Recruiting round up

.
WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Jenny catches us up on the recruit scenario.

-Despite losing Russell, Cards have done well with 2013 class.

-Cards exhibition game against Eckerd tonight.

Alexis Montgomery, a guard out of Beaverton, OR who was on campus this past weekend, has given her verbal pledge to the Louisville program.  Montgomery is the second 2013 prospect to do so within the last day. 
Attached is a good read, from Oregon Live reporter Jerry Ulmer. Link below: 


Montgomery Chooses Louisville

Montgomery chose Louisville over Seattle University, Hawaii and Virginia Tech.  Montgomery is ranked as the #57 guard in the class and joins #21 Emmonnie Henderson and JUCO stand out Janelle Cannon so far in the class of 2013.

Coach Walz and company are not done yet, either.  Louisville is still in the running for top prospects Imani Wright (Texas) and Jordan Reynolds (Oregon).   Keep it tuned here Cardinal faithful, for all the latest recruiting round up. 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

It is hard not to be a bit disappointed when you come this close to landing the #1 recruit in the nation...to be the final cut on her list.  You have to respect Russell’s decision, though.  She is an incredible player and we look for her to have much success in her collegiate career. 

That being said, Card Nation has much to look forward to!  The Cardinals are preseason ranked #9 in the country; play at an amazing facility known as The KFC YUM! Center, and have a great coaching staff that was in it until the end with the #1 recruit in the nation.   I expect more of these epic recruiting battles in the future.  The Louisville program has proven that it is relevant and can go toe to toe with the top programs in the country.  You win some recruiting battles and you lose some.  When going against the best in the nation, one is bound to lose a few battles. 

Our Cards are loaded with talent and are poised to take the program back to the Final Four as soon as this year.  The coaching staff continues to work to bring in top prospects.  Attendance is growing, and no doubt will continue to grow, and we look to break attendance records this year!

The Cardinal Spirit is alive and well.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

The future remains bright in Louisville!  Card Fans, stand up and support our team!  Your first opportunity to do so happens tonight, at The YUM! Center.  The Cardinals play their one and only exhibition game against Eckerd College at 7:00 p.m.  Admission is free!  Get your trick or treating done early and head down to the YUM Center for more treats!! 

It is always a great day to be a Cardinal!  L1C4, baby!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

( Editor's note. HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all our readers! Stay with CARDINAL COUPLE for Louisville womens sports treats all year long. We won't trick you on the facts and you'll have a spooky good time reading our unmasked reports on the Cards gobblin' up their opponents!)

We leave you today with a great song by the Byrds from 1970 which covers desire, pursuit, defeat and determination to try again. It parallels the pursuit of Ms. Russell.

Enjoy Chestnut Mare. Link below. Keep chasing, Jeff. You're gonna catch more than a few.


Chestnut Mare
.
..
...

.
MERCEDES RUSSELL SAYS...

TENNESSEE

The #1 recruit in the 2013 class has spoken...and she said Tennessee.

You win some, you lose some. Louisville got great news yesterday and earlier today about Emmonnie Henderson and Alexis Montgomery committing.  

We kept our hopes high and wish Mercedes the very best in her academic and collegiate basketball career. Not gonna kid you, this one hurts...but the Cardinal Spirit is strong, united and loyal. We'll cheer our hearts out for who is on the court.

A heartfelt thanks to the Louisville players, staff, coaches and fans who did their best to try and make Mercedes a Cardinal.

We go on. Cardinal WBB in the KFC YUM! Center tomorrow night to see a very good UofL WBB team that will be fun to watch and so very talented.

L1C4.

.

.
..
...

Media Day at the YUM!

.
MORE TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

******BREAKING NEWS******

ALEXIS MONTGOMERY HAS  COMITTED TO LOUISVILLE!

Just got the tweet...Talented Oregon player is a Cardinal!

She's Mercedes Russell's best friend. Does it mean what we all hope it means?

Russell announces at 5:30 p.m.

The champagne is chilled.

********************************************



The University of Louisville women's basketball team had their Media Day today at the KFC YUM! Center and Coach Walz, the staff and players were on hand to speak and answer questions.

Jeff Walz addresses the media Tuesday

Shortly after noon, Coach Walz opened up the floor to questions and spent about a half hour answering them.

-- Walz spoke of the effort that Megan Deines, Sara Hammond and Bria Smith had put in over the summer...commenting that he'd never seen three players put so much work into their games in the offseason.

C.B. and Nicole set up chairs.

--Things he will be watching against Eckerd College tomorrow night are rebounding and defense. Reluctant at first to name a starting lineup, he eventually suggested that fans would see Shoni, Bria and Sara probably start and it was up for grabs after that.  

--Walz has been impressed with the freshmen so far and indicated that Deines would see significant time at the wing. He also mentioned that they'd been bringing Cortnee Walton along slowly the last two weeks because of a heel bruise.

Team lines up fo team photo

--He's hoping to have Asia back out on the court by Thanksgiving and Mo at 100% by the start of BIG EAST play.

A lot of "new" media in attendance today and some questions asked that all Cardinal Couple readers have known the answers to for months.

We hit the floor about 12:30 and the players started trickling out onto the court after that. First out was Monique Reid, who was surrounded by the TV guys and patiently answered questions about her injury, her hopes, her role and amount of playing time.

I decided to take a different approach and went around and asked some of the players some fun and different questions. I think they enjoyed it. Here we go...


What would you go trick-or-treating as?


Shelby  - A witch
Megan  - Cat Woman
Tia - Beyonce
Mo - A vampire
Bria - A fairy
Nita - Kim Lee (which drew a round of laughter)
Asia - Jeff Walz
Sara - Captain America
Coach Cam - Mr. Jeff Walz. 

Which Candy would you look for first in your trick-or-treat bag at the end of the night?

Shelby - Sweet Tarts
Megan - Twix
Tia - Reese's Cups
Mo - Bubble Gum
Bria - Sour Patch
Nita - Skittles
Asia - Sour Gummi Worms
Sara - Kit Kat
Coach Cam - Milky Way

Which KFC YUM! Center concert would you attend this weekend...Justin Bieber or Bruce Springsteen?


Shelby - Justin
Megan - Justin
Tia - Biebes!
Mo - Never heard of Bruce and doesn't like Justin, so she'd stay home.
Bria - Justin. Hands down! 
Nita - J.B
Asia - Who's Bruce Springsteen?
Sara - Justin
Coach Cam - Bruce Springsteen, without a doubt. Seen him before and go definitely go again. 

If you could steal one of your teammates skills, what would it be?

Mo - Nita's shooting ability
Bria - The way Nita shoots
Nita - Asia's jumping ability
Asia - Sherrone's shot blocking
Sara - Shoni's passing skills.

We'll be back later with recruiting news. We're hearing that Alexis Montgomery is announcing at 4 p.m. Eastern today...
.
..
...

Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Forget the Laundry - Let It Rain Recruits!

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- We'll just call her Hurricane Sandy today


(Cardinal Couple columnist Sandy Walker takes us on her weekly stormy deluge through Cardinal Women's Athletics and more this morning. We'll be back later today with coverage on women's basketball recruiting announcements.)



Pass out the Bubble Gum

IT’S Another GIRL!

Emmonnie joins Janelle Cannon

Hoping for Sextuplets

Check out Jenny’s Monday special Cardinal Couple Insert

EMMONNIE HENDERSON COMMITMENT

and again later today for the 5:30

MERECEDES RUSSELLL ANNOUNCEMENT

Janelle

Emmonnie

Don't make a POOR decision!

YOUR PICTURE BELONGS HERE!

