Tuesday Cardinal Couple

Jared brings us a look at the Pros and Cons of Volleyball playing at Cardinal Arena.  Meanwhile Worldwide chimes in with some more coverage of Swimming in Budapest.

Pros and Cons for Cardinal Arena

When Coach Dani Busboom Kelly took over as head coach for the volleyball team here at Louisville there were a few changes made. The one most well-known is the transition back to Cardinal Arena for home games. Moving away from the KFC Yum! Center has its pros and cons.

Pro: In the players' prospective Cardinal Arena is on campus. The close proximity to their dorms and classes makes it easier to get to and less travel time. This could also allow for fewer missed classes

Pro: With the smaller size of Cardinal Arena noises are amplified. The sound 1,000 fans could make downtown is much greater in a smaller arena. The cheers from the fans and songs from the band are a great way to help energize the team.

Con: Parking is not as easy. The KFC Yum! Center had a parking lot below the facility and another one right next door. Plus you could always find street parking downtown. UofL's campus is limited in parking. Weekday games might be frustrating as fans circle campus and the nearby streets hoping to find somewhere to park. The Floyd Garage can hold so many cars, but many are reserved for student residents. What's left is on the higher floors and is still a short walk to the arena instead of an elevator ride up.

Con: Cardinal Arena may be undergoing a full renovation to increase the current 840ish seats, but the concern for lack of seating will still be a problem. Last year's team saw plenty of games that broke 1,000 fans. Once you take away the seating for friends and family tickets and season ticket holders you're left with some seats for single game tickets and student tickets.

Pro: This will be a volleyball ONLY facility. The team will not have to share the facility with the men and women's basketball team, nor will they have to deal with the KFC Yum! Center scheduling. By the way, UofL getting the boot on priority for months like October would've been a major blow for volleyball scheduling anyways. It was just good timing moving back to Cardinal Arena.

Pro: Concession stand prices will be a tad cheaper. I don't mean that we will see a drastic change in prices, but those $6 fountain drinks and $8 personal pizzas might drop a dollar or two. It might not sound like much, but if you buy a drink every game then you could find yourself saving quite a bit of money.

The team and its fans have handled Cardinal Arena well over the years. They've also managed to host the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament just a couple years ago. Overall the switch back to Cardinal Arena will be beneficial for all, even if we were spoiled by our fancy downtown arena for a few years.

Just Keep Swimming

Cardinals continue to find the podium in Budapest.

Kelsi Worrell put up another personal best in the 100 meter Butterfly to take third place in the finals at the World Championship Event that we continue to cover.  The 56.37 time shaves another fraction of a second off of her best as she continues to improve and advance in the international standings.  This is Kelsi's first individual medal in a major international event.  She was beaten by world record holder Sarah Sjostrum who swam the event in 55.53.  Australia's Emma McKeon took 2nd at 56.18, which is also a new Australian Record.

Also in Budapest, Grigory Tarasevich finished 3rd in his semifinals heat to advance with a 5th place seed to the finals 100 backstroke.  The finals for this event will be tonight.

In prelims this morning it's all guys for the Cardinals.  Carlos Claverie will be swimming in the 50M breaststroke, Etay Gurevich will be in the 200M Fly, and Marcelo Acosta goes for a longer swim in the 800M Free.

We'll continue to bring you these results as the week continues.

Seven Nations...one goal and University...Louisville swimming press conference -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WORRELL, CARDS READY FOR RIO

The first thing apparent at the University of Louisville swimming press conference yesterday was the striking difference between the six swimmers on hand to answer media questions. 



Joao De Lucca, he of Brazil and the most physically impressive of the six...looking like he could suit up for Bobby Petrino's Football Cards and smash a few unsuspecting running backs. Kelsi Worrell, the tallest of the Louisville women's swimmers, broad shoulders and a smile from ear to ear. You could easily picture her leaping to block one at the net for Anne Kordes. A bit hoarse but always charming. Carlos Claverie, tall, tanned and strikingly handsome...could pass as the leading man in a epic cinema detective story. Andrea Kneppers, fair-haired and almost a bit shy at first...tall and willowy and an intense stare. Not finding out until Tuesday that she would be representing the Netherlands. 

Tanja Kylliainen, "Mighty Mouse" the smallest of the group and seated next to Worrell...hanging intently on each of the group's words...choosing her own words with thought and care. Grigory Tarasevich, the Russian backstroke specialist, tall, lanky and looking maybe the least athletic of the group...boyish smile and a guy who you might expect to be bagging your groceries or delivering your paper instead of being ranked eighth in the world.

These are your UofL Swimming Olympians. Only Marcelo Acosta was absent. The Netherlands, Finland, Venezuela, Brazil, El Salvador, Russia and the USA...all represented, all sharing one thing...past performers in the red and black of Louisville swimming. Seven student-athletes, seven different backgrounds all sharing the same dream. Gold. 

They are not afraid of the potential crises in Rio. They are focused on their final training and their success. They will cheer for each other when they are in the water. None are pitted against each other in the events and have no idea how often they'll get to see each other in the Olympic Village. 

They have their mosquito netting and will soak their clothing in mosquito and bug repellent. Some of them spent January in Rio during qualifying and came back no worse for the wear. As Joao De Lucca so simply put it: 

"Look at me. It is my home country. Do I look sick?" 

We have the words of these six and head coach Arthur Albiero audio for you on the Saturday edition of THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR tomorrow. We also went a little more in-depth with Tanja Kylliainen. Some teasers:

-- What's a girl from Baltimore doing swimming for Finland?

-- Who were her role models and inspiration at UofL? 

-- What will be her training process in the days before Rio?

-- How did she get the nickname "Mighty Mouse?"   

Make sure and catch THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR tomorrow at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM for the answers to this questions and the entire interviews.

LINK: WCHQ 100.9 - CRESCENT HILL RADIO


paulie
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