Attendance Policies -- Schedule Changes? -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Attendance Policies

Louisville recently released their attendance policies for some of the fall sports.  Sports included were field hockey, women's soccer, and men's soccer.  Nothing has been officially announced regarding volleyball. Field hockey was probably one of the trickier ones to figure out, being the only fall sport allowing free admission.  Although outdoors, fans for field hockey are limited to just one side of the field. This is normal, since there are only stands for the fans on the east side of Trager Stadium. 

Attendance will be limited to 20% capacity.  Tickets will not be available for purchase, and will provided to guests of the student-athletes and coaches, visiting team, and current UofL students. All home games will either be televised or streamed online for fans to watch. Media will not be allowed on the field, except in the case of one "pool" photographer.

All postgame interviews will be conducted online through Microsoft Teams. The head coach and select Cardinal student-athletes will be available as soon as possible following home games. Links for the video conference, or phone numbers to dial into the conference, will be provided to approved media who request access from the sport SID. 

The Louisville Field Hockey squad is scheduled to play Duke on Saturday at 1 p.m. and on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

Both women's and men's soccer will follow the same guidelines seeing as they use the same facility at Dr Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium.  When including all four sides of the stadium, 5,300 fans can file in to see soccer play.  This time, fans will be limited to just the southern side of the stadium where the chair-back seats are located.

Like field hockey, soccer will be limited to guests of student-athletes and coaches, opposing teams, and current UofL students.  Their estimated capacity will be 20% of the chair-back seats.

All soccer home games with either be televised or steamed online for fans to watch. The Louisville women's soccer squad (1-1) is tentatively scheduled to play their first home match against Syracuse on Thursday, October 1st., at 7 p.m.

Volleyball has another issue to deal with being indoors.  Air does not circulate as well indoors, and as we have learned in the past, L&N Federal Credit Union Arena can often be hot and stuffy.

Worldwide was in attendance at the Red and Black scrimmage last week.  It was an invite only event that had maybe 200 fans.  Word on the street is that tickets will be available to guests of the student-athletes and coaches only, with no student tickets or public tickets available.

Paulie and I will be in attendance for field hockey and women's soccer while I will join Worldwide at volleyball so we can continue to bring live, in-depth coverage of all of the Louisville women's sports.

Possible Schedule Changes?

With the recent curfew implemented in the City of Louisville, we may see some issues with scheduling.  Residents have been advised to be at home from 9:00 p.m. - 6:30 a.m.  We are not entirely sure how that will affect scheduling. Volleyball originally had a 6:00 p.m. match on Saturday against Notre Dame that would have flirted with the curfew.  Friday's match has been moved up to 2:00 p.m., and Saturday's match will now be played at 4:00 p.m.

We are not here to discuss politics and the current issues going on in the city, but we do mention parts that directly affect anything Louisville women's sports.  The four of us here at Cardinal Couple have made our stances on current events known on our social media and you can follow any of that there.

These are the most recently updated statuses on the Cardinal sports we cover. As we've come to expect, there is always the possibility of change. We'll keep you updated on those changes, if they occur. 

If you do find yourself in attendance at one of these games, or you just happen to be out and about, please be extra cautious and stay safe.

WNBA

Two semifinal games today in the WNBA, as the Seattle Storm (1-0) will face Minnesota Lynx (0-1) in the 7:30 p.m. opener and the Las Vegas Aces (1-1) take on the Connecticut Sun (1-1) at 9:30. Both contests are scheduled to be on ESPN 2

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

I cannot wish you a Happy Thursday because it is not too happy as things have been rough around here in recent hours and many UofL student-athletes have expressed their frustrations and disappointment, but I do wish everyone a safe and healthy Thursday.

Jared

The Louies -- FH Announces Signees -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

The Louies

Last night, Louisville Athletics held their annual Louie Awards.  Vince Tyra kicked off the night and was preceded by Sean Moth.  Then, Celene Funke (Cards Softball), Jazmine Jones (Cards WBB) and "Fresh" Kimble (Cards MBB) took over.

Tyra provided us with some positive updates.

 UofL had the highest GPA in the ACC.  Of course, with how often we talk about academic accomplishments, this comes as no surprise, but still a good reason to be proud of our student-athletes.  Also, UofL was on pace for the highest finish in school history in the College Cup standings.

Here is a list of the awards and their recipients:

Female Freshman of the Year: Aiko Jones, volleyball

Male Freshman of the Year: Alex Binelas, baseball

Male Sophomore of the Year: Matthias Schmid, golf

Female Sophomore of the Year: Makenli Forrest, track and field

Record Breaking Performance: Nicolas Albiero, swimming and diving

Breakthrough Athlete: Tutu Atwell, football

Comeback Athlete of the Year: Andrej Barna, swimming and diving

CardsCare Community Service Team: Lacrosse (women) / Baseball (men)

CardsCare Community Service Individual: McKenzie Kelley, ladybirds

Humble and Hungry: Sarah Hernandez, soccer

Pep Band Member of the Year: Allison Doimer

Cheerleader of the Year: Kristen Wells

Ladybird of the Year: Sarah Parker

Men's Cardinal Cup: Baseball

Women's Cardinal Cup: Lacrosse

Male Junior of the Year: Jordan Nwora, basketball

Female Junior of the Year: Mercedes "Mechi" Pastor, field hockey

Female Senior of the Year: Jazmine Jones, basketball

Male Senior of the Year: Dwayne Sutton, basketball

Male Leadership Award: Cody Cochran, soccer

Female Leadership Award: Meghan Nay, golf

Moment of the Year: Volleyball Upsets #2 Texas to Advance to Elite Eight

Inspiration Award: Football

Female Adidas High Performance Athlete of the Year: Dana Evans, basketball

Male Adidas High Performance Athlete of the Year: Reid Detmers, baseball

L1C4 Louie Award: Blanton Creque, football

A huge round of "well done" and congratulations to these recipients. And, to all the hard-working student athletes at UofL, for setting the bar, achieving it and making a difference.


Field Hockey Announces Three Signees

A bright spot to the week was field hockey announcing three new players to join the Cards for the 2021 season.  All three join us from across the Atlantic Ocean.

Paulina Mayer joins the Cards from Manheim, Germany.

Charlie Van Oirschot hails from Haarlem, The Netherlands.

Aimee Plumb, comes to Louisville from Canterbury, England.

Cardinal Couple will reach out to see if we can hear from Justine Sowry in the next few days regarding the three commits.

Field Hockey posted a 16-6 record in 2019 and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.


Maybe, maybe not.

On a side note, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu had a discussion on who would have won the NCAA Championship this year.  Both agreed it would have been Oregon.  My thoughts?  Not so much.

More like a team that wears Red and Black.

Let's not forget that UofL WBB defeated Oregon, on a neutral court, 72-62 to win the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. Louisville won the regular season ACC Title and Kylee Shook went for 18 points and 15 rebounds against the Ducks. Dana Evans delivered two huge, three-point daggers against the Oregon defense and had 17 points and six assists.

What's your thoughts?



Welcome to May

It is the first day of May, in case social quarantining has you a bit nebulous and confused as to the who, what, where, when and why's of daily life.

A Friday, and a huge day here in the city of Louisville, as the Kentucky Oaks would have been run at Churchill Downs. The first Friday in May is the second most attended day of the year at Churchill Downs...in normal times...and features the best three-year-old fillies in the world "running for the lilies".

It's also Breast Cancer Survivor Day and those brave individuals/survivors of this terrible disease would normally be honored at the track with a walk down the stretch -- as a predominately pink-dress crowd gives them some love and encouragement as they parade in front of the gtandstands and clubhouse. 

Happy Friday, Happy Original Oaks Day, stay safe, and Go Cards!

Jared

Transfer Portal -- Walz Presser -- Community Services -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Duvall Enters Transfer Portal

Lindsey Duvall announced that she will be entering the transfer portal, meaning her time as a Cardinal has, in all probability, come and gone.

