UofL Academics and USA Field Hockey — SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards on All-ACC Academic Teams

Spring academic teams have been released and Louisville lacrosse had a handy semester. The Cards had 19 team members named to the All-ACC Academic team. The ACC’s requirements are that student-athletes maintain a 3.0 GPA cumulative and score a 3.0 GPA for the semester in which they are honored while competing in at least 50% of the team’s contests. Louisville’s 19 honorees was tied for second-most in the conference. It also represented exactly half of the team’s rostered members. Nine of Louisville’s rostered players did not compete in at least nine games (the Cards played 17), so they actually placed 66% of eligible players on the team.

Louisville tennis matched the number set by lacrosse by placing 50% of their players on the tennis All-ACC Academic team. Tennis’s overall number was much smaller, since their rostered players number just ten, but the accomplishment is impressive nonetheless. It’s a bit tougher to tell who played in enough matches to be eligible for the tennis team, so let’s just say that they had five honorees. Regardless of number by the team, the achievement is admirable for any individual athlete to meet the criteria for.

Aimee Plumb Named CSC Academic All-American

The CSC (College Sports Communicators; formerly CoSIDA) continues naming All-Americans and Cardinals keep getting added to the lists. The latest honoree is Aimee Plumb, who becomes the fifth field hockey team member all time to be named to the CSC Academic All-American team. 

Plumb was named to the third team, which seems an understatement of her ability after being named the 2023 ACC Field Hockey Scholar Athlete of the Year and the NFHCA Scholar Athlete of the Year for the second straight year. Plumb maintains a 4.0 GPA with a major in psychology and a double-minor in art and Spanish. That level of academic prowess while being an integral part of a very good field hockey team is beyond impressive.

Four Cardinals Headed to Nexus Championship

Speaking of field hockey, the Cards will see three players and a coach from the 2023 roster going to Virginia Beach to participate in the USA Field Hockey Senior Nexus Championship. The event is for premiere high school, collegiate, and post-collegiate players to work their way into the USA camp for Olympic and World Cup competitions. All participants have already been trialing at one of seven Team USA High Performance Centers this spring and summer to get invited to this event. 

Players that have previously been a part of any of the developmental teams on the ladder are automatically invited. Louisville players in attendance for this session will be Izzy Bianca, Sophia Parker, and incoming freshman, Lauren Masters. They’ll be joined by assistant coach Nick Holt, who has an extensive history with Team USA Field Hockey himself.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Daryl and I remain out this week, but you’ll have plenty to hold you over with our version of "The Three Amigos" ...Paulie, Jeff, and Jared holding down the fort. There will be more than enough to talk about as transfers continue and rumors abound. The countdown to fall sports is on, as its the only thing keeping us sane as we stare at the summer slump. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Softball Falls to FSU -- Track & Field Posts Two ACC Champions -- Casey Madura Interview -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Falters in Loss to FSU

Louisville softball collapsed and a 3-0 lead turned into a 7-4 loss as the Cards bowed out of the second round of the ACC Tournament to Florida State.  The loss is their third in four games.

Sidney Melton led off the game with a solo shot over the left field wall for the early lead.  They added two runs in the second when a fielder's choice drove a run home and Melton walked with the bases loaded to add an easy RBI.  The only other run came in the sixth when Alison Szydlowski reached base on a fielder's choice and drove in a run, almost exactly like the second inning play.

The Seminoles scored all of their runs in the middle three innings, relying on four Louisville errors and a pair of home runs to ignite the offense.  Megan Hensley and Danielle Watson split time in the circle with three innings apiece.  The duo only surrendered six hits, but walked four and the defense had four infield errors.  Hensley (17-8) took the loss.

Coach Pearsall heavily emphasized the impact the errors had on a game where Louisville had an early shot at winning, "If we dont make those mistakes, we have a chance at winning that game, but the errors set us back and we just couldn't overcome that."

With a record of 33-20 and an RPI hovering around 44 the Cards are a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament.  Unfortunately, the ACC is weak at softball and FSU is the only school inside the Top 40 in RPI.  The Cards will need some help in receiving a bid to the "Big Dance" and hope the top seeds win their respective conference tournaments.

Track and Field Takes Home Two ACC Championships on Day One

Dorcas Wasike ran away with the gold in the women's 10,000 m, running a personal best and setting a new meet record.  Damar Robinson leapt his way to the podium with a personal best on the men's high jump.

The Championships are still young and there's plenty more Cardinals hoping to make their mark in history and bring home the gold.

Casey Madura Sits Down with Cardinal Couple

Casey Madura (left) and Emily Howell

The lacrosse alum will graduate from UofL this Saturday, but she found some time to sit down for an interview.  We were fortunate that she still has field access and made our way to the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium to enjoy a beautiful day that was tortured by the pollen invasion.

Madura has battled injuries and a cancer scare in her career at Louisville and spent almost all of her time on the bench as a supporter, teammate, and helping coach.  The senior captain talked about what brought her to Louisville, her experiences and memories here, and future plans that involve a trip to the Big Apple.

We talked about what her walk-up song would be, a secondary sport she might play, and deciding the style of wave she will perform as she walks across stage at commencement.

You can view the entirety of the lengthy interview

here.

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Don't forget to tune in to your favorite knuckleheads this Saturday at 11 am on WCHQ 100.9 fm.  I will be "enjoying" my new role of putting in credit card and personal loan applications while also doing my normal breaking change.  With Case past his exam and having recovered for a few weeks there is a slight chance he may find his way back down to Melwood Ave.  We'll have to wait on the Vegas odds to come out before making our bets on that.  Either way, make sure to continue keeping him in your thoughts as he works his way back to 100%.




What Day is it?

Well, besides Friday it's also a day to celebrate a couple favorites, so kick back and Eat Whatever You Want while you watch The Twilight Zone, a personal favorite of mine in terms of throwback TV shows.

Make sure to take you medicine as allergy season is in full force in the second-worst allergen city in the United States only behind McAllen, TX, per Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

- Jared -