ACC swim & Dive Championships -- WBB Final Stretch -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ACC Swimming and Diving Championships

Postseason is upon us for Louisville Swim and Dive. The ACC Championships begin today at the McAuley Aquatic Pavilion on Georgia Tech's campus. The events will run from Tuesday through Saturday.

Currently, eight women's teams from the ACC are located in the Top 25: #1 Virginia, #4 NC State, #7 Louisville, #21 North Carolina, #22 Virginia Tech, #23 Notre Dame, #24 Florida State,  and #25 Duke. That alone is the recipe for one heck of a showdown. Louisville has 17 women competing in the events this weekend.

Sophomore Gabi Albiero, daughter of head coach Arthur Albiero, will be one of the performers to keep an eye on as she is slated to compete in several freestyle and butterfly events.

Mariia Astashkina is back after missing last year due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and is a part of the 2018 400 medley relay team that set a school record.

Paige Hetrick had a breakout sophomore season and has shown her versatility as she will compete in events featuring all four strokes.

Alena Krauss, who has her name in the top ten in Louisville record book multiple times, will compete in several sprints in the freestyle and butterfly.

Rye Ulett doesn't even have a full semester under her belt at Louisville and already holds the school record in the 200 backstroke. Rye and her sister, Tristen Ulett, will both compete in several individual and relay events.

Liberty Williams has emerged as a star in just her first season as a Cardinal. On the season, she has three times ranked in the top ten nationally (2nd, 1000 free; 3rd, 1650 free; 6th, 500 free). The 1650 free, is a school record she set against Kentucky that Jeff and I got to witness, took nearly 16 minutes, which is an impressive feat.

Although results can often be delayed, especially with heats and finals taking place on different days occasionally, we will keep you updated with how our Cards are doing.

Women's Basketball on the Final Stretch

Louisville women's basketball has entered the final stretch of the regular season, with just four games remaining. It's a tight race in the ACC with Louisville (13-1) and NC State (14-1) vying for the ACC regular season title and the 1-seed in the ACC Tournament. Both the Cardinals and Wolfpack are expected to be 1-seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Virginia Tech sits in third at 11-3 with Georgia Tech and Notre Dame tied for fourth at 10-4. The Cards hold the current head-to-head tiebreaker over the Yellowjackets and Irish and will square off against the Hokies on Senior Day this coming Sunday.

Assuming both the Cards and Wolfpack win out, the two will share the honors of the ACC regular season title with the latter earning the 1-seed in Greensboro. However, with a little help from Wake Forest, Syracuse, or Virginia Tech, NC State could suffer a second loss and open the door for the top spot for Louisville to take.

There's too much basketball left to be played to worry too much, but the latest Bracketology has the Cards as the 1-seed in the Wichita Region with Arizona, Oklahoma, and LSU taking the 2-, 3-, and 4-seeds. Three of the projected eight ACC teams are in this region, currently.

Don't forget to start studying up for both the ACC WBB Pick Em and NCAA WBB Pick Em. Both will be here before you know it! And of course, tell your friends and family and encourage them to participate! Paulie is currently working on the gift cards that we award annually for the first and second place finishers in the contests../

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared