Volleyball Wins ACC Title -- Happy Thanksgiving! -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Volleyball Sweeps Notre Dame, Wins ACC Title

It was a great night for Louisville volleyball as they closed out the regular season with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-13) sweep at Notre Dame. The win also guaranteed the Cards at least a share of the ACC title, pending what Pitt does against Boston College on Saturday.

Pitt survived a scare against Georgia Tech last night, winning the final set 19-17 (play to 15, but win by two). A Pitt loss to Boston College on Saturday would give Louisville the ACC Championship by themselves. A Pitt win would mean the Cards and Panthers share the ACC title.

Notre Dame celebrated their final home match of the regular season at the Purcell Pavilion and the Irish did not want to go down without a fight. The hosts held a small lead midway through the first quarter before Louisville pulled ahead. The Cards held a small lead in the second set, but could never pull away as Notre Dame continued to battle close. Louisville made some halftime adjustments and cruised through the third set for the win.

Louisville finishes the regular season 26-2 overall and 17-1 in the ACC. They lost in four sets at home to a top-10 Ohio State team early in the season and lost to a top-10 Pitt team, whom they later swept on Senior Day at the L&N FCU Arena, in five sets on the road a few weeks ago. The Cards seem to sit comfortably in the top four spots according to the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

The NCAA Selection Show is Sunday evening, but it appears we could see Louisville host four matches, provided they win, here in town.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We typically don't do a true article on Thanksgiving, but we felt highlighting the success of Louisville volleyball important enough to break tradition.

However, we still would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We all have personal things to be thankful for, but here at Cardinal Couple, we are especially grateful for YOU, the readers. Cardinal Couple is nothing without you. Whether you just like to read our coverage on Louisville women's athletics, or you enjoy our podcasts, or you like to engage in conversation and discussion in our comment threads, we would be nothing without you.

Covering the 'Joy and Excitement of Louisville Women's Athletics' is a passion we all have and we strive to bring you the latest news and in-depth coverage.

We wish each and every one of you a safe, healthy, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving, and Go Cards!

Jared

PS. Paulie has elected to take Friday off from going to Louisville women's basketball vs Longwood as he continues to recover from COVID-19. He has entrusted Daryl and I to take the reins for the game so we will still be present to provide coverage of the game.

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

Volleyball Wins ACC Title -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Sweeps UNC for Title

Louisville Volleyball completed the spring portion of their regular season yesterday and, in doing so, claimed their third ACC title since joining the league in 2014. The title is their second outright, after they shared the crown with Pittsburgh in 2017. The title gives Louisville the automatic qualifying bid for the ACC in the upcoming truncated NCAA tournament which will feature only 48 teams. The Cards are ranked in the top-15, but were not mentioned in the most recent top-ten power rankings. Louisville will learn their fate during the NCAA's selection show on Sunday at 4PM. The selection show will air on ESPNU. 

As for yesterday's match, Louisville came out attacking early, as they jumped out to a 6-2 lead before UNC began to claw back. The Tarheels would get closest at 7-9 before Louisville went on a run to stretch their lead. Ultimately, the Cards would use a few point spurts, outscoring the Heels about 4-1 en route to a 25-15 first game victory. It wasn't all good for the Cards in the first game, as Ayden Bartlett went down with an apparent knee injury. This gave Cici Rush and Claire Chaussee a bit more playing time as the two would appear in all three sets following the injury. 

The second game was much tighter. Louisville was again able to pull out to a 12-8 lead, but UNC was not so easily deterred this time. The Heels pulled back level and the two teams traded points into the 20s. UNC grabbed a game point at 24-23, but Louisville was able to fight it off with a huge block by Amaya Tillman. After a couple of more trades, Louisville finally won the game at 28-26. The second game was Louisville's best attacking game, yet ended up being the closest of the three. The close loss gave UNC a big motivational boost heading into the third game.

The Tarheels came out hot, zipping out to a 7-1 lead. Louisville held strong, though, and three straight errors (two blocks) brought Louisville right back into the game. After a few more traded points and a tie at 11, UNC took a 12-11 lead for their last lead of the match. From there, Louisville went on an 8-1 run to snag a 19-12 lead, which UNC could not overcome. The Cards cruised from there to a 25-18 victory. 

On the whole, Louisville had an encouraging match in their final regular season action before the NCAA tournament. They hit for .288 and held North Carolina to just .080 hitting. The Tarheels did outblock the Cards at 9-8, though Louisville's were a bit more timely. The stat that still needs cleaning up has been persistent for Louisville throughout the season, and that is on the service side. The Cards finished with six aces compared to ten errors. The Heels finished with four and four. Louisville will need to clean that up to ensure advancement in the NCAA tournament. 

Stanford vs Arizona for the Title

It's a shocking all PAC-12 final in the NCAA Women's Tournament after a pair of buzzer beaters missed for South Carolina and Arizona led wire-to-wire against UCONN. No Cardinal Couple Pick'em Brackets selected this title matchup.

The first game of the night saw a pair of teams desperate to get through, as South Carolina fought back from multiple large deficits against Stanford. The Cardinal held the lead for most of the game and were the beneficiaries of a few helpful non-calls. The two worst offenses came when a blatant kicked ball was missed and led to a runout that gave Stanford a five point lead with under two minutes to go. A couple of plays later saw a full shove in the back go uncalled which prevented a South Carolina layup. On that possession, the Gamecocks were probably better served by not getting that call, as the out of bounds play resulted in a three pointer. 

Despite the calls seeming to all go against USC, they can't cry foul too much, as they still had multiple chances to win. They led by one with under 45 seconds to go but quickly ceded the lead. A turnover on the drive to the basket with 13 seconds left set up a foul fest to end it. With two fouls to give, USC had a couple of chances to steal out of bounds rather than send Stanford to the line. They did just that, stealing and driving with five seconds left. A layup attempt fell off the rim and fell to Aliyah Boston who had just enough time to catch and shoot as the buzzer went off. The ball clanked off the back iron and Stanford escaped.

In the nightcap, Arizona struck early and often. The Wildcats scored the first basket of the game, a three pointer, and never looked back. UCONN closed the gap to 9-8 with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter before a 7-2 run gave Arizona a 16-10 first quarter victory. They would go on to win the second quarter by four and carried a ten point lead into the half. The third quarter saw the most scoring for both teams, and it was also the only quarter UCONN would win. The Huskies scored 21 in the third, beating the Wildcats by one in the segment. It wouldn't be enough to spark a big run, though, as Arizona got their one point back in the fourth quarter, winning by ten in a game that was never really in doubt.

The title game on Sunday will be the third matchup between Stanford and Arizona. The Cardinal won the first two games by 27 and 14 points. The Wildcats will look to continue the trend of cutting that deficit and make it a closer game. Stanford reaches their first title game since 2010-11 and is seeking their first championship since 1991-92. Prior to this year, Arizona had reached the Sweet 16 just once and had not made the tournament since 2005. If you're looking for a Cinderella, you'll have to pull for a team with the same name as the team down the road.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

What a week it has been! From the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 to the volleyball ACC title, Cardinal Couple has been there for it all. We'll do our best to break it all down in this week's Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. With softball and lacrosse being on the road, we should have a full house for the first time in awhile. Tune in to the Cardinal Couple YouTube Channel at 11AM for the live show, or check out the podcast or rebroadcast following the show's airing. As always, we look forward to bringing you the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Lax Schedule Changes -- ACC Indoor Championship -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Lacrosse Sees Two Schedule Changes

Well, COVID-19 has affected Louisville lacrosse just two games into the season. Thankfully, no one tied to Louisville's program has tested positive, but Notre Dame is on pause due to positive tests. The Cards and Irish, who were scheduled to play this Sunday have postponed to Sunday, March 21, at noon. It is not yet known if Coach Teeter will try to find a last minute fill in for this weekend.

Hours after that Notre Dame postponement was announced the Cards saw a second schedule change. Cincinnati, who was originally slated to come in town on March 3, will now come to Belknap Campus on Monday, March 1. Start time is set for 2:00 p.m.

Louisville sits at #23 in the IWLCA poll and have started the season 1-1, both against then-ranked opponents.

Track and Field Begins Indoor ACC Championships

Today marks the beginning of the three-day indoor ACC Championships for men's and women's track and field. The entire event is hosted by Clemson down in South Carolina.

All eyes will be on Makenli Forrest, who recorded a season-best 22.16m in the weight throw recently. The mark is sixth-best in the NCAA this year and is ninth all-time in program history.

Halee Hudson also sits high on the list in weigh throw nationally. Her 20.79m mark in the weight throw ranks 16th nationally.

Gabriela Leon has dominated the record books at Louisville and has a season-best clearance of 4.23m and is the reigning Indoor ACC Champion for pole vault.

Dorcas Wasike owns the top three times in the 3000m and 5000m in school history. She has had high success in both races in the past with multiple champion and runner-up finishes.

McKenzie Bell recorded a personal-best 54.97 in the 440m a the Lenny Lyles Invitational this season. Her finish ranks second all-time at Louisville.

Purity Sanga also ranks in the Louisville record books. Her time of 9:44.69 in the 3000m at the McCravy-Green Invitational is fourth-best in school history.

Today's events begin at 9:30 a.m., and will run (figuratively and literally) well into the evening with a continuation into Friday and Saturday.

CARDINAL COUPLE ACC WBB TOURNAMENT PICK 'EM

Start studying for your ACC Pick Em. With COVID-19, the ACC Tournament is not guaranteed and may have last minute changes so it is not decided all what will happen for the Pick Em yet. We will run the event, though, and, hopefully, return the Cardinal Couple NCAA WBB Tournament Pick 'Em as well. 

Entry is free for the event. Once we know the bracket assignments (probably late night Sunday) we'll start accepting picks. If things go the way we think they will down in Greensboro, there will be one game on Wednesday, March 3rd. Thursday brings the second round with four contests scheduled. Friday is quarterfinal Day and four more contests, Saturday brings two semifinal games and the championship on Sunday.

ACC WBB Standings, going into
Thursday and Sunday contests. 

So, a total of 12 contests to make picks on. As in previous years, most number of correct picks wins and in case of a tie, the earliest entry in to us will break the tie. Different this year, unfortunately, is the COVID aspect. If a team tests positive and cannot play, that will count as a loss for you in your picks if you had them in your selections. 13 ACC teams are scheduled to head to Greensboro. All picks must be entered by Wednesday, 2 p.m. -- unless the ACC changes the schedule of events

Paulie has appointed me (Jared) as the Bracket Czar again this season. I'll track all entries and solve all disputes. Picks can be submitted several ways.  1) Send them directly to me at my e-mail address:  eupherjared@gmail.com  2) Send them to the Cardinal Couple e-mail address:  cardinalcouple@twc.com   3) Leave them in the comments section (the most popular way)  in Sunday, Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday articles next week. 

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Paulie will dip into the prize vault and offer gift cards for the first and second place finishers in both tournaments. He should have the type and denomination of such firmed up by Sunday. (Depends on how the panhandling goes...) 

Questions? shoot me an e-mail of raise it in the comments section. 

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

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Walz to Lead National Team Trials -- Sauer and USCMT Take Match One -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Coach Walz to Lead National Team Trials

Jeff Walz will be spending his weekend in Colorado Springs at the Olympic Training Center.  The 2018 USA Basketball Women's U18 Team coach begins his journey of continuing is dominance outside of UofL.

A total of 35 athletes will participate in the trials to make the approximate- dozen player roster.  The auditonees come from all around the country, with the nearest one to Louisville being from Indianapolis.  None of the applicants have signed a letter of intent to Louisville.

Walz doesn't actually hand select the roster himself, but just holds the honors of preparing the team to compete against international opponents.  He will be assisted by Delaware's Natasha Adair and UCLA's Cori Close.  Jose Fernandez from USF and Joni Taylor from Georgia are listed as the trials coaching staff.

Sauer and USCNT Take Their First Match

Molly Sauer is currently overseas with the US Collegiate National Team (USCNT) competing in a 10-day, five-match tour.  They began the tour with a victory over a professional Chinese team, Shanghai Bright Ubest.

The US took the first set 25-22.  They then fell 25-17 the second and third sets  Sauer's team rebounded in the fourth set 25-20 and claimed the match 15-8 in the fifth set.

As always, Sauer is dressed in the libero uniform, providing her defensive expertise to the group.  She is one of 12 members on the team.

Baseball Faces Duke

After a 10-2 victory over 9-seed Wake Forest the 5-seed Louisville baseball team faces 4-seed Duke this morning at 11:00 a.m., in pool play.  The winner will advance to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.

Louisville is currently projected to be a 2-seed in a region, falling just short of hosting an NCAA Regional this year and way off from hosting an NCAA Super Regional.

The game will be shown on the RSN Network. That can be several places, depending on what viewing device you are accessing it from. On Spectrum, it'll be Fox Sports South. That's Channel 70 for Louisville area viewers.



Mystics vs. Fever


The WASHINGTON MYSTICS improved to 3-0 with a 93-84 win over the Indiana Fever last night in Indianapolis. Myisha Hines-Allen, a reserve forward for Washington was an hour and a half from Louisville, and from accounts, a good-sized group of Cardinal and MHA fans made the trek up I-65 to see her play. Hines-Allen saw 11 minutes of playing time and gathered six points on 2-2 shooting and 2-3 from the foul line...and a couple of rebounds. She also was whistled for four fouls.  


Elena Della Donne led our nation's capital squad with 26 points and four other Mystics hit double figures in the win. After a tied first quarter, the Mystics grabbed a 51-44 halftime lead and held a 75-60 advantage after three before finishing nine points better than the Fever. Washington entertains Minnesota next, on Sunday.


Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

It appears it will be Paulie, Worldwide, and myself in the studio Saturday.  Case is not injured and is not preparing for another exam, he will be in Indy for part of the weekend. Some people turning left in cars or something like that.

Make sure to tune in to 100.9 fm (Louisville area) or on Facebook live at WCHQ fm to hear what us knuckleheads have to say.  As the Louisville sports season has nearly come to a close we will have plenty of time to talk about UofL summer activities and the WNBA among other things.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!


- Jared -

Louisville Rows to 5th in ACC Championships -- No NCAA Softball for Cards -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS FINISH FIFTH IN ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS

After a strong morning of preliminary and heat performances to qualify all boats to the finals, the Cards rowed to a fifth place finish in the ACC Championships on Lake Hartwell near Clemson Sunday. It's the third year in a row that Louisville has finished fifth in the competition...an event traditionally dominated by Virginia each year. 

And, this year was no exception for the Cavalier boaters. They took their ninth consecutive ACC title and won all five ACC finals events. 

Louisville did grab a third place finish in the 1V8 (First Varsity Eights) final..behind Virginia and Syracuse, who beat the Cards for the runner-up spot by less than two seconds. 

UofL placed two rowers on the All-ACC Tournament squads...Sophie Schulz made the first team and Violette LeGrand, a freshman from France, got second team accolades. Nine ACC schools compete in women's rowing. 

CARDS FINALS FINISHES

IV8 - 3rd
2V4 - 4th
2V8 - 5th
3V8 - 5th
1V4 - 5th

FINALS TOTALS

VIRGINIA        99 
SYRACUSE     77
DUKE               72
N. DAME         65
LOUISVILLE 64
CLEMSON      41
UNC                 29
BC                    22
MIAMI            22


22 teams will compete in the NCAA Championships, which will be held in Sarasota, FL May 25-27. Eleven conference champions and eleven at-large team will make up the Division I finals. Virginia, via their conference championships win, get the automatic and, if I had to make a guess...Syracuse and maybe Duke will get invites as at-large.

Virginia continues to be the team the rest of the ACC tries to catch...the Cavs won each final event by a minimum for four seconds....pretty much the length of one of the sculls used to compete in. 

It would take a minor miracle for the Cards to be selected for the NCAA Tournament, but, nevertheless...another strong season for the "Stroke" Cards...who have no local, home "water" of their own and have their practices and facilities off-campus on Beargrass Creek, near the Ohio River on River Road. 


NO SOFTBALL FOR YOU...

The NCAA Softball Tournament field was announced last night and the "Hit and Pitch" Cards were not included in the field of 64. 

Only two ACC schools made the tournament, Florida State -- the conference's automatic qualifier and Notre Dame, an at-large selection. FSU will host a regional and the Irish will head to Lexington in UK's regional. 

13 schools from the SEC, basically the entire conference except Vanderbilt, was included in the field and seven PAC 12 teams will also participate. 

The Cards last NCAA appearance was in 2016. 

Softball was the eighth seed in the ACC Tournament and advanced past Syracuse
to face FSU in the quarterfinals but could not get past the #1 seed Noles...losing 7-4. It's a bit surprising that Pittsburgh, who advanced to the ACC final game against FSU but lost, did not get a bid to the NCAA Championship. 

"Maybe we could rev up the General Lee
to get the Cards around the bases faster." 

The Cards do return plenty of talent next season, including pitchers Megan Hensley, Danielle Watson and Kyra Snyder...starters Celene Funke, Blaire Bass and a talented group of underclassmen that should make next year's competition for starting roles intense. The Cards have had some bumps and potholes in the ACC since their indoctrination into conference softball and post-season play, but that's to be expected when climbing up the competition level. 

Sandy Pearsall and her staff are committed to bringing in the best in local and regional talent and we, at Cardinal Couple, fully expect and hope to see a strong "starting nine" for Louisville in 2019. 

paulie
xxxxx   

PEASE EMBODIES ACC GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Unselfish Act Awarded by ACC

( One of the best feel-good stories of the 2016-17 season...in our opinion.) 

Rachel Pease ran Cross Country and Track for the University of Louisville. After starting her career at IUPUI, the Elizabeth, IN native came to Louisville to wear the Red and Black. 

Rachel was not the fastest or the most lauded Cardinal on the 2016 UofL women's Cross Country team. One act, though, will keep her in our (and hopefully yours) hearts for a long time.

It's late October and the ACC is running the ACC Cross Country Championships in Cary, NC. A tough and challenging course. Eight Cardinals answered the starting gun for the event and Pease was one of them. 131 runners in al would cross the line. Three of them ending in a most memorable way. 

Pease was nearing the 50 final yards of her run. She was in position to finish maybe in the 110's of the race...but something much more important caught her eye as she trotted toward the line. 

Boston College's Madeline Adams was in trouble. Less than 30 yards from the wire and unable to go any further. On her left side, Clemson's Evie Tate was trying to hold Adams
up to help her get to the line. They were struggling.

Pease made a decision. 

She stopped and grabbed Adams right arm. Together, Tate and Pease pulled, half-drug Adams toward the line. Adams wasn't able to help much...hardly at all...spent, exhausted and unable to support herself with her legs...but the duo slowly got her closer. They got her to the finish line and laid her down gently over the line. It mattered not that they had finished 126 and 127th in the race. Adams was disqualified for receiving assistance to get to the wire. It mattered not. 

Two that hadn't just run by and gawked. Two that weren't concerned about their order of finish. Two that said: "I will help." 

They had run the good race and finished with honor...no matter what their final numbers 

Louisville finished 4th in the event. Pease was the final Cardinal runner to cross the line that day but the one that won everyone's hearts and admiration for sacrificing personal gain and finish to show was good sportsmanship truly embodies. 

It would be her final race in college. 

The top seven runners for the Cards out of the ACC would go on to participate in the NCAA Regionals...where Louisville came in second.

Pease was not one of those...finishing eighth. A minute and twenty three seconds behind Louisville's seventh place finisher. Had she kept running...maybe she would have got to run in the NCAA Championships with her teammates? Or maybe she decided that she wouldn't and more important business lay ahead.  How would you react if you ran up on the situation? 

Tate probably could have finished in the mid-seventies. She spent more than just a few seconds by Adams side. A slew of runners passed the duo before Pease arrived. 

We think they made the right call. And...our hats are off to Tate and Pease for embodying the true nature of spirit and competition. For creating a moment in time that we'll remember for a long time.

Congratulations...Rachel Pease and Evie Tate...2016-17 ACC Good Sportsmanship Award winners. 

A link to the finish below: 

LINK: 2016 ACC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS


paulie
xxxxx

McKay leads the way in Baseball 10-4 win...Henderson throws today in NCAA Regionals -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

GRAND SLAM PUTS THE WHAM ON IRISH

The topic of conversation...when it comes to Louisville junior pitcher Brendan McKay...inevitably turns to whether he'll be both a pitcher and hitter when he goes to the major leagues. Or will he perform both duties? Yesterday, at Louisville Slugger Field, he showed once again that he's perfectly capable of performing both duties with aplomb...delivering a grand slam home run and pitching six innings of three run, eight strikeout ball from the hill in #4 Louisville's 10-3 pool play win over Notre Dame.  

McKay's blast to right field in the third inning plated a bag full of Cards. With two outs, Logan Taylor walked, Josh Stowers beat out an infield single and Devin Hairston took a pitch off the wrist to set the stage for McKay's fence clearer on the first pitch from Irish hurler Michael Hearne. It was McKay's second career grand slam and second home run of the game for UofL...Drew Ellis bagging a solo shot to left-center in the second inning. 

The Irish nibbled away at the 5-0 Cardinal lead with two runs in the third and a run in the fifth to get within two. McKay, scheduled to pitch six innings, gave way to freshman Adam Elliott in the sixth...who put the Irish away scoreless in the seventh and eighth. Another freshman, Shay Smiddy, completed the contest by keeping Notre Dame at bay in the bottom of the ninth. 

The Cards increased the lead to 7-3 in the seventh when Hairston provided a two out, two RBI single that scored Logan and Stowers. Three additional runs crossed the plate in the top of the ninth...keyed by a Stowers double and two sacrifice flies. 

The Cards, 1-0 in pool play, face nemesis Florida State today at 3 p.m. to try and clinch the semifinal berth for Saturday. Game time is 3 p.m. I watched part of it yesterday on Fox Sports South...and the announcers weren't too bad. You can hear Cardinal renaissance man Sean Moth provide the radio call on 93.9 FM...I tuned in for a couple of innings and never cease to be amazed on how smoothly and how easily he relays of all kinds of information during a broadcast.

The pool play concept is an interesting twist to a conference championship. One would also like to see ACC softball adhere to this type of format. Right now, with 11 schools participating in the sports, it would need a bit of tweaking...but Clemson is picking up the sport by 2020 and that's the number of squads that play in the ACC baseball championships. 


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NCAA EAST REGION TRACK CONTINUES TODAY

Six UofL women's track athletes participated in the NCAA East Regional preliminaries Thursday...but none qualified for the NCAA Championships. 

Morgan Zacharias finished the best of the six...getting 14th. in the pole vault. In the women's hammer, Cyerra Cassell finished 36th and Dolly Nyemah was 39th. Gwen Shaw recorded a 33rd place finish in the 400 meter hurdles. Bre'Yana Wash (26th) and Alexis Gibbons (28th) competed in the long jump.

Emmonnie Henderson will compete in the discus around 2 p.m. today. She has qualified for the NCAA Championships the last two years in the shot put and discus. THe women's shot put events will be held Saturday around 6 p.m. 

Still trying to find a broadcast possibility on these. I'll come back in and update the article if I do. 


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LOSING THEIR GRIP A BIT? 

We've talked here quite a bit about the ACC's dominance in several women's sports...primarily lacrosse, field hockey and soccer. So it does comes as a bit of a surprise the only one ACC school (Boston College) has advanced to the Final Four of the ACC women's lacrosse championships. 

The Eagles will face Navy in the second semifinal game today. Starting it off will be Penn State vs. Maryland. 

So...how did the six ACC schools that made the NCAA WLAX Championships do? 

Louisville and Notre Dame were eliminated in the first round. UNC and Virginia made it to the second round...where UNC defeated Virginia...but the Tar Heels lost to Navy in the quarterfinals.   

Syracuse advanced to the second round and lost to Boston College..who bested USC in the quarterfinals to get to the semis. 

A changing of the guard with two B1G schools in the final four? Maryland, of course, was ACC for years before jumping to the B1G. 

There is still the East Coast dominance present...to be sure...with two schools from Maryland in the final four and Boston College on the right coast. Penn State a bit further away from the Atlantic...but Pennsylvania a hotbed of talent for lacrosse...along with Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. 


Best of luck to the Eagles, soar high and take the title! 







paulie
xxxxx

All Things Wet - Sunday Cardinal Couple

NCAA Swimming Should Switch to Meters

Kelsi a champ no matter how they measure her! 

University of Louisville Swimming has now had six straight years of NCAA National Champions (11 total), several American records in a variety of events, and numerous Olympics appearances representing a number of different countries.  Those achievements can be quite difficult to compare, though, for one very basic reason.  NCAA events are measured in yards, EVERYTHING else is measured in meters.

This means that breakout performers in NCAA events, such as we've seen recently in Kelsi Worrell and Malory Comerford, have another hurdle to climb when they move on to international and pro events.  The races are almost 10 percent longer!  To be specific, 1 meter is 1.09361 yards (according to Google calculator).  So when you hear about Comerford tying Katie Ledecky in the 200 free at the NCAA Championships, and when you look at the time, 1 minutes 40.3 seconds, you can't compare those with any swimming times and achievements outside of the NCAA.  For reference, the NCAA women's record in the 200 Free (in yards) is held by Missy Franklin at 1:39.10, while the world record 200 Free (in meters) is held by Federica Pellegrini at 1:52.98.

Mallory another NCAA champ! 

The US does very well internationally in swimming, but I have to believe that swimming in yards for the major feeder avenue for swimmers into the US international swimming ranks, and then expecting them to jump up to meters when the time comes to make the transition, puts the US system at a disadvantage.  This disadvantage was highlighted recently in a short blurb by Swim Swam News questioning what Malory Comerford needs to do to "find her meters gear."

I don't hide my distaste for the NCAA as an organization.  Their hypocrisy in "protecting the amateurism of athletes" (or somesuch) by preventing companies, universities, even charities(!) from making money on the likeness of student-athletes, while they themselves rake in millions knows no bounds.  Yes, the NCAA is a non-profit, but don't look behind the curtain, and remember that they also prevent other non-profits and charities from making money on the likeness of student-athletes.  Well known basketball announcer and analyst Jay Bilas essentially teaches a master class on this via his twitter account on a regular basis.

Get with the program, NCAA...

Back to the point, though, by holding NCAA events in yards, I believe the NCAA is doing a huge disservice to the greater US swimming community and program.  Of course, this whole debate is a microcosm of the US's stubborn insistence of sticking with so-called Imperial measurements over Metric in everyday life.  Yes, I come to this debate from a background in math, science, engineering, and technology (the so-called STEM fields) where metric is essentially universally used because it's easier, works better, is more consistent, and is just all-around better.

The time has come to switch to meters.  NCAA, let's get it done.

Baseball Washed Out On Senior Day

I've got a bad feeling about this.  Baseball has lost their last three games of the regular season, a road trip up to IU in Bloomington, and two games at Patterson against FSU.  Last night, in what was to be the final game, with no opportunity to potentially schedule a make-up game, or play the game today because the season officially ended last night, weather caused a cancellation on Senior Night.

OK, yes, they still collected the number 1 seed in the ACC Tournament being hosted at Slugger Field starting Thursday, but I'm none to keen on the team entering the tournament coming off of three straight losses, and the disappointment of not getting to properly honor the seniors in front of the UofL crowd.  The team did hold a ceremony in their complex at Patterson Stadium, but I worry that there's just something missing when the fans don't get to chime in and show their appreciation.  It feels a little like they got shortchanged.  Of course, with the ACC Tournament being hosted locally, there are still opportunities for UofL fans to show their appreciation for Michael Bollmer, Chandler Dale, Shane Hummel, Colin Lyman, Jake Sparger, Ryan Summers, and Logan Taylor on the field, but I would be very surprised if they get to hold any sort of special recognition for them.  It is also expected that Louisville, unless they lay a major egg in the conference tourney, and maybe even still, would be a Regional, and almost certainly Super Regional host (assuming they advance to the Supers).

I'm not one to believe in omens, or anything superstitious, really, but I do believe in sports momentum and the habits of winning, and I worry that, right now, UofL Baseball doesn't have that momentum, and need to get back into the habits of winning.

I'll be cheering for them, of course, but I can't help going into this with a pit in my stomach worried about how they'll be playing Thursday vs Notre Dame.

-- JMcA

Louisville Women's Golf 10th in NCAA Regional -- Becker Player of Week -- More A-Tayy...WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SKAPIC TIED FOR NINTH

Molly Skapic fired a two-under-par 70 and the Louisville women's golf team moved into a tie for 10th place in the NCAA Columbus Regional after two days on the Ohio State Golf Club in Columbus, OH. Her round also put her in to a tie for ninth place in individual competition. 

Florida leads the regional with a total of 590. In second is the home team Ohio State at 591. ACC member Florida State rounds out the top three at 597. The Cards two-day total is 614 (314-300)...is tied with San Jose St. for 10th. 


Skapic sits at 147 (77-70) after 36 holes. Olivia Cason follows for UofL at 153. Freshman Lauren Hartlage recorded a 155 through the two rounds...with Meghan Nay (159) and Jacqueline Twitty (169) rounding out the Cards' contingent in Columbus.  

The top six teams from the four regional sites and top three individuals (not on qualifying teams) advance to the 24 team NCAA Championships, which will be held May 19-24 on the Rich Harvest Farms course in Sugar Grove, IL. 

The way it looks going into the final round... the Cards would need to produce a total of 290 or lower to ascend into the top six group. The top four scores of the squad account for the day's total.  Four girls shooting par (72) would do the trick. 

Hit 'em straight and long and sink those putts, Cardinal Chippers! 


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BECKER ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR SOFTBALL

Getting it done in the circle and the batters box...Maryssa Becker has been named the ACC Player of the Week in the final week of conference play. 

The Medford, OR. senior went 7-12 in the three game sweep of the NC State Wolfpack and had a phenomenal slugging percentage of .917.  She had four doubles in the series and also produced two wins in the the pitching circle for the Cards. 

Louisville sweep propelled them into second place in the ACC Conference standings and they'll begin their quest to capture the ACC Tournament against NC State on Thursday at 5 p.m. in Chapel Hill, NC at UNC's Anderson Stadium.

(We're pretty sure it's not owned by CC favorite Jared Anderson...but I guess you never really know.) 

The Cards (31-18, 14-8) won five out of their six final regular season games and were competitive against #1 seed FSU...playing them to within one run twice when the 'Noles visited Ulmer Stadium. 

An amazing end to the regular season for Sandy Pearsall's Hit and Pitch Cards. An infield that was basically patchwork at one time came together to be effective. Losing starting shortstop Sidney Melton early in the year to an ACL injury, Pearsall pressed true freshman Caitlin Ferguson into action and she performed well. A battle for the 'hot corner' at third eventually evolved into catcher Alison "Mike" Szydlowski nailing down the job and getting work done. Jamie Soles won the competition for second base and gave Louisville a steady glove at the spot. Oft-injured Tiarra Sanabria came back and had a healthy, productive year at first base....along with a powerful bat.  

The outfield provided stability...with Nicole Pufahl, Jordan McNary and Morgan Meyer becoming not only accurate fielders but leading hitters. Jenna Jordan locked down the catcher spot and Becker and Megan Hensley were brilliant at times in the circle and two of the top hitters on the squad. 

The "next season" starts Thursday. Let's hope the team that finished the "first" season so well can remain hot, focused and take the Cards through the ACC and NCAA Championships on a winning note. 


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THEY SAID IT

I ran across this great interview with Cardinal and Washington Mystics' Asia Taylor that was recorded while she was playing for the Sydney Flames in Australia's WNBL. Enjoy! 

ASIA TAYLOR TALKS HOOPS

Yesterday, Washington cut Mehryn Kraker, Ally Malott, Ashley Morrissette and Caira Washington...so it looks like Asia's dream of making the Mystics is almost a reality now. With the reduction, the Mystics now have 13 players left on the roster....four of them listed as forwards, forward-center or forward-guard. Hang on, A-Tayy!!!!


paulie
xxxxx

Lacrosse opens ACC Tournament against Virginia -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

#6 Seeded Cards face the Cavs at 8 p.m. 

Kellie Young's Louisville Lacrosse squad begins ACC Tournament play tonight in Richmond, VA at Sports Backers Stadium. The Cards (11-6, 3-4) are #18 in the nation. They face the #3 seed Virginia (10-7, 4-3) which is #12 in the nation. 

Louisville visited Virginia earlier in the season on April 15th and fell to the Cavaliers 11-7. The Cards had a 6-5 lead at halftime but a strong second half defense from UVA limited UofL to just one second half score.

For the Cards, Hannah Koloski leads the offense with 58 goals and two assists in 2017. She, along with Brittany Read made the 2017 All-ACC First squad. Meghan Siverson was selected for the second team. Koloski, a senior from Lakeville, MN leads the nation in free position goals with 1.53, is second in shots on goal with 6 a contest fourth in goals scored with 58. Coach Young on the trio: 

"Hannah, Brittany and Meghan have been such significant parts of our success. Hannah has faced the top defenders from every team...game after game...she has battled face guards and double teams and still fond a way to score."  

Read, a junior from Gibbsboro, NJ has been stellar in goalkeep after returning from a season ending injury last year. She's fourth in the nation with 10.06 saves per game and stops 51.7% of the shots she faces. She leads the ACC in saves, save percentage and saves per game. Read also owns the school record with 300 career saves. 

Siverson has been a pleasant surprise this season. After a freshmen year of limited playing time, she stepped into center midfielder spot and produced 51 goals and eight assists. Another "Jersey girl" ...from Morristown...she averaged three goals made per game.

Madison Hoover (18) and Ashley Lynch (17) led Louisville in assists this season. Freshman McKayla Conti has also been a valuable contributor in the attack and senior Stephanie McNamara is one of the best defensive players in the nation. 

All games today will be shown on the ACC Network Extra and action gets started at 11 a.m. when #1 seed North Carolina faces #8 seed Duke. #4 seed Notre Dame will face off against #5 Boston College at 2 p.m. #2 Syracuse goes against #7 Virginia Tech at 5 p.m.

25 teams participated in the 2016 NCAA women's lacrosse tournament. With a current rank of #18 or #19 (depending on which poll you look at) in the nation, you have to like Louisville's chances of getting a bid...but a win or two in the ACC Tournament would certainly secure the Cards a spot in the bracket. 

Seven of the eight ACC schools are in the top twenty. The Cards RPI is #27. 

Finish might be the most appropriate word to use when assessing the Cards chances over the next several days. Young's squad has held first half leads over five of the seven ACC schools they played this year (Virginia, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Syracuse and Duke). They lost three of these games (Virginia, Notre Dame, North Carolina). The Cards trailed Boston College at halftime and lost. Against Virginia Tech, Louisville was tied at the half and went on to win. 

60 minutes. Finish as strong as you start. That is the key, if LouLax wants to pile up a few wins at the end of the season. That quest begins tonight, in what could possibly be the final game of the year for Louisville...if they fall. 


paulie
xxxxx