No News? -- Season Recaps -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ALL QUIET ON THE CARDINAL FRONT

With Louisville softball not being named to the 64-team NCAA Tournament, only Louisville track and field has anything remaining on their schedule this season. They will begin the NCAA Outdoor Championships beginning next Wednesday, May 25.

So, for the next week, we don't have enough games or meets to report on. Summertime arrived quite fast for us here at Cardinal Couple.

What do we talk about now? Well, whatever we want.

Before we eagerly look ahead to the 2022 fall sports seasons, we should take a moment to reflect on the spring sports.

Lacrosse

Still tapping on the door of a breakout season, Louisville lacrosse went 7-11 on the year with an early exit in the ACC Tournament. The Cards won one ACC game on the year, matching the previous year's total.

The Cards lost four matches by one goal each as well as one loss by three goals and four goals each. The difference in all of those games was the winning mentality that is still being established at Louisville. Turn those six losses into wins and it was a remarkable season.

The Cards relied on a pair of inexperienced goalkeepers that were near the bottom of the conference in goals allowed per game. With a full year under the belts, both keepers should be on pace for big seasons next year.

On the offensive end, seven Cards totaled double-digit goals with two scoring 50+ on the season. Three of the top five scorers were recognized at senior day, but Hannah Morris hinted on social media that she might return for her COVID year of eligibility. Bringing back last season's top scorer would be a major boost.

Where Louisville needs to focus on in the offseason is transition defense and draw controls, both categories that hurt the Cards throughout the season, especially in late-game situations.

Softball

Injuries and a few players with an early exodus from the program proved to be the Achilles Heel for Louisville softball. The Cards lost Charley Butler before the start of the season and Chardonnay Harris midway through the season. Easton Lotus went down halfway through with a knee injury and Hannah File nursed a leg injury on and off throughout the year. Gabby Holloway also ended her season early in the circle with a chest and arm injury.

There were positives, however. Holly Aprile had a fairly young squad. All six freshmen on the roster played key roles at some point throughout the year. Two of the four freshmen were key contributors or starters with the other two sophomores being the top pinch runners.

The supposed return of Taylor Roby next year is a giant plus on both sides of the ball. Roby was the top pitcher by more than 100 innings and led the team in home runs while standing top three on the team in RBIs, slugging percentage, walks, and plate appearances.

The Cards had a strong offense for much of the year, but went cold over the final four games of the season, scoring a combined two runs in those outings. Louisville batted .278 on the year and outscored opponents 276-260.

A 27-25 overall record and first round exit from the ACC Tournament left them on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament. Based on the teams that made the field, the Cards were presumably a first four out or next four out team.

With several pitchers slated to return next year and an expected healthy roster, the 2023 team has the potential to make some noise and get to the mid-30s in win total.

Tennis

Louisville tennis has had a love-hate relationship with their season. The Cards went 0-14 in conference play but had an incredible 8-1 non-conference outing for a grand total of 8-15 this season. The ACC is another dominant force in tennis and the Cards suffer from that.

Titiana Simova was the only player above .500 in individual matches with a 12-8 record. Andrea Di Palma went 9-11 and Chelsea Sawyer went 8-13 while the rest of the team combined for 15 wins.

Minus the shortened COVID-19 season, Louisville has not had a winning season since 2016-2017 and has plenty of work to do to get back to that point.

Rowing

We were able to go over the season for Louisville rowing on our podcast over the weekend in depth. The Cards have had a slow, but steady climb over the last several years.

While program bests and stronger finishes continue to become more common, there remains a noticeable gap between the Cards and the top teams in the conference.

Patience might be the biggest key for Louisville rowing in the next few years.

Golf

Without a doubt having the best spring season of the recognized Louisville women's sports, Louisville golf had another great season. The Cards went to an eighth straight NCAA Regional.

They had a pair of wins in the Illinois Invitational and The Club at Olde Stone Intercollegiate. The Cards then sat in the middle of the pack going into the final day of the ACC Championships before struggling on the final day and dropping down. They wrapped up the season finishing tied for seventh in the NCAA Regional behind all higher-ranked teams.

With the exception of Kendall Griffin, Louisville can bring back the rest of the team in terms of eligibility as Mairead Martin and Lauren Thibodeau both have a COVID year should they choose to use it.

Track and Field

Their season isn't quite done so we won't recap their season yet, but they had a strong outing at the ACC Outdoor Championships with a plethora of individual honors and podium finishes. Could the Cards bring home some hardware from the NCAA Championships? Absolutely.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared