Softball vs. FSU -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS DROP ONE, BATTLE FSU TO A TIE AT ULMER

Yesterday brought a rarity in the second game of Softball played between Louisville and visiting Florida State. The squads went 11 innings (four over the normal softball affair) and the score was still 0-0. FSU had set a "we got get out of here by..." time frame for departure from Louisville and when that was reached, the contest was ended and will go into the books as a tie. 

It was the second game of the afternoon between the two.

 I won't go into a lot of detail ont the first game, because the Cards got shellacked by FSU 9-0 and it was a five-inning, run-rule affair. The Noles blasted Louisville for four runs in the second and five more runs in the fourth inning, teeing off on Cardinal pitchers Jen Leonhardt, Gabby Holloway and Payton Hudson for 11 hits. 

I would imagine the Noles were a bit surly in that first game, having lost to Louisville in the second of two on Friday 5-1....and then having to sit around and stew and seethe all day Saturday. 

Game two is the story today, so let's get into it. Plenty of time to get this one in, right?  (with the shortened five-inning previous game).

Wrong answer, Chumley. 

The much-anticipated pitching duel between Cardinals ace starter Taylor Roby and FSU's Kathryn Sandercock was all it was hyped to be on our Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast Saturday. Through five innings, both were showing their mastery of the opponent's bats and the only real hint of any run production came in the fourth inning when Roby doubled with one-out, took third on a ground ball but wasn't able to touch home plate. 

After five innings, FSU Lonny Almeda made the decision to pull Sandercock from the circle and go with Caylan Arnold. The call was a understandable one, Sandercock had tossed three innings of shutout softball in game one and had 85 pitches under her belt for the day. And Arnold is another in the stash of excellent circle-dwellers on the FSU roster.  

Cardinal skipper Holly Aprile was not ready to rest Roby yet, though and the Mt. Washington, KY redshirt junior went seven innings, striking out five, and allowing six hits. Her teammates were backing her up with solid defense and Aprile, seeing that Roby's pitch coint was already up to 127, turned the ball over to Gabby Holloway after seven frames. 

The 11th and final inning provided the fireworks of the day. FSU began the inning with a single, the runner stole second and went to third on a Cardinal fielding error. No outs. Holloway got a out, finally and then Dani Morgan drilled a shot to shallow centerfield that looked like it might produce a run. 

Not gonna happen, though, as Cards centerfielder Celene Funke made a diving catch of the ball, scrambled to her feet and fired a perfect bullet to Cards catcher Cass Greenwood, who then tagged out the runner on third trying to get home. The *bang-bang* double play got the Cards out of the inning. 

Louisville added to the excitement in the bottom of the 11th. The Cards got a "Big Sis" Carmyn Greenwood single, Roby got intentionally walked by former UofL hurler Danielle Watson, who was in to relieve in the circle, and the Cards had two on with two outs. Watson, though, managed to get the next Cardinal out and preserve the shutout. 

This was one that seemingly could have gone on until this morning, but, FSU had a plane to catch and it ended as a tie. 

It was the first game to end in a tie in the history of Louisville Softball, which began in the year 2000. 

Before the game, Cardinal Softball senior student-athletes Paige and Riley Schindler, Maddy Newman, Jen Leonhardt, Celen Funke and 2020 grad Caitlin Ferguson were honored for their efforts and dedication to the school and program. 

The Cards roll back into action Derby Day (May 1st) but they'll be far away from the madness on Central Avenue, playing the Boston College Eagles in a double header in Beantown 

(PHOTOS FROM JARED ANDERSON) 

"Gotta run to the Airport, you say? 
Hey! Follow me!!" 

"Or me !!" 

Have a marvelous Monday!

paulie

Sunday Cardinal Couple

Field Hockey Gets In

The NCAA Selection Show for Field Hockey was last night at 10pm.  The massive field of 12 was announced and UofL was able to get one of the very few at-large bids for the tournament.

With nine automatic qualifiers for a 12 team tournament, only three at-large bids were available.  The top two teams in the NFHCA poll were UNC and Michigan.  Both got the automatic qualifier bid for their conferences (ACC and Big 10).  Ranks three through five are UofL, Iowa, and Northwestern (ACC, Big 10, Big 10) and these are the three teams that got the at-large bids for the overall tournament.  Ranked 6th is Liberty, who did not get into the tournament.  With the at-large bids exhausted, the Big East AQ bid went to UConn, ranked 7th.

(I should point out here that the at-large bids were not based on the NFHCA poll, but they did track perfectly with the poll, and I use it here to highlight the absurdity of the NCAA's decision-making with respect to field hockey.)

UofL will play Sunday, May 2nd at 3pm.  They will be playing the winner of UConn vs Rider (Northeast Conference).  The 1st and 2nd rounds will be hosted by Penn State, while the semifinals and finals will be hosted by UNC.  There is no information available that I've been able to find for live streaming the first and second rounds, but the semifinals will be on ESPN3, and the finals will be shown on ESPNU. A good guess would be ncaa.com , they hosted the selection show. 

Lacrosse vs Notre Dame

UofL closed out the season in a loss to Notre Dame, 15-11.

The Irish were in control for most of the game, stretching out an eight goal lead at 10 minutes into the 2nd half.

The Cards went on a 6-1 run to narrow the lead to only three before Notre Dame got a goal in the closing minute of the game to reach the final score.  The hero of the run was Nicole Perroni.  The Canadian sophomore (Whitby, Ontario) got the first hat trick of her career in the run.

Caroline Blalock also got a hat trick in the game, while Hannah Morris put a pair in the back of the net.  Single goals to Ally Hall, Kylea Dobson, and Kokoro Nakazawa would account for all of the scoring from the Cards.

Paulie caught up with Louisville Lacrosse head coach Scott Teeter post-game and you can those remarks below: 

POST NOTRE DAME SCOTT TEETER

Next up for Lacrosse is the ACC tournament.  All eight teams in the ACC will participate in the tournament, with UofL getting that 8th seed.  That matches the Cards up with top seed UNC in the first round of the tournament also hosted by UNC.  The game will be at noon on Wednesday, presumably on the ACC Network Extra, but that has not yet been confirmed.

Today's Activity

Things are starting to calm down slightly from the crazy spring of sports that this has been with the extra load of fall sports also playing in the spring.

Only two games on the slate for today and they're both Softball finishing up their weather-altered schedule with FSU.  Their double-header will kick off today at noon with the 2nd game at 2:30(ish).  The first game will be on the ACC Network with the second one shifting over to the streaming on the ACC Network Extra.

A Personal Note

I and my family would like to thank you all, the readers of Cardinal Couple, and the listeners of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast, for your expressions of sympathy and support on the death of my father, Charlie McAdams.  My father looked forward to each day's article, and to the Saturday "radio" podcast.  The staff and readers/listeners were more than just names to him.  As an avid sports fan and UofL fan, you all were kindred spirits to him.

We appreciate your support.

Jeff

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Speaking of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast, we were on the air again yesterday as normal.  Missing Case, we did have Daryl join us this week as she had a day off from button pushing... given the rescheduling of the Softball series versus the Noles..

We celebrated Jared and Katy's engagement, discussed the ACC Commissioner's visit to UofL's ACC Network studios, Softball, Lacrosse, Field Hockey, and wrapped up Volleyball for the year.  Check out the fun below!

JMcA

Softball Splits Double Header -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Break No. 7 FSU's 16-game Win Streak

Due to the schedule change, Louisville and FSU got a double header underway yesterday around 3:00 PM. While the Cards looked like they might make a game of that first matchup for the first few innings, it was ultimately a game to forget as the Cards fell 10-0 in seven innings. To their credit, Louisville avoided a mercy rule, but just narrowly, as they trailed 7-0 after six. The Cards managed only two hits and a walk on offense, while giving up two errors and 12 hits on the way to the Seminoles' ten runs. Fortunately, there was another game to cleanse the palate.

Taylor Roby started in the circle in the second game for the Cards and put up another glowing performance. She opened the game with a strikeout and never really looked back, despite an inning opening error in the third. Her 1-2-3 first inning set the stage for the Louisville offense to jump on top of a strong FSU squad and Carmyn Greenwood did just that. She led off the bottom half of the first inning with a solo shot to left field. After Maddy Newman struck out, Roby and Makayla Hurst put a pair of runners on base with back-to-back singles, but a strikeout and a pop out ended the threat.

The Noles and Cardinals both went 3-and-out in the second which led to that inning-opening error I mentioned in the third. Jenna Servi skied a throw to first from third which allowed the runner to waltz to second base with nobody out. Roby went to work trying to limit the damage and hold onto Louisville's lead, but it wasn't quite meant to be. Three straight groundouts would have been enough to end it, except for the fact that FSU's second baseman was quick and the balls were all to the wrong spot. The first out advanced the runner to third and the next brought her home. 1-1.

Louisville responded with a run of their own in the third, and it was again Carmyn Greenwood setting things up. Greenwood opened the inning with a base hit and sprinted down to second shortly after. Maddy Newman then hit a ball right at the shortstop, freezing Greenwood but allowing Newman to get on base. Infield singles count the same. Roby, uncharacteristically, popped out to third on the first pitch, but Hurst put the ball in play, and good things can happen when you do that. A grounder to the third baseman in the gap could have been a double play, but an errant throw from the second baseman not only allowed Hurst to pull in safely at first base, but it also gave Greenwood the opportunity to scamper home. Charley Butler singled, but a strikeout ended the inning. 2-1 Cards. 

That final run would have been all that Louisville needed. Roby was fantastic, as we saw last week, and she allowed just three more FSU baserunners over the final four innings on two walks and a single. One runner advanced to second, but it was with two outs and the threat was short-lived. Despite not needing anymore runs, the Cards decided to grab some anyway. Former Cardinal Danielle Watson returned to Ulmer for the first time yesterday, and, in the first game, she was sharp. In the second game, not as much. She entered in the bottom of the fourth and retired the first five batters she saw, giving her one out in the bottom of the sixth, with Florida State still just one run back. 

She followed those five consecutive outs with a pair of walks. Celene Funke stepped in, said thank you very much for the baserunners, and fired a double down the left field line to move everyone up two bases. After a strikeout, it appeared Watson may escape with just one added run, but that brought Carmyn Greenwood back up. Greenwood has been one of Louisville's most consistent offensive players, and she continue that last night, sending a single to right field to plate two and give the Cards a 5-1 lead. Roby came back for the top of the seventh and gave the Noles a strikeout, flyout, lineout inning and that was that. 

Louisville knocked off their second top-25 team of the past week, but we'll see if they can continue any of the momentum from this one. Despite being just two games under .500 after their win over Duke last week, the Cards are now six games adrift and need a lifeline. Another big boost or two with wins over FSU could be nice. They'll have today off to prepare for the final two games of the series as inclement weather in the forecast rescheduled today's games earlier this week. The two teams are back in action at 12PM tomorrow on the ACC Network.

Check out Jared's interview with Coach Aprile postgame here: Holly Aprile vs FSU 4.23.21

Field Hockey Could Be Set for NCAA

UNC won their fourth straight game in overtime yesterday when they narrowly escaped Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons were vying for the ACC's automatic qualifying bid and took the Tarheels to two overtime periods before the golden goal session ended on a penalty stroke for UNC. UNC was going to get into the tournament no matter what, but if they had lost yesterday's game, Louisville may have been in trouble. By staking their claim to the AQ, an at-large bid remains open for Louisville, who should be squarely in now. The NCAA selection for the tournament is tomorrow, with play beginning next week.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

I'm out this week but that shouldn't stop everyone else from bringing you the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics. There's softball, volleyball, field hockey, and more to talk about this week so be sure to tune in to the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. This week's podcast will be a little late, but you can find the live show on at 11AM on the Cardinal Couple YouTube channel and the show is available to replay there as well. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Softball series vs FSU Schedule change -- Tennis loses to Duke 0-4 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Fridays with Daryl! 

Good morning UofL fans!  How is it Friday again already?  A lot to unpack.. we watched Volleyball bow out of the tournament, that was a bummer. 

Our buddy and columnist Jeff McAdams lost his dad... I hope he had an easy week returning from Omaha after the Cards loss and laying Charlie to rest.

I have had a HECK of a M-F work-wise on all fronts.  The softball Cards lost in undisciplined fashion Wednesday evening to the UK squad, it freaking snowed that morning... and we anticipated softball schedule changes for the weekend.  But there is good news to share!! 

SHE SAID YES !!!

Our pal, photographer and CARDINAL COUPLE columnist Jared Anderson has announced his engagement to longtime girlfriend, Katy! Congratulations to the lovely couple! I almost called them a Cardinal Couple until I realized Katy is a FSU grad/fan! I wonder if there's any coincidence to the weekend of the engagement announcement and that FSU in in town for Softball ?!?   

Speaking of Florida State... the visiting softball squad..

Schedule Update: Cardinals and #7 Seminoles Will Play 

Friday Doubleheader at 3 p.m.; Sunday Doubleheader at 12 p.m.

UofL Softball (16-21) will take on its third-straight top-25 opponent this weekend when the Cardinals play host to #7 FSU (31-6) in a four-game ACC series starting on Friday.

With rain in the forecast for all day Saturday, 

the weekend schedule has been altered to open with a doubleheader at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. 

The final two games of the series will be played as a Sunday doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.

 

On both days, the first game will be televised on the ACC Network with game two airing on ACC Network Extra.

Prior to Sunday's 12 p.m. doubleheader, UofL will honor 2020 senior Caitlin Ferguson followed by the 2021 departing seniors.


Series Record: Seminoles lead the series 14-6.

The last time the Cards played Florida State at Ulmer...remember the beautiful sunset? Our Jared Anderson caught this magnificent photo.

Last Meeting: April 6-8, 2019 - Ulmer Stadium

RECAP: The Cards upset No. 3/3 Florida State winning the three-game series 2-1. The first game of the series resulted in a 2-0 win. The second game of the day ended in a 4-1 victory for the Seminoles. The final game of the series resulted in a 10-9 victory for the Cards. In the bottom of the seventh, the Cards rallied back from a 9-7 deficit with a three-run walk-off double from Rebecca Chung.

• With the win the Cards clinched the series, marking the Seminoles' first conference series loss since 2012.

About the 2021 Seminoles

Florida State heads into the series riding a 15 game winning streak. During that streak, the Seminoles have recorded seven shutouts while only allowing 15 runs. Last week in Syracuse the Seminoles hit 13 home runs, including a six home run game against the Orange, tying a program record.

 
RS-Senior Caylan Arnold and RS-Sophomore Kathryn Sandercock are leading the Seminole pitching staff. They have combined for 25 wins and 158 strikeouts. Arnold leads Florida State with 94 strikeouts and Sandercock leads the team with a 1.30 ERA and a 16-1 record.

Former Card, Danielle Watson returns to Louisville now with FSU. Listed as a RS-Junior, the RHP left Cards suddenly in December of 2019. She's third in line in the circle for the Seminoles.


Tennis falls in ACC tournament to Duke

The University of Louisville women's tennis team bowed out of the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference with a 4-0 loss to No. 14-ranked Duke Thursday morning in Rome, Ga.

The Cardinals dropped the singles match losing at the No. 2 and No. 3 slots. Chelsea Sawyer and Raven Neely fell 6-3 to Chloe Beck and Karolina Berankova. The point was clinched when Tatiana Simova and Dina Chaika fell 6-3 at No. 3.

Moving to singles, Duke added to its lead with a 6-2, 6-2 win by Chloe Beck over UofL's Raven Neely. Next to fall was Louisville's Andrea Di Palma at No. 1 dropping the match to Georgia Drummy 6-3, 6-2. The match was clinched at the No. 6 spot, when Dina Chaika fell 7-5, 6-0 to Hannah Zhao.

The Cards end their season at 9-13.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

I'll be back on for podcast this weekend. I think I recall Case saying he was out, Jared might have some ENGAGEMENTS now but like I stated, we've got a lot to unpack, so make sure you tune in tomorrow morning. 11 a.m.  

As always, go Cards go! 

~Daryl 

Tennis Advances in ACC Tournament -- Softball Falls to UK -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Women's Tennis Defeats Boston College in ACC First Round

It was a great day for Louisville women's tennis. The 12-seed Cards handled 13-seed Boston College 4-1 in the opening round of the ACC Tournament.

Louisville took the doubles point to start the match. The duo of Dina Chaika and Tatiana Simova took down Reagan Posorke and Loren Haukova 6-2. Rhea Verma and Andrea Di Palma had a tough battle against Yufei Long and Kylie Wilcox but prevailed 7-5.

The foes then proceeded to the singles portion where each team has six members compete. In this case, only four of those six finished before it was a guaranteed victory for Louisville.

Jelena Vujanic was first to finish as she defeated Maria Ross 6-3, 6-1.

The next singles court to finish was Raven Neely vs Kylie Wilcox. The Eagles got their only point here with a 6-3, 7-5 win. Rhea Verma checked in next as she downed Laura Lopez 6-1, 7-5. Dina Chaika took Reagan Posorke to three sets but claimed the win 6-0, 3-6, 6-0, securing the Louisville victory.

Chelsea Sawyer and Marice Aguiar were in the third set when the match ended. Andrea Di Palma was just about to defeat Yufei Long when the match ended.

Louisville advances to play 5-seed Duke today at 10:00 a.m. The entire tournament is taking place at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga.

Louisville Falls to Kentucky in Nine Innings

It may have been a bit chilly and the day may have started with snow on the ground, but Louisville and Kentucky were not going to cancel their only other scheduled game. The Cards traveled to Lexington for a 7:00 start time last night to face the #14-ranked Wildcats.

It was Louisville who was first to put a run on the board. Makayla Hurst drove a pitch over the right field wall for the 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Kentucky would respond immediately with a home run of their own to even the score.

The Cards did some damage with the bases loaded in the next inning. Taylor Roby hit into a fielder's choice with the out at third, but plated a run for the Cards. Rebecca Chung walked to reload the bases and Hurst hit a high fly ball to the outfield for a sacrifice fly for the 3-1 lead. Kentucky would play small ball before a sac fly brought the score to 3-2.

Celene Funke would make contact and send a fly ball to the outfield as her sac fly sent Charley Butler home and Louisville went up 4-2.

A leadoff double with the addition of a couple other hits and a defensive miscue allowed Kentucky to post two runs in the fifth inning to even the score at 4-4.

Rebecca Chung, the hero from two years ago, lined a ball to the right field gap in the seventh inning to score Carmyn Greenwood and give Louisville a 5-4 edge.

With one out and a runner on second base, Louisville made a pitching change. After 6 1/3 innings, Coach Holly Aprile retired Roby from the circle and called upon graduate transfer Jennifer Leonhardt. A blooper to left field that then spun and bounced away from all Louisville players allowed Kentucky to score a run and even the score at 5-5. Leonhardt would then strike out the next two batters to go into extra innings.

We would see the game go to nine innings. Kentucky would get their first two runners on. A sac fly advanced them to second and third before a sac fly to right field walked it off for Kentucky, 6-5.

Louisville falls to 16-21 on the year. They are 2-15 against ranked opponents this season.

The Cards return home this weekend for a four-game series against #7 Florida State. It will be Senior Weekend. Nine players are listed as grad students or seniors on the roster. A few players have confirmed with me that they will not be returning next year and at least one plans to return. I do not have an exact number on how many will be participating in the Senior Day festivities but an educated guess tells me seven.

With a rainy forecast for Saturday stay tuned for schedule changes. Oh yeah, they're back to selling alcohol at softball games if that entices you to head out to Ulmer Stadium this weekend!

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!
Jared

Alexia Mobley Interview -- Cards vs Cats Softball tonight -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 THE ALEXIA MOBLEY INTERVIEW

I had the great opportunity to interview 2022 Louisville WBB verbal Alexia Mobley this morning. 

The 6'2" forward/wing out of Reynoldsburg High School  (Reynoldsburg, OH) is an athletic performer with next-level impact. She plays for AAU powerhouse Cincinnati Angels. She has a great combination of length and athleticism and is a shot blocker. Can dunk. She's a strong rebounder and runs the floor well She can create for herself and others. Has both high and low offensive skills and is a proven defender in the low post. 

