Is UofL Field Hockey still viable in the ACC? -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 SEVEN CONFERENCE WINS IN LAST FOUR YEARS NOT ACCEPTABLE. 

How many remember the glory days of ACC Field Hockey for Louisville? There was only one, and that was back in 2021...when they went 6-0 in conference play. Since then, they've gone 9-19 against conference opponents.  

If one wonders why the program has declined since joining the ACC..there is a fairly simple answer..the competition level has gone way up since the days of the Cards Stick Girls being in the Metro Conference USA or Big East and the Cards reccruiting has not kept up. . 

But, the facility is a state of the art one, even in 2026, and to not be able to bring in competitive talent is head scratching. Some will tell you that the program was in it's heydey when Pam Bustin was head coach...until she left to go to Duke in 2011. 

(I've had some great interviews with both coaches and enjoyed attending games before the Louisville Athletics media gestapo started their smear campaign on me...because of a hacked Twitter account...and bullied two ex-writers into leaving.  Also, due the respiratory concerns I don't get around much without oxygen supplement and everything is pretty much available on the internet).  

in any event, it's clear that something needs to turn around on the field next to McDonald's 

Duke uses four ways to get N.I.L. money to their players. Brand Partnership (players endorsing products)...Personal Services (hosting clinics and running camps) Blue Devil Exchange (connecting businesses with student-athletes and Licensing (selling of personalized jerseys and apparel.

Duke does well in their area getting the players these funds. The question is...does Louisville do as well for their Field Hockey girls? We know the two main women's sports here are basketball and volleyball. They get just about all of the available corporate funding out there for women's sports and also, consequently , draw the best attendance of the women's sports at UofL. 

Ayeshia McFerran

The days of Ayeshia McFerran and Mercedes Pastor on the Cards Field Hockey squad have passed, and no one has really stood up as nationwide attraction since. It's also interesting that neither was from the USA...McFerran from Northern Ireland and Pastor from Argentina. 

Louisville will probably never reach the popularity that North Carolina has. The Heels have 26 ACC titles. Duke has risen from the horrible early 2020's and become a viable program under Bustin. She saw the handwriting on the wall at the Ville and did the smart thing and got out. . Virginia has always had viable squads and ex-member Maryland was a consistent powerhouse nation wide...and still is. It'd be nice if the Cards Stick Girls could equal those four in the future, but we're not holding our breath. 

paulie

Cards Headed to National Meet as Regionals Wrap Up -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Sending 13 to Eugene with One Day Left

Louisville Track and Field has set a program record for the most national qualifiers since the NCAA moved to a two regional format in 2010. The Cards have had 13 competitors qualify so far with today's final day of the regional meet still to go. Of those 13, nine are men, which is the most in program history. 

The four women set to represent the Cards punched their tickets on Thursday, and it will be all women attempting to do the same today. Thursday saw Ashley Callahan and Iliana Triantafyllou advance to the national meet in pole vault while Kaia Tupu-South and Eve Divinity did so in the shot put and long jump, respectively. 

Tupu-South will be the only Cardinal on the women's side eligible for the double, as she is competing in the discus throw today. Louisville will have multiple competitors in the other two events with four in the triple jump and three in the women's 5000m run. The triple jumpers are Alba Cuns Iglesias, Sharvari Parulekar, Anna Panenko, and Athena Peterson. Those running in the 5k are Nancy Chepleting, Emma McGill, and Eliza Nicholson. 

We'll be rooting for all of these athletes to make it, though some heartbreak amongst teammates may come into play with so many competing in the same events. The outdoor championship event will be in mid-June.

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Myisha Hines-Allen with Indiana Fever This Season -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 HINES-ALLEN IN RESERVE ROLE AT INDY SO FAR THIS SEASON

It was a bit of excitement for Louisville women's basketball fans to read that program great Myisha Hines-Allen was returning close to her collegiate home when she signed to play for the Indiana Fever this season. Now that the season is underway, how is she doing so far for Indy? 

The Fever are 4-2 on the season, tied for first place in the Eastern conference with the Atlanta Fever. Hines-Allen has appeared dn all six games for the Fever, starting in two of them. She's seeing around 19 minutes a contest and is averaging 5.2 points per game. 

In her 10th season in the league, Hines-Allen is grabbing 3.5 rebounds per contest and averaging 3.2 assists per outing. She had eight points against Seattle back on the 17th of May and seven points versus Portland on the 20th.

Indiana has a strong roster with Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, Lexie Hull and Aliyah Boston among their 14 players. A roster can carry 14 if two of the spots are designated as developmental players. Bree Hall (South Carolina, Golden State) and Justine Pissott (Vanderbilt) are Indiana's developmental players. 

Indiana is the fourth WNBA team that has Hines-Allen has played for in her career. She started her career and played seven years for Washington...then spent a season each with Minnesota and Dallas before going to Indiana. She signed a one year, fully protected contract for $315,000 with the Fever.

 Hines-Allen is the sister of NFL star Josh Hines-Allen, who currently plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars as a defensive end. 

We wish "Mooks" the best in her time with the Fever and hope it's a championship seaso for the squad! 

paulie

Honors continue for Louisville Softball -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 TRIO OF SOFTBALL CARDS HONORED

Bri Despines was named a 3rd String All-American by the NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association), Camryn Lookadoo earned Rawlings/NFPA Gold Glove honors and Chelsea Mack received the New Balance/NFPA Golden Shoe award. 

Hey, all we need is a classy pair of slacks and colorful top and someone is ready for a night out on the town, right?

Despines checks in as the 11th All-American in Louisville Softball history. She joins Taylor Roby, Camryn Greenwood, Katie Keller, Alicia Wolny, Tori Collins, Taner Fowler, Melissa Roth (twice), Kristen Wadwell and Lacy Wood on the list. She batted .402 at the plate, with 66 hits and 70 RBI's. Opponents had to think twice about stealing a base on her, too...she threw out 12 runner trying. 

Lookadoo batted .382 this season with 60 hits and 58 RBI's. A junior out of Georgetown, KY (Great Crossings) and formerly a UK Wildcat was par excellence on the dirt with a .992 field average and only three errors all season. 

Mack has 87 hits and ended up second in the nation with 45 stolen bases. She batted .449 at the plate and joined the Cards when she also transferred from UK after her freshman season.  Out of Brecksville (OH) High School,  She was successful in 81 of her 83 base stealing attempts in 2022. 

Despines and Mack are done with their collegiate playing days, while Lookadoo has one more season. 

(Photos from UofL)

palie

paulie

Zabala Drafted to New Pro League -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Alyssa Zabala Returns Home with Florida Vibe

Alyssa Zabala was a star for Louisville softball, regardless of how the seasons turned out. Smiley, as some often called her due to her constant toothy grin regardless of the situation, was a stalwart starter for the Cards and finished her career with 56 wins and a 3.45 career ERA. She threw 23 complete games, had seven shutouts, and earned 375 strikeouts in 556.1 innings pitched. She was Louisville's ace pretty much from the moment she stepped on campus, and some of her negative numbers were perhaps a product of her being utilized in a way that she wasn't quite fit for. Nevertheless, Alyssa Zabala should be remembered fondly in the annals of Cardinal history. 

Her career isn't over, though. Zabala was drafted by the Florida Vibe, which is one of four inaugural teams in the Professional Softball League. (No one is winning major awards for some of these startup league names, I'll tell you that, but that's beside the point.) The Vibe are joined by the Atlanta Smoke, Kansas City Diamonds, and Florida Breeze as the original full time teams. Since there are two Florida-based teams and the one that drafted Zabala is called Vibe, I'd guess it's safe to say that one is based in Miami, not least because that's where Zabala is originally from. 

The four primary teams will play a full season in 2026, which is the first season of this new league. The teams will play dozens of games in June and July, with a league tournament scheduled for early August. They'll travel throughout Florida and the southeast, along with KC, and one game is even listed with Puerto Rico as the location. The teams will head to a couple of other destinations, though, as there will also be games against some of next season's full-time teams. Already on the docket are the NY Rise and Chattanooga Chill, and there are other teams yet to be announced. 

Professional women's sports are definitely on the rise. With the NBA finally realizing it can make money by boosting the W, and the NWSL drawing more and more eyes, the other sports are starting to catch on as well. Volleyball is seemingly popular enough to maintain competing leagues, and the fact that baseball seems to be having a moment in popularity will surely help the softball scene. We'll see if any other Cardinal names pop up in this new league and let you know. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Field Hockey's Lauren Masters named to US Women's National Team -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 MASTERS ONE OF 19 NAMED TO US TEAM

Lauren Masters,  a senior forward for the 2026 season out of Pittstown, NJ will participate for the USA in the Four Nations Tournament in Lillieshall, England from July 8-15. The USA U 21 squad will go up against India, Belgium and England's squads in the event. 

Lauren Sloan, who plays for Virginia and is from Louisville's Christian Academy is also on the squad. Sloan was the 2024 Kentucky High School Player of the Year and a strong defender for the Charlottesville,VA squad.

As could probably be predicted, the USA roster is primarily made up of players from the hotbed of high school field hockey in the U.S....almost a third of the roster is from Pennsylvania and North Carolina and New Jersey is well-represented on the squad. 

Masters has had a storied career at UofL. She was on the 2023 Cardinals squad that made it to the semifinals of the ACc Tournament and quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. In 2024, she was named to the 2025 Under 21 squad USWNT squad and the Under 21 roster for the Junior Pan Am games. 

Louisville Field Hockey hosted the 2025 ACC Field Hockey Tournament but was knocked out in the first round by North Carolina 2-1. Northwestern ended up winning the NCAA Championships. 

 

College Softball World Series set -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 WHO'S HEADED TO OKLAHOMA CITY? 

Louisville Softball is long gone in the NCAA Tournament race for the World Series...and now the ACC is eliminated as well. 

Arkansas defeated Duke in regional play to send the last Atlantic Coast Conference school to the side lines The SEC is proving to be the powerhouse conference this year in the regionals...with Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, Mississippi St, Tennessee and Texas qualifying for the College World Series...along with UCLA and Texas Tech.

The Alabama squad sent another SEC school in LSU to the sidelines to get to the CWS. UCLA sent University of South Florida home, Nebraska took Oklahoma St. out of the chase and Mississippi St. made their first ever College World Series by knocking off Oklahoma. Tennessee downed Georgia to advance and Texas hit past Arizona St to make the field of eight.  

Texas won it all last year and has to be one of the favorites to repeat. this year. As far as DI rankings go...Nebraska is ranked #1, Alabama in #2, Texas is #3., Arkansas is #5, Texas Tech is #7,  UCLA is #8 and Mississippi St. is #20. The Bulldogs are the darkhorse of the eight, with their shocking elimination of Oklahoma, who was ranked #4.

Lookadoo looking at you.

Louisville ended up ranked #24 and will look to build on a very successful 44-12 season with key returnees. Maybe Camryn Lookadoo summed it up best when she said:

"When you go out there and have fun with your teammates, it easier to perform. It's less pressure and just putting trust in each other is fun."

Sophomore outfield Madison Pickens saw last year as a key to this season. 

"We had our moments where we grew together last year. This year brought us ever closer because we didn't have that many people come in or leave.  We were just able to grow certain things together." 

The WCWS begins May 28th and ends June 5th. Four games Thursday, two Games Friday and Saturday nd Sunday before two on Monday and then the Championship series on Wednesday, Thursday and, if needed on Friday.

Have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day, but also remember the reason for the holiday. They served and gave it all so that we could have this way of life. 

paulie

Kroon named Arthur Ashe Jr Scholar -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 TATUM KROON IS FIELD HOCKEY'S 2026 WINNER

We all know how well Tatum Kroon guarded defenders in her four years at UofL. A former field hockey defender once told me that being a good defender started with studying you opponent's techniques and anticipating their attack moves. And, to further back her knowledge skills, we find out the senior has been named the  Arthur Ashe Jr.scholar Award Winner forr Field Hockey.

Kroon came to Louisville from Den Bosch, The Netherlands and was a key contributor to the Cards defense during her time at UofL  She was a part of 15 defensive shutouts in her career at UofL 

2025 wasn't a spectacular season for UofL Field Hockey. They went 8-10 on the season and were 2-6 in the ACC. They were knocked out of the ACC Tournament by UNC and did not qualify for the NCAA DI tournament. .

Since it is Memorial Day weekend, how will you spend it? It is a day we observe to honor the deaths of U.S. servicemen in battle. With travel costs rising, I wonder how many will try to do something a little less expensive and stay regional.  Bernheim Forest is always a great option if you're not into attending picnics or parties. 

Cards Sending 23 to East Regional -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

T&F Well-Represented in Lexington

I'm up at Indy this week so I'm keeping it short and sweet. Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

The NCAA East Regionals will get started in Lexington on May 27th, with trips to the NCAA Championship event on the line. Louisville has 23 total athletes competing, with 13 women taking part in fifteen events. The full list is below: 

Ashley Callahan | Pole Vault

Nancy Chepleting | 5000m, 10000m

Alba Cuns Iglesias | Triple Jump

Sophia Day | Long Jump

Eve Divinity | Long Jump

Emma McGill | 5000m

Eliza Nicholson | 5000m

Anna Panenko | Triple Jump

Sharvari Parulekar | Triple Jump

Athena Peterson | Triple Jump

Lydia Stuart | Pole Vault

Iliana Triantafyllou | Pole Vault

Kaia Tupu-South | Shot Put, Discus Throw

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

UofL Athletics deep in debt...what will the future bring for college athletics.? -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 A $30 MILLION DOLLAR PROBLEM

You've probably heard the news by now, UofL's athletic program is $30 million dollars in debt. The problem is there...staring right at The Thinker on campus. What is the answer? 

A friend sent me the Eric Crawford article. I can only take a look at some the woeful media moguls for UofL sports information and think about this suggestion. Send them packing like hobos from the railroad yards. They hid the information of the increasing debt far too long. After all, this is a public institution, not some prestigious private college Turn the promotion of UofL athletics over to companies skilled at information reporting who know a little about what they are doing in the advertising and promotion world. Put spending under a magnifying glass. 

It also may be time to start collecting for attendance to some on the non-revenue sports. I know it's a steep cliff to jump off of...attendance could plummet...but these sports are paying coaches, assistant coaches and the S.I.D's just like all the other revenue sports  and are a cost to athletics as well.

Yum! Brands, Texas Roadhouse, Humana and Brown Foreman make big money. Maybe they might have an interest in helping salvage UofL sports more than they currently do. They are based here, after all. 

And, when you are that deep in debt, it's only a matter of time before women's sports start to take some money allocation hits. You know they are gong to try and salvage men's football, basketball and baseball first before they worry about lacrosse, field hockey and volleyball. 

"How did we get this deep in the hole?" 

Maybe take a look at how Texas, Ohio St. Georgia and Michigan are out of the red and into the black in revenue producing. UK was valued at $910 million dollars....fifteenth best in the nation. UofL is at 37th. at $645 million. 

Any other business model that would lose that much would probably be shutdown. And maybe it's time for some of these high pocket professional franchises to realize that their talent comes from college athletics and maybe they need to throw some huge bucks at their source of players. 

I got tired of the way media got pushed around and slighted a few years ago and just stopped attending games. Some were definitely more equal than others . But, being a graduate of the university and fond of many of the women's coaches on campus..it's certainly not the coaches fault that monies spent far exceed revenue produced. And, a student fee for athletics isn't going to solve this dilemma. 

The SEC and Big Ten have 18 of the top 20 revenue producing programs. Notre Dame and Clemson are the only two in that top 20 that are not members of either conference. Both have storied football programs. Both have no problem getting butts in the seats to watch games.  

Maybe one of the most ridiculous things is the makeup of the Atlantic Coast Conference...that has California, Stanford and SMU...hardly on the Atlantic Ocean coast.  The Big 10 has 18 members. 

But, I'm not a numbers cruncher. I just report on the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics.

 Being $30 million in debt, though, isn't much of a joyful thing, is it? 

pauliie