Duvall joined Louisville from right down the road in Mt Washington and Bullitt East High School.  She was a five-star prospect and was the 2017 Miss Kentucky Basketball recipient.

Duvall, who red-shirted her true freshman year, played two seasons with the Cards and will have two seasons of eligibility left.  However, Walz said that if she could not find another place that fits her that her scholarship at Louisville will be honored.

Duvall appeared in 23 games and averaged 6.2 minutes per game last season.  She shot 40% from three-point range in the 2019-2019 season.

Wherever Lindsey chooses to go we wish her the best of luck and look forward to seeing her accomplishments.

One would think her three-point skills would serve someone quite well. Internet chatter even had former Cardinal great and head WBB coach at Charleston University Becky Burke commenting favorably on Duvall on the roster. One  talented three-point shooter playing for one of the best in Cardinal history. It has possibilities, I suppose.


Jeff Walz Press Conference

University of Lousiville head women's basketball coach Jeff Walz gave a press conference via online video chat yesterday.  He sported a red polo with a white Cardinal bird head in the corner while sitting in his office at home.

Right off the bat we heard a question about Duvall, which Walz went in depth on.

Questions to follow focused on how the coaching staff is remaining in contact with the players regarding practices and workouts, as well as their travel and safety.

We heard Walz get asked about how having players getting drafted in the WNBA Draft plays a factor in recruiting.

One question that perked several ears up was his thoughts and comments on Muffet McGraw retiring. The assumption that "on-court" rivalries and words extend to off the court was shot down by Walz.

Walz was 5-14 against the Irish before McGraw retired. The Cards did win both games last year. They were blowouts.

There was also a question regarding the layoffs and furloughs, which Walz tried to keep pretty short and sweet while still responding in a professional manner.

You can check out the full video on Youtube below.

Also, thank you to Nick Evans for setting everything up and allowing us to stay in touch with Coach Walz. Paulie sat in on the teleconference and got a question in.

Community Service Recognition

13 programs at Louisville were ranked in the Top 10 nationally for their respective groups in service hours for 2019-2020.On top of their hard work in their sport and academically these student-athletes dedicate their remaining time out in the community helping others out and making the world a better place. Louisville Athletics  has had a long tradition of excelling in their social outreach from student-athletes in assisting the community, and it is also something that the players take great joy and pride in -- helping others. We salute the efforts of our Cardinals and know that they'll always be there to contribute.

Here are the rankings for each of the 13 programs:

#1 Field Hockey

#1 Lacrosse

#3 Baseball

#3 Ladybirds

#3 Men's Soccer

#3 Women's Soccer

#5 Men's Swimming

#5 Rowing

#6 Cheer

#8 Softball

#8 Women's Golf

#10 Men's Golf

#10 Women's Swimming

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!  Remember to stay safe!

Jared

ESPNW'S CAMPUS CONVERSATIONS -- WOMEN'S GOLF FUNDRAISER -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ESPN'S CAMPUS CONVERSATIONS COMES TO LOUISVILLE

Last night, on campus in the Student Activities Center Ballroom, the University of Louisville was host to ESPN CAMPUS CONVERSATIONS. The enrichment program is designed for women student-athletes and has a main purpose of preparing them for success after graduation.

An overflowing crowd for the event heard several speakers who began around 5:30 p.m. Monday.

ESPN has teamed up with different athletic departments over the past few years for the event and it was UofL's turn last night to host the ongoing activity. 

The event was moderated by ESPN'S Sarah Spain. Sarah is a ESPN sports reporter who serves as a ESPNW columnist, ESPN radio host and SportsCenter reporter.

The panelists were excellent. 

Jenna Ahern, UofL field hockey great who also founded and is CEO of Guardian Owl Digital, Dr. Lecia Brown, who excelled at track and volleyball at UofL and is currently a research and developer for pharmaceutical giant GSK, Kelly McClain, another Cardinal Volleyball star who now is a vice-president in Wealth Management at Fifth/Third Bank and Amy Rosenfeld, senior producer for ESPN. 

Vince Tyra and Dr. Neeli Bendaputi also spoke to the attendees. 

The panel discussion, which started around 7 p.m., was one of the highlights of the evening. Plenty of student-athletes from all women's sports programs at UofL were in attendance for last night's seminar. 

Life beyond graduation can be a daunting thing. Anyone who has ever had any doubts about it, though, got some very sound and usable advice from a blue-ribbon panel of women who have met the challenge and excelled. We refer to those who give their all to sports on the Belknap Campus as athletes...but the preface "student" is just as an important description to what they are and that should never be forgotten. 


TEE IT UP

Looking for a little Friday afternoon fun? A chance to play the University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville? Well, then...you need to be a part of the Louisville women's golf fundraiser !!

It's a 5-person scramble, where each foursome is paired with a current or former UofL golfer. 

As a donor, alumni or friend of Cardinal Golf, you are crucial to their success and we highly recommend you join them for a fun afternoon to celebrate one of the Cards best seasons and squads.

Save the date October 4th. for the event !!  

Registration begins at 3 p.m., tee off at 3:30 p.m and ends with a Card Carnival followed by a dinner and awards. 

Fundraiser packages: 

L PACKAGE ($50) -- A single dinner package and admission to Card Carnival

BLACK PACKAGE ($100)  -- Tee gift and a hole sponsorship

RED PACKAGE ($200) -- One entry in Gold Scramble, Dinner and admission to Card Carnival...plus tee gift. 

LOUISVILLE FIRST PACKAGE ($800). A golf scramble foursome, dinner, admission to Card Carnival for four...plus hole sponsorship and tee gift. 



Higher $$$ amounts also available, check with director of operations for Louisville golf Erin Horn :

Call 502.852.4572 or e-mail to:  erin@GoCards.com


There is also a "There in Spirit" donation category, where you can send any amount. Help celebrate Lauren Hartlage's senior season !!  

Come out to the ULGC for an afternoon of golf !!



Make your checks payable to: 

University of Louisville women's golf 

Send them to: 

UofL Women's Golf
1670 S. Floyd Street
Louisville, KY  40208

You can also contribute by credit card, a secure payment available on line at: 

https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/uofl/EN/link/buy/details/19wgfund



(WE HOPE TO SEE YOU OUT THERE!) 

Call Erin Horn, director of operations for Louisville Golf, at 502.852.4572 or e-mail: erin@GoCards.com  for more information or details. 

Have a terrific Tuesday!

paulie
xxxxx

Let's Go Camping !! -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

UofL Women's Sports Programs offer many camps

Let me just be clear here with the title. I'm not inviting our readers to go camping out in the woods or by a lake with the UofL sports programs, although it could be entertaining to hear Jeff Walz leading campers in folk songs around a campfire, see Justine Sowry organizing, finding and gathering fire wood searches or Holly Aprile telling scary ghost stories while toasting marshmallows late at night. 

The programs offer camps to help develop the skills and techniques of the next generation of athletes that will grace college campuses or play on their high school teams in the future. These camps also give the campers a chance to interact and learn from the college student-athletes who play the game, as well as learning and getting advice from the staff and coaches that guide them. Plus, camps can be a great opportunity to meet new friends with similar interests and skills. 

If you're a parent with daughter(s) who have an affinity or love for a certain athletic event or sports, these camps can be very informative and rewarding for increasing your children's skills sets, techniques and knowledge of the game. They can also be quite fun. 

Let's look at a few coming up in the near future.


FIELD HOCKEY

Justine Sowry, her Field Hockey coaches and players offer two camps in June and one of them starts today. From June 3-6, those budding field hockey players from 5-13 can take part in a fundamentals camp at Trager Stadium. Always a popular event, it gives the younger players a chance to develop their passing, scoring, stick handling, defensive and hitting skills. Another camp will be offered, featuring the same skill set development on  June 10-13. Contact Debbie Bell at 502-852-7616 or debbieb@gocards for more information. 

WOMEN"S BASKETBALL

Jeff Walz and his crew are having a June skills camp for those girls (9th through 12th grade) who want to learn from the UofL staff and players. The camp is on June 19th (which is on a Wednesday) from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Student REC Center - 2030 South Fourth Street, Louisville, KY. You can register and/or have any questions answered by contacting Kate Tucker (Louisville WBB Director of operations) at 502-655-0275 or kate@gocards.com or get more information. Cost is $85. You can also register the day of the camp from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.  More camp information can be accessed at a link we have provided at the bottom of today's article. 


LACROSSE

Scott Teeter and the Louisville LAX staff and players are holding a summer one day clinic coming up on Wednesday, June 12th. It's for girls from the 4th. through 12th grades and it's offered as a full day or half day option. Specific position instruction teaching and competition skills are available for that budding laxer in your family. Contact the UofL Lacrosse offices at 502-852-5732 or Coach Teeter at 502-852-4998 for more information on this camp or others being held at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium this summer...as well as 
@louisvillelax. Coach Teeter is nationally recognized as one of the best at developing young talent and these camps are an excellent change for those wanting to improve their lacrosse skills with tutoring from the LouLax squad and staff. 


WOMEN'S SOCCER

The 2019 Future Cardinals Camp is always a popular camp for the younger soccer players (ages 7-13) and it runs for five days. This year, it'll be held July 15th-19th from 9 a.m. to noon. The camp is designed to foster the skills, abilities and techniques of the younger soccer player is a caring, friendly, competitive and structured environment. There will also be a high school elite skills camp on July 17th. Karen Ferguson Dayes has developed dozens of young players who have gone on to find success at the collegiate level. You can contact UofL WSOC Director of Operations Jing Hughley at 502-852-7547 or jing@gocards.com for more information or if you have questions. 


SOFTBALL


Softball will have seven different camps available to athletes from grades 9-12 in June. They start June 12th with the first of three pitching camps and will also encompass fielding a defensive camps for outfielders, infielders and catchers. Holly Aprile, her staff and players are dedicated to sharing their skills and knowledge with the up and coming softball players and if you want to have your high schoolers learn from the best, contact Griffin Joiner at 502-443-2925 or griffin@gocards. Ulmer Stadium is the venue for these excellent chances to learn skills, techniques and have fun and meaningful sessions with the Hit and Pitch Cards and their coaches. 


VOLLEYBALL



Dani Busboom Kelly, her staff and players will be offering four camps in June (one starting today) that will cover a wide array of teaching and fundamentals in setting, hitting, serving and defense. These will be held at the SRC and information on these can be obtained with a phone call to Sarah Petkovic at 502-852-3327 or sarah@gocards.com . These are great chances for your budding Wide Net players to learn from those who have excelled at the college level and pick up those skills that will help propel them into next-level success. 

Don't see your youngster's sport of interest listed in the six-pack above? Not to worry! For a full list of UofL Summer Camps for Cardinal Athletics, you can go to the handy information link below.

LINK: LOUISVILLE CAMPS

Answers for questions about lodging, equipment needed, costs and transportation can
be accessed there as well. 

Having witnessed some of these camps over the years, I can confidently and whole-heartedly give an endorsement for the knowledge available and competition encountered at the UofL Summer Camps. Budding talent can always use direction, focus, encouragement, training and skill-set emphasis to augment it, and you'll find that at the UofL camps. 

Let's go camping this summer, young Cardinal fans! I'll stay out of the canoe and promise not to burn the s'mores...but can't guarantee I won't get lost in the woods.  



Have a marvelous Monday! 

Paulie
xxxxx 

Predicting Fall Sports Outcomes -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jared Picks the Outcomes for the Fall Sports

I have talked in the past briefly about each of the fall sports as well as questions or concerns facing each team.  A few of the other writers have broken down the seasons and what they think will be the outcome for each team and I thought I'd take a stab at it.  Bear with me as I make try to stay afloat with my guesses for volleyball, women's soccer, and field hockey...

EDITOR'S NOTE: WHO CAN FORGET JARED'S BOLD PREDICTION IN 2017 THAT "MINNIE " MINK WOULD AVERAGE 2 GOALS PER GAME LAST YEAR FOR LOUISVILLE FIELD HOCKEY? WHEN SHE FELL A BIT SHORT OF THIS, SHE DECIDED TO GO BACK TO THE NETHERLANDS AND SEE IF SHE COULD FULFILL JARED'S WISH THERE. 



Volleyball

Dani Busboom Kelly's inaugural season was a breakout year for the Cards.  One season removed
from a sub .500 record Louisville managed to stun just about everyone when they claimed the ACC title.   Well, actually they split the regular season title with Pittsburgh, but had the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The 24 wins was the second-most in the last five years, one behind the 2015 season. Their 18-2 conference mark was par with the 2015 ACC Championship year.  Sadly, the Cards bowed out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament when they were swept by Northern Iowa.

Six players either graduated or transferred following the conclusion of the season with three of them playing a key role.  Coach Kelly has some big shoes to fill on the front line.  There are some returners that have a good chance to step into that role as well as the newbies that are joining Louisville in the fall.

Louisville's non-conference schedule is highlighted by a trip to NCAA Runner-Up Florida.  The Gators are a powerhouse and protect their home court well.  Kentucky will make a visit to Cardinal Arena after sweeping the Cards in Memorial Coliseum last year.  USC is another big name in volleyball and has a reputation of playing in a dominant Pac-12 conference.  Louisville will also visit West Lafayette for a mini tournament hosted by Purdue, and the Boilermakers are a tough team to take on as well.

ACC play doesn't get any easier.  UofL will play at NC State and at Pittsburgh this year, two of the Top 4 teams from last year.  Miami and Florida State- third and sixth from last year- will visit Cardinal Arena.  Louisville lucks out and plays four of the top teams in the conference last year once and will face most of the bottom half twice throughout the season.

My prediction: 22-7, 15-3 ACC

The road/neutral site matches against USC, Purdue, and Florida will damage the Cards early on.

Kentucky will continue their dominance over Louisville in volleyball.  NC State and Pitt will get revenge on their home courts from last year and Notre Dame will sneak away with a win at home late in the season.  However, the Cards will remain undefeated at home during conference play and will only falter in Cardinal Arena once- a five-set battle vs the Wildcats.  Their 15-3 conference mark will be just shy of taking the conference title, but they'll earn a bid to the Big Dance where they will fall in round one.

Women's Soccer

A lot of talent fills the roster for the lasses at Lynn Stadium.  Last year went well until conference play started and the Cards went 3-5-2 and finished 10th.  Non-conference went well including an upset in Lexington over UK on a rainy night.

Louisville has never seemed to make it over the hump since joining the ACC, where the soccer world is split between us and the Pac-12.  In order to find the success they have lacked lately they'll need to find ways to earn three points in more outings in the conference.

Kentucky is the big name on the list when looking at non-conference matches.  A messy, rainy night may have helped the Cards earn a fluke win last year in a sport where the Wildcats have had the Cards number.  The non-conference schedule is weak.  No non-conference opponents finished the season ranked in the Top 50 last year.  Louisville finished 74th, by the way.  Remember when they broke the Top 25 after starting 5-1 last year?

Once ACC play hits things have the potential to crash and burn, but Louisville's talent also has another year of experience under their belts, or boots.  Having to visit every ACC opponent in the state of North Carolina, who also happen to hold four of the top five spots from last season, is brutal to have on the schedule for any team.  They should still be able to snuff out some wins at home and possibly one or two on the road.

My prediction: 8-6-3, 3-5-2 ACC

Things will look great in the first half of the season as things are smooth.  Karen Ferguson-Dayes will have her team scratching their way to the Top 25 after a half dozen games.  The rivalry match-up and a road trip or two could cause some minor bumps but fans will have that early season hope again.  When conference play hits the good will halt.  A few key losses from last year's team will begin to show as the players to fill the void cannot keep up with the level of play in the ACC.  Final Four team Duke and their buddies a few miles down the road are both on another level when it comes to collegiate soccer and we won't see another 2015 Thursday night shocker.  Louisville just isn't ready for the ACC in soccer and they will need a couple more years to adjust.

Field Hockey

This team is coming off one of their best seasons in recent years.  They took third in the ACC regular season, but had the chance of taking the title in their final conference match of the year.  In the ACC Tournament, Louisville not only won their first ever ACC Tournament game, but advanced all the way to the finals, falling 1-0.  Their 14-8, 4-2 mark was plenty to earn them a spot in the NCAA Tournament.  They fell just short in their opening game.

Last season's top scorer has gone back home to Europe but Justine Sowry believes their are plenty of players ready to fill the void.  Having Ireland's top goalkeeper healthy and back in action will take pressure off of the defense and the Cards can focus more on an aggressive style of play.

Coach Sowry loves to play an intense non-conference schedule that includes teams like Delaware, Northwestern, California, and Miami (OH).  You could include Michigan too but they are just an exhibition.

ACC play will not be kind.  Six of the seven ACC teams found themselves in the 18-team NCAA Tournament.  That's one-third of the bracket for you mathematicians.  The six-game conference schedule is split in half in terms of road and home games.  In ACC field hockey anyone can win at any location.

My Prediction: 11-5, 4-2 ACC

It will be a slight drop from the 2017 season, but still one to keep the Cards ranked and in the NCAA Tournament.  Louisville stunned then-reigning champ Delaware last season and the Blue Hens are out for revenge.  UofL lost to Northwestern twice last year and they are the only Wildcats on the schedule this year so they will find a way to take down the flock in the red and black.  Duke will be playing with the ACC semifinal in the back of their minds when they come to visit and won't be playing nice.  North Carolina is the best candidate in the conference to take national championship this year and will stop at nothing to get there.  Sowry's squad is used to tough opponents and can play with anyone in the country and will pull out some hard-fought wins.  Expect to see them make it to the ACC semifinals at least and even win their first round game in the NCAA Tournament.

This analysis does not reflect the views and opinions of the other writers at Cardinal Couple and reflect solely on my prediction for the 2018 season.  How do you think the Cards will do in these sports this year?  Feel free to compare and contrast your schedule with mine.  And maybe we'll see some goose eggs in the losses column for these teams this year!

Injuries, freshman development, star-player performance -- all of these can come into play over the course of a season. No way of knowing any of this in advance. The ACC is tough but the Cards will give it all they've got for these three stellar coaches.


What Day Is It? 

Some fun days to celebrate today! It's national Hot Fudge Sundae Day, so hit the local ice cream
purveyor place you like and treat yourself or a friend to one (or more) of those decadent, delicious treats. Afterwards, why not hit an amusement park for a up and down trip? It's also national Carousel Day.  If you have a sensitive stomach, feel free to reverse the order on these.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

USA U18 Draws Group A -- Other News -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jeff Walz, USA U18  National Team Draw Group A

In addition to his Cardinal duties, Jeff Walz is coaching the USA Women's Basketball U18 National Team.  This year's host is Mexico City.  It was recently announced that they will be in Group A along with Argentina, Chile, and Puerto Rico.  Group B will feature Canada, Mexico, Colombia, and El Salvador.

Practice begins on July 20th. out in Colorado Springs, CO at the USA Olympic Training Center and the UofL coach has an impressive assistant coaching staff to assist him in Cori Close (UCLA) and Natasha Adair (Delaware).


United States holds a roster of 12 active players: Aijha Blackwell, Jenna Brown, Desiree Caldwell, Maori Davenport, Nazahrah Hillmon-Baker, Rhyne Howard, Ashley Joens, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Anaya Peoples, Sedona Prince, NaLyssa Smith, and Christyn Williams.  Ten of the 12 have named colleges and Universities for their student/athlete careers. Blackwell and Davenport are still uncommitted. None are currently headed to Louisville.

Walz and the Cards are basically guaranteed to see two of them in NCAA competition down the road, with Rhyne Howard headed to UK and Anaya Peoples naming Notre Dame as her choice. Two Connecticut-bound players in Olivia Nelson Ododa and Christyn Williams are on the roster.

Group Play will be played August 1-3, facing each opponent once.  Based off the results the teams will be seeded.  Quarterfinals will be August 5, semifinals on August 6, and the finals on August 7.  The USA is looking for a ninth-straight gold medal and should be the favorite to take the crown.  The top four teams will automatically qualify for next year's FIBA U19 World Cup 2019.

Historically, the USA U18 teams have been a dynasty, going 53-2 and claiming the gold every World Cup since 2000.  The event is held every other year.

Following the conclusion of the World Cup and the return back home I expect we'll be graced with an interview between Paulie and Coach Walz.  Hopefully, Coach will offer his insights into the upcoming UofL women's basketball season while also telling us about the good and bad food he ate while in Mexico City. We doubt we get him in a sombrero...

Other News and Notes

POORCASTLE

Our wonderful host, WCHQ, is a major sponsor in the Poorcastle festival.  Unlike the better-known Forecastle, Poorcastle features local artists and is affordable at just $5 per day or $10 for the full three-day pass.

I stopped by for a while late Sunday afternoon to see how things were going and to snag a few pictures.  Let me tell you, this city has some incredibly talented musicians.  You can most likely find any of the artists from the lineup on air with WCHQ at some time or another.

We are grateful that WCHQ continues to host Cardinal Couple Radio every week.  Here are a few of the pictures from the weekend event:

Louisville to Add a New Division 1 Team?

UofL ice hockey club team

It has been quite some time since the University of Louisville has added a Division 1 team, but we might be seeing an addition sooner than later.  The unfortunate part for us at Cardinal Couple is that it is not a women's team.

The UofL men's club ice hockey team has grown in success and popularity over recent years.  Currently, their home is Iceland Sports Complex where they pay to use the facility.  They have risen from Top 25 when I first started as a student to back-to-back Top 10 finishes, including consistently being one of the top two teams in their division.

Questions are already circulating and here are my answers to those:

Louisville RiverFrogs ice hockey

Q: Will this create an issue with Title IX?
A: No.  UofL is ahead of the curve when it comes to Title IX in terms of women's players, scholarships, and funding.  They have room to spare when it comes to a men's team.

Q: Does UofL have the funding for it?
A: Probably not, but they won't admit it if that's the case.  With budget cuts all over the university it would not surprise me if athletics has had to cut back on expenses too.  Building an entire program is not cheap.

Q: Where will they play?
A: Temporary locations could include the KFC Yum! Center (highly unlikely), Freedom Hall, or Broadbent Arena.  All three are big enough to hold an ice hockey arena and have seating for fans.  From 1995-1998 Broadbent Arena hosted the Louisville RiverFrogs, Louisville's semi-pro team.  That team eventually relocated to Florida and is now in Ohio known as the Cincinnati Cyclones.  In the long run UofL would most likely have to build an arena.

Q: How quickly could we see the addition of a new sport?
A: I'd say it would be a good 3-4 years minimum.  Funding, location, scholarships, coaches, staff, and NCAA approval are the big factors that come into play.  The university is in no shape to invest time and money into all of that at this point in time, but with a new president, a new athletic director, and hopefully some new board members at some point things seem to be looking upward.

What Day Is It?



Take a picture of your dog, cat, or whatever animal friend is living in your home because it's Pet Photo Day!  Enjoy lots of food and drink with slurpees, blueberry muffins, rainier cherries, and mojitos all having a holiday dedicated to them.  It is a good day for Coach Albiero and his aquatic friends at the Natatorium seeing that it is National Swimming Pool Day.  Enjoy a belly flop for me!

How do you think Coach Walz and Team USA will do?  Will they make it a 10th straight gold medal?  What are your thoughts towards a new Division 1 team at UofL?  Does ice hockey deserve it or should we see another sport first?  Please leave your comments down below.  As always, please respect the comments of others in the thread.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -