Women's Tennis Recruits -- 10 Rowers Earn Awards -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Women's Tennis Signs Three Recruits for 2018-19 Season

After losing two stars to graduation the women's tennis team has loaded back up in preparation for next season.  Louisville has signed a freshman and two transfers, who will be eligible to  play immediately.

Dina Chaika joins the Cards as an incoming freshman from Lermontov, Russia.  Her hometown sits a short distance north of Georgia (the European country) and a bit west of the Black Sea.  Chaika comes in after being one of the top tennis players in all of Russia as well as earning a ranking as high as #46 as a 14-year-old in all of Europe.

Nikolina Jovic comes in from Gamecock country down in South Carolina with three years of eligibility remaining.  The Bosnian native (women's soccer's Sanela Hodzic hails from there as well) won several national awards in high school and earned WTA world ranking points.

Dina Wong is a rising junior after transferring in from New Mexico.  The Hawaii native went 16-5 as a freshman including an unblemished record in conference play.  Wong took the role of the No. 1 spot in singles last year and was part of the No. 2 doubles team at New Mexico.

Although I have never met Coach Mark Beckham personally I know that Paulie speaks highly of him.  I will put my faith in Coach Beckham as he hopes to improve from last year's 13-13 record.

Matches at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center have free admission whether it is being held inside or outside.  Just make sure to be aware of a mishit and a tennis ball headed your way!


10 Rowers Named to All-ACC Academic Team

All of the other spring sports have named their academic teams, but rowing seems to be a bit behind.  The wait was worth it as Louisville had 10 players named to the All-ACC Academic Team.

Seniors Rebecca Busk, Kirsti Harrison, Callie McGowan, Hannah Richardson, Sophie Schulz, Kim Streetz, Allison Zimmermann, junior Abbi Fitts, and freshman Violette Legrand were the 10 honorees.  The Cards led the way with 10 players on the 62-player roster.  Four other schools placed second with eight each.

UofL closed out the season ranked 20 in the US Rowing/CRCA coaches' poll and fifth in the ACC.  This team had high levels of success on the water and in the classroom this year, something they continue to improve each year.

What Day is it and Other News and Notes

We have reached the final business day of June and when you tune into the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour tomorrow it will be the halfway point of  2018!  Have you held true to your New Year's resolution?

It is National Hug Day so go hug a friend, family member, or the first person you see on the street!  For me, I have to point out it is National Camera Day, but no new UofL pics coming until August.  If you've attended a lacrosse match on Floyd Street you would be familiar with the food trucks that make appearances so it is a good time to acknowledge National Food Truck Day.

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour is set for its normal time, 11:00-12:00.  As always, you can tune in on 100.9 fm if you're in the Louisville area or hop on Facebook Live to see what they might be up to in the studio.  You'll have the pleasure of Case this week before he leaves for vacation.  However, I'm counting money and surviving surprise audits for a fourth straight Saturday so they question is "When will Jared have a Saturday off of will Sunday be added to his work schedule next?"  Stay tuned to see what happens!

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

- Jared -