Praasterink Advances to 10M Finals -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Else Praasterink Advances to Olympic Finals

Photo from @LouisvilleSD on X

Recent University of Louisville diving alumna is making a name for herself at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Dutch native has qualified for and advanced to the finals for the 10M Platform Diving.

After a 15th place in preliminaries, Praasterink stepped up and improved her position to 12th in the semifinals. The top 12 finishers advanced to finals so the Dutch native just snuck in.

Praasterink is the first Louisville athlete to compete in a diving event in the Olympics and therefore is now the only Louisville athlete to advance to an Olympic final in diving. She posted a combined score of 292.80 over her five dives.

 

Photo from GoCards

The leader is Honghcan Quan of China with a score of 421.05. The current second place finisher is Yuxi Chen of China with a score of 403.05. No other divers scored higher than 367.00. Praasterink is the only representative from the Netherlands in the finals.

The 10M platform diving finals will be today (08/06/2024) beginning at 9:00am ET (3:00pm GMT+2). It can be streamed on Peacock.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

10 UofL Women's Swim and Dive Student Athletes to compete in Olympic Trials -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 10 UofL Women's Swim and Dive Cards headed to Lucas Oil for USA OLYMPIC TEAM trials

We all know that Arthur Albiero builds strong UofL swimming and diving squads each year at the University of Louisville . The 2023-24 women's squad was 9-1 in dual meets and also fared quite well in events like the Louisville invitational, NCAA Championships and ACC Championships, where the women finished second. 

In mid-June, the USA Olympic Trials will take place at Lucas Oil from Friday to June 23rd.  Ten member of the women's sqaud (and 21 Cards overall) will thry to make the USA squad. 

USA swimming has also rolled out a prime competing venue, creating the Lucas Oil pool in Indianapolis. which will also be able to hold 30,000 spectators. That's huge, considering the previous venue for Olympic trials was in Omaha and sat 15,000.

These women Cards will compete: 

-- Gabi Albiero (100 Fly,) (100 Free), (50 Free)

-- Summer Cardwell (200 Free, 100 Free) 

-- Mia Chitwood (100 Breast)

-- Julia Dennis (100 Free, 50 Free) 

-- Paige Hetrick (100 back, 50 Free) 

-- Lucy Mehraban (50 Free, 100 Free) 

-- Christina Regenauer (100 Fly, 100 Free, 50 Free)

-- Rye Ulett ( 100 Back, 200 back) 

-- Tristen Ulett (100 Fly, 100m Free, 200 Free, 50 Free)

-- Ella Welch (100 Fly)

We wish all our Cardinal swimmers the best of luck and great times as they compete to join the USA Olympic squad.

paulie

News on Just About Everyone - Sunday Cardinal Couple

WBB Gameday

Women's Basketball has a noon start today vs Virginia.  An early start with unusual video coverage as The CW has the video for this one.  That's WBKI channel 58 on broadcast here in Louisville.

But of course, we'll all be making the early trek to watch this one in person at the KFC Yum! Center right?  I have to admit that the early start time has put me in a bit of time crunch this morning.  With the huge amount of activity going on this weekend...well, it makes for an interesting morning.

The game against Virginia should give the Cards an opportunity to get a small win streak going, after the win over Georgia Tech on Thursday in Atlanta.  The Cavaliers sport a 13-13 record overall and are 5-10 in conference.  In the non-conference, nothing too remarkable in their record with wins over mid-majors and lower, and losses to teams you would expect.  The only real exception was a loss to Wofford, though it was by only a single point.

In conference things get a bit more chaotic, because, well, ACC.  A pair of losses to NC State, sure, makes sense.  Losses to Georgia Tech, Duke, and North Carolina, and Notre Dame, yeah, sounds like a team that's going to struggle in conference overall.  Then they go and beat Florida State, lose to Pitt, and then beat North Carolina.  They lost to Virginia Tech, which is no shame, then lose to Clemson.  Wins over Boston College and Wake Forest make sense as does a loss to Syracuse.  Finally, they come into the KFC Yum! Center today with a win over Miami in their rear view.

Overall a team that's, not great, but not bottom of the barrel either, but you have to admit there are some surprises in their in conference play.

Kymora Johnson is the scoring threat for UVA, shooting 42% overall, and 30% from beyond the arc.  Camryn Taylor is next, with higher efficiency, but less frequency.  46% shooting overall for her, but a whooping 55+% from beyond the arc.

Let's get to the KFC Yum! Center early and get this one in the books.  We need all the wins we can get in these last few games, and it definitely doesn't get any easier.

Off Court News

I don't tend to follow recruiting news closely, but a big verbal came in last night as Mackenly Randolph, daughter of Zach Mckenley Randolph who had a significant career playing for five different NBA teams.  Definitely a good pickup for coach Walz and the team.

Another piece of big news came in one of the most anti-climactic ways.  In a Facebook comment, Olivia Cochran responded to a WBB fan stating that she wasn't participating in Senior night festivities this year as she will be returning to use her Covid year of eligibility to play next year.  Another year of "Welcome to the Show" sits just fine with me.

Lacrosse Wilts Under the Lights

Lacrosse moved over to the L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium last night, hosting Virginia Tech for their conference opener.

Nicole Perroni continues to consecutive game
scoring streak

Louisville started out well, or well Nicole Perroni did, at least.  Notching her 41st straight game with at least one score, she did so with a hat trick in the first quarter of play leading the Cards out to a 4-2 advantage.

The lead wouldn't last, though, as The Hokies got the next three goals starting out the second quarter before Perroni would again come in with a goal to stop the slide and bring the score to an even 5-5 at halftime.

A bit of a scorefest in the 3rd quarter, but alas, mostly for VT, as they reeled off five straight over the course of the 15 minutes.  Kokoro Nakazawa would stop the run, but would be answered by V Tech.  Rian Adkins put a literal last second shot into the net in the 3rd quarter to claw one back, ending the quarter at 7-11 with the Hokies in the lead.

Sara Addeche guarding the goal well

The 4th quarter ended up being a wash, with each team netting three shots.  UofL scores were a pair by Kokoro Nakazawa, as well as one by Kylea Dobson.  The final score was 10-14 with the victory going to Virginia Tech.

Sara Addeche performed well in goal with eight saves, though credit to VT's goalkeeper for her nine.  VT did take more shots on goal than UofL, but not by a significant margin, 22-19.

UofL will look for their first conference win on Saturday with a trip up to Pittsburgh.

Jared was out there snapping pics and got to talk to coach following the match 

Listen:   Head Coach Scott Teeter post-game vs VA Tech

Softball

Furman

Softball, despite several delays due to weather, did get both of their planned games in yesterday.  The schedule was altered and things got started early.

Furman was the first foe, and it didn't go particularly well for the Cards.  The offense performed up to par, but Furman was just able to outscore the Cards putting up 13 to UofL's 8.

Runs scored for the Cards started in the 3rd inning, where Vanessa Miller singled to right field, scoring Kiley Goff, and Bailee Richardson who were on base thanks to a hit-by-pitch, and a walk.

In the 4th, Gabby Holloway singled, Ally Alexander walked but then was out on Chelsea Mack's fielder's choice, but Goff's walk filled the bases.  Holloway would score on a wild pitch with other runners advancing.  Richardson then grounded out, but Mack would make it home on the play.  Louisville had four runs at this point, but alas, Furman had nine.

Louisville would score a trio in the 6th.  Chelsea Mack reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to 2nd on a Goff groundout.  She promptly stole third...it's not just Daisy Hess out here stealing bases for the Cards.  Richardson doubled, and scored Mack.  Riley Frizell singled, moving Richardson to 3rd.  Both then advanced, with Richardson scoring, on a wild pitch,  Frizell then scored on a Vanessa Miller double.  A nice tally of seven by the Cards, but Furman had made it to 13 by this point.

Finally, the last try, would see Paige Geraghty single, then advance to 3rd on a Holloway single.  Geraghty would then score on an Ally Alexander fielder's choice.  Final score, 13-8.

The Cards would throw half their bullpen into the circle at various times trying to stop Furman, with Holloway, Izzy Harrison, Sam Booe, and Lindsey Mullen all taking their turns.  Only Mullen was able to keep Furman off the scoreboard, but they then the damage had been done.

Coastal Carolina

The second game for the Cards was against Coastal Carolina, after getting the afternoon to recover a bit, this one started at 4:37pm.  Maybe UofL just isn't a morning team as they took the win in this one 6-2.

Freshman Katie Thatcher got on the scoreboard first.  Starting off the 3rd inning with a single up the middle, she decided to make her mark in the steals column as well, taking 2nd.  She advanced to 3rd on Ally Alexander's groundout and scored on Paige Geraghty's single.  Mack sacrificed to move Geraghty to 2nd, and then Geraghty scored on a Frizell single.  Score after three, 2-0.

Nothing else happened until the 7th inning and with two outs already up on the board.  Frizell singled, and scored on a Vanessa Miller "Grass, Track, Fence".  The Cards kept going, however.  Richardson singled, Goff got hit by a pitch, and Holloway, pinch hitting for Madi Grant, filled the bases with a single.  Grant returned for the running.  Another freshman stepped up as Ava Venturelli pinch hit for Thatcher and got a single, scoring Richardson and Goff.  That would get the Cards to their final score of six, though Coastal Carolina, scoreless through this point in the game, would get a pair across in the bottom of the 7th, it wouldn't be enough.

At the time of this writing, the Cards are just underway with their next game, against Bowling Green at the Battle of the Beach.

Swim and Dive

The Cardinal women came in 2nd overall in the ACC Swimming and Diving Championship.  The Cards appeared to accomplish this through mostly scoring well in nearly all events, with the only podium finish for the team being a silver in the final event of the day, the 400 freestyle relay.   Lucy Mehraban, Gabi Albiero, Christiana Regenauer, and Julia Dennis turned in the 3rd fastest time in school history in the event.

Track and Field

The Indoor Track and Field teams were also competing in the ACC Championships.  Overall team finishes were nothing spectacular, but we did want to highlight a couple of competitors.

Following in a long history of good Cardinal throwers, Jayden Ulrich won the shot put event.  Natalie Lark placed second in the pole vault.  and Alba Cuns Iglesias placed third in the triple jump.

The team now waits to see who will be advancing to the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston before they turn their attention to the out of doors.

Technical Difficulties for the CCRHP

Technical Difficulties have thus far prevented yesterday's CCRHP from being posted in podcast form.  I'll be taking another stab at it later this afternoon to try to get it posted.  We had a good discussion with Daryl, Jared, Paulie and myself about basketball, lacrosse, and softball.

-- 

JMcA

Tajianna Avant-Roberts to UofL -- FH & VB -- Swim Sinks Against Tennessee -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Friday, folks! Case and Jared tag-teaming this one today as Daryl continues her vacation and Paulie is taking care of a personal matter. We have a full slate today so buckle in!

Tajianna Avant-Roberts Commits to UofL WBB

(Photo posted by SportsCenter on X)

Who said Jeff Walz only brings in transfers? The mastermind head Louisville WBB coach landed a five-star commit for the 2024 class this week. Tajianna Avant-Roberts (also seen shortened to Tajianna Roberts) announced on X (formerly twitter) and Instagram this week her commitment to join the Cards.

Tajianna Avant-Roberts chose Louisville over Cal, Virginia Tech, Duke, and Kentucky. Based on the new ACC structure and the UK rivalry, Louisville will face all of them next season.

Her social media accounts are @taj__roberts on X, @tajianna.roberts on Instagram.

Avant-Roberts is a 5'-10" guard from La Jolla, California. She is playing her senior season at IMG Academy in Florida after playing her first three seasons at La Jolla Country Day. In three seasons, she averaged 12.6 points, 5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.3 turnovers. As a junior, she averaged, 12.3 points, 6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 turnovers.

Avant-Roberts played club ball for the Cal Sparks Club, which won the 2023 U17 Nike EYBL Nationals. She also plays for the Boo Williams GBB AAU team in the Nike EYBL. Avant-Roberts is the #25 recruit in the HoopGurlz 2024 rankings. She's a five-star with an overall score of 96. Per the ESPN rankings, Avant-Roberts comes in as the #14 overall guard, #8 guard when excluding players listed only as PG, and #18 among guards and wings combined.

Hopefully Louisville's latest recruit will make an appearance in the stands at the KFC Yum! Center this coming season. The Cards open the season at Cincinnati on Nov. 6.

Last season, Louisville finished fourth in the ACC regular season, made it to the ACC Championship game after upsetting Notre Dame, and then was one of three ACC teams to make the Elite Eight.

Volleyball Hosts Pitt at the Yum

Second to only Kentucky on Louisville's rivalry list is Pittsburgh. Louisville and Pitt have battled it out in epic matches long before the ACC days, but both teams have garnered national attention in recent years with each of them appearing in the Final Four in both 2021 and 2022.

The Cards and Panthers split their regular season last year with each team protecting their home court. When the true matched mattered- the NCAA Tournament- it was Louisville coming out on top 3-2.

 Who can forget that jaw-dropping 15-2 final set?

Pitt enters the match with a 15-2 record. They opened the season with a loss to BYU and fell to Oregon a few matches later. They are a perfect 6-0 in conference play highlighted by a five-set win against Georgia Tech. Pitt has swept all other ACC opponents.

This match will be played at the KFC Yum! Center at 7:00pm and will be aired on ESPNU (TV and online). I was able to find lower bowl tickets as low as $15.00 as of last night. You'll find Jeff , JAred, Paulie and Sonja representing the Cardinal Couple contingent at the match. 

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Field Hockey Visits Duke

Louisville Field Hockey has another tough road test today against #2 Duke. The Blue Devils are 12-1 on the year while the Cards are 11-1.

Duke's lone loss came against Northwestern (currently ranked #1), but defeated ranked Maryland, Liberty, Syracuse, Boston College, Harvard, and Virginia. They are 4-0 in overtime games, going 2-0 in single overtime and 2-0 in double overtime. Like Louisville, Duke has constructed an impressive resume.

Former Louisville head coach Pam Bustin is currently in her 13th season as Duke's head coach. Her team has tallied 38 goals this season (2.92 per match) while only allowing 13 goals. Northwestern is the only team to score more than two goals against Duke, while Bustin's squad has shut out opponents five times.

Louisville took down Duke in a shootout at Trager Stadium last year.

Swim Sinks Against Tennessee 

#3 Louisville women's swim and dive fell in a tight knit meet against #6 Tennessee, 152-148. Gabi Albiero continued her dominance by taking the gold in the 50M freestyle and 100M freestyle. Louisville took the top four times in the 50M freestyle. Diving prodigy Else Praasterink won the 1M and 3M springboard events. Paige Hetrick won the 100M butterfly and was a part of both winning relay teams.

The season is still young for the swim and dive team, who return home to the Ralph Wright Natatorium on Nov. 3 to take on Notre Dame.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Case and Jared

Most Needed Upgrade for Women's Athletic Facilities -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

UPGRADES THAT NEED TO BE MADE

Summertime is a dead season for us at Cardinal Couple. When I mean dead, I mean dead. No games, quiet recruiting period, few personnel changes... crickets. We get interviews when we can, Walz is giving an update Wednesday at 11:30 -- and as fate would have it, none of our five "Couplites" are available to cover it live. We'll update you if they decide to "You Tube" it. 

Concerning facilities, UofL has prided itself on top tier athletics facilities and while the facilities remain better than most around the country, that doesn't mean upgrades and changes aren't needed periodically. While some upgrades such as increased seating and parking are often impossible due to the structural engineering and lack of available space, there are plenty of upgrades that can be made.

Basketball - KFC Yum! Center

The KFC Yum! Center has been through several upgrades in recent years ranging from a new video board, to the audio system, to lighting, to bars, but one thing stands out to me. The court hasn't been changed or modified in several years. Spacing between floorboards on the court have continued to grow. It's almost to the point it can be a safety hazard for players and it just looks bad from a visual perspective.

There's been talks that a new court will be installed in the near future, but nothing has been confirmed for the upcoming season.

Field Hockey - Trager Stadium

Trager Stadium has had two major upgrades recently- a new turf and a new video board. Both look great, especially the freshly colored turf that replaced the old fading red. The biggest upgrade needed right now is the addition of backrests to the bleachers. Even if the entire stadium can't have chairback seats, the lower level, which houses most of the fans, would benefit from chairbacks.

I don't see this upgrade happening anytime soon. The cost of the turf was extremely costly for a non-profit sport. From a little bit of research, the new turf would've cost half a million dollars at the bare minimum, but I suspect it cost quite a bit more than that.

Lacrosse - Louisville Lacrosse Stadium

The two biggest complaints I've heard about the Louisville lacrosse stadium we've heard are the fact that there are no restrooms and no concession stand. Porta potties as the only available restroom at a Division I sport at Louisville seems a bit on the displeasing side, but without a major structural overhaul, restrooms and a concession stand won't happen. A new video board was recently installed and the turf remains in good condition. So the most needed upgrade that is plausible would be a concession cart. Rolling a cart up to sell water, Gatorade, chips, and candy seems like a pretty easy thing to do.

Will it happen anytime soon? I doubt it, but it is a pretty cheap set up and there's plenty of space outside of the fences in either end zone.

Soccer - Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium

Still regarded as one of the top collegiate soccer facilities in the country, Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium has put opposing teams in awe when they play there. The stadium features chairback seating, bleacher seating, grass berm seating, shade, a giant videoboard, and a playground. Being in the east end zone (The Boyleing Point) during sunset can be a bit blinding, but that's no easy fix. The flying balls onto Floyd Street has been a bit of a concern though. The biggest design flaw is the low wall behind the western end zone. A giant net could be installed to help with that and prevent the danger of soccer balls flying at cars driving by.

Discussion of adding some type of barrier have happened before, but no changes have ever been made. Until someone driving by gets injured or their vehicle sustains heavy damage from a flying soccer ball, I don't see anything happening.

Paulie adds: "It's a bit weary that you have to access media parking on the east side of the stadium and then climb 40 steps to reach press box level. The only other option is to walk around the stadium and then enter in the west entrance and take an elevator to the press box level.." 

Softball - Ulmer Stadium

Ulmer Stadium has gotten new lights and seats in the last few years. The video board has also had upgrades in recent years too. There aren't any restrooms within the stadium itself, but they are located just outside the front gates so that isn't much of a concern either. The audio system has seen some better days. The marketing team has a habit of blowing out speakers at sporting events and softball hasn't been immune to that.

A new audio and speaker system might be in the works sooner than later. The softball program appears to be on the rise and making small upgrades seem doable.

Swim and Dive -Ralph Wright Natatorium

The Ralph Wright Natatorium has been around for quite some time. Due to this being an indoor facility that houses swim events, the humidity level is going to be high regardless of the HVAC system. There's also no room to expand the seating. For most events, there's plenty of seating but whenever rival Kentucky is in town the Natatorium turns into standing room only. However, it is a bit on the darker side inside the facility. Newer lights would enhance the experience, especially if events were to ever be televised or livestreamed.

Could new lights happen soon? Probably. We've seen quite a few different facilities have lighting upgrades since COVID-19 started.

Volleyball - L&N FCU Arena

Besides the obvious lack of adequate seating for the high demand of fans, L&N FCU Arena has seen a few upgrades over the years. New lighting is being installed this summer, more seats were added a couple years ago, the banners have been updated. However, it gets hot inside the arena. You can ask Jeff and his mom who wear t-shirts and shorts year round to limit the amount of sweating they deal with at volleyball. The HVAC system needs a major overhaul.

Word on the street is that the arena light upgrades were pretty costly for a non-profit sport, so I don't see an HVAC upgrade happening soon. I also don't think there's an arena only HVAC unit so this would require renovations to the entire student center.

And maybe, just maybe...the program needs a stand-alone facility of its own on campus. There are areas on the south side of Floyd Street where one might be constructed. With a $124 million athletics budget, maybe a sponsor could chip in as well and a facility could be build where they park vehicles now, across from the lacrosse stadium?  

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Basketball Gameday vs the Wufs - Sunday Cardinal Couple

 NC State Pays a Visit

(Paulie probably won/t get to see his gal -- Ms. Wuf --today. she doesn't do away game out of state.)

So, the day is here, maybe one of the most anticipated matchups of the ACC this season, but it's hard to articulate why.

We've had plenty of discussion about the weird year it's been here in the Atlantic Chaos Conference in Women's Basketball, and this matchup highlights quite a bit of it.  NC State is ranked 20th or 18th nationally depending which poll you look at but they're tied for eighth in the conference standings.

(So, how good is this team, Wes?) 

The question to answer is, how good is NC State?  We can look at their non-conference slate, where they waltzed through mostly mediocre competition.  They took a loss to UConn early in the season before the Husky's lost about half of their team to injuries, so that's not terrible.  They have a win over then 10th ranked Iowa, a good win to be sure, but the rest of the non-conference schedule?  It's just kinda meh.

OK, so let's look at what's gone down in conference for NC State thus far.  They came up against Duke early, and the Blue Devils are clearly a very good team this year, so fair enough.  A loss to Boston College is a bit of a head scratcher.  Yes, the Eagles are considerably improved this year compared to their usual level of play, but they shouldn't be much of a threat to a top-25 team.  Losing to Florida State is not that shocking, even if it was likely considered an upset by most.  Similarly, dropping the game against UNC was likely considered a mild upset, but mild is the key word, there.

And Wolfpack conference wins?  Clemson, Syracuse, Virginia, and Miami.  They're all just, kinda, "meh" wins.

So is this team any good?  Your guess is as good as mine, and guess seems to be about all we can do in the ACC this year.  They do absolutely have some really great talent on the squad.  Diamond Johnson shooting 46% from the field, and 42% beyond the arc.  Jada Boyd has similar shooting percentages, Camille Hobby also in the closer range shots.  Jakia Brown-Turner is also a threat from anywhere on the floor.

The biggest stats disparity when you look at NC State is in blocked shots, they have almost double the number of their opponents.  They best their opponents in turn-overs, but not by a big margin.  Overall, on the stats sheet, this has the makings of two team very similar ball and a close game.

So who's the favorite today?  NC State is ranked nationally while Louisville is the lower ranges of the "Receiving Votes" territory, but in conference standings, NC State is eighth, as mentioned above, while the Cards are tied with FSU for third place.

Nothing new in the keys for the Louisville game, we've been saying it all year, we've got to close the bakery and limit the turnovers.  21 turnovers vs Boston College was abysmal.  If we repeat that today, we likely come out on the loosing end of this one.  If we can keep control of the ball, I think the chances are good for a Cards win.

There will be a lot of eyes on the game.  Even in the Thursday post-game, Coach Walz mentioned that the lower bowl was already a sell-out and upper-deck tickets were being sold.  Combine that with national broadcast TV on ABC, and that's a recipe for a lot of viewers.  If you can't make it out the the KFC Yum! Center at 1pm for the game, you'll get Beth Mowins and Rebecca Lobo on the call, and I believe Holly Rowe roaming the sidelines.  All in all, one of the best coverage teams out there.

Of course, you always have the option of catching Nick Curran on 93.9, and Cortnee Walton is back on the microphone for color after being a bit under the weather recently.  We here at Cardinal Couple have always liked Cortnee and hope she is feeling better.

Swim and Dive

The Swim and Dive teams were in action yesterday against Kentucky in Lexington.  Kentucky came out on top on the women's side of the competition in a close score, 168-132.  The Cards are ranked 6th in the country with The Cats carrying a 14th rank.

Stop me if you've heard this one before, Gabi Albiero came away with four wins in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 fly, and 200 medley relay teamed up with Abby Hay, Cecilia Viberg, and Christiana Regenauer.  That performance was also an A-cut time, qualifying the team for the NCAA Championship at the end of the season.  Abby Hay also won the 200 fly.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

It was a basketball show for the CCRHP yesterday.  All five of us (Case, Daryl, me, Jared and Paulie) made the call, a delight when it happens.  Plenty of bakery critique was part of it, of course, as we discussed the Florida State and Boston College turnover fests.

We then tried to preview today's NC State game, but none of us had our Johnny Carson Amazing Kreskin hats on us, so who knows.

As always pick it up from your favorite podcast directory or it's home at anchor.fm:  https://anchor.fm/cardinal-couple/episodes/Basketball-on-a-Hot-Streak-e1tqcc5

-- JMcA

New Year "Resolutions" - Sunday Cardinal Couple

 New Year, New Goals

It's day one of the year twenty twenty-three, a time traditionally thought of as part of a renewal of goals, and a chance to take a step forward.  So let's take a look at some potential resolutions and goals around some of our favorite sports teams.

In no particular order...

Swimming and Diving

Louisville has a solid history at this point with solid Butterfly swimmers, and the current squad continues that tradition.  Also, you know, people with the last name of Albiero seem to do pretty well, so there's that, too.  Gabi Albiero continues both of those traditions, swimming Freestyle in addition to Fly.  She finished her sophomore year last year with good finishes in NCAA championship action, and certainly will be looking to improve on those finishes this year.  I wouldn't be surprised to see her set a goal of at least making the podium at the end of the year in one or more of her events.

The Cards don't have much of a history of success in diving, but Else Praasterink looks to start to change that.  Praasterink finished in the top 10 at the NCAA championships on the platform event, and much like Albiero, will likely be looking to get on the awards platform this year.

As a team, UofL Swim and Dive has hovered around the middle to upper single digit rankings quite a bit over the past few years.  I'm sure Coach Arthur Albiero would love to see the overall team efforts step up into the higher rankings.

Field Hockey

It has to be said that Field Hockey had a little bit of a disappointing year this year - at least relative to the standard that has been set by UofL Field Hockey teams since joining the Field Hockey power conference that is the ACC.

I think Coach Sowry keeps this one simple.  A return to the 2021 level of performance.  Just to remind you, that's a 16-4 overall record, and a 6-0 conference sweep.  I know, that ends up being a big resolution, but this program has shown that it can do big things. 

Basketball

Of course, basketball is right smack in the middle of their season, having just really started conference play.  Again, a program that has shown that it can compete, routinely, at the top levels of the sport, and coming off of a final four appearance last year, I think the resolution for Coach Walz and the squad is to achieve the program's first ever back-to-back Final Four appearances.

(You knew we couldn't start  a new year without a Jared selfie)

The program has made it to the Final Four four years now, in 2009, 2013, 2018, and 2021, continuing the impressive accomplishment of all players who have played at least their four years of eligibility with Coach Walz and the Cardinals have made an appearance at the Final Four.  A National Championship is always the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and while certainly no one is going to be dissatisfied with "only" another Final Four appearance, getting the big trophy is the ultimate goal, here.  We'll borrow that old Howard Schnellenberger prophecy  "The only variable is time." and apply it to the residents on the left side of the Kueber Center.

Softball

I always enjoy my visits to Ulmer Stadium on Floyd Street, particularly as the weather warms and you can enjoy the fresh air looking out over a brown infield and green outfield.  And let's shout out the amazing facilities folks at UofL for always keeping our playing venues in great shape.  That's across the board, but maybe never more visible and apparent than at Ulmer.

Coach Aprile's squad has struggled some over the past few years, though to be fair, at least last year they got hit hard by injuries.  The team looks to be back and fully healthy now, with a lot of talent on the squad and available.  Taylor Roby returns her amazing talents both in the circle and in the batter's box.  On the pitching side of that equation, the staff looks ready to back her up better this year.  Sam Booe led the squad in the fall exhibition season with 14 Ks in 13 innings, Taja Felder sat down 10 in seven innings of pitching.  Freshman Cassie Grizzard started in the circle twice, both wins with no hits on her watch, and struck out 12 batters in 11.2 innings.

So what's the goal for the team this year?  I don't think anyone is expecting a national championship, but of course, you always do your best and...well, you never know, right?  But let's shoot for being above .500 in conference (10-14 last year), at least 30 wins overall (27-25 last year), and let's get back into the NCAA tournament.  I think those are reasonable goals to show some improvement.

Volleyball

Volleyball...I mean, there's really only one thing that anyone can really look at to improve on the past few years.  Years that saw the program's first even elite eight appearance in 2019, the first ever final four appearance in 2021, the program's first ever national championship appearance in 2022, and an undefeated regular season in 2021.

So let's put it out there, the only real goal left for advancement of this program is to win it all, to get the National Championship trophy.  Coach Walz will point out that, regardless of the talent and effort a team puts into their play, there is always an element of luck to it.  We will acknowledge that, and a back-to-back-to-back final four appearance would be a joyous outcome to the 2023 season, but the goal at this point, and I think it's quite achievable with the team we have returning and new players coming in, is to win that National Championship.  I'll repeat it here, "The only variable is time."

What do you want to see with various programs for goals for 2023?  Sound off in the comments.

Basketball Gameday

It's a New Year's Gameday for WBB, with the squad taking on Duke in Durham, NC.  With a noon tip, let's hope the squad doesn't party too hard for New Years.

Kara Lawson leads the Blue Devils, she of "Handle Hard Better", which, to be fair, is a good slogan and approach to life.  Let's see how it translates on the hardware at Cameron, though.

The Blue Devils are 12-1 overall and 2-0 so far in the young conference schedule.  Their only loss is against a then 3rd ranked UConn in late November, which, no shame there.  UConn has, of course, been decimated by injuries this season, but on November 25th still had more to experience.

Both Louisville and Duke are at the top of the "Receiving Votes" section of the AP rankings, with Louisville just ahead of Duke, gaining 19 points from the press vs Duke's 18.  So that probably makes this game a game to see who gets to step up into the Top 25 rankings tomorrow, and who continues to hover just out of the list.

Duke is coming off of a big upset win over number six NC State that was in Raleigh, so they have already taken a step towards that ranking.

Two players score at double-digit clips for Duke, Celeste Taylor at 12.2, and former Card Elizabeth Balogun at 10.2.  Kennedy Brown falls just short of that mark with 9.2, but is definitely a threat in the post at 6'6".

TV for this one is listed as the dreaded "RSN", so may the luck be ever in your favor finding a way to watch this one.  Bally Sports South seems to be the source here in the Ville if you have Cable and Spectrum. Paulie confirms it is on his Spectrum Guide on Channel 70. at noon. (Results may vary). Of course, you always have Nick and Cortnee to listen to on 93.9 FM The Ville, which is always a great experience if you can't get video.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

No CCRHP this week as the gang prepared for New Years celebrations and Paulie declared it a "day off" since we podcasted on Christmas Eve.  We should be back next week with a fresh Youtube 2023 CCRHP playlist as well.

-- JMcA

WBB Hosts IUPUI -- Fall Signing Day -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Hosts IUPUI

Following a Monday night victory over Cincinnati, Louisville women's basketball turns around to host IUPUI at the KFC Yum! Center at 7:00 p.m. You can catch this one on ACCNX with Jeff Greer and Jess Laemmle on call. You can also tune into 93.9 FM to hear Nick Curran and Cortnee Walton call the game on radio.

Louisville opened the season with an 87-68 win against former Big East rival Cincinnati with Hailey Van Lith scoring 28 points. 10 of the 11 Cards that saw action scored with the same number pulling in a rebound. Paulie broke down the game and what to expect from any of the players this year. I'm in full agreement with Paulie that a Final Four is  entirely possible, but there is a long season ahead of us first.

IUPUI is the next challenger and the Jaguars are looking to break their 0-6 all-time record against the Cards. Last year, IUPUI almost became a dark horse in the NCAA Tournament. A 24-5 record and Horizon League Championship helped the Jaguars earn a 12-seed. They faced 5-seed Oklahoma in the first round and gave the Sooners a run for their money before ultimately falling 78-72.

In their first game of the 2022-2023 season, IUPUI fell to UIC, 52-50. Jazmyn Turner transferred in and was an immediate bright spot going for 20 points and eight rebounds. Six of the Jaguars' 13 active players are listed as seniors or graduate students, giving this team quite a bit of experience.

Paulie and Daryl will be courtside reporting on the match while I'll be on the court with my camera ready to go. The first rule of being a basketball photographer is protecting your equipment. While my equipment was safe from harm against Cincinnati, my body wasn't so lucky as a UC player found out that forward momentum was not on her side as she ended falling on me late in the game.

Don't forget to pack the KFC Yum! Center for the last home game until Black Friday.

Fall Signing Day

Yesterday was fall signing day and we saw the announcement of several new Cardinals joining the ranks of some of our squads.

Volleyball

REESE ROBINS

Louisville volleyball added five new players to next year's roster- three liberos/defensive specialists, one outside hitter, and one defensive specialist/opposite side hitter. Jeff has mentioned the need for more defensive specialists for next season and Dani Busboom Kelly seemed to agree with the addition of three freshmen.

The five signees are:

Alanna Bankston, 6-1, outside hitter from Omaha, Neb.

Jessica Drapp, 5-6, libero from Cincinnati, Ohio

Reese Robins, 6-5, middle blocker/opposite hitter from Mansfield, Texas

Kamden Schrand, 5-6, libero from Villa Hills, Ky. (Notre Dame Academy)

Molly Urban, 5-4, libero from Martinsville, Ind.

Soccer

BETSY HUCKABY

Karen Ferguson-Dayes added three new faces to the Louisville women's soccer roster next year. A pair of midfielder and a defender signed with the Cards yesterday.

The three signees are:

Betsy Huckaby, 5-7, midfielder from Crestwood, Ky. (South Oldham High School)

Molly Cochran, 5-8, midfielder from Madeira, Ohio

Emma Sanchez, 5-7, defender from Camas, Washington

Rowing

Rowing added a trio of new Cardinals for next season. Not much information has been released about the new Cards yet.

The three signees are:

Riley Vincent from Mamaroneck, NY.

Emma Bik from Evergreen Park, Ill.

Dayanara Wilde from Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Canada

Swim and Dive

Louisville swim and dive only announced two signees so far- one woman and one man.

The lone signee is:

Samm Helmboldt from Midland, Texas

Softball

The only spring sport to announce signees so far is Louisville softball. Two signees were announced yesterday.

The signees are:

Ava Venturelli, outfielder from Taunton, Mass.

Katie Thatcher, first base/outfielder from Rock Falls, Ill.

Field Hockey

As of late last night, we only saw one new face for Louisville field hockey. We presume there are more, but with the Cards up in Ann Arbor, Mich. gearing up for the NCAA Tournament tomorrow, we will cut them some slack.

The one signee is:

Tyler Everslage, forward from Louisville, Ky. (Assumption High School)

I'm sure more will pour in today.

Justine Sowry did provide a pre-Penn State rundown Wednesday. The Cardinal Couple crew was unable to attend, but here is the You Tube clip of it: 

JUSTINE SOWRY ON NCAA TOURNEY AND PENN STATE

For now, let's hope for a women's basketball win tonight, some fall sports victories tomorrow, and a safe trip down to Clemson for Katy and I this weekend. Her brother attends Clemson and her parents are making the drive in for Fort Mill to get the family together to go to the Louisville at Clemson football game. My cameras will be coming with us too as I'll be on the field "working" (taking selfies) on Saturday.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared