Spring Around the Corner -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Spring Sports "in" and Gearing Up for Action

We've been talking about it for quite some time, but with the calendar officially turning to February, it means spring sports are within view. Already, some have been in action. And the others are just around the corner.

We've talked about the track and field program having success so far this season, and that has continued with performances at three separate meets this weekend. That's right, three. The team added the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Indiana to the calendar, which was apparently a boon to Jayden Ulrich. Ulrich, returning to the state where she began her collegiate career, threw a new indoor personal-best for a result that ranked fifth nationally this season. Her throw won the shot put event by over a meter. Back in the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center, Ellie Maurer won her first event in the unseeded 3000m and Kiyah Yeast placed second in the 200m with a top-10 all time program pace. Natalie Lark took bronze in the women's pole vault. Lucy Fellows came fifth in the long jump.

Swimming and Diving have also been busy. After taking care of business against UK last weekend, they had a tough tri-meet hosted by Indiana last night. The Cards (M15 / W8) faced Indiana (M6 / W9) and Wisconsin (M22 / W14) and split the meet. The Cards topped Wisconsin on both sides of the pool but Indiana took care of business in their home waters. In the event, Louisville took wins with Gabi Albiero (200 fly, 100 free), Christiana Regenauer (100 fly) and Ella Welch (100 breast). Louisville took second in the 200 Medley Relay (Karoline Barrett, Welch, Regenauer, Albiero), the 200 freestyle (Summer Cardwell), the 50 free (Regenauer), the 200 breast (Kim Herkle), and the 100 fly (Welch). Julia Dennis came third in the 50 free, just 0.07s behind Regenauer. On the diving side, Lindsay Gizzi was top for Louisville with Else Praasternick in Doha. Gizzi finished fifth in the 1M dive and fourth in 3M. 

Louisville women's tennis continues to beat up on Austin Peay, as the Cards are undefeated against the Governors all time. Yesterday, Louisville won the head-to-head 5-2 in the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. Louisville picked up the doubles point and got singles wins from Germany Davis, Jamilah Snells, Berta Mirat, and Lillian Mould. Louisville moves to 3-1 on the season, suffering a defeat to Middle Tennessee last weekend. The Cards have a week off before taking on Marshall and Furman on the road next week.

Women's golf is enjoying some sun and warmth at the Guadalajara Country Club for the Collegiate Invitational. Through the first round and a half played yesterday (as scheduled; the second half of the second round and the third round are today), Louisville stands at 16-over-par and tied for fifth in the tournament's 12-team field. Florida State leads with a 4-over. Carmen Griffiths leads the way for the Cards, as she enjoyed a tie for the lead after a 3-under first round. The front nine bit back a tad in the second round, pushing Griffiths to 2-over through nine holes, placing her in a tie for fourth overall after 27 holes. Rylee Suttor and Hana Ryskova are tied for 20th overall at 5-over. Suttor had a 3-over first and is 2-over through nine, while Ryskova had to bounce back from a 5-over first and sits at even-par in the second. Play continues today.

Lacrosse and softball will become more than just hypotheticals this week. Both teams start their seasons on February 9th. While both are on the road, the situations are quite different. Louisville softball heads south for the winter (like plenty of other people in Louisville, to be fair) to get nice weather while there's none to find at Ulmer. Scott Teeter and Co, on the other hand, will head to Denver for what may be their most brutal weather conditions games of the season. Plenty more to come on those sports in the coming weeks. It's time to get excited for the dreary grayness of winter in the Ohio River Valley to wind down. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

I'm out of the show this week, but Daryl, Jared, and Jeff will still take you on the exciting ride that is the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. After all the air time we gave it last week, Louisville moved right back into the lead of the ACC the very next day. The crew will talk the two basketball wins plus whatever else Jared thinks of to get them on their way.  As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case