him to discuss the Lacrosse schedule and review last season. Blalock was a Division I Region team selections as a freshman, plus the team's leading scorer. 

Chad followed Teeter to Louisville from Canisius and was an integral part of Teeter's first season on the attack. 

The Lax Girls are working hard in preparation for the season opener at Northwestern on February 8th. and we love to cover their home events, so we'll be keeping you abreast and appraised of their pursuits this season. 

LINK: AUDIO FOR LACROSSE AT SPRING SPORTS MEDIA DAY

LINK: LOUISVILLE LACROSSE SPRING SPORTS MEDIA DAY VIDEO



WBB MOVES TO #3 IN AP POLL

In the latest AP WBB poll, the Cards were placed at #3, behind Baylor and UConn. The fall of the Irish dropped them to #5. 

Louisville brings in Connecticut Thursday night for an epic matchup that we'll get you ready for here at Cardinal Coupe beginning tomorrow. 14,000 seats already gone for this one but there are ticket still available. 

With ESPN coming in, and grabbing six media seats, Sonya and I will be pre-empted from our usual seats and, honestly, that was expected. Why ESPN needs six seats for three talking heads and maybe one "tech" is anyone's guess.  You can play "Where's Waldo?" game day and see if you can spot where we end up. 

I might just opt for the bourbon bar for this one....

Have a terrific Tuesday and tell someone you love them today. 



paulie
xxxxx 

Cards Prepare for FSU -- Softball Takes Over Instagram -- Spring Sports Media Day I -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

UofL WBB Heads to Tallahassee

UofL vs FSU. Jan. 21, 2018.

The Louisville women's basketball team prepares to play their second straight road game.  Their next foe is Florida State.  The key word to this game: revenge.

Last season, the Seminoles came into the KFC Yum! Center to take on an undefeated and second-ranked Louisville squad.  The Noles walked away with a 50-49 victory.  It was the only time all season the Cards scored under 50 points and it was the sole loss at home.

This season Louisville looks to return the favor... sort of.  Florida State is ranked 22nd in the AP Poll and boasts a 16-2 record.  The Cards can't ruin a non-existent undefeated season and FSU isn't hovering in the shadow of the number one team in the country.

However, the Seminoles are a formidable opponent.  Their two losses have come at home to LSU and Clemson.  Something about tigers seems to have an effect on Florida State.  They're half a game back in the ACC behind the Cards with a 4-1 conference mark.

UofL vs FSU. Jan. 21, 2018.

Florida State excels defensively.  They give up a mere 57.2 points per game, but also are quiet on the offensive side with just 70.2 points per game.  They've held opponents to under .400 from the field this season and allow only .283 from three-point range.  Due to solid defense and pressure, their opponents commit about 17 turnovers per game.  FSU isn't much better with their own ball control, turning the ball over 14 times per game.

Like Louisville, the Seminoles have a small bench.  Nine players have recorded minutes and only six of those nine see more than 15 minutes per game.  They shoot well from the floor with a .419 mark but struggle on the perimeter, shooting .280.  They can hurt you from the free throw line with a strong .725 percentage.

Keep in mind that head FSU WBB coach Sue Semaru is doing this with five new starters.

Kiah Gillespie has been the go-to player this year.  The junior forward has been averaging nearly a double-double this season with 18 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game.  Gillespie is also a threat on the perimeter and leads the Noles by shooting .330 from deep.  Valencia Myers has been productive this season, averaging 9.4 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game.  The freshman forward also leads the team in blocks with 28, but often finds herself in foul trouble.  Nicki Ekhomu is another deep range threat, shooting .324.  She is almost unstoppable at the free throw line, shooting 804.  The junior guard's 14.3 points per game is second on the team.

Walz's Serena Williams impression

Despite the strong three-point shooting by a couple of their upperclassmen, no one has made 30 or more threes this season for Florida State.  Asia Durr (.326) has made 46 and Arica Carter (.465) has made 40.  Lindsey Duvall, Dana Evans, and Kylee Shook are all effective three-point shooters too.

Louisville's biggest issue will be in the post position.  Can the likes of Sam Fuehring, Bionca Dunham, and Kylee Shook hold their ground?  Florida State averages 3.5 more rebounds per game than the Cards and have crushed some opponents on the glass this season, a spot of weakness for Louisville this year.

You can catch this game on TV tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m.  It is listed as a regional sports network, meaning it'll probably make it's way to Fox Sports South or one of the news channels.

No truth to the alleged rumor that Coach Walz and Sue Semerau will have an exhibition tennis match or three-point shooting contest at halftime.




Maddy Newman and UofL Softball Take Over IG

In preparation for the new season NCAA Softball has been handing over their Instagram social media account to a different school each day the past few weeks.  Louisville made their way onto the list and took over yesterday with Maddy Newman taking the lead on it.


Newman, along with some assistance from Celene Funke, gave the 115K+ followers a tour of the facilities and a chance to meet the team and staff.  As always, UofL has some of the nicest Olympic sports (non-football and basketball) facilities in the country.  Some soccer friends (Emina Ekic and Gabby Kouzelos) made special appearances and the Louisville Athletics Talent Show was featured.


The season opener is just 16 days away!

Note: Softball photos are all screenshots from the NCAA Softball (@ncaasoftball) Instagram account.







SPRING SPORTS MEDIA DAY

Track and Field, Swimming and Diving and Tennis were featured in the first of two UofL Spring Sports Media Days yesterday over at the "Korber" on Floyd Street. Each head coach was represented with several of their student-athletes in the hour plus presser. 

Headlining the appearances was free-style swimmer and World Champion Mallory Comerford.

Paulie was there to capture the sound. Click on the links below to hear these Cardinals and coaches talk about their sports. 


LINK: MEN'S TENNIS

LINK: WOMEN'S TENNIS

LINK: LOUISVILLE SWIMMING DIVERS

LINK: TRACK AND FIELD

LINK: MOLLY COMERFORD, ARTHUR ALBIERO, "BATMAN"


Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Basketball and Beyond -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

UofL has three other sports besides hoops going on currently.

It is the time of year when our thoughts here at CARDINAL COUPLE and most likely with you turn to the orange ball bouncing on wood and double-doubles. Both the Cards WBB contingents are having fine seasons, the men recently joined the top 25 and WBB is #4 in the nation, facing a truly tough challenge Thursday night in Talhassee against FSU.

Speaking of challenges, it's allegedly rumored that Coach Walz got a call from the NCAA about his "shooting" and such. No more details available, but, I guess we can assume there will be no more "catch and shoots" from the Cardinal WBB coach. 

There are other activities currently engaged in competition, though...with more to come...so, let's take today and catch up on how tennis, swimming and track & field are doing. Two of the three are currently involved in their "indoor" seasons (imagine trying to serve and volley on slicked surfaces and snow drifts or sprinting down a ice-covered track). 

UofL has a couple of Spring Sports Media days planned, the first today with the aforementioned three in the spotlight. Next week, softball, rowing, lacrosse and golf take the stage to discuss their upcoming seasons.

 Today, let's look at how those who make serves, sprints and splashes are doing. 

TENNIS

The Cards field men and women's sports in this racket, net and ball based sport and this is an activity that features an indoor and outdoor season. Since we primarily cover women's sports here at "the Couple" that's where my focus will be today. 

Louisville women's tennis began the spring season on Sunday at the Bass-Rudd Center adjacent to I-65 and brought in two schools from the Buckeye state to kick the schedule off. In the morning session, UofL faced Bowling Green and successfully got a 5-2 win over the Falcons from the MAC. A 2-0 start for the season for Mark Beckham's squad ! 

As we have covered here before, seven "points" are obtainable in a contest, although nine matches are actually contested (six singles and three doubles). The players are ranked for the contests (#1 thru #6) in singles on each squad and they face off against their counterpart with the objective to win two sets.  The Cards fared well in the morning/early afternoon session, getting wins from their #2 thru #5 players and picking up four points. Those that triumphed were #2 Nikolina Jovic, #3 Raven Neely, #4 Diana Wong, #5 Chloe Hamlin. 

So the score was 4-2 Cards with (1) point left to decide in doubles competition. Whichever team wins two of the three matches gets that point and the Cards accomplished that with #1 doubles team Sena Suswami and Raven Neely and #3 Diana Wong and Aleksandra Mally getting wins. 

Head coach Mark Beckham discusses the win here: BECKHAM DISCUSSES BOWLING GREEN MATCH

In the afternoon, the Cards went against Miami (OH). Once again the Cards found success, downing the RedHawks 6-1. The seeding of the players can change from one match to another, so a slightly different group of Cardinals went to singles competition and picked up five points...all seeds winning except the #1 seed for the Cards. This match it was, in ranking order, Suswam, Jovic, Neely, Wong and Hamlin getting net success. 

With five points already in the bag, the Cards doubles units swept the RedHawks in all three contests to pick up the final point and the 6-1 triumph. 

Beckham also discussed the Miami win. LINK: CARDS 6-1 over Miami


TRACK AND FIELD

The Cardinal runners, jumpers and throwers have had two meets so far and distance specialist Dorcas Wasike has competed in and additional meet to kick off the spring. Once again, an indoor season and we'll focus on the women's results again.

Wasike went to Boston to compete in the aptly named BU Season Opener and won the 5000 meters, setting a new school record for the event, where she finished sixth after an unfortunate fall at the 4K mark. 

The Cards went to Purdue as a team for their season opener in the Gene Edmunds Invitational on January, January 12th. They fared well against the competition, getting six wins on the women's side. Hats off to winners Makenli Forrest (weight throw), Morgan Zacharias (pole vault), Radhida Harris (shot put) and Renate van Tonder (long jump) in field events . 

On the track, Brooke Raglin won the 60 meters and Aurilla Wilson took the 3000 meters. 

The Cards went to Notre Dame to compete on Saturday, Jan 19th. and the women got three wins in track and three on the field to win the meet. Raglin took both the 60 meters and 200 meters and Wasike captured the mile run. In field events, wins were secured by Gabrielle Leon in the pole vault, von Tonder in the triple jump and Forrest in the weight toss. 

The Cards travel to Illinois this Saturday to take part in the Illini Classic. 



SWIMMING


Success goes synonymous with swimming and the Dive and Stroke Cards entered January defeating Missouri 163-137.  

18 women's wins in the various swim and dive events, a list way too long to list here. Multiple event winners were Sophie Cattermole (500, 1000 free), Mariia Astashkina (100, 200 backstroke), and Alina Kenndzior (100 back, 200 back). 

Mallory Comerford ruled in the 200 freestyle and the Cards won numerous "team" events as well. 

It appears the #6 ranked Cards are in for a very successful season as they compete with the best in the ACC and in the nation. 

Have a great Tuesday! 


paulie
xxxxx

From Teeter to Pearsall -- The sights and sounds of Louisville Spring Sports Media Day -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HOPE, OPTIMISM AND HARD WORK FOR THE SPRING SPORTS SQUADS

One of my favorite events to cover each year concerning  Louisville Athletics is the Media Days for Fall and Spring Sports. On Wednesday afternoon, it was time for the spring sports stars to meet and greet the media and catch us up on preparations for the seasons ahead and also reveal some early results. 

With JC "Julie Sullivan" alongside me,  we spoke with coaches and players from five different programs in the "Little Yum" Practice facility and got some great glimpses into and thoughts about the programs. A special thanks to JC for the pictures you see here...except for Bassy the Ibus...who wasn't at the Spring Sports Day but most likely will be in Coral Gables Thursday for UofL WBB, which we'll get to later in the column.  

(a note...the interviews from Wednesday are on the SOUNDCLOUD platform. It's free to download at www.soundcloud.com and we put a lot of interviews throughout the year on there. It don't cost nothing and there is a lot of great things to listen to on Soundcloud. Give it a try. ) 

LOUISVILLE LACROSSE

We started with Louisville Lacrosse. Under the direction of first-year coach Scott Teeter, we asked Coach and senior players Emily Howell and Casey Madura a variety of questions about the preparations for the ACC and also threw in a few typical, off-subject Paulie questions. 

Scott has fully moved to Louisville from Canisius, his previous coaching spot, to "the Ville". His family will follow after the school year. He's quite busy getting the players acclimated to his style of lacrosse. 

"Baby steps at first, then we crawl, learn to walk and eventually sprint" is the mode in which Scott's preparing the squad for play. Emily and Casey are impressed with how he's built unity and togetherness. The two seniors were active in "keeping things together and creating strong bonds" in the transition of coaches and their attitudes and thoughts on the program indicate that Louisville will be a squad that will not give up, play with heart and passion...in the toughest Lacrosse conference in D1. 

We also got some insights into Emily and Casey's hometowns and favorite dining spots. We actually spent more time with the LAX crew than any of the interviews we did and came away impressed with the grit and determination that we hope will equate into a successful season. 

The goal here is to get better as the season progresses. We have no doubt they'll do so. 

We also got confirmation that Louisville Lacrosse great Kay Morissette will be joining the staff as an assistant once visa issues are cleared...the Canadian is arguably the best Lacrosse player in the history of Louisville Lacrosse and will be a great benefit to the team. She's in town, taking classes and...hopefully still remembers her draw control skills. A great selection, Scott!  

HEAR THEM HERE -- LOUISVILLE LACROSSE


LOUISVILLE ROWING

Our next interview was with Louisville Rowing head coach Derek Copeland. His spring season kicks off on March 17th in Oak Ridge, TN at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational. This technically serves as Louisville's "home water" and Coach Copeland is excited about the event, based on how well the Cards competed in fall rowing at the Rivanna Romp and Head of the Hooch events. 

Kirsti Harrison returns as one of Louisville best rowers and also as team captain this year. Copeland is also impressed with a lot of the new oar-handlers on campus, including French freshman Violette LeGrand, who had a spectacular fall and is in line to be the quarterback of one of the boats...and a prime candidate for ACC Freshman of the year. 

Copeland spent time with us explaining how athletes that might be interested in pursuing rowing in college could get into condition if their high school has no rowing program and also discussed the Cards state-of-the-art G. Garvin Brown Rowing Facility on the Ohio River. 

DEREK COPELAND REVIEWS ROWING WITH US


SOFTBALL

Head Coach Sandy Pearsall and redshirt senior Nicole Pufahl were next on the interview stops and it's always a fun and informative time when I get the chance to talk with Coach P. Over the years I've found that interviews with Pufahl are also ones I enjoy quite a bit and her sparkling personality and quick wit were on display yesterday as well. Having spoke with them at the softball Saturday night, I switched it up a bit and queried a bit into Pufahl's life outside of softball. Did you know, for example, she once tried to learn guitar but broke a string and eventually sat down the six-string? She's also a fan of singing but didn't belt anything out at the showcase. I was asked about my own singing but quickly deferred the flow of the conversation to her teaming up with JC for an impromptu duet possibility. Coach Pearsall made no promise of making this a trio and I've been asked to refrain from public singing appearances in the foreseeable future. 

Softball is faster, has more pitchers and a wealth of youth on the roster this season. Not many of them have met Pearsall's gigantic Leonburger's yet, but the possibility of working the huge dogs into a workout at practice with the freshmen was mulled over and, although no specific decision (much like the NCAA and decisions) was come to, it wouldn't shock me to see one of the canines chasing a newcomer down the first base line during sprint drills or accompanying on a squeeze play at the plate.

Starters Pufahl, Megan Hensley, Jenna Jordan (and more) return for Louisville and  Pearsall reports that practices are going well and they are anxious for the season to begin. It starts in Orlando and I'm researching ways to be included as a "honorary" bat-boy or special consultee for 2-2 count, two-out situations...

When you talk with "Poof" her Dad is eventually going to surface in the conversation. He attends every game possible that she plays in and the big debate yesterday was whether he'd attend her sister's graduation from high school or be in attendance to see Nicole send opposing outfielders scurrying to track down blasts from the Moorpark, CA slugger's bat. 

I'm waiting to see what he looks like in "mouse ears" when the team goes to Orlando for the opening of the season on Feb. 9th. 

POOF AND P TALK WITH JULIE AND ME


WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

Sophomore Alexis Gibbons is a long jumper for the University of Louisville's Track and Field squad. We were quite impressed with her easiness to talk to, her delightful attitude toward her sport and her successes in the long jump. First off, she won the 3A Kentucky title three years in a row while at Louisville Butler High School. As a freshman at UofL she set a Cardinal indoor record in the long jump (6.26 meters). She finished first at the UK Invitational and IU Relays and recently finished second at the Notre Dame Invitational...which the UofL women finished first in. What have you done for me lately, right? She's well on the track to becoming one of the premier long jumpers in the nation. 

Her humbleness is the first thing you notice about her. She gives credit for her successes to her coach Joe Walker, Jr. She also praised the efforts of jumpers Jerin Allen (New Albany) and Javen Reeves...two Cardinal seniors that consistently "put points in the book" for UofL with their efforts "on the jumping strip". Martice Moore was also present -- he's qualified for the NCAA in the 110 and 400 meter hurdles...as well as gathered All-ACC First team honors in the events. 

I may be in love with her. She digs ice cream bars, Strawberry Shortcake, "Brookies" (Brownie Cookies) and dining at Sapporo...all among my top favorites. You can hear her at the link below: 

Alexis Gibbons Gives Us The Scoop


WOMEN'S TENNIS

I want a shirt exactly like this. I will not tire or falter
until I have one. Oh, yes...it will be mine. 

I always enjoy my chats with UofL women's tennis coach Mark Beckham and yesterday was no different. He has the luxury of a veteran squad this season and spoke highly of returnees Abbie Pahz and Mariana Humberg...as well as transfer Raven Neely. 

The "Baseline Cards" are 2-0 on the season with wins over Wright State and Dayton and play UTEP, MKU and WKU this weekend at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Facility just off I-65. The Friday matches are at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Sunday's tilt against the Hilltoppers starts at 11 a.m. 

If you've never made it to a Louisville tennis match, you absolutely have to go check out the Bass-Rudd. It is one of the finest facilities in the nation. 

MARK BECKHAM INTERVIEW

A great day that went all-too-quickly in our interviews. We did not get to catch up with Swimming's Arthur Albiero nor Mallory Comerford....time restraints. Rex Ecarma was another one that we didn't get to, but his men's tennis team is 3-0 already...in the indoor season.

Best of luck to all Spring Sports squads and a huge thank you to the coaches, players, sport SID's and staff that make this such a fun and informative event each late January.


HOOPS FOR BRUNCH? 

Louisville WBB gets an early start on things today when they face "the U" Miami for an 11 a.m. tipoff in Coral Gables. 

The ACC Network Extra will have the video. We suggest you listen to Nick Curran and Adrienne Johnson give the audio on 790 WKRD. Download the app and listen from anywhere. 

"Worldwide" Jeff McAdams will provide the recap in Friday's edition of CARDINAL COUPLE. 

Paulie
xxxxx

Spring Sports Media Day - WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

It may only be January but the preparation for the spring sports has begun. In fact, today is the media day for spring sports. Representing the Cardinal Couple team will be Paulie and JC.

Media day is also a good chance to get insight into the teams and how they are preparing for their season. In this case here’s what we will probably be getting out of the different teams:

Lacrosse

Scott Teeter has been active in the offseason. He had half a roster and many coaching positions to fill. We will hear about the changes to the program he is making. With so many new faces and a program coming from a negative situation this is a chance to see how the atmosphere may be changing. 

Softball

Pearsall’s squad is half new faces too, but for different reasons. Having graduated four and a few players transferring out to further pursue their careers there was no dirt being covered up (no pun intended). The addition of so many new players was in the game plan following the conclusion of last season. There were two things coach was after: speed and pitching. There’s seven active pitchers on the roster… one per inning perhaps? No, none of them are named “Baryssa Mecker”. From the praises coach has given this team has some serious speed on them, which will help cover the loss of one of the fastest people I’ve ever seen, Jordan McNary. How will this team bounce back from last year’s tournament-less finish?

Golf

I know nothing about our golf team other than that they have a fine-looking facility down I-64. Oh yeah, they are also ranked 23rd/24th in the country depending on what poll you look at. I don’t follow golf much. I prefer to attend the sports I’m allowed to cheer and go crazy at. However, since the Battle of the Bluegrass is this coming weekend maybe we’ll get a little out of the golf team today.

Track and Field

This is another sport I know nothing about except that Emmonie Henderson is a killer shot-put player. The Cards won the Notre Dame Invitational recently. Coach Cowper can give us a better look at how our track and field team is doing and what we should expect from them this season.

Tennis

Their season already picked back up and based off Twitter it appears they’re doing well. Louisville spends much of its season at Bass-Rudd (free if you ever decide to go see them play) which it is always nice to play at home. The Cards aren’t ranked but they do compete against several ranked opponents. We don’t have Serena Williams or Maria Sharapova playing for Louisville (sad face) but they still deserve some support.

Rowing

It won’t be until Mid-March until the boats see any competition, but this program has gone from begging for people to sign up to join my freshman year (2012, yes, I’m getting old) to having people from overseas commit to the rowing program. Unfortunately, the Cards don’t host any regattas at home so the most action we’ll see is through Twitter.

If you add the men’s sports to anything the list grows substantially. I’m starting to feel bad for Worldwide, as his scheduling part of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour will begin to consume the entire 60 minutes. Grab him a drink and some oxygen!

Fall and Winter Sports News

Nadege L’Esperance has been on fire with the Canadian Soccer Women’s U-20 team. They went undefeated in the qualifying round, winning their three matches 11-2, to advance to the semifinals.

Mallory Comerford was named ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Week. The highly decorated
swimmer won three races and finished second in another in the meet against Kentucky last weekend.

Be on the lookout for interview clips from media day. If they turn out anything like the softball dinner the other night you will surely be entertained. Nine programs, coaches and a selection of players -- plus a free lunch. Sounds like a good day! 

As always, Go Cards! 

Jared