Cards Awarded -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Hartlage Falls in Tourney but Picks Up Award

Lauren Hartlage's run at the 118th Women's North and South Amateur came to a close yesterday when she lost in the second round to Emilia Migliaccio 3&1. Migliaccio went on to lose in the Sweet Sixteen to sixth-ranked Haylin Harris pretty handily, so whether or not Hartlage could have had a chance at advancing beyond the Sweet Sixteen is tough to prognosticate. Either way, Lauren put up a good fight and it's always exciting to see Louisville players get their chance to shine at higher levels of their sports. 

I almost typed "former Louisville players" there, but it's important to remember that Hartlage doesn't fit that description just yet. The senior was granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA's blanket spring waiver and elected to take it. Other things we'll see if she can take are back-to-back Edith Cummings Munson Awards. It was announced earlier this week that Hartlage earned the award, granted to a Division I women's golf upperclassman that is both a WGCA All-American Scholar and a WGCA All-American. If there is more than one athlete that meets the requirements, it is awarded based on GPA. Hartlage has a 3.909 GPA and has been an All-American Scholar all four years at UofL. Her All-American Honorable Mention this season made her eligible for the Munson Award, which awards $5,000 to the general scholarship fund of the winning athlete's institution. We'll be looking for more good things out of Lauren as she gets set to take on her second senior year.

Track and Field / Cross Country Earn Academic Honors

Speaking of smart Cards, Academic honors were announced by the USTFCCCA (US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) [yeah, that's a mouth full] yesterday. For the sixteenth straight year, the women's team was awarded the team academic award with a 3.42 cumulative team GPA for last season. The men's team was also awarded this year. Individual honors were also announced. To be awarded, an athlete must carry a 3.25 cumulative GPA and be in the top 96 nationally of an individual event or in the top 48 collectively of a relay event. Eight Cards on the women's side picked up such an honor: Bailey Beery, Makenli Forrest, Alexis Gibbons, Halee Hudson, Gabriela Leon, Auriane Viola, Dorcas Wasike, and Aliyah Welter. Louisville's TFCC teams have been steadily putting out championship competitors and it is always good to see that the student-athletes are getting it done in the classroom as well.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

I was out last week but you can't get rid of me that easily (until next week when I'm taking another practice exam). This week we should have a full house which allows us to bring you even more joy and excitement about Louisville women's athletics. We'll talk about the above, the current standings of fall sports, the big donation announcement earlier this week, and have ourselves a quiz. We've got some internet issues today so we won't be able to have a live show this week, but be sure to check out the Cardinal Couple YouTube Channel at around 12:30 for the recording of the show. If you like it, be sure to share the episode with your friends!

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Softball Drops Two; Lacrosse Opens ACC Play -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Falls to UIC and OK State on Friday

Louisville softball's early season struggles continued yesterday as they dropped their third and fourth games in a row, with three being run rules. The losses to Alabama, while not great, could not be described as unexpected, but Jeff and I discussed last week that dropping them both by large margins could be bad for confidence moving forward. It seems that came to pass yesterday. The Cards were thumped by the University of Illinois-Chicago, a team that had been 4-6 entering the game. They showed a bit more life in the later game against top-fifteen Oklahoma State, avoiding a fourth straight run rule, but were unable to score and dropped the game 3-0.

Game 1: Louisville 2, UIC 10

Taylor Roby took the circle to open Louisville's weekend yesterday and she was met by a lead-off home run from UIC's Samantha Ferguson. Ferguson would go on to score on to score three runs in the game. The Cards got through the rest of the first allowing just one more hit but trailed 1-0 going into the bottom half. Louisville returned the run scoring favor when Celene Funke reached on a four pitch walk. She stole second, advanced to third on a ground ball, and scored on an error. After a ground out, Maddy Newman was picked off at first to leave the bases empty with two outs. Cassady Greenwood doubled, but Carmyn couldn't bring her home. 1-1.

The second inning was pretty uneventful, with just one walk between the two teams, but it started to get away from the Cards after that. UIC scored two unanswered runs in the third inning and added three more in the fourth. Louisville got one back in the bottom of the fourth inning on a Cassady Greenwood homer to make it 6-2, but then gave up another four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Unable to bring the score any closer in the bottom half, the game was called for a five inning run rule. Louisville fell 10-2.

Game 2: Louisville 0, OK State 3

The second game saw Louisville blanked on the scoreboard and nearly blanked at the plate. The Cards kept this one a lot closer defensively, with Chardonnay Harris keeping the Cards in the game from the circle, but a three run third inning from the hosts was the difference. Louisville's offense was held to a pair of hits from Funke and Caitlin Ferguson, a walk from Newman, and a hit by pitch from Eden Mayo. No more than two of those things happened in the same inning. To her credit, Harris held Oklahoma State to just five hits and a walk, but three of those baserunners came back-to-back-to back for that three run inning. 

Despite a better showing in the second game, the result is ultimately the same and the Cards fell to 5-11. I know that's not what we at Cardinal Couple imagined for this team, and I'm certain it's not what anyone in the softball building expected either. The softball season is long, but Louisville will have to turn it around quickly if they're going to end up winning enough games for an NCAA Tournament bid. The Cards are back in action today with a game against #10 Oregon at 1PM immediately followed by a rematch against Oklahoma State.

Women's Track on Top in ACC Championships

With eleven events remaining today, Louisville currently holds a narrow lead over the Duke Blue Devils at the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Cards sit at 34.5 points with the Blue Devils just half a point behind in second. Still in striking distance are NC State, Notre Dame, and Virginia at 26, 26, and 25.5 points respectively. Louisville's day yesterday was highlighted by a Dorcas Wasike silver medal finish in the 5000m run. Still to be completed today on the women's side are the finals for the Pole Vault, Triple Jump, Shot Put, 60m Hurdles, Mile Run, 400m, 60m, 800m, 200m, 3000m, and the 4x400m relay. Louisville has had success in some of these events throughout the year, so we'll see if they can hold on to their lead.

Lax Opens ACC Schedule against VT

Following the thrilling win against Vanderbilt earlier this week, Scott Teeter's squad will get their ACC season underway today when they host #23 Virginia Tech at 1PM. The Hokies are 5-1 so far this season, falling only to #17 JMU in overtime. VT beat Cincinnati 20-5 earlier this week, a team you'll recall Louisville opened the season against, winning 16-11. The Cards will have their work cut out for them today, as VT has scored fewer than 14 goals just once this season (the road loss against JMU). If Rachel Florek can continue her outstanding play as she did last week, Louisville may be in business. It will take a strong effort on both ends, though, as the Hokies haven't given up double digit goals since a 17-10 win over Davidson to open the season. Today's game will be available on ACC Network Extra.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

It's the Jeff and Case show again this week, and it will again come at an odd time. We'll get the show started at 1:30 today, so be sure to tune in while you watch softball and lacrosse. We'll have plenty to talk about after the busy week for Louisville athletics and have a few games to preview as well, such as the regular season finale for basketball. Check out the Cardinal Couple YouTube for the live broadcast at 1:30 or for a replay any time.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

11 from Women's Track and Field to compete in NCAA Prelims -- WNBA News -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ACTION STARTS TODAY AT NORTH FLORIDA FOR CARDINAL ATHLETES 

The University of Louisville has 11 student-athletes competing in the NCAA East Preliminaries at the University of North Florida beginning today.

They will be trying to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships that will take place June 5-8 in Austin, TX. 

Here's the breakdown: 


HAMMER THROW -- Makenli Forrest, Halee Hudson

POLE VAULT -- Gabriela Leon, Morgan Zacharias

100m HURDLES -- Kayla Alexander, Sydney Hill

LONG JUMP -- Alexis Gibbons

10000m -- Dorcas Wasike, Ivine Chemutai

HIGH JUMP -- Alivia Ash

SHOT PUT -- Rashida Harris


If you have the paid subscription to FloSports Track, they'll be showing the East Prelims live. UofL's track and Field twitter account also will keep you up on the progress. 

Check with Cardinal Couple for the latest updates on these Cardinals in their pursuits for the NCAA Championships.  

We wish our Track and Field Cardinal the very best of times, numbers and results over the next three days as they give it their best to make it to the NCAA Championships! 



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


WNBA UPDATE

With one day (today) left before WNBA rosters have to trim down to 12 players, all four  former UofL WBB players on rosters have survived the cuts, so far. 

Asia Taylor looks to remain with the Indiana Fever, Indiana did waive Kayla Alexander yesterday, so A-Tayy's spot looks to be safe. A-tayy seems to be a good fit in Indy and with seven guards listed on their current 13 player roster, we'll predict anymore waivers come from that spot. 

Arica Carter made it through another round of cuts out in Phoenix. She's one of six guards listed on their current roster of 13 and one of four rookies listed. With Diana Taurasi unavailable for another 3-5 weeks but listed on the roster, we like A/C's chances to remain with the Mercury. 


Myisha Hines-Allen is listed as one of the 13 left on the Washington Mystics roster. We feel "Mooks" is O.K. here...the Mystics cut a couple of players back over the last few days and with eight guards still on Washington's roster, we're betting any final cuts would come from that position. 

Asia Durr looks to be solid with the New York Liberty. They still show 15 players on roster, but six of them are centers and eight are guards...I doubt the Liberty would waive the 2nd overall 2019 WNBA draft pick and Durr has been starting for NY, so...we declare her safe as well for a spot on the "Big Apple" roster. 

Here's a cut that is surprising: 

Megan Gustafson was the 2019 Naismith Award winner and was the AP Player Of The Year, and she was the Big Ten Player Of The Year in both 2018 and 2019 for the Iowa Hawkeyes. She averaged 27.9 points and 13.5 rebounds per game as a 6'3" center and shot 70.1% from the floor while attempting 16.5 field goals per game.

She was drafted 17th overall, the fifth pick of the WNBA's second round in the 2019 draft. On Wednesday, Gustafson was part of the Dallas Wings' final round of cuts.

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


DID YOU SEE THIS? 

Asia Taylor has a close and special relationship with her mom, Felicia. She had the chance to do something very special for her recently...in buying her a house...and did so. 

The surprise revealing and announcement was captured on Instagram and we proudly share it with you today: 




instagram.com/tv/BxxRZUQhaBk/?igshid=1wwr6294i7s4l …


Just one example of the kind, caring and giving student-athletes and their works that have graced the Belknap Campus over the years and continue to. We salute you, A-Tayy ! 

(thanks to former Cardinal Couple columnist and reader Jenny O'Bryan for notifying me of this special moment.) 


have a terrific Thursday 

paulie
xxxxx

Softball Struggles; Track and Field Does Not -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Walks Haunt in Softball's 6-0 Loss

Coming off of yet another final inning victory over Marshall during the midweek, softball welcomed UNC to town while looking for a third straight series victory. Unfortunately, Louisville pitching was unable to find the strike zone for the entirety of the game, and the batters couldn't bring runners across the plate. Yesterday's game was one of those losses that feels like it could get much worse at the beginning, yet also seems to be one that slipped away by the end. 

The Cards started the game pretty well, with Danielle Watson picking up a groundout and a strikeout to open the series. Those were the only two outs Watson would record from the circle, exiting 6 batters later having given up a hit, four walks, and four unearned runs after what should have been the final out of the inning was instead a fielding error. After the error derailed the first inning, Louisville was completely lost for the second inning as well, as Taylor Roby walked five batters in the inning, including walking a run in with the bases loaded. Roby was lifted after the second inning for Megan Hensley, who was able to scatter 5 hits and 4 walks across 5 total innings, allowing no more runs.  

The offensive issues came almost immediately. The first inning saw UNC's starter on track to strike out the side after getting Celene Funke and Sidney Melton to go down swinging, but then Hensley belted a triple to right field. No matter, as she would become the first victim left on base when Roby also went down swinging. Louisville's offensive production never got much more exciting than that, as the team finished with just three hits compared to eight strikeouts. They added in six walks and a hit by pitch, but they ultimately left all ten runners on base in this one. Hensley and Kyra Snyder tied for the team lead by each getting on base twice. 

This was ultimately a game to forget for Holly Aprile's side. What more do you say about a game where you throw a program record 14 walks? Louisville has to put yesterday's issues behind them and move on to a fresh slate today. There are two games remaining in the series, and a pair of wins would put them right back on track.

The Cards are just 1.5 games back of Notre Dame for second in the Atlantic Division and they're tied on overall record with UNC. Louisville is very much in a position for a favorable seed in the ACC tournament, but they'll need to look more like the team that took down Florida State and Kentucky and less like the team that labored through wins over Georgia Tech and Marshall to do it. First pitch for the second game in the series is set for 1PM and is available on ACC Network Extra. Today's game is Senior Day for five Cardinals. If you intend to head to campus for any UofL events today, please note that the KDF Marathon and Mini-Marathon will be affecting traffic patterns and road closures throughout the day.

POST GAME COMMENTS FROM COACH APRILE: 

HOLLY APRILE 4/26/19 POST UNC GAME

(Thanks to Daryl Foust -- The Crunch Zone -- for video of post game
and to Jared Anderson for the photos) 

Cards Pick Up Three Wins on Day One

Louisville Track and Field is hosting the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational this weekend at Cardinal Park and they opened yesterday's events with a bang. Three Cardinals picked up victories, and after the prelims, Louisville will have seven more winning chances in today's finals. Yesterday saw Anthony McRoberts grab a win in the Men's Long Jump and Carsen Cassell won the Unseeded Women's Hammer Throw. Dorcas Wasike continued to do what she has done for her entire career at UofL and dominated the 5000m by nearly half a minute, setting a meet record of 16:13.59. Louisville swept the podium in the event, with Ivine Chemutai and Bailey Beery taking second and third. Today's events are already underway at the time of posting, and results can be seen on the Louisville Track and Field Twitter feed.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

We're sans Daryl in the studio today, but the original four knuckleheads are all back for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour today prior to next week's Derby break. Just as quickly as they began, spring sports are already wrapping up, but we'll talk softball and lacrosse, plus other news that has come across the wire this week. Tune into WCHQ FM at 11AM for fun and games on Mellwood Avenue. The channel is available at 100.9FM, wchqfm.com, the WCHQ App, and is carried with live video on Facebook Live.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Jaz Jones roots on the Cards and supports former Cardinal Donovan "Spida" Mitchell

Basketball and Beyond -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

UofL has three other sports besides hoops going on currently.

It is the time of year when our thoughts here at CARDINAL COUPLE and most likely with you turn to the orange ball bouncing on wood and double-doubles. Both the Cards WBB contingents are having fine seasons, the men recently joined the top 25 and WBB is #4 in the nation, facing a truly tough challenge Thursday night in Talhassee against FSU.

Speaking of challenges, it's allegedly rumored that Coach Walz got a call from the NCAA about his "shooting" and such. No more details available, but, I guess we can assume there will be no more "catch and shoots" from the Cardinal WBB coach. 

There are other activities currently engaged in competition, though...with more to come...so, let's take today and catch up on how tennis, swimming and track & field are doing. Two of the three are currently involved in their "indoor" seasons (imagine trying to serve and volley on slicked surfaces and snow drifts or sprinting down a ice-covered track). 

UofL has a couple of Spring Sports Media days planned, the first today with the aforementioned three in the spotlight. Next week, softball, rowing, lacrosse and golf take the stage to discuss their upcoming seasons.

 Today, let's look at how those who make serves, sprints and splashes are doing. 

TENNIS

The Cards field men and women's sports in this racket, net and ball based sport and this is an activity that features an indoor and outdoor season. Since we primarily cover women's sports here at "the Couple" that's where my focus will be today. 

Louisville women's tennis began the spring season on Sunday at the Bass-Rudd Center adjacent to I-65 and brought in two schools from the Buckeye state to kick the schedule off. In the morning session, UofL faced Bowling Green and successfully got a 5-2 win over the Falcons from the MAC. A 2-0 start for the season for Mark Beckham's squad ! 

As we have covered here before, seven "points" are obtainable in a contest, although nine matches are actually contested (six singles and three doubles). The players are ranked for the contests (#1 thru #6) in singles on each squad and they face off against their counterpart with the objective to win two sets.  The Cards fared well in the morning/early afternoon session, getting wins from their #2 thru #5 players and picking up four points. Those that triumphed were #2 Nikolina Jovic, #3 Raven Neely, #4 Diana Wong, #5 Chloe Hamlin. 

So the score was 4-2 Cards with (1) point left to decide in doubles competition. Whichever team wins two of the three matches gets that point and the Cards accomplished that with #1 doubles team Sena Suswami and Raven Neely and #3 Diana Wong and Aleksandra Mally getting wins. 

Head coach Mark Beckham discusses the win here: BECKHAM DISCUSSES BOWLING GREEN MATCH

In the afternoon, the Cards went against Miami (OH). Once again the Cards found success, downing the RedHawks 6-1. The seeding of the players can change from one match to another, so a slightly different group of Cardinals went to singles competition and picked up five points...all seeds winning except the #1 seed for the Cards. This match it was, in ranking order, Suswam, Jovic, Neely, Wong and Hamlin getting net success. 

With five points already in the bag, the Cards doubles units swept the RedHawks in all three contests to pick up the final point and the 6-1 triumph. 

Beckham also discussed the Miami win. LINK: CARDS 6-1 over Miami


TRACK AND FIELD

The Cardinal runners, jumpers and throwers have had two meets so far and distance specialist Dorcas Wasike has competed in and additional meet to kick off the spring. Once again, an indoor season and we'll focus on the women's results again.

Wasike went to Boston to compete in the aptly named BU Season Opener and won the 5000 meters, setting a new school record for the event, where she finished sixth after an unfortunate fall at the 4K mark. 

The Cards went to Purdue as a team for their season opener in the Gene Edmunds Invitational on January, January 12th. They fared well against the competition, getting six wins on the women's side. Hats off to winners Makenli Forrest (weight throw), Morgan Zacharias (pole vault), Radhida Harris (shot put) and Renate van Tonder (long jump) in field events . 

On the track, Brooke Raglin won the 60 meters and Aurilla Wilson took the 3000 meters. 

The Cards went to Notre Dame to compete on Saturday, Jan 19th. and the women got three wins in track and three on the field to win the meet. Raglin took both the 60 meters and 200 meters and Wasike captured the mile run. In field events, wins were secured by Gabrielle Leon in the pole vault, von Tonder in the triple jump and Forrest in the weight toss. 

The Cards travel to Illinois this Saturday to take part in the Illini Classic. 



SWIMMING


Success goes synonymous with swimming and the Dive and Stroke Cards entered January defeating Missouri 163-137.  

18 women's wins in the various swim and dive events, a list way too long to list here. Multiple event winners were Sophie Cattermole (500, 1000 free), Mariia Astashkina (100, 200 backstroke), and Alina Kenndzior (100 back, 200 back). 

Mallory Comerford ruled in the 200 freestyle and the Cards won numerous "team" events as well. 

It appears the #6 ranked Cards are in for a very successful season as they compete with the best in the ACC and in the nation. 

Have a great Tuesday! 


paulie
xxxxx

Sunday Cardinal Couple - WBB Gameday

Wake Forest in Basketball

We frequently say you can't take a day off in the ACC in many sports, including WBB.  If you were going to take a day off, today might be the one you would pick.  The Demon Deacons are sitting at 0-4 in conference along with Pitt, VA Tech, and Duke.  (I'm still reveling that Clemson is tied for 3rd with us, and Boston College is mid-pack.  Definitely not the norm in ACC, but I'm here for it.)  Overall they're at 9-8.

This isn't a great team, but it is the ACC, so let's hope the team doesn't take my suggestion above to take the day off.

Wake does have a few mediocre wins under their belt, against the likes of Towson, Mercer, Richmond, St. Johns, and Charlotte.  None are a earth shattering wins, but there are some decent mid-majors in that list.  Several of their losses also are reasonable, with out of conference drops against VCU, Xavier, East Carolina, and Indiana.  Again, we're not talking world beater teams, here, but they're not totally embarrassing losses.

The 4 losses in conference so far are against Miami, the aforementioned Boston College, Notre Dame, and UNC.  None of those losses are particularly embarrassing, but add all of this up, and you have to come to the conclusion that this is mostly an also-ran team.

Look for the offense to mostly come from Elisa Penna, Ivana Raca, and Ona Udoh.  Watch out for Udoh in shot blocking, as well, with 30 blocks on the year, which is good enough to get her on the overall NCAA blocked shots stats leaderboard.  (For comparison, Kylee Shook has the highest blocked shots tally for UofL, at 20).

Penna, Raca, and Gina Conti will also look to be jumping passing lanes with 22, 19, and 26 steals respectively.  (Asia Durr has 27, Dana Evans has 30, and Jaz Jones has 24).

The takeaway is that UofL should be able to walk away from this one with a win without too much trouble.  Stay in the game, remember to block out on rebounding (a recent emphasis given rebounding woes of past games), and play the game plan that you've been given.

As a side note, head WBB Demon Deacon coach Jen Hoover played at Wake and was a roommate and on the same squad as Cardinal ACCNE color analyst Sara White. Jen is still the school's leading scorer and rebounder.

This is a 1 p.m. start, and is available on the ACC Network Extra.

Track and Field

It was a good day for Louisville Track and Field Cardinals in South Bend yesterday.  The Cardinal women won outright with 20+ points over 2nd place team finisher, hosting Notre Dame.  On the men's side, the Irish and Cardinals tied for first with 126 points.  Illinois, Central Michigan, and Loyola were also in competition.

The Cards got a number of top finishes, including, and stop me if you've heard this name before, Dorcas Wasike setting a personal best in the mile run.  Gabriela Leon won the pole vault event, setting a school record in the process at 4.31m

Also in Action Today

Women's Tennis has a double-header at the Bass-Rudd today, playing against Bowling Green at 11 a.m., and Miami at 5 p.m..  Their counterparts on the men's team are in Charlottesville playing against Virginia, also with an 11 a.m. start.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Daryl Foust now has official walk-up music for the CCRH, which was debuted on yesterday's show.

She selected Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet", a jam that always gets the "This one goes to 11." treatment in my car.

She was also gifted with a bottle of Black Velvet Whiskey (yes, the caramel flavored variety), which makes me think I should maybe change my walk-up music to George Thorogood's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, and One Beer".

A good time was had, and we did get a chance to talk about some UofL women's sports, mostly basketball.

You can check out the replay, at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/367558420696889/

-- 

JMcA

Cross Country and Volleyball -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

The Cardinal's athletics calendar has been relatively quiet the past week, with only 3 entries for yesterday.

Football we're still not really going to talk about, partly because I didn't watch it, partly because there are plenty of sites and radio shows you can go to hear about it.

Hoops, WBB style is Monday. Our Jared Anderson does the National Anthem at the NCAA Field Hockey Finals today.

There were a couple of women's sports events of interest, however.

Wasike at NCAA Cross Country Championships

First, Dorcas Wasike competed in the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Madison, Wisconsin.

Cold climate running is certainly not my cup of tea, but Dorcas represented the Cardinals well, with a 14th place overall finish, which makes her, again, an All-American in the sport.  The spread of finish times for the 6K race between first and Dorcas' finish in 14th was only 25 seconds, so this is a very competitive race, as you would expect for the pinnacle of college cross-country competitions.

Congratulations on a great cross-country season for Dorcas Wasike, where she never finished below 15th place.  She'll be in action with the track and field team in the spring, and again next year for her Senior year campaign.

Swim and Dive in Hoosierville

8th ranked Louisville Swim and Dive took 2nd overall behind 7th ranked NC State in Bloomington at the Indiana Invitational.  Mallory Comerford and Grace Oglesby both put up NCAA A cuts (guaranteed qualifications into the NCAA Championships in the spring) in the 100 Free and the 200 Fly, respectively.

Sophie Cattermole went the distance in the 1650 free for an NCAA B cut time (a qualification for the Championships depending on the number of qualifying participants).  Does a 1650 yard race seem like an oddly specific race distance?  "1600 yards just doesn't seem to be enough, let's add that extra 50 yards on, yeah that'll do!"  NCAA living the crazy life.

Plenty of B standard times were set by the Cards, both women and men, as this program continues to excel.  Based on the sheer number of qualifying times, it appears the IU is a fast one.

NCAA Tourney Events in Louisville

Two NCAA tourney events are happening today on Floyd Street.

First up is the Championship game for Field Hockey.  This one will see 2 seed Maryland vs 1 seed UNC, on the turf at Trager Stadium.  UofL isn't in this one, but was selected to host the Field Hockey final four for the past two year thanks to our great facilities and awesome people.

Later in the evening, down the street, Louisville Men's Soccer gets their NCAA tourney path underway, taking on Michigan State, who defeated the University of Illinois-Chicago to advance.  As the 4 seed in the overall tournament, Louisville will hold the home field advantage as long as they continue to win and advance, until they make it to the College Cup, which will be held in Santa Barbara, CA.

The Louisville City FC's latest trophy, the USL Cup, will be in attendance for any USL fans that want to continue to celebrate the success of Louisville professional soccer franchise.  I would be surprised if UofL Soccer Alum, and Lou City team captain, Paulo Del Piccolo were not in attendance as well.  I would guess you would also have an opportunity to see Head Coach John Hackworth, and his new Lou City USL Cup tattoo as well.  Well, the tattoo is on his upper arm, so it may not be visible given the likely cold weather gear that will probably be in use.

Volleyball Signing Class

Lastly today, if you'll indulge me my volleyball enthusiasm a minute, I'd like to share some about the signing class for UofL Volleyball that came in this week.

5 players submitted their NLIs, so let's run through them briefly.

Alexa Hendricks

First up, closest to home, is Alexa Hendricks.  Alexa comes out of the KIVA and Assumption volleyball star factory, and is a 5'7" libero/DS.  Molly Sauer graduates after this season, and with Kelly O'Neil questionable for any return at all, a bit of bolstering of the DS ranks will be good for the Cards.  Mia Stander has stepped up and played extremely well, Alexis Hamilton should be back to full speed by next season and the combination of those makes for a good cadre of defensive players to keep rallys going and in system for the Cards.

Nena Mbonu

Nena will be coming to us from the Houston, TX area, listed as Spring, TX.  Texas has been good to the strong program which is
UofL Volleyball over recent years, which excellent players like Erin Fairs, Roxanne McVey, and Janelle Jenkins joining us from the Lone Star state.

Nena is listed as an even 6 feet tall, and a quote from Coach Busboom Kelly mentions that she can already touch 10'6" jumping.  I'm approximately 6 feet tall, and I have never, at any time in my life, touched higher than an even 10 feet.  Watch for some big hops and big swings in offense from this one.

Shannon Shields and Amber Stivrins

Shannon Shields

We're going to talk about the next two as something of a pair.  Shannon Shields and Amber Stivrins come to us from Chandler, AZ which is a suburb of Phoenix.  Arizona has also been a source of good volleyballers for UofL, albeit in less quantity, with Tess Clark having reported for duty from Phoenix as well.

Shannon and Amber played at different high schools, but played together on their club teams with the Arizona Storm club.  Shannon is a setter (and drop in the reminder here that Wilma Rivera is graduating after this season), and has lots of experience setting to Amber, an outside hitter.

At 5'10" we expect Shannon to be up to the task of setting, and participating effectively in the blocking schemes.

Amber, meanwhile, will be swinging away at the outside hitter position, and at 6'1", there's no doubt that she has the height to be effective.

Both Shannon and Amber have been driving forces in collecting numerous accolades individually, and as part of their respective school teams, and their common club team.

Amaya Tillman

Topeka, KS brings us Amaya Tillman.  If you've been paying attention to the crowd at UofL Volleyball matches in Cardinal Arena these past couple of years Amaya will be a familiar face for you as, despite the 8 hour drive (~560 miles), she has been spotted numerous times at Cardinal Volleyball matches.

We're graduating a very fine middle in Jasmine Bennett, but Coach Busboom Kelly is reloading in that position with Amaya.  At middle, she'll be a 6'3" wall, continuing the tradition of good blocking in Cardinal Arena.

So, there you go, five players signed, defense, setting, a pair of outsides, and a middle, that's a well balanced class and has the looks of helping to elevate UofL volleyball even further.  Volleyball looks set to be a lot of fun in Cardinal Arena for many years go come.


Donation Month

This quote about donations from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service.

We have tried to be a good steward in providing a willing and needed service here at Cardinal Couple with a daily report on the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports. Will you help us continue our service here at this non-profit venture in 2019?  Send checks to: 

CARDINAL COUPLE

PO BOX 91521

LOUISVILLE, KY 40291

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Finally, Case and I were in studio yesterday, while Jared was cheering the demise of drive-thrus, and Paulie was probably just shivering.

Given the relatively quiet week, Case and I were able to dive into some depth of UofL Volleyball, and Soccer across the region.  We did talk a bit about the upcoming WBB game at Boise State.

You can check out the Facebook live replay at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/490281824815057/

-- 

JMcA