International Volleyball - Sunday Cardinal Couple

 NORCECA Final 6

sfia Maldanado Diaz

Please don't ask me why the event is called "Final 6" as it's pretty much just one of many NORCECA tournaments.  A few weeks ago they held the NORCECA Final 4 with an overlapping but different set of teams.

In any case, the event is about to wrap up, with just the Championship and Bronze medal matches still to be competed today.

The Cards have four rooting interests in the overall tournament.  As was covered previously, Elena Scott and Cara Cresse are competing with Team USA.  Additionally, Sofia Maldonado Diaz is continuing her representation with the Mexican National Team, while former Cardinal, and Cardinal Forever, Wilma Rivera is continuing her role with the Puerto Rican Team.

 

Maldonado Diaz, is transferring to UofL from Arizona but due to national team commitments hasn't  made it to campus, yet.  Of course, the last time we had a 5th year transfer coming in late due to national team commitments was Raquel Lázaro who was busy playing for Team Spain, and she worked out pretty well for us.

Team USA came out atop Group A by defeating both Mexico and Canada.  Mexico beat Canada to be the other team to advance to the elimination stages.  In Group B the hosting Dominican Republic came out on top with Puerto Rico being the other team to advance.  Those results mean that the US play Puerto Rico last night while the Dominican Republic played Mexico.

The US and Dominican Republic won their matches last night, advancing to the championship match today, while Mexico and Puerto Rico will face off for the Bronze.

Scott and Cresse have only seen limited time on the floor, but have played well in the time that they have had.  I will argue that at least Scott should be seeing more time on the floor.  The other libero on the team is Lexi Rodriguez (Nebraska), who, unquestionably is a good libero...but Scott is better in my opinion.  When you add in Scott's undeniably better ability to be a "backup setter", it's clear to me that she should be getting more minutes on the floor.  Similarly, with Cresse, in addition to being the equal of the other middles on the squad she is clearly a superior server to them, and given that libero's can't serve in international play, good serving middles are extremely valuable.  But USA Volleyball, in their infinite wisdom, decided to put a second year Men's Volleyball head coach in charge of the team, and his perceptions and choices seem to be a bit different than mine.  (There's a rant to be shared here about the extreme political nature of getting playing time with USA Volleyball, but I'll skip that for now.)  Come on USA Volleyball, do better.

You can watch the championship match with Cresse and Scott on Youtube this evening at 7pm.  Youtube's search function has not worked well to surface the live videos from this event, but I have found success searching for "NORCECA Final 6 women 2024 live".  The bronze medal match, which will feature Maldonado Diaz and Rivera, will begin at 5pm.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

The CCRHP had a foursome yesterday, with Case, Jared, Paulie, and myself teeing it up.  Mostly we talked about basketball, and how we expect this squad, with lots of new faces, to come together and gel.  We did sprinkle in some news from other sports, including some of the above Volleyball material.

Find it at it's Spotify home: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cardinal-couple/episodes/A-Cardinal-Couple-Quiz-e2lf2lh

-- 

JMcA

Softball Active Early in Portal -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Aprile Adds Two Transfers

Louisville softball had an underwhelming year this past season, and they'll lose a couple of key names from that roster. As a result, restocking the cupboard will be task one for Coach Holly Aprile as she looks to improve on last season's results. She got off to a quick start on that front, signing two transfers already. Louisville announced the additions of Bri Despines and Camryn Lookadoo to next year's roster.

Despines is a rising junior originally from Creve Coeur, Illinois. She arrives at Louisville after two seasons at Kent State. Last year, Despines was named All-MAC second team, which came after being named to the MAC All-Freshman team in 2023. Despines will look to step into the role left by the previous transfer catcher who graduated, Kylie Goff. Despines started both seasons at Kent State, so this is a move all about stepping up in competition. Last season she hit .338 with a .408 on-base percentage. As part of her 53 hits, she had 11 doubles, two triples, and three home runs. She walked 18 times. Behind the plate, Despines fielded a .992 fielding percentage, posting just two errors against 25 assists. She had just one passed ball and caught opposing base stealers on 11/53 attempts. 

Next comes another transfer in the growing Kentucky -> Louisville pipeline. This one is a bit more interesting. After non-native Kentuckians Izzy Harrison and Chelsea Mack came over last season, Louisville brings in a home-grown player in Camryn Lookadoo. Lookadoo is a rising sophomore from Georgetown, KY. She won district titles with Great Crossing in 2021 and 2022 and a regional crown in 2023. As a senior, she led off and hit .471 with only two strikeouts on the season. In 2018, she lettered for Scott County High School's 2018 championship team while only a seventh grader. As a freshman at UK, the infielder saw limited playing time, getting into only seven games. She had two putouts and three assists on five defensive chances, but she failed to record a hit in six at-bats, striking out twice. When used as a pinch runner, she scored two runs. Like Mack and Harrison, Lookadoo will be seeking an expanded role at UofL where she will hopefully return to the form she had in her high school days. 

