A History of UofL Women's Sports: Chapter I -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

To help get through summer I have decided to give a brief history of each women's sports team at Louisville.  There are 12 women's sports at UofL, giving me something to talk about for the next 12 Fridays.  Although folks might think we're experts here at Cardinal Couple we're far from it and constantly try to educate ourselves and stay updated on the women's sports.



A History of UofL Women's Sports: Chapter I -- Volleyball

With volleyball being the next UofL team to play this calendar year and the first to kick off the 2019-2020 school year I figured there's no better place to start!  So buckle up and hang on tight because here we go!

Louisville Volleyball had its inaugural season in 1977.  Susan Johns coached the Cards to a 4-18 record that season and went on to coach two more years after that.  After an 0-3 start Louisville got a 2-0 sweep for their first ever victory.

Scott Luster took over as head coach in 1980 and went five seasons in that position.  He guided the Cards to their first winning season in 1981, finishing 26-18.  He would lead them to two Metro Conference championships in 1982 and 1984 and their first NCAA appearance in 1982.

Bob McCarthy took was Luster's successor but had a short three-year career as head coach.  McCarthy never had a winning season and he was quickly replaced.

Don Hardin entered the scene in 1988 and oversaw the team for eight years.  UofL had a winning season every year he was there and won the Metro Conference from 1990-1994.  In his final season at Louisville the university moved to Conference USA.  Louisville went undefeated in conference play and advanced to the NCAA 2nd round that year. Hardin moved on to take over the program at Illinois and retired from there at the end of the 2008 season.

Leonid Yelin took over the program after Hardin left and reigned for 15 years, the longest of any Louisville volleyball coach.  His team had a winning record every season he was there and never lost more than 12 games in a season under his watch.  This is when Louisville started to become nationally recognized.  They won 10 conference championships between Conference USA and the Big East.  All four of Louisville's Sweet Sixteen appearances came under Yelin.  Yelin was also the first to heavily recruit foreign players- a major contribution to the program's success. Yelin supposedly "retired" from coaching at the end of the 2010 season, but took the job at Syracuse the next season and he is still the head coach for the Orange.

Anne Kordes replaced Yelin at the helm, becoming the second woman coach for Louisville volleyball and the first coach who was a former player on the team. Kordes came in from St. Louis University, where she had built the Billikins into a feared and strong mid-major program.

In her six seasons from 2011-2016, Louisville won four conference championships, including becoming the first women's team at Louisville to win an Atlantic Coast Conference championship. Kordes retired after the 2016 season to spend more time with her daughter and family.

She is heavily involved with KIVA Volleyball at the OVVC these days, a nationally recognized facility and program which her father helped inaugurate and establish.

In 2017, Dani Busboom Kelly became the seventh coach for Louisville volleyball.  In her first year, she guided the Cards to a conference championship.  The Cards have played in the NCAA Tournament both seasons under Kelly, who is set to begin her third season as head coach this fall.

Their current home is the newly renamed L&N Federal Credit Union Cardinal Arena, which saw a major revamp before the start of the 2017 season.  Cardinal Arena served as the home for the Cards the longest of any venues with the KFC Yum! Center serving as host for a couple years and a 43-20 record.  In the early days it was duPont Manual High School's gymnasium that was the home of the Cards, where they hold an 88-64 record.  The Cards in Cardinal Arena surpassed 200 wins in 2017.

Besides the main three home locations the Cards have also played home matches in the
Commonwealth Convention Center, the Kentucky International Convention Center, Louisville Gardens, Sacred Heart Academy, Seneca High School, Ballard High School, New Albany High School, Jennings County High School, Louisville Gardens, and Knights Hall (Bellarmine).  The KICC (2-3) is the only home site where Louisville holds a losing record.

A memorable game to note last season when the Cards had Notre Dame coming to town but power was lost several hours before the match in Cardinal Arena. A wild bit of venue relocation searching ensued before it was determined that Sacred Heart's gymnasium was available for the evening. The Cards won a memorable five set match in a fully-packed Valkyries gym. The power of social media got the relocation out to the season-ticket base and fans and they even gave everyone a free bottle of water!

Louisville has broken 5000 in attendance twice at home, both against Kentucky at the KFC Yum! Center.  Their largest Cardinal Arena crowd was in 1994 against Texas when 1253 people crammed together to watch the NCAA Tournament.  During an NCAA Tournament game in 2005, 14,438 people filled the Qwest Center to see Louisville take on Florida.

Over the years Louisville has formed rivalries with some foes.  Kentucky, Louisville's largest rival across the board, is 29-27 against the Cards.  Cincinnati was a big rival for a long time and just renewed its rivalry for the season, but the Cards hold a 41-11 edge, and is the most wins against any NCAA team.  Despite rough seasons early on Louisville has lost to just two schools more than 15 times: Kentucky and Notre Dame.

Despite having an arsenal of well-known players, several USA Collegiate National Team representatives, and nearly a dozen All-Americans in players such as Lola Arslanbekova, Gwen Rucker, Katie George, Caitlin Welch, Laurie Maxwell, and many more, only three former "VolleyCards" have made their way into the UofL Athletics Hall of Fame: Stephanie Storen Jett, Laurie Maxwell Londot, and Susan Elpers Inman.

Louisville is set to begin their 43rd season in just under three months.  They'll host the free Red and Black Scrimmage on August 17th at 6 p.m. before starting the season with seven straight home matches. 78 days to Volleyball !!


Make sure to catch the Cards at L&N Federal Credit Union Cardinal Arena where you will catch myself and Worldwide most every home match with special guest appearances from Paulie and Case from time-to-time.

Come back to the site next Friday for Chapter II as we cover the history of another UofL women's sport.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

It'll be "slim pickens" on air tomorrow and we don't mean the late TV, movie and rodeo star.

With Case selling his yard to the highest bidder, Daryl continuing to travel everywhere and give Jeff a run for his money for the nickname "Worldwide", and myself back to counting change and looking out for counterfeits...only Paulie and the original Worldwide will be on air to talk women's sports.  Will they have another world famous Cardinal Couple quiz?  They'll have some WNBA and a few other topics to discuss so make sure you tune in!

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

That's my coach out there -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

PICK A COACH, ANY COACH ! 


The University of Louisville women's athletics program has 12 sports squads that compete in NCAA DI athletics.

Although the following might make for good quiz questions on our CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR radio show, I'll ask them here at the site:

Answers are at the bottom of today's column. 

You are, of course, on the honor system. Be true to yourself and don't "google" or search other ways on-line for the answers. 

1) In which one of these sports does Louisville not participate in NCAA DI women's athletics at Louisville?

a) Rowing  b) tennis c) equestrian d) cross country


2) Next up, can you name the twelve sports in which Louisville women's athletics fields a DI squad? This one should be fairly easy for you.


There are 11 head coaches for these 12 sports. Cross Country and Track and Field share the same head coach...and a few of the same athletes...which is a common practice in many Di programs. 

3) Can you name the 11 coaches?  


4) Final question. Which of the UofL women's athletic coaches has been at their job longest here in Louisville? 


For grading purposes, there are 25 "correct" answers in the four questions above. Give yourself four points for each correct answer.  

I'll even offer a five-point "bonus" chance...if you'll leave a brief essay in the comments section below on who YOUR favorite UofL women's athletic squad head coach is and why? 


GRADING LEGEND; 

90-100     Your really "up" on your UofL women's sports! . You probably beat most of our writers taking this quiz. Are you sure you're not one of the coaches at UofL taking this quiz? 

80-90       That's a nice passing grade, so you've kept your eligibility and can participate in fall Cardinal Couple activities. 

70-80       We can't help but feel that you need to give us a little more effort. I had a reader recently e-mail me and tell me he was going to spend one week, each week, this summer learning more about the women's sports at UofL that he wasn't very knowledgeable about. He's starting with Lacrosse. You could do the same. 

60-70        It looks like summer classes for you to get back on the academic path. We're sending our own academic counselor Jared Anderson out to evaluate where you need the most help and devise a game plan for you. He might even take your picture, as well. 

Below 60   Well, the world needs under-achievers as well. Or maybe you're just here for hoops. We put plenty of pictures in each article, so you enjoy those and we'll check on you real soon. 


ANSWERS

1) In which one of these sports does Louisville not participate in NCAA DI women's athletics at Louisville?

a) Rowing  b) tennis c) equestrian d) cross country


If you came up with (c) Equestrian as your answer, ring a bell for yourself. Yes, in the state where the most popular horse race in the world is run, the leading state for horse breeding in the nation and a state that features several nationally recognized equestrian events a year...including the Kentucky State Fair Horse Show, there is no DI equestrian team at Louisville. Delaware State, Baylor and Georgia are a few that have equestrian as a NCAA DI sport. Can Louisville be far behind? 

2) Next up, can you name the twelve sports in which Louisville women's athletics fields a DI squad? This one should be fairly easy for you. They are listed below: 

Basketball, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Golf, Lacrosse, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track and Field and Volleyball. 

3) Can you name the 11 coaches?  

WBB - Jeff Walz
Cross Country - Dale Cowper
Field Hockey - Justine Sowry
Golf - Whitney Young
Lacrosse - Scott Teeter
Rowing -  Derek Copeland
Soccer - Karen Ferguson Dayes
Softball - Holly Aprile
Swimming/Diving - Arthur Albiero
Tennis - Mark Beckham
Track & Field - Dale Cowper
Volleyball - Dani Busboom Kelly


4) Final question. Which of the UofL women's athletic coaches has been at their job longest here in Louisville? 


No other than Karen Ferguson Dayes. She has 18 years on the job. 

To put that in perspective, Denny Crum was still the head men's basketball coach, the Cards were in Conference USA and Cardinal fans were just beginning to get used to this guy named Sean Moth on the P.A. system.  

Cardinal Couple wasn't even in any planning stages then and Sara Nord was all the rage in Louisville women's basketball. The 21st. century had just begun.  



Have a tremendous Thursday

Paulie
xxxxx

Asia Taylor Waived By Indiana -- Jared;s "Way Too Early" Fall Predictions -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

EDITOR COMMENT: 

(SOMEONE DELIVERED A LAPTOP TO JARED ANDERSON'S FRONT PORCH AND HE FIGURED IT OUT IN TIME TO GIVE US THE WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE ARTICLE... INSTEAD OF SENDING IT TO PAULIE FROM A SMARTPHONE VIA E-MAIL.

THIS COULD JUST BE A NATIONAL HOLIDAY,.....OR, AT THE VERY LEAST, A REASON FOR CELEBRATION AND REJOICING AMONG THE CARDINAL COUPLE CHIMPS)
                  
PAULIE


A-Tayy Cut By Indiana Fever

Joining the ranks of Sam Fuehring is Asia Taylor, who was waived by the Indiana Fever yesterday.

She appeared to make the original 12-player roster, but when Kennedy Burke became available after being cut by the Dallas Wings, Indiana opted to sign her and cut Taylor. Burke, a 6'1" combo guard  who played her college ball at UCLA was selected 22nd in the 2019 WNBA Draft. The Wings cut her, despite her being their leading scorer in pre-season...and three days later, Indiana picked her up off waivers and released Taylor.

Taylor is a success in Australia. She recently played for the Perth team overseas and was named to the Top Five in the WNBL for the third straight time. Her previous two seasons were with Sydney.

Taylor was also on the Fever's roster at the end of the 2018 season.

The former UofL star played in three preseason games this year but did not play in the Fever's lone regular season game.

Taylor was recently seen back in Louisville after getting cut. She is uncertain at this time whether she'll return to the WNBL later this year.but plans on spending time with friends and family before she makes her decision.


My Way Too Early Fall Predictions

With all the fall schedules out now we can start to look ahead to what each team may have to offer and what their goals might be. Here's the "way too early" Jared Anderson predictions for a few.

Field Hockey

Justine Sowry is not afraid to square off against the best teams in the country.  Apparently the powerhouse of the ACC isn't enough as the Cards have a difficult non-conference schedule.

If the season started next week I'd have the Cards going 13-6, mirroring last season.  The best offensive stars are returning but the Cards have three starters to replace including one of the best goalkeepers in the world.  They'll find themselves in the NCAA Tournament with another early exit.






Women's Soccer

Of all the fall sports women's soccer is in the best shape.  Karen Ferguson-Dayes lost two seniors (only one played more than 1/4 of the season) and lost a few transfers that were subs.

UofL showed improved work on both sides of the ball last year and made the ACC Tournament for the first time ever.  The also had no draws last season- a rarity in soccer.

As of right now I'd put the Cards at 13-4 in the regular season with trips to both the ACC and NCAA Tournaments.  They will not make it to the Sweet Sixteen.




Volleyball

Dani Busboom Kelly lost a lot of talent in graduating seniors and some transfers, but she was quick to
bring in new recruits and other transfers.  The ACC isn't dominant in volleyball like other sports, giving the Cards some cushion.

They'll finish the regular season 21-8 and get into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid even though they weren't one of the top two in the ACC.  Louisville will fall just short of a Sweet Sixteen appearance as the program continues to rebuild.

Like I said, these predictions are way too early and I will revisit these in August right before their respective seasons start. These predictions should give you some cannon  fodder, though, to make points and take issues with and those ccomments are always welcome in the comments section below.  For now, enjoy the WNBA season and some sweet summertime.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared

FIELD HOCKEY FEATURES LONG HOME STRETCHES, TEN TOP 25 FOES -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

One caveat we have seen here hold true at Cardinal Couple since the days of Louisville joining the ACC is...that if it is ACC competition, it's going to be tough competition. This especially holds true in Field Hockey, where the other six schools that compete in the sport besides Louisville all finished in the top 20 in 2018. 

Add in four other schools on the schedule that finished in the top 20, plus one that played in the NCAA Tournament, and the 2019 Louisville Field Hockey slate looks daunting, challenging and highly competitive. 

It is also an interesting schedule in terms of travel and home games. The Cards will play their first five contests (which include the annual Alumnae Game and a scrimmage) at Trager Stadium. Then, it's on the road for six straight. Beginning in October, it's back to Trager for six in a row, and then two on the road before the regular season home finale.

From 2018, the ten top 25 on the schedule are #1 UNC, #3 Duke, #7 Iowa, #9 Penn St. #12 Wake Forest, #13 Virginia, #14 Boston College, #20 Syracuse, #21 Ohio St. and #23 Stanford. North Carolina was the NCAA Tournament Champion. 



2019 LOUISVILLE FIELD HOCKEY SCHEDULE 

(home games in bold italics)
( * indicates conference game) 


AUGUST

Saturday, August 24th. -- ALUMNAE GAME   1 p.m.
Sunday, August 25th. -- Scrimmage vs. Miami  2 p.m.
Friday, August 30th. -- Indiana  3 p.m.

SEPTEMBER

Sunday, September 1st. -- UMass  noon 
Wednesday, September 4th. -- Kent State  3:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 8th. --  at Michigan State  11 a.m.
Monday, September 9th. -- UC Davis (at Mich. St.)  11 a.m.
Sunday, September 15th. --  at Ohio State  1 p.m.
*Friday, September 20th. -- at North Carolina  5 p.m.
*Friday, September 27th. -- at Boston College  6 p.m.
Sunday, September 29th. -- at Providence  1 p.m.

OCTOBER

*Friday, October 4th. -- Wake Forest  6 p.m.
Sunday, October 6th. -- Penn State  noon
*Friday, October 11th.  -- Virginia  6 p.m.
Tuesday, October 15th. -- Stanford  noon
Saturday, October 19th. -- Longwood  noon
Sunday, October 20th. -- Iowa  1 p.m.
Thursday, October 24th. -- at William and Mary  6 p.m.
*Saturday, October 26th. -- at Duke  noon

NOVEMBER 

*Saturday, November 2nd. -- Syracuse  1 p.m.

November 6th.10th.  ACC Tournament  Chestnut Hill, MA.

November 16th.-17th.   NCAA Tournament 1st and 2nd rounds

November 22nd.-24th.  NCAA Tournament Championships   Winston-Salem, NC

The era of All-Universe goalkeeper Ayeshia McFerran has ended with her graduation. Senior Hollyn Barr saw the backup minutes between the pipes last year and the Cards also have sophomore Sam Minrath, from Louisville's Christian Academy, for goalkeeping needs. 

Besides McFerran's graduation, the Cards also lose Maria Gomez, Taylor Stone and Katie Walsh via diploma route. 

Who's back? Some names you might want to get familiar with are: 

On the attack, the Cards have their top three leading scorers back in Bethany Russ, Erica Cooper and Mercedes Pastor. Complimenting them on offense are Alli Biiting, Katie Schneider and Whena Munn. Katie's sister Meghan Schneider returns and veteran Carter Ayars will grace Trager also. The Cards return 19 letter-winners in all from 2018. 

Justine Sowry also has seven freshman for the 2019 class on campus. From Louisville, Mattie Tabor (Sacred Heart) and India Reed (Manual). Joining them are a pair of players from the Netherlands in Julie Kouijzer and Thirsa Kho. Emilia Kacmarczyk hails from England and Minna Tremonti (Ann Arbor, MI) and Margot Lawn (Pasadena, MD) round out the newbies. 

The Cards went 13-6 last season with a 3-3 ACC record. They fell to Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Tournament and were not selected for the NCAA Tournament. 


88 days until the water cannons and competition begin at Trager. We'll keep you updated here at CARDINAL COUPLE with news as it develops. 


Have a thoughtful Tuesday,


Paulie

MEMORIAL DAY -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WHY DO WE CELEBRATE MEMORIAL DAY? 

Memorial Day is a Federal holiday here in the United State on which we pay tribute and remember those who have died while serving in our nation's Armed Forces. It is a holiday now set for the final Monday in May. In years past, May 30th. was the official date for Memorial Day. 

As our nation grows older and the times of "world-wars" becomes more and more of a faint memory to many, it is a holiday that may be misunderstood at times. Yes, it is a extra day off this weekend for many. There are picnics, events and get-togethers over the Memorial Day weekend that don't exactly fall in theme or step with why the holiday was established....but it is a tribute, a remembrance of those who "gave all" for our freedoms. 

Do you have anyone in your family or friendship circle who died while in service of our Armed Forces?  I have previously mentioned my Uncle Martin here at the site, who died while in the Pacific in 1944 when a violent typhoon overtook his ship and killed almost 200 of his fellow shipmates and him. 

Here's another one who "gave all" that I knew. 

I recently found out more about someone who had been influential in my early days...someone who died in Vietnam on Aug. 17th, 1968. Steve Tully was an Air Force sergeant who was killed in combat.

STEVE TULLY

Steve was one of my "volunteer" coaches when I played Fern Creek Optimist Softball in the summer of 1965. He was not drafted into the Air Force, the draft didn't start until the year after he died, he was thinking about enlisting in the Air Force and was basically "killing time" around the Fern Creek area...graduated from high school but not sure what he wanted to do yet. Working with kids, doing odd jobs and such until he decided. He didn't want to go to college, although, from what I recall, certainly had the grades for it.


He worked with me, as I was a pitcher -- on my stride, loft of ball and placement. He spent a lot of practices "catching me" while the rest of the kids got to do all the fun stuff like hit, play infield and outfield, slide and run.  

This was "slow-pitch" and I remember we had a pretty good team. I have old 8 mm movie reels from my parents' collection, that show me striking kids out or getting them to ground out and me running the bases after getting a hit, showboating and showing no respect for my opponents or the game...I was tall, lanky, skinny kid with a buzz hair-cut, glasses and ears the size of Montana -- sporting an old Cincinnati Reds ball cap and a hardware store-sponsor green t-shirt. 

Heck, I looked like a younger version of Steve. Maybe that's why we got along. 

I seem to recall he was a bit of a "jokester" as well. We had a par-3 golf course back out behind our house and the story was he would, occasionally, "caddie" out there and humorously sometimes replace a real golf ball with a plastic one, much to the surprise of the golfer he was caddying for. 

He was Beatles and Stones. Me and my boys were trying to figure out the lyrics to "Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs" Wooly Bully...and we thought the theme to "Bonanza" was cool.

His mother, Roberta Tully, was an art teacher at my my high school at the time, I had her for 7th grade art, and she progressed through the Jefferson County Board of Education ranks from teacher to administrator to do some very wonderful things and eventually had a grade school named after her in Jeffersontown after she retired. She and my Mom were in a "women's club" together and both judged the annual Fern Creek Art Fair.


People were rioting out in California and...although me and my gang didn't exactly understand why, we knew it had something to do about freedom, black people and rights.
Why couldn't they have the rights we did? Fern Creek was rural, not many African-American families at all. We didn't understand, but, soon...we would. 

War to us was Gomer Pyle TV shows and late night WW II movies.  John Wayne and The Longest Day. That would soon change. 

Our country was on the edge of a cultural change and violent disagreement over it, the war and civil rights.

Ah, the summer of 1965. Fern Creek was a small town -- Andy of Mayberry-like-- rural back then. One stop light on Bardstown Road....in front of the high school. Two filling stations, two drug stores, five churches and three barber shops. No councilmen or state representatives, just a "constable". The "big time" was further north on Bardstown Road, where there was a shopping center housing both a Kroger and Winn-Dixie, Woolworth's, Liberty Bank and bakery.

Eastland Shopping Center. A neon light and sign out front, sidewalks and parking! No McDonald's, cell phones or Lyft. Just the old dependable bus line Blue Motor Coach that would take you to Buechel, (where there was a McDonald's, drive-in theater and a bowling alley) and back for 25 cents. My dad had a 1964 Ford Fairlane. With a "three on the tree" manual transmission. 

Steve Tully was killed in the Bien Hoa province...he was stationed at the Bien Hoa Air Force base.  Not many details from the official death list, just an accounting that he died in a hospital from injuries.  We were told at school only that he had died in service of his country. I can't rightly say for sure what immediate effect that his death had on my military stance and political viewpoints back then....too many years ago....but I think I did start to view those who served in a different light and it undoubtedly influenced my future thoughts and decisions. That and having a retired Naval Warrant officer for a dad. 

Mrs. Tully was off a few weeks after Steve's death and we had a substitute. I found out years later it was incoming fire from the NVA, shelling the airport base and surrounding city that got him. 

I'll think of Steve today and what might have been...if he had returned. I'll pray that we never have a conflict like Vietnam, or Korea or the World Wars' ever again. He paid the ultimate price for our country.

Remember our fallen. They cannot speak for themselves anymore. Would you do the same as they have done? Give up your life to protect others? This wasn't recording kills and shooting down combatants on "Call Of Duty" or some other online game. This was real.  

(We'll get back into UofL women's spots tomorrow. Thank you for reading.)


paulie
xxxxx

Track and Track plus radio -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

Cars Turning Left

Case will be the intrepid reporter on the scene at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for probably the most famous car race in the world.  The Indianapolis 500 will be contested today on the two-and-a-half mile oval in Speedway Indiana.

UofL Volleyballer Melanie McHenry is from Speedway, and competed as a Speedway Sparkplug for her high school volleyball years.  We love good mascots here at Cardinal Couple, and The Sparkplugs ranks right up there as one of the best.  Incidentally, Melanie also competed in soccer, and even football during her high school career and might've been able to go to school on her kicking talents instead of her ability to pound a volleyball into the ground if she had chosen that route.

I must admit to only being a marginal car racing fan, but having an engineering background, I do get
nerd sniped by the impressive engineering work that goes into the endeavor.  The quantities of telemetry data, and the horsepower of the computing systems to ingest, massage, and present that data in a useful way to the racing team so that they can make the best decisions about how to run the race is amazing to me.

Best of luck to the competitors on the raceway, and let's hope for a safe and clean race.  And to Case and the other spectators...plenty of water and sunscreen is the order of the day.

Track and Field field is set

UofL completed the last day of the Track and Field preliminaries in Jacksonville, FL yesterday.  The Cardinals were not able to add to their record setting number of athletes that will be competing in the finals, but it was a good event for UofL just the same as they are advancing 5 athletes to the Championship in Austin, TX.

On the women's side. Ivine Chemutai qualified in the 10,000 meters, Makenli Forrest in the hammer and discus throws and Gabrielle Leon in the pole vault. Martice Moore (400m hurdles) and Albert Kossei (3000m steeplechase) qualified for the men. 

The Championship event will take place June 5th through 8th at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of The University of Texas.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

UofL Athletics events are getting thin on the ground, and so was the crew in the studio at WCHQ yesterday..

 (Well, no one has called me thin in quite a while, but there were only two of us in the studio, is what I mean).

Paulie and I held down the fort while Case was heading to Speedway, Jared is enjoying time with his delightful lady friend, Katy, in South Carolina and Daryl has been having a grand old time...across the nation. I think she's in Daytona, now?  I can't keep up with her.

We did have a good discussion and analysis of the soccer and volleyball schedules that have been released...you can see me get almost deliriously excited about a volleyball schedule with the whole non-conference slate taking place within 200 miles of Louisville, making it all oh-so-very road-trippable.

We also caught up on Cards in the WNBA.  Also note that Paulie introduced a section on the right side of the site that will be updated periodically with some results from our WNBAers.

Also, you can see how I react to trying to co-host a radio show, while also trying to triage and investigate a fiber cut in New Jersey...the joys of on-call rotation in Network Engineering.

We did not have a Cardinal Couple quiz but Paulie asked me and phone guest Jared Anderson a couple of WNBA questions.

1) Do you know how many colleges and universities are represented in the WNBA? 2) Which school currently has the most players in the WNBA? Check out the re-broadcast of the show below for the answers to these questions.

Check it all out at the Facebook Live replay at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/560900604438550/

-- 

JMcA

Track and Field at NCAAs; Soccer Schedule Announced -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

New School Record for NCAA Qualifiers

After the second day of competition, UofL track and field has raised its number of qualifiers for the NCAA Championships in Austin to five in six events. On Thursday, Ivine Chemutai came in 12th in the women's 10,000m run, which was the final qualifying spot. Dorcas Wasike did not run in this event. While I'm still unclear about qualifications for the NCAA Championships, everything that I have seen points to needing to participate in the regional to advance. If that is the case, Wasike will not be looking to improve upon her finish in last year's championships.

Also advancing Thursday was Makenli Forrest in the hammer throw, where she placed ninth. Forrest would improve her weekend as Friday, she advanced to the championships in discus as well, placing sixth. Gabriela Leon placed ninth in the pole vault, Martice Moore finished second overall in 400m hurdles (setting his second school record in as many days), and Albert Kosgei set a new personal best on his way to finishing fourth in the 3,000m steeplechase. 

The regional event ends today with just a few more events with Louisville athletes looking to add to the number of school qualifiers. Field events will begin at 2:45 p.m. and track events at 6 p.m.. The NCAA Championships will begin in Austin, Texas on June 5th. 

Soccer Takes on 10 NCAA Teams in 2019

It must be schedule week, as women's soccer joined the teams announcing their opponents for the upcoming year. Louisville will take on ten teams that were in last year's NCAA tournament, while also pulling top-ten Duke and NCAA runner-up UNC out of the conference pot for the season. Working in the Cards favor for the overall schedule is that all but one non-conference game will be played in Lynn Stadium. I'm not certain how the NCAA lets a team get away with scheduling like that, but I won't complain as long as the Cards can take care of business at home.

Louisville will open the season in 86 days with an exhibition in Lynn Stadium against the Butler Bulldogs. Following that one will be the only away game of the non-con, as the Cards head to Columbus to take on Ohio State. Louisville then plays seven straight home games starting on August 25th with Morehead State and ending on September 21st with North Carolina. The Cards common non-conference opponents from last season are Morehead State and Dayton. Louisville beat MSU in an exhibition 4-0 and took down Dayton on the road 1-0. The non-conference schedule also includes St. Louis, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, and Vanderbilt. It will certainly not be a cakewalk.

In conference play, Louisville will take on eight common opponents from last season. Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh drop off the schedule in favor of Boston College and Clemson. In nine games against those eight opponents last season (Louisville faced Virginia in the ACC tournament), the Cards finished 5-4. All four losses came to UNC (5-1 on the road being the worst loss of the season), Duke, and Virginia. Both losses to Virginia were in Lynn Stadium while the others were on the road.  This year, Louisville will not travel to the Carolinas at all during the regular season as all four North Carolina teams and Clemson will head to Lynn Stadium. Those five ACC home games will be a ton of fun to watch, and the Cards will need some home field advantage in a couple of them. 

Louisville wraps the regular season this year on Halloween night against the NC State Wolfpack. It would be nice to have 6 or 7 conference wins already to that point, but I would also accept having three or fewer conference losses.

This is a tough schedule, both in and out of conference, but Louisville showed signs of a big leap offensively last season. Without losing a lot of offensive production, as Kennadi Carbin was out most of the season, all eyes will turn to the defense without Gabrielle Vincent. Sarah Hernandez was good in her freshman season as a centerback, but the question will be who steps next to her. Maisie Whitsett found herself in that spot during some spring ball, but she was tied for the team lead in goals last year and is still listed as a MF/F on the roster. I'd expect that we see Niamh Nelson slide in to the middle and allow a more attacking minded player to pick up outside back spot opposite Arianna Ferraro.

The roster is currently thin on defenders, so I suspect some of the incoming freshman will change that, but I don't know that Karen Ferguson-Dayes would like to put a freshman next to her sophomore in the middle. Either way, Gabby Kouzelos will look to improve upon her (already good) mark of 1.06 goals allowed per game from last season. We'll find out how it all shakes out in just a few short months.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

As Jared mentioned yesterday, the studio will be thin this morning as Jeff and Paulie hold down the fort.

I'm headed to Speedway, Indiana, where I'll be hoping desperately for a 6-8 hour window of no rain on Sunday. The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour this week will cover some track happenings, discussion about the released schedules, surely some WNBA news.

The Famous Worldwide Quiz will take a break this week, since it would be basically Jeff vs. the quiz.

A mid-show call to Jared Anderson is also on the agenda. He's currently in South Carolina doing recon work on Clemson basketball and boiled peanuts.

Tune in to the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour at 11AM on WCHQ FM. WCHQ is available on 100.9 FM, at wchqfm.com, the WCHQ App, and on Facebook Live.

LINK:  www.wchqfm.com

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

AC, AD, VB and CC from Jared Anderson -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

(NOTE: PAULIE IS TRANSCRIBING JARED ANDERSON'S FRIDAY ARTICLE HERE TO THE SITE TODAY. THE HEADLINE IS NOT JARED'S IDEA OF SOME NEW TWO-LETTER INITIALS FOR STATES...BUT, THAT COULD BE INTERESTING...LIKE ARIZONA DRYLANDS FOR A.D. OR COSMIC CALIFORNIA FOR C.C. -- O.K., HERE'S THE ARTICLE)  


CARTER, DURR MAKE THE CUTS. 

Good news in the realm of professional women's basketball....WNBA style. 

Asia Durr and Arica Carter were both announced to their respective WNBA team rosters yesterday.  Durr, who went second overall in the WNBA Draft and wound up with the NY Liberty was, by all accounts, a shoo-in. Definitely one of the best women's college basketball players we say last season, or of this generation. She saw starts in the pre-season and we'll venture to say that stays the same in the regular. 

Carter, going in the third round to the Phoenix Mercury, wasn't as solid as guarantee for a roster spot. In terms of basketball IQ, Arica is one of the most knowledgeable. The Mercury roster is a interesting mix of six players with 10 years of NBA experience or more and three rookies. Add the coaching staff, primarily from Australia,  and 6'9" Brit Griner and you have an eclectic mix of age, culture and possibilities out in our nation's 48th. state. 




Cardinal fans will also be delighted to know that Myisha Hines-Allen returns to Washington's roster this season and Asia Taylor will be playing for the Indiana Fever. Nine-year veteran (has it really been that long since we've seen her dashing around Freedom Hall in the red and black?) Angel McCoughtry is also listed on Atlanta Dream's roster but won't be playing anytime soon because of torn ligaments in her left knee -- suffered in August 2018 -- .

There you have it, Cardinal fans. Five players, five different teams to draw your rooting interests. Sadly, the Washington Mystics prevented Sam Fuehring from making this a ""six pack of Cards" -- but she has been one of the strongest fighters to ever step on the court at UofL and it wouldn't surprise me to see her head overseas to gain valuable experience and give it another shot in 2020. 


VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

As spring begins to leave and summer rolls in, we have reached the point of the year where fall schedules are being released. Field Hockey issued their schedule recently and now Volleyball has done the same. 

The Student Activities Center Arena (SAC) has been renamed the L&N Federal Credit Union Cardinal Arena. They dropped a generous donation in Cardinal Athletics lap 

Will fans call it "the LNFCUCA"? That's rather unwieldy, so I expect either "the L&N", "Cardinal Arena" or...still, "the SAC" will be the terminology used when referring to events there. 

Here's a quick look at the schedule: 

AUGUST

The Red and Black intra-squad scrimmage starts things off on August, 17th. A week later, Miami (OH) pays a Saturday visit to campus. The Cardinal Classic is slated for the weekend of August 30th. and Florida, Dayton and Texas A&M are the invitees.

SEPTEMBER

A new tournament, the Fleur de Lis, will be hosted at "Cardinal Arena" beginning Sept. 6th. Tenn. Tech, WKU and Arizona State are the participants with our campus "serve and kill" girls. The Cards make a road trip, their first of the season, Sept 13 and 14 to play in the Lipscomb Tournament in Nashville. Purdue joins the two down there. 

Kentucky hosts the Cards on Sept. 20th. and UofL keeps traveling, to Cincinnati for Sept 22nd. volleyball against the Cincinnati Bearcats.

The start of ACC play gets underway in the final weekend of September, Louisville hosting NC State and UNC. 

OCTOBER

Georgia Tech and Clemson visit "the L&N" on the first weekend of Pumpkin month. The Cards go travelling after that, with four on the road at Duke, Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. Louisville returns home to close out October against Virginia and Pitt. 

NOVEMBER

To the road again for Dani Busboom Kelly's squad. Boston College, Syracuse, Miami and Florida State the venues before the Cards come home to take on Syracuse in a rematch on November 15th. The month and regular season closes out with Notre Dame and Miami visiting Louisville and a trip for UofL to Pitt on Nov. 27th. 



The ACC does not have a conference tournament for Volleyball. 

22 opportunities to see Volleyball on Floyd Street. 85 days until the action begins. 

You can expect Cardinal Volleyball expert Jeff "Worldwide" McAdams to break down and analyze this schedule and squad here at the site and on radio as the season gets closer.



CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 


It's back to the days of old when Paulie and Jeff will be the only bodies in the majestic, magical, magnificent media mansion on Mellwood this Saturday. 

Case is still watching cars turn left. Show contributor Daryl Foust's whereabouts are unknown, most likely rambling somewhere on her birthday month, Memorial Day sojourn.

As for me, I'm in Fort Mill, SC, visiting my lovely woman for the weekend. A potential trip to Charleston with her family looks possible as well. If you have any suggestions on what to do there, I'd love to hear them.  

I've informed Paulie I'll be available for a phone call Saturday for thoughts on softball, Volleyball and other assorted Cardinal sports subjects. 

I wrote this article on my flight to South Carolina, sent it to Paulie via e-mail and my I-Pad battery remained at 100% the entire time I performed the task. Thank you, God of Smart Devices, for the divine providence and guidance. 

11 a.m. Saturday for the show. You'll find a link below to explore your viewing and listening options. The show is broadcasted on Facebook Live, as well as regular FM  radio, on-line and by selected alien representatives from the moons of Mars. 



LINK:  THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR





Happy Friday and Memorial Day weekend!

Jared