Cards Nominated for Honor -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Forrest and Schneider are NCAA WotY Nominees

Each year since 1991, the NCAA has named a "Woman of the Year". The award is based on academic achievement, athletic excellence, community service, and leadership. Each school nominates its own athletes to their conference office. Each conference office around the country will select one nominee to advance to the next round. At that point, the NCAA Selection Committee (hopefully not the same one as the basketball or baseball tournaments) picks the top-ten from each of the three NCAA divisions. The "Top 30" will all be honored at the final announcement ceremony in October. From the Top 30, the list is trimmed to a Top 9, three from each division, prior to the ceremony. The overall winner will be announced at the ceremony on October 17th in Indianapolis.

Louisville's nominees this season were Makenli Forrest and Meghan Schneider. Forrest will have a good claim at the athletic excellence portion for sure. She's a national champion in the Indoor Weight Throw after claiming gold this year. She also won the event at the ACC level. Adding to her athletic performances, Forrest was named the ACC Indoor Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year and was a 2021 Postgraduate Scholar. She sits on Louisville's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as well.

Schneider graduated with her bachelors degree in May with a 4.0. This came while studying biology with a concentration in subcellular genetics and minoring in Spanish. For her studies, she was named the NFHCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year and received the Elite 90 Award for the NCAA Field Hockey Championship. She was also named a finalist for the Honda Award. On the athletic side, Schneider helped the field hockey team reach their first ever ACC regular season title and their first NCAA Final Four appearance. She was the NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week in October and was named to the All-American Third Team.

Both Forrest and Schneider are excellent candidates for the award, as their community service and leadership don't show on the page but have been evident in their time on campus. We'll keep you updated as the process develops. 

No CCRH This Week

For a variety of personal reasons, and a lack of topics to really dig into, we'll be taking this week off from the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. In the meantime, come up with some topics you'd like to see us cover in a quiz or dig deeper into on the site. We should be back with the show next week so keep checking the site for updates.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Louisville Women's Track and Field Receives Honors -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

FORREST NAMED ACC INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR.

Ah, the lick to have the writing assignment today here at Cardinal Couple, when there are no UofL women's athletics results to report, and not wanting to steal our other writers' headlines for laater this week. 

Louisville women's track and field probably doesn't get enough coverage here. Let's talk about some of the great academic honorrs they received from the ACC. 

Later on today, Dana Evans will hold a presser about the WNBA Draft. Some Cardinal Volleyball fans (including our own Jeff McAdams) are on their way to Omaha for the NCAA Tournament. Lacrosse has a huge weekend of matches against Syracuse coming up and Softball entertains Duke, while womens' soccer brings in Wake Forest. 

As we transition out of Louisville WBB and move forward in our spring sports coverage, let's use today to take a look at Louisville women's track and field

Makenli Forrest, a redshirt junior out of the Woodwaard Academy in Ellenwood, GA has received the ACC Track and Fieldd Scholar Athlete of the Year honors. She has maintained a 3.6 GPA during her time at Louisville -- and was also named  the ACC Field performer of the year for 2021. Her major is Exercise Science.

What is it that she does so well?  Makenli participates in throws for Louisville and her areas of specialty are the weight throw and the shot put.  She claimed the gold medal title in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships back on March 11th. He toss of 23.26 meters also broke the Louisville record of 22.76, set by D'Ana McCarty back in 2010. Forrest's toss was the best of any in the 2021 season. 

Louisville has had a long history of top throwers in Women's Track and Field. In addition to McCarty, remember Emmonnie Henderson? She set many records at Louisville from 2013-18 for the Cards in the shot and discus field events. She also played a little basketball at Louisville, as well. 

The NCAA record was set back in 2007, with a toss of 25.56. 

In addition to Forrest, several other Louisville women's track and field student-athletes earned All-Academic honors: 

-- Haley Hudson  (Williamstown, KY) This thrower was naked to the NCAA All-American Second Team and had made the Louisville Athletic Director's Honor Roll 11 times, the Dean's List seven times and is a six-time Red and Black Scholar. 

-- Gabriela Leon (Grand Rapids, MI) A Cardinal pole vaulter, Gabriela is a two time ACC Academic team selection and has been named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll seven times and four times to the Dean's List and Red and Black Scholar list. 

-- Purity Sanga (Kapsabet, Kenya) Purity is a distance runner and transferred to Louisville from Tennessee Tech last season. She earned Athletic Director's Honor Roll and Red and Black Scholar honors as well. She earned a bronze medal in the ACC 5000m run

-- Auriane Viola (Schiltigheim, France) earned all-conference second team honors with a career-best mark in the pole vault to finish fifth in the ACC Championships. The marketing major is a two-time Red & Black Scholar and Dean's List honoree and has been named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll three times.

-- Aliyah Welter (Monticello, Ill.) earned 2021 NCAA All-American second team honors in pole vault. The junior tied a school record with a vault of 4.32m (14-2) to place second in the 2021 ACC Indoor Championships, earning first team all-conference honors. The exercise science/sport administration major and two-time Dean's Scholar honoree, has been named to the Athletic Director's honor roll five times and is a three-time Red & Black Scholar.

Congratulations to these stellar UofL student athletes and their coaches. !!

paulie

Softball Schedule Changes, Lacrosse looks to bounce back: FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

Hello weekend, Louisville fans. Typical spring sports scheduling shifts thanks to the weather forecast.  The good news is that we will also look forward to 'Spring Forward' this weekend!  Roll the clock up an hour on Saturday night (if any of you still possess a digital or analog clock).

Softball schedule update

The most up-to-date change to the Cardinals softball schedule from what we know at CardCouple..  

SATURDAY @ Ulmer Stadium

CARDS vs Valparaiso (4-6, 0-0 MVC) 11:30AM

CARDS vs Western Kentucky (9-3, 0-0 C-USA) 4:30PM

Louisville's two opponents will face off in-between the Cards game so fans will have a chance to grab some lunch or take a walk around campus. 

 

 

I recommend the banana milkshake at Dairy Del and or Dairy Kastle's taco in a bag.. A couple wins for the Cards would be a nice cherry on top. Burger Boy on S Brook St. also makes a classic burger and fry plate if you're looking for a place with more food options.  I think all that should satisfy your game day hunger.  This has been your first edition of Daryl's game day pit stop for fans. Ha ha

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Daryl was not paid for these food establishment props.  Knowing her, shee's probably working on some kind of endorsement, though. ) 

LACROSSE GAMEDAY

#19 University of Louisville women's lacrosse travels to Mount Pleasant, Mich. for a matchup with Central Michigan on Friday at 1 p.m. ET.

Coming off a hard-fought loss at No. 8 Virginia, the Cardinals are 2-2 overall and 0-1 in ACC action. The Chippewas enter Friday's game 3-2 on the season and 1-0 in MAC play.

NATIONAL CHAMPION - Women's TRACK & FIELD

University of Louisville senior Makenli Forrest captured the 2021 NCAA Indoor Weight Throw title with a heave of 23.26m (76-3.75) Thursday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. The feat marks the third NCAA Indoor Weight Throw title in program history and the first since 2010 when D'Ana McCarty secured her second consecutive championship in the event.

Forrest's personal best mark breaks the school record of 22.76 (74-8.25) that stood prior to Thursday's competition, it also stands as the top collegiate throw this year.

One couldn't blame the Louisville Track and Field squad if they used an alternation from a popular move and exhorted "Throw, Forrest, THROW!"  when she enters the circle. 

Volleyball News

The VolleyCards are going to Durham for Volleyball, instead of playing Clemson, as originally scheduled.  They'll have Saturday and Sunday matches against the Blue Devils, as far as we know, for now. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

I'm making it a short one this week as the spring sport schedule is really starting to gear up, I am getting back into the swing of things with the button pushing career.  It was today last year that COVID really took hold of our country.  I'm grateful to see teams back on the fields! With the softball schedule changes, I will be out for radio tomorrow.  Case will also be taking the week off to be with his family.  Jared will likely be out at Ulmer to fulfill his button pushing duties as well.  So it looks like a classic edition of CCRHP with Jeff and Paulie to cover this week's event's and more. 

Be safe out there! & Go Cards 

~Daryl

Track and Field at ACC Indoors -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville T&F Holding on to Second Entering Final Day

Louisville women's track and field started off the ACC Indoor Championships hot on Thursday, carrying a lead into Friday competition with 33 points over Duke's 20. As more events wrapped up Friday, though, the Cards saw their grasp on the lead slip. Louisville now sits in second with 39 points, just behind Duke with 42. Virginia is in third with 31.5 points. There is still plenty of action yet to go as just seven out of seventeen scored events have been completed.

Thursday was Louisville's big day as the Cards went second, fourth, and fifth in the pole vault with Aliyah Welter, Gabriela Leon, and Auriane Viola scoring those positions respectively. They were followed by Louisville's first and fourth in the weight throw, with Makenli Forrest setting a school best to win the event ahead of Hailee Hudson in fourth. 

Yesterday was a bit slower for the Cards, but they still managed a medal result as Purity Sanga took third in the 5000m race. Louisville didn't take home another top-ten finish on Friday. With plenty of running events yet to go and Louisville poised to stay in the mix, though, the Cards could still finish up with an impressive showing at this ACC Championship event as they prepare for NCAA Championships. The event will get back underway at 10:30AM on Saturday.

Softball Takes on Florida

As Daryl mentioned yesterday, Louisville softball is back on the road against a tough SEC opponent this weekend as they play a pair at Florida. There isn't much to preview about this game, as Florida brings in an undefeated record. Despite the fairly weak schedule to this point--mostly regional opponents--the Gators haven't looked like an unstoppable force. They have a pair of close games, defeating Jacksonville just 1-0 and winning their second game against Georgia Southern 2-1. They have quite a few big wins as well, some by double digits, but if Louisville can put together a consistent game on both sides of the ball, they could easily hang with this Florida team and gather a big win or two. Today's game is at 1PM and is listed as being watchable on SEC+, which is a function of ESPN+. Be sure to follow along with the UofL Softball Twitter account for updates.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Oopsie. If you're a podcast listener, I apologize for last week's missing episode. When I went to begin my edit of the live show, I opened my recording of the show to find that my mic had not been recording to my computer at all. That issue has since been remedied, so the podcast will return to your feeds this week. We should have a full house this week as we recap the week that was in Louisville women's athletics and look ahead to the exciting week upcoming. Tune in to the Cardinal Couple YouTube channel at 11AM for the live show or check out the replay on YouTube any time. 

Cardinal Couple ACC Tournament Pick 'Em

Just a reminder that we will again be sponsoring the Cardinal Couple ACC WBB Tournament Pick 'Em.

12 games. Can you pick all 12 correctly? Can you defeat the Cardinal Couple staff picks? Do you want a gift card? Then, start studying. You can submit your picks in any comments section, beginning Sunday, when we know the Tournament seedings and matchups. BE the first kid on the block to win the Cardinal Couple ACC Tournament Pick 'Em.  Full details on the "right side of the side". 

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

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-

New Cardinal All-Americans; Super Regional Baseball -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Track and Field Wrapping up Today

Yesterday saw three final events on the women's side at the National Championship meet and all three events saw Louisville Cardinals earn All-American Honors. In the hammer throw, Makenli Forrest finished 15th overall and was named to the second team. She'll get one more shot at a championship later this afternoon when the women's discus event happens. Also on the field side, Gabriela Leon finished 19th overall in the pole vault and was named an Honorable Mention All-American. Leon earlier broke the school record for the women's pole vault. In track, Ivine Chemutai finished 22nd in the 10,000m run and earned Honorable Mention as well.
Louisville performed quite well this season in Track and Field, and although they may not end up with any champions this year, they put a record number of athletes in a position to compete for a championship. As long as the growth and training continues, Louisville will soon be succeeding greatly in these events.

Cards Scuttle Pirates in Game 1

Around this time almost every year, this site sees a little bit of baseball talk. It's usually me that does it, but I am able to do so only because of the success of the baseball team that allows them to continue playing after all women's sports at UofL have finished. This season, the Cards have once again made it to the Super Regional round of the NCAA tournament. This is the Sweet 16 of baseball. The Cards are taking on East Carolina, which may not sound like much to you, but Sean Moth reminded us all yesterday, from 2007 to 2014, Louisville was the no-name team from a small conference. Louisville was also looking for a bit of longstanding revenge. ECU was the first opponent Louisville faced in Jim Patterson Stadium. The Cards lost that first game in the new building, and went on to be swept. It is the only time that Louisville has been swept in a three game series in Jim Patterson Stadium. The bottom line was to not take the Pirates too lightly.

ECU made sure we wouldn't do so when they sent out their First Team All-American pitcher, Jake Agnos, who threw 129 pitches on Sunday in ECU's regional. Agnos took on Louisville's Second Team All-American, Reid Detmers. Early, it looked as though the Cardinals would be the ones to blink first. In the first three innings, the Pirates put two runners on in multiple innings while Louisville lacked a baserunner through the first three with four strikeouts. Detmers was able to pitch out of trouble, but Agnos looked dialed in. Then the second time through the order happened. 

In the bottom of the fourth, Agnos started by getting a quick out from Lucas Dunn. Not to be sent back to the dugout again, Logan Wyatt decided Louisville needed their first hit, so he smacked a double to the wall. Tyler Fitzgerald thought that looked fun, so he did the same thing. Wyatt came in to score and Louisville led 1-0. Alex Binelas, the super freshman and hero of the regional, then took a four pitch walk and Jake Snider hit a soft single to load the bases. Needing to avoid the double play to do damage, Danny Oriente just snuck a ball between the first baseman and the bag that rolled all the way to the corner for a bases clearing double. Agnos got through the rest of the inning, but Louisville led 4-0. Detmers responded by putting the Pirates down in the fifth with just one walk and no damage.

Agnos's day was done, as ECU looked to save him for later in the weekend if they need him, but Louisville's offense hadn't quite done everything they wanted to yet. The Cards used six hits, two free passes (a walk and an HBP), and a fielder's choice to add five more runs in the fifth inning. Detmers finally gave up his first run on a solo shot by Spencer Brickhouse in the sixth inning, but no more damage was done. We'll give him a break as he had to sit for nearly 30 minutes, heading to the bullpen to stay warm once, during the Cardinals' fifth inning. 

Louisville continued to pour it on in the sixth with a Fitzgerald single, Binelas triple, a wild pitch, Britton single, Campbell double, and Davis groundout scoring three more runs for the Cards. Detmers put up another 1-2-3 inning in the seventh and Louisville added two more runs to what would be the final tally of 14-1. Schmeltz came on for Detmers in the top of the 8th and finished out the final two innings. 

Louisville now needs to win just one of the next two games to advance to their fifth College World Series. In addition to the Pirates, though, Louisville's opponent will also be the weather. After avoiding rain delays completely last weekend, the remainder of this weekend's slate may not be so lucky. The teams played through a brief shower yesterday afternoon, but have already decided to move today's game up to Noon, from the scheduled 3PM start. According to Kelly Dickey (realCardGame), the latest a Super Regional has ever finished was Tuesday. Let's see if the weather cooperates and we can wrap up before then. Ideally, the Cards will just end it with a win today.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

I'm finally back in the studio this week as various summer events have kept me away up to this point. We thought we might see a full house today, but the decision to shift the start time of today's Super Regional game pulled Jared away for fear of missing his media pass. At the very least, Paulie, Jeff, and I will bring you the latest news in Louisville women's athletics, as well as this week's Worldwide Quiz. Tune in to the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour at 11AM on WCHQ FM. WCHQ can be found at 100.9 FM, wchqfm.com, the WCHQ App, or on Facebook Live. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Track and Field at NCAAs; Soccer Schedule Announced -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

New School Record for NCAA Qualifiers

After the second day of competition, UofL track and field has raised its number of qualifiers for the NCAA Championships in Austin to five in six events. On Thursday, Ivine Chemutai came in 12th in the women's 10,000m run, which was the final qualifying spot. Dorcas Wasike did not run in this event. While I'm still unclear about qualifications for the NCAA Championships, everything that I have seen points to needing to participate in the regional to advance. If that is the case, Wasike will not be looking to improve upon her finish in last year's championships.

Also advancing Thursday was Makenli Forrest in the hammer throw, where she placed ninth. Forrest would improve her weekend as Friday, she advanced to the championships in discus as well, placing sixth. Gabriela Leon placed ninth in the pole vault, Martice Moore finished second overall in 400m hurdles (setting his second school record in as many days), and Albert Kosgei set a new personal best on his way to finishing fourth in the 3,000m steeplechase. 

The regional event ends today with just a few more events with Louisville athletes looking to add to the number of school qualifiers. Field events will begin at 2:45 p.m. and track events at 6 p.m.. The NCAA Championships will begin in Austin, Texas on June 5th. 

Soccer Takes on 10 NCAA Teams in 2019

It must be schedule week, as women's soccer joined the teams announcing their opponents for the upcoming year. Louisville will take on ten teams that were in last year's NCAA tournament, while also pulling top-ten Duke and NCAA runner-up UNC out of the conference pot for the season. Working in the Cards favor for the overall schedule is that all but one non-conference game will be played in Lynn Stadium. I'm not certain how the NCAA lets a team get away with scheduling like that, but I won't complain as long as the Cards can take care of business at home.

Louisville will open the season in 86 days with an exhibition in Lynn Stadium against the Butler Bulldogs. Following that one will be the only away game of the non-con, as the Cards head to Columbus to take on Ohio State. Louisville then plays seven straight home games starting on August 25th with Morehead State and ending on September 21st with North Carolina. The Cards common non-conference opponents from last season are Morehead State and Dayton. Louisville beat MSU in an exhibition 4-0 and took down Dayton on the road 1-0. The non-conference schedule also includes St. Louis, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, and Vanderbilt. It will certainly not be a cakewalk.

In conference play, Louisville will take on eight common opponents from last season. Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh drop off the schedule in favor of Boston College and Clemson. In nine games against those eight opponents last season (Louisville faced Virginia in the ACC tournament), the Cards finished 5-4. All four losses came to UNC (5-1 on the road being the worst loss of the season), Duke, and Virginia. Both losses to Virginia were in Lynn Stadium while the others were on the road.  This year, Louisville will not travel to the Carolinas at all during the regular season as all four North Carolina teams and Clemson will head to Lynn Stadium. Those five ACC home games will be a ton of fun to watch, and the Cards will need some home field advantage in a couple of them. 

Louisville wraps the regular season this year on Halloween night against the NC State Wolfpack. It would be nice to have 6 or 7 conference wins already to that point, but I would also accept having three or fewer conference losses.

This is a tough schedule, both in and out of conference, but Louisville showed signs of a big leap offensively last season. Without losing a lot of offensive production, as Kennadi Carbin was out most of the season, all eyes will turn to the defense without Gabrielle Vincent. Sarah Hernandez was good in her freshman season as a centerback, but the question will be who steps next to her. Maisie Whitsett found herself in that spot during some spring ball, but she was tied for the team lead in goals last year and is still listed as a MF/F on the roster. I'd expect that we see Niamh Nelson slide in to the middle and allow a more attacking minded player to pick up outside back spot opposite Arianna Ferraro.

The roster is currently thin on defenders, so I suspect some of the incoming freshman will change that, but I don't know that Karen Ferguson-Dayes would like to put a freshman next to her sophomore in the middle. Either way, Gabby Kouzelos will look to improve upon her (already good) mark of 1.06 goals allowed per game from last season. We'll find out how it all shakes out in just a few short months.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

As Jared mentioned yesterday, the studio will be thin this morning as Jeff and Paulie hold down the fort.

I'm headed to Speedway, Indiana, where I'll be hoping desperately for a 6-8 hour window of no rain on Sunday. The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour this week will cover some track happenings, discussion about the released schedules, surely some WNBA news.

The Famous Worldwide Quiz will take a break this week, since it would be basically Jeff vs. the quiz.

A mid-show call to Jared Anderson is also on the agenda. He's currently in South Carolina doing recon work on Clemson basketball and boiled peanuts.

Tune in to the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour at 11AM on WCHQ FM. WCHQ is available on 100.9 FM, at wchqfm.com, the WCHQ App, and on Facebook Live.

LINK:  www.wchqfm.com

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Softball Wins; Track and Field and Golf Busy -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Come Back in Chestnut Hill

After handing Florida State their first conference series loss since 2012, Louisville softball was rewarded with a mid-week break before heading northeast for a three-game set with Boston College. In the first game of that series yesterday, Louisville saw the struggling hosts (13-24, 3-10) jump out to a 2-0 lead through four innings.

After holding everyone at 0 runs in the fifth, Louisville decided that they didn't want to lose to the Eagles. The Cards put up 5 runs in the top of the sixth inning and added another 4 in the top of the seventh for good measure. Boston College was unable to score anymore runs and a 2-0 lead turned into a 9-2 loss for the home team.

Megan Hensley got the start and was okay through her three innings. She allowed just one hit, but walked three and allowed a run. She was lifted at the beginning of the fourth for Taylor Roby. Roby allowed a run as soon as she entered, but also allowed just that one run and one hit. After Roby bookended a strikeout in the sixth inning with a pair of four pitch walks, Danielle Watson came in to get the last out of the sixth with runners on first and second. Presumably to save her arm for the rest of the series, Watson was pulled after her one out performance with the Cards holding a 9 run lead going into the bottom of the seventh. Roby finished the game out with a 1-2-3 inning and that was all she wrote.

Though the Cardinals' offense didn't cross the plate until the sixth inning, a Louisville batter reached base in every inning prior except for the fourth. All told, the Cards would finish with nine hits and draw four walks. However, they did strike out six times collectively and left eight runners on base.

Louisville was not led by the usual suspects, as Maddy Newman and Charley Butler picked up 6 of the 9 RBIs. Newman finished 2-3 at the plate and drew a walk, while all of Butler's RBIs came off of a bases loaded double. Kyra Snyder also had a big day at the plate, going 3-4 and knocking in a run. Sidney Melton had an unusual day to forget, going just 1-4 at the plate and drawing a walk, but leaving 4 on base. 

The Cards will look to take the series and set up a potential sweep in game two of the series today at 1PM. Louisville will hope to have a bit more consistent bats in today's game. The game is listed on ACC Network Extra, so if you aren't down at the Waterfront for Thunder Over Louisville, tune in at home. If you are down at the Waterfront and have unlimited data, feel free to tune in on your phone, or keep up on Twitter.

Golf Holds Strong but Falls Short

The Cards are down in Georgia for the Liz Murphey Collegiate Invitational and are taking on tough squads from mostly the SEC. Louisville dropped a pair of team matches yesterday in an individual match play format to a pair of ranked SEC teams.

The first came against #6 Arkansas, with Louisville earning a pair of wins from Mairead Martin and Lauren Hartlage, but ultimately falling 3-2 overall. The second loss came after Louisville battled to an all-square finish with wins from Margot Bechadergue and Olivia Cason and a draw from Delaney Shah. Ultimately, Florida was granted the win on overall margin of victory after an unfortunate 6 and 5 finish from Lauren Hartlage. Louisville got back on the course this morning just after 8AM.

Strong Opening for T&F in Louisville Invitational

Louisville swept the hammer throw in both competitions yesterday and had three finishers in the top six on the women's side. Makenli Forrest took home first place and was followed by Carsen Cassell and Halee Hudson in fifth and sixth. Forrest's first place throw was nearly 10 meters further than Cassell's fifth. No other results from the women's side were listed for yesterday, but the competition continues today.

Ionescu Takes Wooden Award

The Cards WBB star Asia Durr was one of the finalist for the Wooden Award, which is player of the
year, but the honor went to Oregon's Sabina Ionescu. The junior decided early in the month to return to school instead of trying her luck in the WNBA Draft.

Ionescu winning was a surprise to many, including Ionescu -- who sat there open-mouthed in amazement when her name was called. Many thought Durr or possibly nominee Megan Gustafson from Iowa would get the nod.

Just goes to show that we don't always get what we want, but Durr had a huge season and it is an honor just to be named in the final five.  The other finalists were Tearia McCowan and Napheesa Collier. Jeff Walz was in L.A. with Durr for the awards ceremony.

Durr, who was selected #2 in the recent WNBA Draft, is headed to New York to play for the Liberty and many experts think it'll be a great fit for her.

Someone make sure and notify Matt Bevin.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

As Jared mentioned yesterday, he's out of the studio today, but we still have plenty of show to bring you today leading up to the Thunder Over Louisville Air Show this afternoon. Paulie, Jeff, Daryl, and I will talk plenty of softball, lacrosse, WNBA draft, and more on this week's Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. As always, the show begins at 11AM on WCHQ FM and will be available on 100.9 FM, wchqfm.com, the WCHQ App, and on Facebook Live. Tune in and join us, won't you?

LINK: www.wchqfm.com

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Golf Begins Championship -- Softball Awards -- Track and Field to Prelims -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Women's Golf Begins NCAA Championship Play Today

The big day has arrived and the Louisville women's golf team begins their first day of NCAA Championship play in Stillwater, Okla.  UofL is one of 24 schools competing for the trophy and is the sixth-lowest ranked team in the bunch.

The three-day first round event begins bright and early at 8:30 a.m., with the Cards teeing off precisely at 9:36 a.m., with the top 15 advancing to Monday.  Molly Skapik, Olivia Cason, Delaney Shah, Lauren Hartlage, and Kristin Engle will suit up for the Red and Black.

This is Louisville's second trip to the NCAA Championships.

The entire field (NCAA ranking) is listed below:

1. Alabama
2. Arkansas
3. UCLA
4. Duke
5. Stanford
6. USC
7. Furman
8. Texas
9. Arizona
10. Arizona State
12. Florida
13. Northwestern
15. Washington
16. Kent State
18. Wake Forest
19. Auburn
20. Oklahoma
21. Florida State
25. LOUISVILLE
26. Baylor
27. Virginia
28. Colorado
34. Ole Miss
38. Ohio State

*All times are EST

Ferguson and Hensley Earn Regional Honors

Megan Hensley continues to rake in awards.  She is joined by teammate Caitlin Ferguson in earning National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Southeast Region Honors.  Ferguson was named to the second team while Hensley made the third team.

Ferguson was named as a utility player after playing third base, shortstop, first base, and right field this year.  She finished with a .317 batting average, 40 RBIs, four home runs, 10 doubles, and scored 31 times.

Hensley has broken into Louisville's career Top Ten in several categories as a junior: RBIs (batting), home runs (batting), wins (pitching), saves (pitching), appearances (pitching), innings pitched (pitching), strikeouts (pitching), and complete games (pitching).


Track and Field Sends 23 to Prelims

Louisville is sending 23 athletes to compete in 24 categories in the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminary Rounds hosted by the University of South Florida from May 24-26.  The Cards will compete for a chance to head to the NCAA Championships held in Eugene, Ore. from June 6-9.

The women sent 11 athletes to compete in 12 events while the men sent 11 to compete in 11 events with a 12th competing in the decathlon, which is an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships.  Makenli Forrest is the only Cardinal competing in multiple events- the hammer throw and discus throw.

Other News and Notes

Louisville baseball won in walk-off fashion against Notre Dame last night 5-4.  Game two of the series has been moved up to 2:00 p.m., today with the series finale set to begin Saturday at 1:00 p.m., shortly after the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour concludes.  I know they aren't a women's sport, but they are the last UofL team still playing at home.

The most hated woman in Louisville, Katina Powell, found herself in some trouble and is headed behind bars.  After causing the men's basketball team quite a bit of pain and stress it appears karma has caught up to her.

The Spring Cleaning Yard Sale hosted by Louisville Athletics is tomorrow from 9:00-2:00 on the south side of the football stadium up against Central Ave.  This giant tent sale is a great place to get all of that expensive Adidas Louisville gear for a fraction of the price.

Happy NASCAR Day, Bike to Work Day, and Pizza Party Day, Endangered Species Day!

You should be able to catch the entire "A-Team" in the studio tomorrow.  Between my Saturday banking and Case's injury and studying it seems as if we all haven't been together since shortly after Christmas.  Tune in to see what us four knuckleheads will be up to.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

- Jared -