**********************************************************************************************

WHIRLWIND TIMES

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy I have been reminded that there truly is no place like home.   Since leaving Louisville for what was to be a short vacation -- wind and rain from my namesake has literally chased me from Washington DC down the east coast to Asheville, NC, through the mountains and for me now safely back home although the car continues its journey on to Houston, TX.   I find it remarkable that while in the same relatively short period of time that I have been holding onto what was to be a local use vacation rental car which now has enough new mileage to need replacement tires and a tune up that in addition to Janelle Cannon Emmonnie Henderson has announced that she will also be calling Louisville home for the next 4 years.  Such a great double treat to also learn of Emmonnie’s announcement and hopefully today additional commitments by what are to be the future stars and adopted family members of Cardinal basketball. Emmonnie is ranked #21 in the latest ASGR report.

I wonder if they yet really and truly understand the virtual rock star status the players and coaches hold in what is truly a southern atmosphere college-team town.  Fans of the Cards begin their attendance in strollers and end it in wheelchairs, yet they keep coming to watch returning and new Cardinal family members such as Emmonnie and Janelle -- and hopefully others which will commit today and beyond.  I hope they do and are able to soak it all in as just as how so much had changed in the short time I was away, their time as a Cardinal player will pass all too quickly but they will always be a member of the Card Nation

.

********************************************************************************


CARD Nation Success


Louisville defeats Cincinnati in Volleyball, Football and Men’s Soccer.

Louisville's current ranked teams: M Basketball 2, W Basketball 9, Football 12, Volleyball 13, M Soccer 14, M Swim/Dive 16, W Swim 24 #L1C4

*********************************************************************************************

SCHOOL RANKINGS

U of L teams hold a separate but uniquely additional joint national record.  Currently Women’s basketball is ranked 9^th, Men’s basketball is ranked 2^nd, Football is ranked 12^th, Volleyball is ranked 12^th, Men’s Soccer holds 14^th while Men’s Swimming/Diving is  16^th and the Women’s team holds the 24^th spot.  We are unaware of any other team in the nation with 7 of its teams holding one of the top 25 national spots. 

**********************************************************************************************

BASKETBALL GAME TICKETS

Single game tickets went on Sale Monday.   Corner arena and baseline season tickets are still available.  http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/102912aaa.html  Contact the ticket office at 502-852-5151. Also, don’t forget – U of L is pleased to be hosting the first and second rounds of the 2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament in the KFC Yum Center!. Tickets are currently on sale.  Coach Walz had indicated the need to pre-sale at least 8,000 tickets at this year’s award of the openings rounds is hoped to be the beginning of what some day will culminate in the hosting of the Final 4 Championships.  Selection to the 64 team NCAA tournament team will insure that U of L will play in the first round in their regular season home.  A win would give them home court advantage also in the 2^nd round which is also being played in Louisville.   U of L has not enjoyed the tournament home court advantage in recent years, if ever.  I would advise you to get your tickets now before the tournament teams are announced and you find yourself competing with fans from other teams for premium seats.

*********************************************************************************************** 

GOLF

The women’s golf team is in 12^th Place of the Alamo Invitational After First Round.

***********************************************************************************************

 

FIELD HOCKEY

Senior goalkeeper, Erin Conrad,                                                     

was named BIG EAST Conference Field Hockey Defensive Player of the week.  She had 10 saves for the week including six in the 2-1 Providence win.  She added four saves in the 4-3 overtime win against Ohio State.  The 12-7, 3-3 Big East team faces Connecticut Friday in the semifinals which are being played at Trager Stadium.

************************************************************************************************************

MEDIA

CARDINAL COUPLE

Coach Walz is scheduled to talk to the media at noon today.  The players will then be made available at 12: 30.  Paul and possibly Coco will be attending and providing a report

BASKET BALL PRE-SEASON RANKING

Saturday the Associated Press released the current pre-season rankings.  Four returning starters from a 23-10 prior year’s record earned Louisville a 9^th place position and is the highest pre-season projection ever received by the team.  The always tough Big East had 5 teams included in the top 25.  They are Connecticut, Notre Dame, St. John’s and DePaul.

***********************************************************************************************

BASKETBALL EXHIBITION GAME!

The long awaited pre-season basketball tip-off game begins with an exhibition match with Eckerd College on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 7:00 p.m. The KFC Yum! Center match will be the only exhibition game of the season and admission is free.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

The regular season tip off for women’s basketball is next Friday November 9.   The return match from last year against No. 15 Texas A&M is at the YUM Center! At 7:00 p.m. and is a great opportunity to see the ladies avenge last year’s loss when the 2011 National Champion Aggies benefited not only by playing at home but also did not have to compete against Shoni.   It will also be great to see Monique and Tia again on the court after the long rehab.

This game is a

RED OUT with the goal of filling the house this and every game as we the fans control U of L’s advance into placing the Cards in a position of having the highest average attendance of NCAA women’s basketball.   Make your plans now for the game and bring a friend for what is the best value event for entertainment in the region.  Coach Walz indicated at the tip off luncheon that if you get them in the door for the first time, the team will keep them coming back.    

To help you painlessly get them in the door you can bring several friends to this match for $2.00 a ticket by showing a Kroger Plus Card at any U of L ticket office location.  Information can be obtained by calling the U of L  ticket office at (502) 852-5151.

********************************************************************************************* 

VOLLEYBALL

The AVCA coaches poll has moved U of L up to No. 12 in the nation.  Gwen Rucker was named to BIG EAST honor roll for the week. http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/102912aaa.html.   Sunday’s win over Cincinnati gave the Volleycards a perfect record of 7-0 in away matches for the season. They are joined only by Hawaii and Marquette with perfect away match records for the year. Louisville will host a match against Marquette on Nov. 9 in Cardinal Arena.  Prior to the NCAA tournament they will play the final four games of the regular season in Louisville against Villanova on Nov. 2, Georgetown on Nov. 4, Marquette on Nov. 9, and Cincinnati on Nov. 11.


********************************************************************************************

BEST 2012-2013 BASKETBALL PROGRAMS IN DIVISION I

Yesterday James Bowman of SB Nation / Swish Appeal has again created what it considers to be the best 100 women’s basketball  Division I programs for the 2012-2013 season.  The link indicated are for teams published on Monday ranked as 71-100 http://www.swishappeal.com/2012/10/29/3509016/ncaa-womens-college-basketball-top-programs-71-100. The schedule continues today for teams ranked #41-70, Wednesday for #26-40 Thursday: #11-25 and Friday ends with teams they have ranked #1-10.

What caught my attention is that the rankings are their ranking of the 100 best programs in Division I. This is not the same thing as the 100 best teams in Division I for the 2012-13 season.  Considerations were Wins and quality of competition, Attendance, Recruiting, and Hitting benchmarks.  Benchmarks are Postseason play, win totals, Conference titles and tournament victories, All Americans and WNBA high draft picks.  Excluded were Faraway glory, Coaching records and longevity and Academics.  I will be checking each day looking for Louisville.  

******************************************************************************************** 

FIELD HOCKEY

The Field Hockey team clinched 3^rd place in the Big East Tournament by defeating Providence 2-1. 

*************************************************************************************************************

"The logical choice, Jim is that she verbals to Louisville."

.

..

... 

Emmonnie Henderson is a Cardinal!

.
MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE SPECIAL EDITION

- CARDINAL COUPLE COLUMNIST JENNY O'BRYAN BRINGS US THE RECRUITING NEWS...HENDERSON VERBALS TO LOUISVILLE!

- What is your question?


Emmonnie Henderson is a 6-2 forward from Edwardsville HS Illinois.  She is also a dual sport athlete in shot put and discus, and as of this early evening, a future Louisville Cardinal. 

The now defunct Hoopgurlz rated Henderson at #40 and All Star Girls Report ranks her at #21 in her class.    Henderson was on campus this past weekend, and chose Louisville over her other finalist, powerhouse Tennessee. 

For Cardinal Couple faithful readers, you may remember I wrote about her this past summer after seeing an AAU game.  Henderson will be a huge asset in brutal Big East play.  She is said to be “strong as an ox” and has a sturdy frame.  Her attacking around the basket was powerful and consistent and scouts have been noting her extending her game away from the basket.   Henderson is capable of playing multiple positions on the court and will be a matchup nightmare for opponents. 

Henderson was one of four recruits on campus this weekend, and one of five still considering Louisville.   Alexis Montgomery and Mercedes Russell, both from Oregon, will be announcing their college choice tomorrow.  Jordan Reynolds, also from Oregon, was on campus this weekend.  No timetable has been made available about when she will decide.  Imani Wright, out of Texas, was on campus about a month ago, and is said to be very high on Louisville and deciding between Louisville and Baylor. 

CardNation, it is time to stand up!  Coach Walz is doing great things with this program; top recruits are coming, and choosing Louisville over perennial powerhouses.  As a burgeoning fan base we are on the brink of overtaking the number one spot in fan attendance. 

The future of Louisville Basketball just got a little brighter tonight!  CardNation welcomes Emmonnie Henderson to the best Athletic Department in the country!

( Editor's note...A huge congratulations to Jeff Walz, the University of Louisville basketball staff and players and Cardinal fans for letting it be known that we wanted Emmonnie at Louisville. And a sincere "THANK YOU" and "WELCOME ABOARD!!" to the "Edwardsville Electrifier" -- Emmonnie Henderson! One down and more to come? Stay tuned to CARDINAL COUPLE for the latest and GO CARDS!)

********************************************************

TUESDAY is Media Day for the WBB team at the KFC YUM! Center. Got a specific question that you'd like asked for one of the players and coaches? Paulie or Timmy the Intern will be glad to pose it!

Please send the question via e-mail to:

cardinalcouple@insightbb.com

It can be anonymous if you want. I need the questions submitted by 10:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

.
..
...

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Emmonnie Henderson has pledged to Louisville.  She was on campus this weekend and is what we hope the first of many from this weekend to commit to the University of Louisville Women's Basketball team!  Stay tuned for more about Henderson.

.
..
...

Volleyball win, Soccer falls

.
MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Volleyball defeats Cincy in three sets

- Soccer falls in BIG EAST Tournament to USF

- After the recruiting visit: The waiting game

Rucker, Arslanbekova fuel straight set wins

The University of Louisville squad improved to 21-3 and 10-1 in the BIG EAST by knocking off Cincinnati 25-21, 25-13, 25-21 Sunday in Fifth Third Arena. Gwen Rucker and Lola Arslanbekova had 11 kills each in the Cardinal win.

Louisville started slowly in the first game and trailed UC 9-5 before a 5-1 Cardinal run tied the contest at 10-10. Cincinnati was able to regain the lead and Louisville didn't grab their first advantage until 17-16. UC never challenged after that and the Cards outscored the Bearcats to win going away by four.

Maybe a bit deflated by the loss...and definitely punished by the serving of Kaitlynn James, the Bearcats found themselves in a 7-0 hole to begin game two. Louisville pushed that to 13-2 and the only real question left was how many points would the Cards win by. They Cards enjoyed a 22-10 advantage and closed out the second game on a Lola kill to win by 12.

UC did try to make a match of it in the third game...jumping out to a 4-0 lead before the Cards regrouped and tied the contest at 9-9. A brief Bearcat rally gave them a 12-10 edge before the Cards went on a 9-4 rally to put them up 19-16. UofL continued the hot streak and was at set point at 24-18 before settling for the four-point win.

The Cards finally return home after the extended road trip and will face Villanova Friday night in Cardinal Arena at 7 p.m. They'll also host Georgetown Sunday at 2 p.m. in the KFC YUM! Center.

********************************************

Louisville Women's Soccer falls in triple overtime to South Florida.

The Cards and the Bulls battled through 110 minutes and two overtimes to a scoreless draw in BIG EAST Tournament action...necessitating a shoot-out third overtime. In the tie-breaker, each team got five penalty kicks to try and score on the opposing goalkeeper. With the scoring at 3-3, USF got the final attempt and USF freshman Olivia Chance sent one past UofL's Chloe Kiefer to break the tie and give USF the win.

The Cards outshot USF 16-13 in regulation and the two overtimes and Kiefer produced seven saves for UofL. Although USF advances to the semi-finals, the game gets recorded officially as a tie.

The Cards (10-4-4) now must wait until Nov.5th. to see if they get a bid to participate in the field of 64 in the NCAA Tournament.

*******************************************

After one of the most highly anticipated women's basketball recruiting visit weekends in the history of Cardinal womens' hoops, the questions now are:

1) How did the visits go?
2)  When will Coach Walz and the fans know about verbals?
3) What is Louisville's chance of getting all or some of the visitors?

All indicators and reports we've heard indicate that the girls visiting ( Mercedes Russell, Emmonnie Henderson, Alexis Montgomery and Jordan Reynolds) had a great time, got to go to the football game Friday, Coach Walz's birthday party, a haunted house tour, Cardinal basketball scrimmage and many other fun and exciting things. We'll keep an eye on Twitter and Facebook (and we hope you will too) to see what they're saying.

We know that verbals are on the way. We expect Reynolds', Montgomery's and Russell's on or by Tuesday. Henderson may not be far behind. We hope these verbal are in UofL's favor. We also remind you that Imani Wright is still a potential Cardinal. The impact of these five girls, plus already verballed juco Janelle Cannon is huge and would surely give the Cards the #1 recruiting class of 2013.

How will the Cards do? WE have no specific facts, no iron-clad guarantees or insider scoop...but it wouldn't surprise us if Louisville landed all five. The current players on Jeff Walz's squad were very impressed with the visitors and would love to have them join the Cardinal family. 

Even though the coaching staff can't comment about them and the visits...we know that Walz & Company must be very high and sold on each them...otherwise they wouldn't have been here and made the talk of the town.

We know your anxious. We are anticipating big things as well. We've gotten a huge amount of e-mails on the visits and they range from the well-thought out to the ridiculous yet hopeful. We appreciate your thoughts, opinions, comments and predictions.

What it shows us is something we've known for awhile. This is a very passionate, caring and knowledge fan base that wants only the best for UofL sports and love their Lady Cards to death...a fan base that is unmatched in womens' college basketball.

Good things happen to those who wait. Patience is a virtue. WE feel confident UofL will be rewarded very soon.

.
..
...

Sunday with Sonja

.
SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

**********From the scoreboard*********

- LOUISVILLE Volleyball defeats Cincy in straight sets 25-21, 25-13, 25-21.

- LOUISVILLE and USF tied 0-0 in women's soccer at end of regulation and two overtimes. USF wins 3rd overtime in a shootout 4-3. (More on these Monday...)

***********************************************


-Field Hockey defeats Providence 2-1 to make BIG EAST Tournament

-Jenny's observations on WBB Scrimmage

-Russell to announce decision Tuesday

-Cards #9 in ESPN Preseason Poll

-Volleyball on ESPNU today


Cards come through in final regular-season game with win.

Knowing that the surest way to qualify for the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament was beating Providence, the University of Louisville Field Hockey team delivered...knocking off the Friars 2-1 yesterday at Providence.

The Cards (12-7, 3-3) clinched the #3 seed and will face #2 UConn Friday night in Trager Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Syracuse and Providence will match up in the first game Friday.

"We are just so proud of our team with the way we have applied ourselves in recent weeks. We knew what was on the line and we continued to stay focused on the process. We are absolutely thrilled that we have made it back to the BIG EAST Tournament and we are playing at home. To have this opportunity is fabulous and much deserved for this team." -- Justine Sowry, Louisville head coach.

The Cards opened the scoring with just 17 seconds left in the first half. Alyssa Voelmle got an unassisted score to give UofL the advantage after a half of solid defense by both teams.

Conrad comes through!

After the break, Providence tied the match seven minutes into the action. Louisville took the lead seven minutes later when the Cards capitalized on a Providence passing error near their net and Becca Maddock found Erin Scheidtmiller with a pass that Scheidtmiller converted into the final score of the game.

Erin Conrad stepped up in a huge way for the Cards with six saves. Providence outshot Louisville 11-9 in the contest.

Tickets for the BIG EAST Tournament are available through the UofL Athletic Office at 502-852-5151. Cost is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors/youth and college students get in free with a valid student ID.

******************************************************************

CARDINAL COUPLE staff columnist JENNY O'BRYAN attended the Saturday UofL men's scrimmage that featured the WBB squad opening the event with a mini-scrimmage. Here are her observations:

The women's team spent 10 minutes before the men's game scrimmaging/playing/practicing against their men's practice players. The women "won" 21-12.

All players played for a few minutes except Tia Gibbs, Asia Taylor and Cortnee Walton. Of the three, Tia hobbled on to the court and looked like she was in pain. Asia and Cortnee "presented" fine...although Asia looked like she was dog tired.

Coach talked for most of the time with P.A. announcer Sean Moth while the team was playing.

Megan Deines came down the court and nailed a three-pointer for the first shot of the scrimmage. She took a second shot a few minutes from beyond the arc and drained it also. She looked quick and agile. Coach Walz joked that those were the first two shots that she had made in a month.

The next three-point Cardinal specialist?

Sara Hammond looked lean and more toned than last year. She had a confidence about her that I did not always see last year. She looked solid and I expect her to have a break out season. Walz stated that she has been putting in a lot of work in the off-season and is looking great.

Shawnta Dyer looked good and showed a lot of strength in the paint.

Mo Reid was only in for a few minutes but was very impressive. Nice score in the paint and great rebounding. I have so missed watching Mo play. Walz stated that Mo is still recovering from her knee surgery and will play the minutes she can play. He expects her to be at full speed by conference play.

- Jenny O'Bryan

*******************************************************

Thanks for the great recap of the Cards 10 minutes, Jenny! In other WBB news, highly sought-after and #1 ranked in the 2013 Class recruit Mercedes Russell was in attendance and her high school coach announced that she will announce her decision Tuesday afternoon at a press conference at her high school. 2:30 p.m. Pacific time.
The date and time were apparently set before her visit to Louisville this weekend.  

Louisville also has a media day planned at the KFC YUM! Center that day. Coach Walz is scheduled to talk to the media at noon and players will be made available at 12:30. This raises some speculation. Will Walz fly to Oregon for Mercedes' announcement and should we read anything into whether he is at the scheduled media address at the YUM! or not? Has the 6'5" center already decided? Will it be a last-minute decision? 
Are we over-thinking things here?

Big things developing for Tuesday. And, the Cards open the season Wednesday with an exhibition game against Eckerd College. Free admission for all at the KFC YUM! Center.

*****************************************************************

ESPN has released their 2013 Women's College Basketball Rankings and Polls for Week 1 and the Cards are positioned at #9. They received 657 points. Baylor heads the poll and got 1000 points.

Other BIG EAST schools in the top 25 are Connecticut at #2, Notre Dame at #5, St. John's at #14 and DePaul at #25.

Kentucky is #6 and Tennessee #20. Link below.

ESPN WBB Rankings - Week 1

**********************************************************************************

See Lola jump, see Lola swing, see Lola kill...

Just a reminder that you can catch Louisville Volleyball today on ESPNU against Cincinnati. First serve is at 1 p.m.

Have a great Sunday everybody and GO CARDS in the BIG EAST SOCCER Tournament against USF today!
.
..
...