Tuesday Cardinal Couple

Mickey D's

As usual the readers here are on the ball, and this got mentioned in the comments yesterday, but it's worthy of a section here on its own.

Dana Evans and Loretta Kakala were selected to play in the McDonald's All-American game.  The game will be on March 29th at the United Center in Chicago.  This is, of course, one of the highest honors for high school ballers, and the two will join a cadre of other McDonald's All-Americans here at UofL.

Jeff Walz always shows support for the fan base in his post-game radio comments, so it's time to give a little back.  Evens and Kakala will be the 10th and 11th McD's All-Americans ever at UofL.  All of them came through the system under Jeff Walz.

Many of you follow basketball recruiting better than I do, but these two look exciting, with Evans a 5'6" guard (just barely fitting into the prerequisites for being an Attack Yorkie), that looks like she's going to be fun to watch.  Over 35 points, upwards of 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game in her senior season, have the makings for a fun offensive set.  Kakala is a 6'3" forward, fulfilling many CC commenters wish for some more height.

With Lindsey Duvall, who was nominated for the All-American team but wasn't selected, the incoming class will be the 4th ranked recruiting class in college basketball.  That makes six times since 2010 that UofL has had a top-10 class.

Track and Field

The indoor track and field folks had some success down in Lexington with a couple of wins and twelve top 5 finishes at the Kentucky Invitational.

Jumpers were the pinnacle for the Cards, with Damar Robinson reaching the height of the high jump competition, while Alexis Gibbons out-distanced the rest of the competition in the long jump.  Gibbons could have great things ahead of her for the Cards as this is her second straight long jump win, and she's just getting started here in her freshman year.

Cardinal Couple favorite Emmonnie Henderson claimed a 2nd place finish in shot put (no discus in indoor competition), and another name we're already heard a lot in track and field, Raven Grant, finished 3rd in the 60-yard dash.

Holly Hankenson finished 3rd in the 800-meter run, and the men's 4x400-meter; Carlos Coleman, Josh Hall, Teague Peck, and Eric Fox also claimed a 3rd place finish.

Swimming and Diving

A couple of pieces of pool news.  Also news about Andrea's.

In a solid win over Missouri, Senior Andrea Cottrell picked up five 1st place finishes which was enough for her to pick up the ACC Swimmer of the Week honor.  This is the 2nd time Cottrell has earned that honor.

In other Andrea news, Andrea Kneppers, Cardinal Alumna and representative of the Dutch National Swimming Team has decided to retire from competitive swimming.  Kneppers had a distinguished career for the Cardinals, perhaps overshadowed somewhat by Kelsi Worrell, but she contributed significantly to the advancement of the UofL swimming team.  We here at Cardinal Couple are certain that she'll do great things in whatever she pursues next.

-- JMcA