LINK to interview:  ALEXIA MOBLEY INTERVIEW 4/21/21

CARDS VS CATS SOFTBALL TONIGHT 

Yes, there is snow on the ground this morning in Louisville, KY -- very rare for April 21st, but the action will heat up in Lexington this evening when Louisville and Kentucky face off in a mid-week softball game.

The Cats cone into the Wednesday night contest with a overall record of 30-10 . In their last outing against Auburn, the visiting Wildcats went 1-2 against the Tigers. Then Cats have bats. They hit .345 as a team and are led by Kayla Kowalik, who has a pretty incredible .532 batting average. she's pounded 11 home runs and has 54 RBI's. 

Tatum Spangler is another UK power hitter and has made Mr. Spalding disappear 15 time this season. 

In the circle, Autumn Hines is the primary starter and has a 14-5 record. 

The Cards went 1-4 against Duke in their last outing. Louisville is 16-20 overall and was involved in two one-run losses against the Blue Devils in the final two games of the last series. 

With this being a non-conference, mid-week game, it's tough to predict just who will start in the circle for both teams. The Cards have an important ACC series against FSU this weekend, so, we might see one of the Cardinal reserve pitchers get a chance to see what they can do against the Cats. 

This one will be nationally televised on ESPNU and game time is se=t for 7 p.m. It will be a chilly one, with a high of just 46 degrees expected in Lexington for Wednesday and winds at 10-20 mph. 

Best of luck to our Cardinals softball squad tonight !! 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

paulie   

Highlighting UofL Cheer Championships -- Charlie McAdams -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 UofL Cheer Takes Home Two Titles

As Paulie mentioned roughly a week ago on here, Louisville welcomed home two new titles recently. Louisville cheer took the crown with their All-Girl and Small Co-Ed squads. Due to the demanding schedule combined between fall and spring sports we did not get a true opportunity to highlight their accomplishments.

The Louisville spirit squads are well-known and can often be seen at football games, men's basketball games, women's basketball games, and various community outreach projects.

Louisville Cheer is broken into three groups: All-Girl, Small Co-Ed, and Large Co-Ed. The groups speak for themselves with All-Girl comprised of only women cheerleaders. Small Co-Ed and Large Co-Ed are a mixture of men and women cheerleaders with Large Co-Ed having more members. Each group can compete in a prelims and finals.

There is also the option for the cheerleaders to break into small four-person stunt groups, which is considered its own entity instead of an attachment directly to any of the cheer squads.

Louisville Ladybirds is the name of Louisville's dance team. They are not broken into groups like the cheerleaders. However, they compete in two different categories with Dance Team Performance and Dance Team Hip-Hop.

Earlier this month, all of the Louisville spirit squads traveled to Daytona for the NCA and NDA competitions. Like most years, the accolades came pouring in.

Louisville Large Co-Ed finished third in their division. The Ladybirds took second in both of their divisions. Louisville Cheer had a stunt group finish runner-up. Louisville All-Girl and Louisville Small Co-Ed each took home the title.

For Louisville All-Girl, this is their seventh straight national championship with a score of 95.5458. They beat out Oklahoma State by 1.5 points. They have won a total of 17 NCA Championships dating back to 1998.

Louisville Small Co-Ed saw their first national championship since 2017. After sitting in second after prelims, Small Co-Ed jumped ahead of Arkansas State to win with a score of 95.9709. Arkansas State finished well behind them by a margin of 6.1 points. This is their 11th NCA Championship dating back to 2005.

The routines performed by the groups is vastly different than what is seen at UofL games. At home games, UofL Cheer and Ladybirds are used more for entertainment and focused on energizing the crowd. During competitions, the groups focus on a much more strenuous and demanding routine with more tumbling and stunts.

Unlike most sports, these groups don't have a regular season or have multiple chances to qualify for the championships. What happens in prelims and finals at Daytona is all they get. These groups spend all year preparing for an event that happens over the span of a couple days.

Cardinal Couple had the opportunity to speak with Myah Rice, who recently won a national championship with Louisville All-Girl. Myah described the feeling of winning a title as well as the work they put in to get there.

As a site that prides itself on covering the Joy and Excitement of UofL Women's Sports we are thrilled to see these two UofL squads bring home the hardware to Louisville. Congratulations to both groups!

WITH OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHIES...

You all know our illustrious and Volleyball-loving writer Jeff McAdams here at CARDINAL COUPLE. 

It is with our deepet sympathies and sad regret that we bring you the new that Jeff

s father -- Charlie McAdams-- has passed away. 

Charlie was 77 and a retired school teacher/ administrator  with the Jefferson County School Systems. A military veteran and college graduate from Western Kentucky, Charlie was married to his wife Vivian and had two sons, two grand-children and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, family, friends and former students. 

You can read the obituary at the link below: 

CHARLIE MCADAMS OBITUARY

From all of us at Cardinal Couple, our deepest sympathies on his passing to the family. If you'd like to leave a message for Jeff and the family in our comments section, or in the Dignity Memorial section, I'm sure that they would appreciate it. 

A Thoughtful Tuesday to you and Go Cards!

Jared

Volleyball, Softball and Lacrosse -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 A busy Sunday for UofL women's athletics yesterday, with two programs active on Floyd Street (Softball and Lacrosse) and one in Omaha (Volleyball). 

Unfortunately, not the results we hoped for...as all three squads fell to their opponents. Exciting games, for sure, but Louisville falling short in the results. Let's look at the action. 

VOLLEYBALL FALLS IN FIVE SETS TO WASHINGTON

The VolleyCards looked to be on their way to the "Great Eight" last night against #6 Washington, but an almost unbelievable fifth set between the Huskies and Cards resulted in Washington advancing. They took the fifth set 15-13, after trailing Louisville 7-1 and 10-4 in the deciding set. 

In that final set, the Cards came out on fire, after falling 25-14 in the fourth set. Louisville is the #1 blocking team in the nation and blocks provided six of the first seven points in set five for the Cards, who held the 7-1 lead. 

Enter Maria Bogomolova for the Dawgs, .with Louisville up 11-4

She ran off seven straight serves against the Cards and the Huskies were suddenly, amazingly back in the contest with a 12-11 lead. She finally had a service error to knot the set at 12-12 and Louisville took their final lead at 13-12 on a Claire Chaussee kill...but Washington ran off the final three points of the match  to take game and match 15-13. 

Cardinal head coach Dani Busboom Kelly on the loss: 

"It was a disappointing way to end a season. To blow a great lead is one of the worst ways to go down at the end of the year, in my opinion. I don't know if it has sunk in yet, that we lost the game, because we were in it. It felt like we had all the momentum and that we were going to win it. ...Hopefully, it is a learning experience for the players who are going to be back next year. It comes down to little things like fundamentals. Washington is a team that is really good at those. We knew that going in, We just didn't execute at the end of the game." 

The evening started a bit late, because of the five-set thriller between Pitt and Minnesota -- which Pitt won, in upset fashion.

The first set between Louisville and Washington went to the Huskies 25-23. It was a set where UW led most of the way, with just two lead changes. The Cards drew within one point at 23-22, off a Anna Stevenson block, but the Huskies took two of the final three points for the "W". 

Louisville roared back in set two. The Cards used a 6-0 run to jump out to a 13-8 lead and increased that to 17-12. Washington battled back, forcing a Louisville timeout with the score 21-17 in the Cards favor. The teams split the final eight points of the set and UofL had tied the match at 1-1 with the 25-21 win. 

Louisville started set three strong again, jumping out to a 7-2 advantage, and survived a Washington run that tied the contest at 9-9. After that, though, Louisville gradually started to pull away, they held a 24-19 lead before taking the third seet 25-21. It seemed momentum was fully in the Cards favor after the first three sets and the Cards quickness was getting the best of the taller Washington front line. 

Set four saw a reversal of fortunes. The Cards offense struggled and disappeared and UW was the aggressor, taking a 13-5 early lead. Louisville never could get in sync and the Dawgs increased the lead, getting an impressive 25-14 set victory. 

So, a nine-month season ends. A split season that saw several matches cancelled and delayed because of COVID pauses. Still, the Cards went 15-3, were the ACC Champs and lose just one starter, in Alexis Hamilton and one reserve in Piper Roe to graduation. A lot to look foreward to in the fall for this Louisville squad. 

Maybe freshman Anna deBeer sums it up best: 

"In the fall, (tonight's match) is going to make me work harder and really not take a play off. In that final set, we were up 7-1....we know we had it right in our hands and we just didn't execute So, I really think we need to have a mentality that we are going to win the game we are in and finish every single point until the end...and we have a better outcome." 

Losing to a higher-ranked team is no disgrace, obviously. It's just the way that it happened that needs to serve as motivation for the 2021-22 squad. 

SOFTBALL DROPS ONE TO DUKE IN EXTRA INNINGS. 

The Softball Cards got four runs in two swings of the bats yesterday in their 5-4 loss to the Blue Devils. A two run homer by Taylor Roby in the bottom of the fourth inning pulled Louisville within two runs at 4-2 and then a two-run blast from Rebecca Chung in the bottom of the seventh sent the game to extra innings at 4-4. 

Unfortunately, Duke got a two-out single in the top of the eighth to take a 5-4 lead 

Louisville tried to even the score and win it in the eighth. Carmyn Greenwood singled with one out and Taylor Roby was walked by Duke pitcher Peyton St. George . The tying run was 180 feet away, but, St. George showed why she is one of the best pitchers in the ACC, getting the next two Cardinal batters out.  A called third strike to Cards' Charley Butler (the pitch was not a strike!) ended the Cards rally chance and Duke took the 5-4 win. 

Louisville goes to 16-20 on the season and 10-15 in the ACC. The stand in eight place in the ACC -- the top 10 teams make the ACC Tournament (that will be held in Louisville) but the next opponent that will visit Ulmer Stadium is Florida State next weekend and the Noles are 29-6 (17-2 ACC) and pounded a total of seven home runs yesterday in a double-header sweep at Syracuse yesterday. 

Taylor Roby started the game in the circle for Louisville, but the Blue Devils touched her for four runs in three innings. Gabby Holloway relieved Roby and held Duke scoreless until the fateful eighth inning. 

LAX LOSES ON SENIOR DAY TO SYRACUSE

ACC Lacrosse is a gauntlet that few would choose to run through, with five squads in the top six of the national rankings. It is the conference Louisville is a part of, though. The Orange squeezed out a work-man-like 19-7 win over Louisville in the Cards final home match of the season.

 #3 Syracuse was the Cards opponent Sunday and jumped on Louisville early, with three goals in the first eight minutes. It was  A Hannah Morris goal got Louisville on the board 11 minutes into the action, but it only served to fire Syracuse up to score seven straight times and build a 10-1 lead with ten minutes left in the first half. 

Syracuse went the mass substitution route to end the half...Scott Teeter also went deep into his reserves and the half ended with an encouraging 4-1 Louisville run. The Cards got scores from Kokoro Nakazawa, Ally Hall and two from freshman Kylea Dobson...to make it a somewhat more respectable 11-5 Syracuse lead at the intermission.  

Syracuse went back to the starters to start the second half and they increased the Orange lead to 14-5 before senior Caroline Blalock connected for the Cards first  score of the second half. 

The 'Cuse increased their lead to 19-6, as Teeter and Syracuse head coach Gary Gait went deep into the reserves again. Senior goalkeeper Jen Schaaf relieve Rachel Florek and picked up a career high six saves in her final appearance this season in the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium. 

In a pre-game ceremony, student manager Trent Porter and former student-athlete Allie Arcidiacono were recognized along with seniors Maddie Birch, Alex McNicholas, Shayla Scanlan, Jen Schaaf, Ally Hall, Rachel Florek, Sarah Blalock and Caroline Blalock for Senior Day.

I caught up with Scott Teeter for a post-game recap and you can hear that below: 

Post game Teeter 4/18/21

(THANKS TO JARED ANDERSON FOR THE SOFTBALL AND LACROSSE PHOTOS!) 

Have a meaningful Monday...

paulie