Despines and Lookadoo will hardly be the last transfers we'll see this season (likely out as well as in), so the roster has a lot of shaping up still to do. We'll see how the gaps get filled as the summer rolls on. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

(Lookng for  Daryl) 

We're without Daryl today, as she tries to beat the heat on the golf course in the yard. We'll still have four on board for this week's show as the news grows thinner but the fall draws nearer. 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

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

images in this article via GoCards.com

Summer Debate -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

The year and summer are absolutely flying by as we are closing out the month of June and looking forward to the 4th of July holiday already.   But you know what that means... halfway to Christmas!

Ok ill stop freaking you all out now but the good news is that were less than a month from the Paris summer Olympics and two months from fall sport action.   So let's get into some athletics talk, shall we?

Jared put some predictions out there yesterday for fall sports.  I like the volleyball manifestation!  Paulie was finally able to put out the addition of Amanda Butler to the WBB staff so I am hoping we can bring you some more content on that in the coming weeks as she gets acclimated to the position. And our pal Cortnee Walton is now the Director of Basketball Operations on the womens side. It's good to know the DOBO...

Fresh news out of the Cardinals program

Jayden Ulrich of  UofL Track&Field and Veronica Fraley of  Vandy finish 2-3 in the discus at the 2024 @usatf Olympic Trials with throws of 62.63m (205-5) and 62.54m (205-2), respectively. 

Fraley has already met the Paris Olympic standard (64.50m/211-7).

photo: Louisville Track & Field / XC twitter

But for now... in the spirit of the summer months and off season lets debate a few fun topics, shall we?

Gymnastics is the arguably considered to be the best summer sport in the Olympics.   Followed by volleyball and water polo.  

I've said for years I wish UofL had a a gymnastics team but I don't see that happening in my lifetime.  But what is on my list for this lifetime, is going to Paris.  I seriously looked at some flights to Paris about six weeks ago and it has been on my mind a lot so hopefully one day.  

WNBA jersey/situation are generally not good.   For a few reasons, the WNBA buying experience just isnt great.  Ive ordered a fair share of them over the last few years and between it taking over a year to acquire a Dana Evans jersey after she was drafted a few years back and the quality of the product.. they can sometimes have some cheesy ads and the logos printed are not consistent.  But the Emily Engstler Indiana Fever - Stranger Things edition was the coolest one but still had such missed opportunity.  The logos were heat sealed and the ads were screenprint.   The marketing team missed the opportunity to make the jersey reversible and flipping the logo just like the Upside Down   🙃🙃🙃🙃

There's also this whole issue.   👇👇👇👇

https://justwomenssports.com/reads/wnba-basketball-kelsey-plum-revenue-sharing-pay-gap/

Im looking forward to a holiday break next week, be safe out there and don't forget to put it in reverse, Terry! Put it in reverse, Terry!   👈👈👈👈 Click here

As Always, 
Go Cards

~Daryl 

Jared's Quick Predictions on Fall Sports Results -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jared Does Makes Quick Summertime Guesses

With most fall sports still one and a half to two months away, there is plenty that can change, including roster adjustments and tweaking of schedules. I haven't looked too deep into schedules and rosters yet so predicting results for the fall sports will be a little raw, but I'll try my best.

Women's Soccer

Photo by GoCards

Losing seasons for the past two years and the departure of key players such as a Ravin Alexander, Addie Chester, and Hayley Howard make things anything but easy. The non-conference schedule appears to be easy, but conference play is going to be tough.

The ACC had six teams finish with 10 or more wins last season and the addition of Stanford adds to that caliber. Three of the four Final Four teams from 2023 are playing in the ACC this fall. Expand that to the Elite Eight and there's five teams from the ACC represented.

This maybe the power source in the Power Five, or Four or whatever it is now...

An easy non-conference schedule should allow the Cards to get a few wins early on until conference play hits. Unfortunately, this sounds like another sub-.500 season for Louisville women's soccer with no ACC or NCAA Tournament appearance.

Field Hockey

Photo by GoCards

A large group of fifth-year players graduated following the conclusion of last season leads to starting role vacancies that need to be filled. The return of Aimee Plumb, Mia Duchars, Izzy Bianco, and Rylie Wollerton provide a strong core to build around. 

Louisville's schedule is continuously one of the top in the country thanks to difficult non-conference and conference opponents. Stanford doesn't bring much to the table in the sport, but Cal has had some success in recent years. Three of the four Final Four teams last season are playing in the ACC in the fall... sounds like women's soccer. Five of the Elite Eight teams hailed from the ACC too.

I have no doubt the Cards will find themselves in the rankings this season. I don't worry too much about ACC positioning due to the competitiveness, but a semifinals appearance should be an easy goal. This is another season Louisville will make the NCAA Tournament and hopefully reach their second Final Four.

Volleyball

Photo by GoCards

I'm going all out and saying this is the year Louisville wins the national championship. The Cards have made it to the Elite Eight in the last three seasons and the Final Four in two of the last three seasons. If everything works out right then Louisville's entire NCAA Tournament run could be played at the KFC Yum! Center.

The graduation of Aiko Jones is the biggest killer to the team, but the roster for 2024 continues to be star studded. Anna DeBeer and Elena Scott enter their final seasons but they have plenty of talent with them including Charitie Luper, Kamden Schrand, Phekran Kong, Cara Cresse, and Reese Robins. DBK and Co also brought in a strong freshmen class and transfers. 

Unlike other DI womens fall sports, the ACC is not the dominant conference in volleyball. Louisville, Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Florida State, and Miami have all had moderate to good success in the last few years, but UofL, Pitt, and GT have pretty much carried the conference in tournament time. The addition of Stanford adds strength to the conference.

We'll dive deeper into each respective sports' upcoming season as things get closer. We plan to have plenty of coverage for all three teams in the fall.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

CARDS WBB ANNOUNCE COACHING ADDITION AND PROMOTION --- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE-

 Tuesday was a big day for Louisville women's basketball. The Cards announced the hiring of Amanda Butler as a assistant coach and the promotion of Cortnee Walton to Director of Basketball Operations. 

BUTLER NAMED ASSISTANT COACH

Truth  be told, the Amanda Butler hire was well known in a lot of circles a couple weeks before Tuesday. W]hy the annoucement was delayed is anyone's guess...but the actual hire is a stroke of brillance by Jeff Walz and the Cards.  

We last saw Butler in her head coahing role at Clemson last year. She spent six years in Littlejohn Coliseum, getting the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament once. The 2023-2024 season had to be disappointing to her, and . obviously ,  the Clemson WBB fan base. The Tigers went 12-19 overall and 5-13 in the ACC. 

Butler made $305,000 a yr, at Clemson, No details were given on whatshe will earn at UofL. She'll reunite with the five star recruit she had pegged for Clemson last season -- Imari Berry. When Bulter was fired in mid m March, Berry decommitted a week later, Berry had been the highest rated recruit in the history of Clemson WBB.  Berry going to Louisville may have been a catalyst for Butler to apply for the vanat coachng jon and follow her former recruit, but  that's just pure conjecture. 

Walz on Butler; "She's a phenominal coach and a exceptional leader.  Her commitment to excellence and abilty to connect with players on and off the court make her a perfect fit for our program We re beyond excited to welcome her to Louisville.." 

She's a class act, She was at Florida and at Clemson prior to the Louisville hire. We fel here at Cardinal Couple that you're gonna love her as an assistant  and we are happy to see her on the staff. 

CORTNEE WALTON PROMOTED TO DIRECTOR OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS 

As they used to say in the old RonCo TV Commercials..."But, wait, there's more !!!"  

The Cards also announced Tuesday that Cortnee Walton has been promoted from Alumni Relations and Director of Player Relations to Director of Basketball Operations. It's a huge move fo rthe Cards, but no one is more deservng than Walton for the role. Walton replaces Macey Ford in the position. 

Walton was a five year letter winner in her playing days for the Cards WBB program and was previously at Georgia Tech as a Director of Recruiting Oeprations. At Louisville, her new duites will include overseeing the daily operations of the Cards WBB program and scheduling, team travel and other administrative duties. 

Walton on the promotion: "I am incredibly excited and honored to take on the role of Director of Basketball Operations. Lousville has always been home to me and I'm thrilled to be continuing to contribue to the success of our program.." 

Walz on Walton: Cortnee has alleays exemplified the qualitites we value in our program. Her leadership and understanding of what it takes to excel both on and off the court will make her the perfect fit for this new role." 

We love this for "Cort" and know she will do a great job as DOBO. 

paulie

Minor Volleyball Schedule Updates -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Updates 2024 Schedule

Photo courtesy of GoCards

Louisville volleyball has altered their schedule slightly for the upcoming 2024 season. Their are no additions or subtractions to the opponents, but we did see some date or time changes for the matches against Tennessee, Northern Iowa, Creighton, Nebraska, and Stanford.

Louisville vs Tennessee, Sept 1 at 4:00pm

Labor Day Weekend will showcase an exciting volleyball match between the Cards and Vols. The two foes will square off at the KFC Yum! Center late afternoon that Saturday.

Louisville vs Northern Iowa, Sept 14 at 1:30pm

Louisville vs Creighton, Sept 15 at 1:00pm

We don't see Saturday matches too often in volleyball, but the early season invitationals usually showcase some. In this case, the Cards will square off against Northern Iowa just after lunchtime. Creighton and Rice will kick off the Saturday right before. Louisville will then face Creighton Sunday afternoon the next day. With four teams playing in the Cardinal Classic, the KFC Yum! Center has the capacity to handle all of the fan bases.

Photo courtesy of GoCards

Louisville vs Nebraska, Sept 22 at 12:30pm

With a home football game happening on Saturday, Louisville Athletics wisely choose to have a legendary match between the Cards and Huskers on Sunday. This has the makings of a sellout crowd downtown. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of the ESPN channels pick this up. They'd be dumb not to.

Louisville vs Stanford, Sept 29 at 3:30pm

Here's another potential ESPN showing. This is a rematch from a five-set battle where Stanford came out ahead last year. The reason for the time change on this is unknown unless it is to help with viewership on the west coast.

We plan to have plenty of coverage for the upcoming volleyball season.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

WBB Roster as of 6/23/24 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 14 Student-Athletes listed on Cards WBB 2024-25 roster

Is it ever too early to talk Louisville WBB? We're under the impression that it is not, here at Cardinal Couple, so I took a little time yesterday looking at the most current roster listing for the UofL WBB squad for the 2024-25 season. 

14 student-athletes are currently listed, with a class break down of (7) freshmen, (1) redshirt-freshman, (1) sophomore, (1) junior, (2) seniors and (2) graduate players. First impressions are that this might be one of the youngest rosters Jeff Walz and staff have ever had here in his time at Louisville, and 14 players is one of the highest player counts the Cards have had in quite a while.

 A state or nation breakdown of the players is as follows: There are 10 from the USA and 4 from foreign countires. From the USA, (4) players are from California, (2) from Florida, and (1) each hail from Tennessee, Florida , Michigan and Kentucky. The (4) foreign country players are from Canada, Nigeria, Turkey and Austrailia.  Russell is the Canada player, Istanbullouglu from Turkey, Imafidon from Nigeria and Jeffermans is the Aussie. 

Seven of the Cards are listed as guards, six as forwards and one as a center. Jayda Curry is the shortest at 5'6"  and Eseosa Imafidon the tallest at 6'5" 

Only six were on last year's Cardinals roster:  Olivia Cochran, Jayda Curry, Merissah Russell, Elif Istanbulluoglu, Esesosa Imafidon and Nyla Harris. Ja'Leah Williams began her college career at Miami (FL). 

Three of the Cards last name begins with the letter "R"...(Merissah) RUSSELL, (Tajianna) ROBERTS and (Mackenly) RANDOLPH.  

 

( I left for florida..who am i?)

Two of the freshman are from the same high school, Izela Arenas and Mackenly Roberts, who went to Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth, CA. 

We'll have much more about the 2024-25 roster as the season gets closer,but thought you might like to get a introductory look on who will be Cards WBB players in the upcomng season. 

Here's a quick quiz for you to see what other things you may have already known about the squad...

1) Who is the lone Kentucky H.S. player? She went to Sacred Heart, if that helps....

2) Who is the leading, returning scorer? Olivia Cochran or Nyla Harris?

3) Which Canadian province is Merissah Russell from?  Ottawa, Ontario or British Coulmbia?

4) Which incoming freshman originally was headed to Clemson but switched to Louisville?

5) Where did Jayda Curry begin her college career? 

*******************************************************************************************************

ANSWERS: 

1) Reagan Bender, The guard from Louisville helped Sacred Heart win the stste title, 

2) Olivia Cochran, but not by much. she averaged 10.8 but Nyla Harris was close at 10.4

3) Ontario, The most populated of Canada's provinces. It's where Toronto is. 

4) Imari Berry . The five star recruit backed out of he Tigers commit to be a Card. 

5) Jayda Curry began at California, where she was Pac 12 Freshman of the Year. 

