Looking Ahead to the Weekend -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Just in, from the Friday press conference for UofL WBB


SAM FUEHRING PRESSER FROM FRIDAY

LINK:  SAM FUEHRING PRESSER

JEFF WALZ PRESSER FROM FRIDAY

LINK:  JEFF WALZ PRESSER




BIG WEEKEND AHEAD


As always, here I sit on my couch the night before and work on my article.  This time, however, it is also helping me kill time before Katy's flight lands at the newly-renamed Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.  She's a bit late for Valentine's Day but I look forward to a few days with her nonetheless before she flies out Sunday afternoon.


Conveniently most sports are on the road this weekend so I won't have to pull too much double-double.  Still, this weekend's schedule is jam-packed full of winter and spring sports.

We have Cardinal women's sports squads on the road, at home and some great matchups ahead over the next couple of days. Are you ready?



Friday, Feb. 15

Softball will play two of their four games in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.  Weather has caused some games to shift around.  The Cards will face Northwestern at 11:00 a.m., before turning around to take on #17 Michigan at 1:30 p.m.  UofL dropped their first game against the Wildcats this season 1-0.

Men's tennis travels up to Massachusetts to face Boston College at 5:00 p.m.  The men are coming off a loss against Oregon after having a three-game win streak.

Women's tennis is also set for a 5:00 p.m., as they square off against Nebraska.  UofL is 9-0 this season and is coming off a sweep against Pitt to start conference play.

Baseball begins their season down south in Lakeland, Fla.  They'll face #20 UConn (yes, UConn has more than one good sport this year) at 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 16

Swimming and diving is home for the Louisville Invitational in one of the few events hosted in the Ralph Wright Natatorium this year.  The women are way down to #16 at the moment.  The men sit a little higher at #8.

Men's basketball will face Clemson in a noon tip-off.  For those of you tuning into the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour the show should be concluding right in time for the game to start.  The Cards are coming off back-to-back double-digit second half collapses and hope to find their rhythm.

Softball will take on Michigan at 12:30 p.m.  It will be their third game in a little over 24 hours and is part of the rescheduling due to weather.

Women's tennis will travel down the road from Nebraska to Wichita State for another non-conference match.  This one does not have a time listed and may be slightly based on the quick turnaround for travel.




Baseball will play their second game of the series against the Huskies in warm and sunny Lakeland (high 70s).

Lacrosse will continue their road stint at Denver at 3:00 p.m.  They will then have a week break before their home opener at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium.

Sunday, Feb. 17

Swimming and diving will continue the Louisville Invitational as they prepare for the ACC and NCAA Championships around the corner.


Softball will conclude the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with a final game against Northwestern at 10:00 a.m.

Men's tennis will play two matches on the day, both at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.  Purdue will visit at noon, and Austin Peay will make a visit at 6:00 p.m.

Baseball will wrap up their series against UConn at 1:00 p.m., and will prepare to come home for a few games.

Women's Basketball will participate in the Play4Kay game against Miami at 3:00 p.m.  The Hurricanes have won three straight and seven of their last eight.  Recently, Miami knocked off Notre Dame in a huge upset that helped propel the Cards into first place in the ACC.

Jeff Walz has called for a media conference today at 12:30 p.m. to talk avout the Sunday tilt and Sam Fuehring will also be available for questions as well.

Paulie will be there to capture the sounds and promises to add the presser to today's article later this afternoon, so be sure to check back around 2 p.m. or so for the audio from Jeff and Sam.



Women's Basketball News


Clemson (16-9, 7-5) upset #21 Florida State (20-5, 8-4) 73-68 last night for a big upset.  The win is a good resume builder for the Tigers, who should be on the IN for Bracketology purposes.  Per Paulie, our good friend Arthur and his wife were spotted on the screen from the ACCNE Network  late in the game.  Congrats on the win, Arthur!

Pittsburgh (10-16, 1-11) upset North Carolina (15-11, 6-6) 91-78 for their first conference win.  The Panthers were the last winless team in the conference. UNC WBB continues to be an enigma this season. Somehow, Pitt held Paris Key scoreless until the fourth quarter.

Ohio State (11-12, 7-7 Big Ten) upset #23 Rutgers (17-7, 9-4) 5-39.  The Buckeyes were a strong team last year that the Cards took down early in the season.  This season has been nothing but ugly for them, but they picked up a solid road win.

#11 South Carolina (18-6, 10-1 SEC) bounced back after a blowout loss to UConn earlier in the week by holding on against Georgia (14-10, 5-6) 65-57.

Missouri (19-7, 8-4 SEC) pulled off a big upset on the road at #5 Mississippi State (22-2, 10-1) 75-67.  This widens the gap even more between the Top 3 (Baylor, Louisville, Oregon) and the next bunch (UConn, Notre Dame, Miss St).

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared