International Softball, USA U 19 with the win and The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

International Softball

As I was travelling to and in Canada for the latter half of the week, I'm in a bit of an International mood.

And so it is that we're going to explore the summer of a former Cardinal in international competition.

Alicja Wolny, a standout first baseman at UofL has been competing this summer with the Great Britain National Softball Team.  Wolny competed with the Cardinals from 2010 through 2013, and since graduation has maintained her skills and athletic conditioning.  She was also one of the principals of 502 Softball Academy in partnership with Katelyn Mann.

Wolny put some extra effort to get into peak form earlier this year to take one more trip around the basepaths with the British National Team.  While she came to Louisville from California, she does hold a British passport.

The British Team, with Wolny, has had something of a whirlwind, Cinderella story, of a summer.  Not known on the International stage for high level softball competition, Britain put together a good team and started down the path to Olympic Qualifications by entering into the European Women's Championships earlier this summer.  The 3rd place finish at that competition qualified them to enter the Europe-Africa Olympic Qualifier event.

In the qualifying event, the Brits went undefeated through group play against Spain, South Africa ,and a quite good Netherlands team.  Advancing to the Super Rounds, they met the Czech Republic, the team they beat in the 3rd/4th place game at the European Championships.  With a 4-2 win over Czechia, they advanced to meet Italy in the final game.  This game was for the Olympic marbles, a win here, and GB goes to Tokyo for the Olympic games.

Alas, it wasn't to be, Italy took the win 5-0, and along with it, the Olympic qualification berth.

Wolny is officially hanging up her cleats and presumably returning to Louisville.  Will we find her in the dugout at Ulmer Stadium on the Cardinals coaching staff?  There are no current vacancies, there, but I would be glad to see it happen someday in the future.

It has to be a wonderful feeling to compete on such a high level in a sport, and Wolny and the rest of the GB team has every reason to be proud of the run they made representing a country that traditionally has not been a softball powerhouse.  They upset a few international powers along the way, and fell ever so short of their goal of qualifying for Tokyo 2020, there's nothing to be ashamed of, there.

I like to keep up with the ongoing exploits of former players at UofL, and I'm amazed at how often I find myself feeling some amount of pride at how they represent in the wider world.  I acknowledge that I haven't really done anything individually to share in any of the glory except to sit on the sidelines as a cheerleader, but I am glad to see these young men and women step out into the world and be great people, and yes frequently great athletes as well, but first and foremost great people.

They represent their hometowns (El Dorado Hills, California, in the case of Wolny), the various schools from different stages of their life, and even their adopted hometowns (as Wolny has seemingly adopted Louisville as home, now) in addition to their country.  We're all better off for having the presence of people like Alicja Wolny in our communities.

I look forward to seeing "The Big Wol" around Ulmer this spring, cheering on her Cardinals, some of which she has mentored, coached, and served as a role model.

Thank you, Alicja Wolny for a wonderful career in softball, and thanks to you, and all of the Cardinal sports alumni, for making the world a bit better place through your efforts.

USA gets the win

The USA FIBA U 19 USA women's basketball team, coached by Louisville head WBB coach Jeff
Walz,  took the gold early this morning in Bangkok, Thailand with a overtime, 74-70 win over Australia. A tight contest throughout all four quarters and the extra session.

The Australians led 23-22 after one quarter ans still held that lead, at 40-39 at the half. The "Land Down Under" women were shooting a sizzling 57% in the first half and used threes in the final minutes of each of the first two quarters to gain those leads. Aliyah Boston and Paige Bueckers were the key components keeping USA in the game.

USA fought back to a tie to end the third at 53-53 but the Americans looked to be in trouble when Australia forged ahead to a 64-59 lead with 2:39 to play. USA got a huge three from Hailey Van Lith, though, to get within two and Van Lith's jumper tied it a 66-66 with 12 seconds to play in regulation.

USA took the lead for good at 72-70 with 2:40 left in the extra session  on another Van Lith jumper. Rhyne Howard and Fran Belibi added baskets to give Walz's club a 74-70 lead late and that's how it ended.

Bueckers, who is headed to UConn,  was named the tournament's MVP. She and Howard (Kentucky) were named to the All Star Five team.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

I wasn't able to be in studio this week, but there was a full house there, with Paulie parlaying with Jared, Daryl and Case. Colin Trask came in to handle engineering duties, and let Case shadow him on the board side of the desk.  I was able to listen in, thanks to the wonders of the modern Internet, even as I was driving across southern Ontario.

The discussion included topics around Softball, Soccer, and plenty more. A CARDINAL COUPLE thanks to Colin Trask for admirably handling and teaching Case the board operations. 

The Cardinal Couple Summertime Quiz was on the topic of Jeffrey Jacob Walz, I was able to best the score of the in-studio folk, but was in turn bested by my mother who was in the car with me.

EDITOR NOTE: We'd need to see an official, authorized and notarized scorecard on the above claim here at the Cardinal Couple Worldwide Corporate Headquarters before we'll acknowledge the win. 

The Cardinal Couple Radio is on weekly on Saturday at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM here in Louisville, KY area. It can also be viewed on Facebook Live, accessed at the stations website  www.wchqfm.com and you can download the WCHQ app there, so you can take the station with you wherever you go.

You can check out yesterday's fun and see how you do on the quiz via the Facebook Live link, at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/746822729105560/

-- 

JMcA

Jared's Weekly Edition of the history of UofL women's sports -- USA U 19 over Canada 81-46 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SOFTBALL -- A HISTORY OF -- by JARED ANDERSON

Louisville Softball was founded in 2000 as part of a mass addition of sports programs shortly after Tom Jurich took over as athletic director in 1997. They prepare to enter their 20th season this upcoming school year.

Sandy Pearsall had been a head coach at Miami (OH) for the previous six seasons and was brought in to build the program from the ground up. And she did just that. Pearsall built a strong program that saw plenty of time nationally ranked and commonly appeared in NCAA Tournaments. The Cards won several championships during her reign and spent time in the Big East, AAC, and ACC. Pearsall recently retired following the end of the 2018 season. She finished her time at UofL with 718 wins.

Holly Aprile came in from Pittsburgh for the start of the 2018 season. She is only the second head coach for the softball team. During her first year as head coach the Cards upset rival Kentucky and took down Florida State twice in a three-game series. She prepares for her second season as head coach.

Softball has had one home in it’s entire history. Ulmer Stadium is part of Cardinal Park and was constructed solely for softball. When the Cards played their first home game it was the first UofL event at any part of Cardinal Park. The stadium has a capacity of approximately 2500 people and has been the host site for conference and NCAA Tournament games. Ulmer Stadium has also played host to high school softball events as well.

There have been seven All-American selection at UofL. Alicja Wolny and Katie Keller are the most recent with their selections in 2013. Wolny is a favorite to make the Great Britain Olympic team.

Louisville’s first win was a 1-0 victory against Western Illinois in their second ever game. They got wrecked 10-2 by Alabama in their very first game but finished the year with a winning record. 2002 and 2003 would end up being the only losing seasons in program history. The 55-5 record in 2012 has been the best season to date.

The Cards return a solid lineup for the 2020 season, despite graduation of "do-it-all" star Megan Hensley and Sidney Melton at "the hot corner". They return the NCAA leader in triples last season -- Celene Funke -- and eight starters. The pitching staff loses just Hensley and the incoming freshmen and transfers will create a  spirited competition to gain playing time. 

Even in their short history the Cards have faced a great deal of opponents. Their 27 wins against USF is the most against an individual opponent while their 25 losses against DePaul is the most losses. Their head-to-head record with rival Kentucky is even.

You can catch Paulie and Worldwide in the press box, often accompanied by Cardinal Couple friend Daryl Foust. You can find myself somewhere near the field taking pictures or cheering in the stands. Admission is usually free to softball games....the UK matchup  and NCAA Regional play would be exceptions to that. 

USA 81 - CANADA 46

Jeff Walz has always placed great emphasis on the squads he has coached playing solid defense. He got that early this morning when his FIBA USA U 19 squad crushed Canada 81-46 to advance to the semifinals in World Cup action.

USA held the Canadians to 16 first-half points.

"We did exactly what we have to do in order to win" Walz commented after the win.

After falling behind early 4-2, Walz's squad took control of the action and led 26-9 after the first quarter. They continued the defensive pressure and took the next ten minutes 24-7 over Canada. The Canadians shot just 30% from the floor for the game -- USA went 36-72 for 50%. Walz's squad had 13 steals and forced 22 Canadian turnovers.

Rhyne Howard rediscovered her shooting touch after an off-night against Germany with 14 points on 6-8 shooting. She hit two of her three trifecta attempts. Queen Egbo recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. USA out-rebounded Canada 52-29.

The USA U 19 squad advances to play Belgium...who knocked off Japan this morning 63-43. The other two semifinalist squads are Spain and Australia .  

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

USA U 19 ROMPS HUNGARY TO SWEEP GROUP C -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

95-50 ROMP OVER HUNGARY HAS USA 3-0 IN GROUP C

After a night off in FIBA U 19 action, Jeff Walz's USA U 19 squad came back in fine fashion and form, romping Hungary 95-50 early this morning. 

Rhyne Howard (Kentucky) scored a game-high 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3 and 6-of-6 from the free throw line; Paige Bueckers hit 5-of-7 from the field in scoring 13 points and dished out six of the team’s 20 assists; Francesca Belibi tallied 11 points and 13 rebounds; and Aliyah Boston registered 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field. Naz Hillmon-Baker came within a point of a double-double after registering nine points and 10 caroms.

Coach Walz was pleased. He cited better passing and finding the open player as the keys to the win.

Using a 24-4 run in the first quarter, USA lead 33-16 at the end of the first 10 minutes and extended that to 57-20 at the half. 

With the win, USA sweeps Group C competition with a 3-0 record and waits to see "who's next"? That opponent will come from Group D and whoever the four seed ends up being. Lativa is 3-0 in Group A play, 

USA won the rebounding battle 60-33, and had a great shooting night with a 55.6% on 20-36 makes and attempts.  

Apologize for the short article today...my Internet coverage is spotty at best where I am today.


Terrific Tuesday to you! 

Paulie

Basketball in Bangkok - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Basketball in Bangkok

We have been covering the U19 Women's Basketball World Cup being held in Bangkok Thailand, both to follow the accomplishments of Coach Jeff Walz with the USA team, as well as giving a little bit of attention to UofL signee Norika Konno.

The Japanese lost to Spain in their last outing, 79-65, with Norika starting and contributing 7 points with a pair of field goals and 3 free throws, shooting 40% from the field, and 75% from the stripe.

The US beat South Korea 89-67, with the top scorers being Fran Belibi with 18, Rhyne Howard with 17, and Queen Egbo with 14.  Rhyne Howard, who the Cards with face in the Governor's Cup game with Kentucky a just ridiculous 5 of 7 from three point range while Belibi and Egbo took care of the close-in game, each with 8 shots, Belibi dropping all 8 of hers, and Egbo draining 6.  The US shot, overall, 57.9% from the charity stripe, which definitely won't be getting them an F in the Fred Report, Norika will be taking that one home for the day.  They will get the R in the report, though, by out-rebounding the Koreans 55-23.

The US currently sits atop Group C with 2 wins, with South Korea still looking for their first win, leaving Hungary and Australia both at 1-1.  The US still has to face Hungary, who downed South Korea 92-68, and lost to Australia 81-71, on Tuesday.

Vlogs

Last night I discovered that Aiko Jones, who will be a red-shirt freshman with the volleyball team in the fall, has been semi-regularly updating a YouTube channel with Vlogs of her experiences here in the US.  Aiko hails from Kingston, Jamaica, so she has an unusual perspective on American mid-west culture.  I've had the opportunity to chat with Aiko a few times and have found her to be an intelligent and insightful young woman.  She's got a great head on her shoulders and has a great attitude on life.

Jones started the Vlog entries late in her senior year of high school in Kingston and has periodically updated it throughout the year, with the most recent being from a trip she took over the 4th of July holiday to Sun Prairie, WI with Claire Chaussee to her home for a visit.  You can see her skill, both at being in front of the camera, and filming herself, as well as with editing and putting together a story, develop as the Vlog progresses.  Some of Aiko's skills as a presenter come naturally, with her mother hosting a morning drive-time radio show in Kingston. (maybe "Mom" could assist the woeful Cardinal Couple Radio knuckleheads).

As someone born and raised here in Louisville, I find some fascination in the perspectives and experiences of someone from another country, climate, and culture, to come to Louisville and the midwest and experience life as we do.

Cardinal Couple plans extensive Volleyball coverage, as we do every year...so we'll be following all of Dani Busboom Kelly's wide-netters all season.

You can check out her Vlogs on her YouTube channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ5eMHe41l1pLy6T9NLBcSQ/videos

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

They still haven't changed the door and alarm codes at WCHQ, so the knuckleheads were back on the
air again, yesterday.

We covered the US U19 FIBA play, you can her me say, "Leggo my Egbo", so check out what that's all about.  Case brought us up to date on some UofL golfer outings, a brief bit about Case's extended family, sports equipment, and had a mascot edition of the Cardinal Couple Quiz.

Good fun was had as always, check it out on Facebook Live at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/635276230293953/

-- 

JMcA