So....How'd you do? 

5 for 5 -- Take your seat next to WBB SID Matt Paras. 

4 for 5 -- Not bad, if these were free throws, Walz would be happy

3 for 5 -- You need to pay more attention to the team and not Jared on the sideline

2 for 5 --  Daryl's cat picked two for five, just to show you where your "smarts" level is

1 for 5 --  Welcome to the ACC,.. former Pac 12 follower! 

0 for 5 --  You are a UK fan spying on the Cards. Go back to Kittyland. 

Have a marvelous Monday,

paulie

Sunday Cardinal Couple - Volleyball National Team: The Next Generation

Volleyball National Team Selections

Two VolleyCards were picked to play on the US National Team's squad in the NORCECA Final 6 competition in the Dominican Republic this week.  Cara Cresse and Elena Scott will be representing the red, white, and blue, but mostly red, when the team plays in Santo Domingo.

As I understand it, the roster for this tournament would normally be selected from the senior national team pool, but as that group of players is busy in preparations for the Olympics in a month, USA Volleyball is taking the opportunity to get a bit of a jump start on "The Next Generation" of the national team roster.

Karch Kiraly was quoted as saying, “We are treating NORCECA Final 6 as the first tournament of the new Olympic cycle that eventually leads to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles."

Anna DeBeer was named as an alternate for the squad.

, and

The 14 player squad:

1 Olivia Babcock (Opp, 6-4, Los Angeles, Calif., Pitt)
2 Merritt Beason (Opp, 6-3, Gardendale, Ala., Univ. of Nebraska)
3 Carter Booth (MB, 6-7, Englewood, Colo., Univ. of Wisconsin)
4 Cara Cresse (MB, 6-6 Fort Wayne, Ind., Univ. of Louisville)
6 Sophie Fischer (MB, 6-5, Fort Mill, S.C., Univ. of Georgia)
7 Sarah Franklin (OH, 6-4, Lake Worth, Fla., Univ. of Wisconsin)
8 Eva Hudson (OH, 6-1, 2004, Fort Wayne, Ind., Purdue)
9 Taylor Landfair (OH, 6-4, Plainfield, Ill., Univ. of Nebraska)
10 Khori Louis (MB, 6-3, Tallahassee, Fla., Florida State)
11 Kami Miner (S, 6-0, Redondo Beach, Calif., Stanford)
12 Jess Mruzik (OH, 6-2, Livonia, Mich., Penn State)
13 Lexi Rodriguez (L, 5-5, Sterling, Ill., Univ. of Nebraska)
14 Elena Scott (L, 5-9, Louisville, Ky., Univ. of Louisville)
19 Mia Tuaniga (S, 5-9, Long Beach, Calif., University of Southern California)

 

Looking towards Louisville's schedule in the fall, of the 12 non-UofL players on this roster, nine of them are on college teams that are in Louisville's schedule.  The only ones we won't be facing in the fall are Sophie Fischer at Georgia, Eva Hudson at Purdue, and Mia Tuaniga at USC.  The ACC is well represented on the squad with five of the 14 members, with Olivia Babcock at Pitt, Khori Louis at FSU, and Kami Miner at Stanford, in addition to Cresse and Scott.

 

Sofia Maldonado Diaz, who is joining the UofL squad this year from the University of Arizona has recently played on the Mexican Women's National Team when they competed in the NORCECA Final Four event, losing to Puerto Rico in the championship.  Mexico is also playing in this Final 6 event, but I cannot, at this time, find a roster for the team to know whether Maldonado Diaz is playing in this event for them or not.

 

The event begins Wednesday, with the Gold Medal match taking place next Sunday.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

The fearsome foursome populated the CCRHP yesterday, with Case, Jared, Paulie, and myself on the call.  My Internet connection failed very near the end, so I abruptly disappear, but I have it on good authority that the other three finished out strong.

Volleyball, Basketball, and more was on the buffet this week as we had our usual fun.

Check it out:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cardinal-couple/episodes/Volleyball-in-February-and-July-e2l6c13

-- JMcA

The Tiger is Out of the Bag -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Set to Add Amanda Butler to Staff

There is some news swirling around the Louisville women's basketball program. You may have heard of it. Certainly not from us, though, because we all agree we didn't say anything about it, right? Exactly. 

We all thought the news was set to become official this week, but it ultimately didn't. Nevertheless, Louisville's worst kept secret about their new hire became a little harder to keep under wraps when photographs of the team at bonding and charity events began surfacing on social media. Once someone noticed who all was in them, the announcement has just about been made for UofL. 

The person I'm referring to is Peyton Siva, who switched sides of the Planet Fitness Kueber Center to join Jeff Walz... I'm kidding, of course; it's Amanda Butler. Butler will join the Louisville coaching staff in a capacity that we aren't fully clear on yet. Perhaps Louisville isn't either, and that's what is delaying the announcement. The addition of the seasoned head coach will bring some new ideas into the locker room as the Cards try to find their way after a season of missed opportunities. 

Butler is set to join the Cards after being fired following her fifth season at Clemson. She went 69-87 during her tenure there, following her best season in her first year (20-13 and an NCAA second round appearance) with her worst in the next season (8-23, 3-15). Clemson hasn't made the tournament since that 2018-19 season, but they did make it to the WNIT Super 16 last year after a 19-16 regular season. 

Prior to Clemson, Butler spent 10 seasons at Florida where she won 20+ games six times and made the NCAA tournament on four occasions. Butler's head coaching career began at Charlotte, where she took the 49ers to the WNIT second round twice in a row after seasons of 21 and 19 wins. Overall, Butler's head coaching record stands at 299-226 with 13 combined postseason appearances. It will be interesting to see where the Mt. Juliet, Tennessee native ends up on the bench for Louisville, but it is highly likely that she'll serve as a positive influence no matter what. 

When we know more on this one, we'll be sure to share. 

Louisville Swimmers Vie for Olympic Berths

You may have heard about a major event ongoing in Indianapolis. The US Swimming Olympic Trials are being held at Lucas Oil Stadium, where earlier this week the record for the largest attendance at an indoor swimming meet was held. Small side note: my company is part of the dynamic design team that has transformed the home of the Colts into a massive natatorium for a week. I didn't work on it, but it's pretty cool anyway. 

Louisville has 21 swimmers trying to qualify for this year's Paris Games, and they're part of 1,007 total swimmers covering 28 events. The top two finishers for each event (assuming the times are Olympic A-cuts) will qualify for Team USA. The top six of the 100 and 200 freestyle will be added to the relay roster spots.

On the women's side, Louisville is represented by Gabi Albiero (100 Fly, 100 Free, 50 Free), Summer Cardwell (200 fee, 400 free), Mia Cheatwood (100 Breast), Julia Dennis (100 Free, 50 Free), Paige Hetrick (100 Back, 50 free), Lucy Mehraban (50 free, 100 Free), Christiana Regenauer (100 Fly, 100 Free, 50 Free), Rye Ulett (100 back, 200 back), Tristen Ulett (100 Fly, 100 Free, 200 Free, 50 Free), and Ella Welch (100 Fly). Today's events are the Women's 50 Free and Men's 1500 Free prelims, the Women's 50 Free semifinal, and the finals for the Men's 100 Fly, Women's 200 Individual Medley, and Women's 800 Free. Tomorrow will conclude the event with the finals of the Women's 50 Free and the Men's 1500 Free. 

TV coverage for the final two days of the event include qualifying heats at 6:30pm on USA Network (taped coverage of the heats from earlier today on Peacock) and finals at 8pm tonight on NBC. Tomorrow will also have finals at 8pm on NBC. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll have plenty to talk about, of course, with new additions to the volleyball commit list, the unofficially official Butler hire, and more. We're without Daryl this week, but we'll have four on the call again with Jared finally finding his way home from Lynn Family Stadium. 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

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cardinal Couple picks Performers of the 2023-24 seasons -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Good morning and happy weekend everyone.  We are super busy on campus onboarding medical staff so I am looking forward to this weekend to catch up on things I have been putting off.  

So lets get right into some Cardinals content.... 

from gocards.com

Jayden Ulrich has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Women's Field Performer of the Year

The junior also captured a pair of titles at the ACC Outdoor Championships while setting a new meet record of 61.31m (201-2) in the discus. Over the course of the season, Ulrich posted program-record and personal-best marks of 18.66m (61-2.75) in the shot put to win the NCAA East Regional title and 64.29m (210-11) at the Pacific Coast Invitational to move into the top-10 in NCAA history and establish a new ACC conference record in the event.

The native of East Alton, Ill. earned a total of seven event victories and 12 top-two individual finishes while eclipsing the 60-meter mark in the discus in six meets on the season and going over 18 meters in the shot put in three different meets.

Ulrich will look to continue her success at the United States Olympic Trials which will take place June 21-30 in Eugene, Ore. at Hayward Field as athletes from all over the nation will compete for a chance to represent Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. She will contest both the shot put and discus throw.

_______________________________________________________________

So I tossed this topic out into the Cardinal Couple group chat and asked who each of the contributors thought would be considered the 'performer of the year' across some of the programs we are most familiar with

photo by Jared Anderson)

(Alyssa Zabala)

for me (Daryl)
Anna DeBeer for volleyball

Alyssa Zabala for softball 

Olivia Cochran for basketball 

Jeff McAdams
Good call in vball, (Agreeing with Anna DeBeer) I think...only other contender there would be Elena Scott
For softball...Alyssa Zabala or maybe Riley Frizell

(Aimee Plumb)

Jared's Anderson's picks
FH: Aimee Plumb

Vball: Elena Scott
Soccer: Addie Chester
Basketball: Olivia Cochran 
Lacrosse: Kokoro Nakazawa 
Softball: Alyssa Zabala
Swim/Dive: Else Praasterink
Track/Field: Jayden Ulrich 

(Olivia Cochran)

Paulie 
Basketball. Olvia Cochran.
Cross Country.Rylee Penn
Field Hockey Aimee Plumb
Golf Hana Ryskova
Lax Kokoro Nakazawa 
Soccer Ravin Alexander
Softball Daisy Hess
Swim and Dive Gabi Albiero
Track and field Jayden Ulrich
Volleyball Anna DeBeer

(Erynn Floyd)

Case
Women's soccer -- Two of the people I'd be most likely to say both left (Addie Chester and Hailey Howard). Erynn Floyd or Karsyn Cherry would be the easiest answer.  I'm gonna stick with Addie Chester.

"GEE..ALREADY"  ? NEWS FLASH

It is also officially summer!  Its gross hot outside here in the Ville so make sure you wear your sunscreen and stay hydrated. 

As Always,
Go Cards

~Daryl 

Lacrosse All-ACC Academic Team -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

22 Cardinals Earn All-ACC Honors

Photo courtesy of GoCards

The ACC announced the All-ACC Academic Lacrosse Team yesterday and 22 Cardinals saw their name make the list. Louisville had the second most on the list behind Duke.

Besides being listed on the roster for their perspective teams, student-athletes must maintain a 3.0 GPA for the current semester, maintain a 3.0 GPA for their entire collegiate career, and have played in 50% of their team's games.

Photo courtesy of GoCards

Louisville's 22 players are: Sara Addeche, Cali Bishop, Allegra Catalano, Abigail Cole, Ava Coyle, Kylea Dobson, Lauren Figas, Karli Harnischfeger, Karli Kirchenheiter, Sydney Kirchenheiter, Madi McKee, Maggie McMahon, Kokoro Nagazawa, Negai Nakazawa, Tiffany Natoli, Ashley Osborne, Ava Peers, Nicole Perroni, Marley Scott, Abby Scully, Izzy Seikel, and Olivia Toll.

We like to brag on both the academic and athletic successes of the student-athletes at Louisville and being able to maintain a high GPA throughout peak season is always remarkable. Louisville didn't make the NCAA Tournament in 2024, but made strides forward and put themselves in a good position for 2025.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

LaMont Russell gets a second gig with USA Women's basketball -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LAMONT RUSSELL BACK AS USA U 18 VIDEO COORDINATOR

Lamont Russell is the kind of guy that everyone likes and he seems to like everyone back in return. I remember meeting him back in 2015 when he first came to campus to work with WBB and we hit it off pretty well and have been friends since. He never fails to greet me when he sees me around the WBB or at the KR FC YOM! Center. 

Others like him a lot too. He's been asked to return again (his second straight year) to be the video coordintor for USA U 18 basketball. 

No, tt doesn't mean he'll show comedies, dramas and mysteries to the squad on "movie night". A video coordinator is respondsible of obtaining film on opponents, loading it onto computers nd doing cut-uos, motivational videos and other assignments reltaed to video that the head coach or coahcing staff needx him to perform. 

The video coorinator's work can make the difference in a team beating an opponent or not. If a particular player has a "tell" or repetitive  move they use to score, and you discover it and tell who is assigned to guard that player...that 20 points per game average might sink pretty quickly . Back when I played, my "tell" was never wanting to go to the left with the left-handed dribble. . And, when teams found that out, my scoring and ball movement abilities were diminshed. 

Lamont, at Louisville, also gets to organize the male practice players...they are  the squad that  goes against the women. Being a former playerr in college himself, he knows the game and can teach it to his guys in a way that is going to help the women a lot . .  

The 2024 FIBA U18 Women's AmeriCup will be held from June 17-23 in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Team USA held its training camp in Colorado Springs before heading south to Colombia for the tournament. USA recently drew into Group B with Brazil, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The USA will tip off competition June 17 vs. Brazil at 4:10 p.m. ET followed by tilts against Puerto Rico and Mexico on June 18 (4:10 p.m. ET) and 19 (1:40 p.m. ET), respectively.

We wish Lamont the best of luck in his journey and hope he can help the USA squad win the FIBA Americup. 

paulie

UofL Women's Basketball Mount Rushmore -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Today feels like a good day to stir the pot. There's no better way to create controversy than creating a debate topic that you know will have several different opinions. A topic that makes its rounds about once per season is "Who Should Be on Louisville Women's Basketball's Mount Rushmore?"

People take different approaches with their reasoning such as individual stats and success, overall team success at the time, fan favorites, and success that continued on post-graduation. Our only requirement is that the four names you pick must have played women's basketball at Louisville at some point in their life, so no Jeff Walz, Sam Purcell, Steph Norman, or beyond eligible.

Jared's Mount Rushmore

Angel McCoughtry (2005-2009): In four years played at Louisville, McCoughtry was the team leader in multiple statistical categories for three of them. She is Louisville's all-time leading scorer and rebounder. She helped the Cards get to their first ever Final Four, before falling in the title game. McCoughtry broke several single season and career records at Louisville during her career. Currently, McCoughtry is the only women's basketball player to have her jersey retired at Louisville.

Asia "AD" Durr (2015-2019): Another four year player at Louisville, AD became the go-to player almost from day one. They led the team in scoring for three seasons and is second in school history in total points. AD became one of the top three-point shooters not only at UofL but in the ACC and country during the back half of their career. They were a part of the Final Four team that made its way to Columbus after winning the ACC regular season and tournament titles. They won ACC Player of the Year multiple times.

Dana Evans (2017-2021): Evans' career came to a close during the COVID-19 pandemic but that didn't stop her from becoming a prolific scorer while also being tabbed as one of Louisville's best ever defenders. She became the first player to ever win ACC Sixth Player of the Year one season and follow it up with as ACC Player of the Year the next season. She won ACC POTY multiple times. She was a part of the Final Four team her freshman season.

Myisha Hines-Allen (2014-2018): Hines-Allen was a walking double-double in the back half of her career. She is one of the few to be a part of the 2000-point club and even fewer to break 1000 rebounds. Hines-Allen was named the ACC Tournament MVP after the Cards won the title en route to the school's third Final Four appearance. In her senior year, Hines-Allen set the Louisville single season rebounding record.

Honorable Mentions

Sara Hammond

Becky Burke

Mo Reid

Sam Fuehring

Cortnee Walton

Shoni Schimmel

Mykasa Robinson

Jazmine Jones

Asia Taylor

Jazz Covington

Does your Mount Rushmore look different? We'd be happy to hear yours! No answer is a wrong answer on this one.

We may talk about this on a future Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

10 UofL Women's Swim and Dive Student Athletes to compete in Olympic Trials -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 10 UofL Women's Swim and Dive Cards headed to Lucas Oil for USA OLYMPIC TEAM trials

We all know that Arthur Albiero builds strong UofL swimming and diving squads each year at the University of Louisville . The 2023-24 women's squad was 9-1 in dual meets and also fared quite well in events like the Louisville invitational, NCAA Championships and ACC Championships, where the women finished second. 

In mid-June, the USA Olympic Trials will take place at Lucas Oil from Friday to June 23rd.  Ten member of the women's sqaud (and 21 Cards overall) will thry to make the USA squad. 

USA swimming has also rolled out a prime competing venue, creating the Lucas Oil pool in Indianapolis. which will also be able to hold 30,000 spectators. That's huge, considering the previous venue for Olympic trials was in Omaha and sat 15,000.

These women Cards will compete: 

-- Gabi Albiero (100 Fly,) (100 Free), (50 Free)

-- Summer Cardwell (200 Free, 100 Free) 

-- Mia Chitwood (100 Breast)

-- Julia Dennis (100 Free, 50 Free) 

-- Paige Hetrick (100 back, 50 Free) 

-- Lucy Mehraban (50 Free, 100 Free) 

-- Christina Regenauer (100 Fly, 100 Free, 50 Free)

-- Rye Ulett ( 100 Back, 200 back) 

-- Tristen Ulett (100 Fly, 100m Free, 200 Free, 50 Free)

-- Ella Welch (100 Fly)

We wish all our Cardinal swimmers the best of luck and great times as they compete to join the USA Olympic squad.

paulie