WBB: Cards shuck Huskers 85-68 -- Volleyball faces Dayton today -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ASIA DURR'S 25 LEADS CARDS TO SEVENTH WIN OF SEASON.

The word to Cardinal WBB fans this morning is enjoy greatness while it is still around. Asia Durr knocked down four three pointers and totaled 25 points in a 85-68 win over Nebraska in the ACC vs. Big Ten shootout last night in the KFC YUM! Center in front of 7334 fans. 

Durr was one of four Cards that hit double figures in a close game for three quarters that eventually became the Cards seventh win of the year...thanks to strong start to the final quarter. The Cards stretched a 12-point lead into a 24-point advantage in the first six minutes of the fourth. A spectacular lob to Jazmine Jones from Durr with 9:47 to go led to a basket that got the crowd roaring and was the first step in finally shaking off a very pesky and resilient Cornhusker squad. At the 3:45 mark, Arica Carter buried a soft jumper generated from a fast break that set the totals at 81-57 Cardinals. A 19-7 run. The Cards had a 8-0 run in the quarter, but a 9-0 run from Nebraska was coming. 

Then, things got a little weird. Asia was called for a foul, her first of the night. Walz went to the bench and brought in the freshmen. Seconds later, the refereeing crew of Dee Kanter, Eric Brewton and Mark Resch called a technical foul on Durr for bouncing the basketball too hard. 

Fueled by the displeasure of the crowd and the ridiculousness of the whistle, Jeff Walz began a tirade from the sidelines that eventually led to a technical against him. Two more free throws for designated Nebraska shooter Hannah Whitish, who sank a total of four of them without the clock moving. With possession, the Huskers got the ball to 6'5" center Kait Cain, who connected in the paint. All of a sudden, the Big Ten visitors were on a 6-0 run, in a mere two seconds. 

The Cards did go on to preserve the victory, with Lindsey Duvall, Segan Robins, Jess Laemmle, Mykasa Robinson and Kylee Shook on the hardwood for the final minutes. 
This was a Nebraska team that caught Louisville napping several times throughout the game, especially early on, with the old "back door" cut. The first ten Nebraska points came from this strategy. They led the Cards 11-10 with 4:51 remaining in the first quarter by employing the technique to counter the over-lapping aggressive Cardinal defense. After the media timeout, where Walz addressed the defensive efforts of his squad, Louisville rallied with a 11-4 run...fueled by strong interior play by Kylee Shook and Sam Fuehring and a timely three from "Nite-nite" to take a 21-14 first quarter lead. 

The second quarter was a fairly even effort from both squads. Louisville was getting offense from Durr, Fuehring and Bionca Dunham...but the Nebraska squad hung in there with impressive guard play from Nicea Ellery and Sam Halby, plus interior help from Maddie Simon. The Cards 40-31 halftime lead was augmented by forcing the Huskers into 13 first half turnovers and the Cards getting 13 points off these. 

A Durr "3" early in the third quarter pushed the lead to ten. Although Nebraska was able to trim that to eight several times in the quarter, Louisville won the quarter after halftime 22-19 and had weathered Nebraska best punch. 

Dee "T" on Coach. 

Defensively, Louisville did allow 42.3% shooting by the visitors. The Cards also committed 21 fouls...fortunately the Huskers were only able to capitalized at a 75% success rate. In addition to Durr's 25, double figure scorers for Walz's squad included Fuehring with 14 (on 7-11 shooting) and a double-double with 10 rebounds. Arica Carter added 12, with a couple of threes and Bionca Dunham was good for 11 (5-6 from the floor). Asia made sure everyone enjoyed the party with eight assists. The Cards enjoyed a 38-26 points-in-the-paint advantage against the taller Nebraska squad and barely won the rebounding battle 35-33. 

THE FRED REPORT

This "Fred" -- Fred McGriff --
would appreciate UofL's
power-in-the-paint

FREE THROWS -- Not the Cards strongest feature of the night. 12-20 equals 60%, the Cards lowest "at the stripe" percentage of the year. We can't award a letter here. 

REBOUNDING -- Sam and Kylee combined for 19 grabs and held the towering Cain to 10. Only one from Durr...anytime you out-rebound a taller team and win the "second chance" battle (9-3) it's a mark of effort and grit and I'LL AWARD THE CAPITAL "R' HERE

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- The Cards came out wanting to run and they did all night, something that eventually wore down the foe. Creating 23 turnovers, scoring 26 points off them and winning all four quarters...while only committing 15 turnover are good. The fourth quarter "door closing" included...I'M GOOD WITH A CAPITAL "E" FOR THIS CATEGORY. 

DEFENSE -- Early success by Nebraska and good shooting show that there is still work to be done when UofL doesn't have the ball. Walz pointed out it's easier to teach defense than scoring with a team...Louisville did hold Nebraska to under 70 and forced the 23 miscues...but I'll only offer a lower case "d" for the sum of the night's work. 

FRED TOTAL:  -_R-E-d



At 7-0... Louisville moves on to a Sunday match up against Tennessee State. With these Thursday to Sunday type turnarounds, there isn't a great deal of time to study, breakdown and review film or work on flaws...but I'd think that coaches and staff will work on trying to creating a little more consistency, shoring up opponent's "in paint" scoring and continue to fine-tune what won this one today for the Cards. Quickness. It's how you overcome height.

Let's give a lot of credit to the Cards paint-prowlers, though. The trio of Shook, Dunham and Fuehring are getting the job done and holding their own with taller teams. Dunham's continuing improvement and fine-tuning is a joy to behold. Fuehring continues to be the hardworking, blue collar, let's-get-down-and-do-it warrior and Shook is getting more and more aggressive and become a paint pugilist every game. That will be needed more and more as the schedule grows tougher. 


This is Asia's squad, make no doubt about it...but, as a unit, the Cards are setting up and creating the successes she has. Louisville got to 7-0 by employing teamwork and sacrificing so that the overall success outweighs the individual numbers. Let's continue to see that grow. 

A lively Thursday night in the YUM! with Louisville exhibiting their penchant for quickness, spectacular efforts...like the JJ "alley oop" score pictured here and "TV Dee" putting on a oscar-worthy performance. Ah, the thrill and excitement of Louisville WBB...

Post game comments below: 

POST GAME ASIA AND SAM

POST GAME WALZ


(photos by Jared Anderson, when he wasn't busy eating cookies) 



VOLLEYBALL TO FACE DAYTON IN CHAMPAIGN

An active day for NCAA First-round Volleyball matches and the Cards are on the University of Illinois campus awaiting today's 5:30 match against the A 10's Dayton Flyers. 

A tough first round match, yes, and I can't help be a bit envious of Cincinnati's seeding in the Marquette quadrant. Still, in tournament time, you go to your strengths and the Cards have plenty of those. 

The front line attack of Melanie McHenry, Amanda Green and Jasmine Bennett will need to be on their "A" game and force the issue. Wilma Rivera's ACC Setter of the Year accolades have to be a strong presence and guiding force. Molly Sauer's libero and serving skills will be very essential in securing the win today and getting the Cards to the round of 32. Any other contributions will be of prime importance from Dani's squad for Louisville to get a shot against what certainly appears to be a showdown with Illinois on Sunday. 

Illini Volleyball website saying that the Louisville vs. Dayton and the Illinois matches will be available (free) on line at: BTN2Go.com on the BTN Plus format.



DONATION MONTH

We come to the end of Donation Month here at Cardinal Couple. Honestly, it wasn't quite what I hoped for, but it wasn't a total disaster. A heartfelt "THANK YOU!" to all who helped out in our drive to fund the site for 2019. 

It's not too late to be a part of it. We will carry on, as best we can, in 2019. I'll reach heavily into my own pocket, again...to keep this site up, running and providing the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics. 

If you'd like to help: 

CARDINAL COUPLE
P.O. BOX 91521
LOUISVILLE, KY  40291

I'll renew and double my efforts to get corporate sponsors for 2019. It is still my hopes and dreams to make this a fully corporate-advertising sponsored site. I want to thank those of you again who provided donations to help sustain us, until that happens, in the months ahead.  


CAPTION THE PICTURE

CAPTION ME! 

Finally today...our "shared" writer/photographer Jared Anderson approached me last night with an idea for home WBB games.  He proposed he take a picture of Coach Walz and let you, the readers, create a caption for it. 

Keep it clean, in good taste and let's have some fun with Coach and his movements during a contest. 

No prizes or awards, but we'll make mention the following day of ones we thought were pretty clever and creative captions. Leave those captions in the comments section, along with your dirty laundry and bus vouchers...or e-mail them to Paulie at cardinalcouple@twc.com or text them to @cardinalcouple 


paulie
xxxxx






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Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Cards rowing advances to NCAA Finals..."E" finishes her first NCAA Throwing competition

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


- All three Louisville rowing boats advance to finals

- Emmonnie Henderson finishes 31st in shot

- Did you see that?

All three boats entered in the NCAA Championships for the 18th. ranked Louisville rowing team advanced Saturday in the NCAA Championships and will row Sunday in the finals at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, IN.

The Cards varsity 4 squad (Chiara Ponko, Paula Gollnick, Kylie Noltemeyer, Kara Savegnago and Maddy Staubitz) finished second in their semifinal...losing to UCLA by just three seconds.

UofL's second varsity 8 crew (Sophie St. Martin, Abbie Wade, Amy Van Syoc, Lizzie DeVries, Cynthia Doyle, Kylen Patterman, Hanna Spittel, Marissa Thalen and Katie Nord) chased Indiana to the finish line...finishing second to the Hoosiers by five seconds.

The first varsity 8 team (Andrea Zorn, Elise Valentine, Lucy Wilshier, Morgan Dunham, Hannah Ritter, Darya Marchanka, Amanda Zaino, Jami Montesano and Sam Sinnett) rowed to a third place finish in the semis...six seconds behind UCLA and only two and a half second behind Washington State.

Competition starts early today...the varsity 4 crew hits the water at 8:40 a.m., second varsity 8 goes at 9 a.m. and first varsity starts rowing at 9:20 a.m.

*                     *                      *                   *                   *

Emmonnie Henderson was one of two Louisville women's track throwers to take part in the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds. She finished 31st...with a toss of 15.07 m/49-5.50. Senior Liberty Slinden came in 26th (14.41m/50-6.75) 

Cardinal Brittany Owens qualified for the NCAA Champonships in Eugene, OR in the long jump.

*                       *                      *                   *                  *

I know, we usually don't cover UK sports here at the Couple...unless they're competing against Louisville... but we just couldn't help commenting on the Cats 8-7 loss in NCAA Softball's WCWS in Oklahoma City.

Up 7-0 on Baylor after five innings...it looked like the Bears just might be in danger of being "run-ruled".

Not so fast, my friends...

The Bears touched UK starter Kelsey Nunley for three runs in the sixth. After a scoreless UK top of the seventh, the Bears put four more on the board to take it to extra innings.

It was obvious that Nunley had nothing left but the UK staff left her in there. Lauren Cumbess, a fairly decent hurler...remained on first base.

The Cats went scoreless in the top of the eight and Baylor used a bottom of the eight opening double and infield grounder that turned into a throwing error to get in improbable 8-7 win with no outs.

Tough way to bow out of the World Series...you just gotta question UK softball head coach Rachel Lawson and her pitching coach's decision to continue with the dead arm on Nunley. Rise balls that weren't, curves that didn't, change ups that were hitting the dirt and way too many fast balls right over the middle of the plate that the Bears were swatting all over the outfield.

paulie

Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Decision Sunday for Lacrosse, Softball

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Softball, Lacrosse face season ending scenarios

UofL women's sports fans have an odd doubleheader of sorts today available for viewing...Softball against UCF today at noon and Lacrosse at 2 p.m. versus Northwestern.

Losses today by either squad will end their seasons. Kellie Young's squad has gone further than they ever have before in the history of the sport at UofL...making the NCAA Tournament and winning their first round match. The Northwestern squad they face today is fifth seeded in the 26 team tournament field, at home and has won 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament games when playing in Evanston, IL.

Softball gets a UCF squad that had trouble shaking a pesky Rutgers team yesterday...the Knights had the bases loaded in the seventh inning, one out and trailing 8-5...but could not deliver the upset. UCF was the #1 seed in The American Softball Tournament and a win over Louisville today would
make the Cards a very remote possibility for the NCAA Tournament with a RPI of 50.

We think both squads have a very good chance of keeping their seasons alive today, though. Lacrosse is on a 12 game win streak and getting solid production from their attack, midfield and defensive players. Kellie Young has multiple scorers in Faye Brust, Nikki Boltja and Kay Morissette who can take a game over in a matter of minutes. Good news, also for those fans who want to watch it...

The contest starts at 2 p.m. ET and will be streamed free of charge on the Big Ten Digital Network's site. It also will be televised on the Big Ten Network on tape delay, starting approximately 3 p.m. ET.

Softball dropped the regular season series to the UCF Golden Knights but has been playing much better ball since their visit to Orlando and getting the best pitching they've had this season from Rachel Le Coq, Maryssa Becker and Caralisa Connell. Sandy Pearsall's "Hit and Catch" Cards have also been on a home run frenzy in Houston...putting six over the fence in two games.

The American Digital Network will show the final between Louisville and UCF starting at noon ET.


Comparing the two seasons, the two squads...its been a supremely surprising and satisfying season for Lacrosse. Kellie Young told me months before the season began that this group had a chance to be something very special and she was right. Softball...on the other hand...returned a solid hitting lineup, strong pitching, talented newcomers and a new facility but fell short of most people's expectations by not winning the AAC after being the preseason pick to do so.

Redemption songs available for singing today for Pearsall's squad and another "finish" opus awaits Young's netters.

The NCAA Softball selection show will air tonight at 10 p.m. on ESPNU. We hope the Softball Cards can eliminate any doubt of participating by taking care of business today.   


Good luck to both squads today!

*           *          *           *          *          *           *           *


Finally, UofL women's golf ended their three-day stay at the NCAA Regionals in 18th place. The top eight from each region advance to the Championships...so golf has ended for the season...ironically...when most people are starting to renew it for the year.

paulie

Cardinal Couple Tuesday-Selection Monday

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

Selection Monday

Yesterday was Selection Monday for the NCAA Tournament.  What?  You didn't know?

72 teams and 18 individuals were announced as participants in the NCAA Women's Golf Championship to be held between May 8th and 23rd.  The Louisville women were guaranteed a position in the Championship, due to having won the American Athletic Conference Championship, but tuned in to find out their seeding and in which region they would be playing.

The answers are: 13th seed, and in the East Region.

The East Region is hosted by Florida State and will be played at Southwood Golf Club in Tallahassee, FL.  All regionals will be played between May 8th and 10th, with the National Championship occurring May 20th through the 23rd at Tulsa Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Sophomore Laura Restrepo leads the Cardinals with a 72.68 stroke average. She is ranked 63rd in the nation by Golfstat. Junior Emily Haas ranks second on the team with a 73.14. She's 9th, according to Golfstat. Junior Katie Petrino has a 73.71 average and comes in at 142nd with Golfstat. Senior Tara Lyons and freshman Shannon Gramerly fill out the usual fivesome the Cards put out on the links.

In addition to Louisville, American Conference members UCF and SMU also made the cut for regional play, with UCF being a sixth seed and also in the East Region.  Meanwhile, SMU got an 18th seed in the Central Region.

Future ACC conference-mates make appearances:

East:

1. Duke

7. Virginia

9. NC State

10. Florida State

Central:

8. North Carolina

10. Miami (FL)

West:

5. Clemson

6. Wake Forest

18. Notre Dame

There are three regions with 24 teams and six individuals playing in each region.

Softball Tidbits

Last Home Game

The Kentucky Wildcats come in to Ulmer Stadium tomorrow night for Softball.  This is a ticketed
event, unlike most softball games at Ulmer, and the stadium is expected to sell-out, but there is always room to watch from the outfield berm, which still provides excellent vantage points for the game.

With Ulmer having been newly renovated and more seats added, its expected that there will be a record crowd on hand.

The rains are expected to clear and Ulmer has fantastic drainage and a world class ground-crew tending it.  With the forecast calling for rain ending overnight Tuesday night, with only a slim chance for rain remaining, it should make for a great evening.

First pitch is at 6pm.  This will likely be your last chance to see this year's six seniors play at home, with the last three regular season games being at Memphis.

Softball Spotlight

 

For the past several weeks, Softball has let one of the players take over the @UofLSoftball twitter account one afternoon of the week.  While a date hasn't been set for this week's Spotlight, we're expecting Taner Fowler to step up to the virtual mic.  Expect about an hour of good fun on twitter as Taner answers your questions tweeted to @UofLSoftball.  As soon as we find out a date and time for this week's Softball Spotlight, we'll let you know.

Taner is one of the graduating seniors and is frequently listed as Utility for her position and this year has showed it.  She's played just about equal time at catcher, first base, third base and left field at various times this season.  Taner is from Morganfield, Kentucky, in Union County about midway between Owensboro and Paducah.

jeffmca

Friday Cardinal Couple -- David Watson takes a look at....Jeff Walz

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

(David Watson pilots us into the weekend. Seems the lad is still celebrating the Cards runner-up finish in the 2013 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. As well he should...it was an exciting ride on the Redemption Train.

Today, he looks at Lady Cards head coach Jeff Walz.)

Used to be, when people would listen to me talk about Jeff Walz and the job he's done at UofL with the women's basketball program -- they'd sometimes point to the Cards 2009 success with a verbal asterisk. He inherited Angel. What's he done lately, since she's gone?

We can finally put that caveat to bed. Bury it in the garden. 2013 will be remembered as the year in women's college basketball when Baylor DIDN'T win the national title after being picked by 9 out of every 10 people who pretend to know a little something about the game -- because a color-blind, stuttering coach from Louisville, KY sent the Bears into early hibernation and caught the hearts and imaginations of probably every fan base in women's college basketball but the Bears, UConn Huskies and Kentucky Wildcats.

That 10th. person resides in Connecticut.

You know UK fans. They still think Matthew Mitchell is better. It was great to see all of them in New Orleans.

So, who is this guy? This coach who has taken a 4 and 5 seed to the Big Dance title match twice in five years?

Meet Jeffrey Jacob Walz. Born October 27th., 1971 in northern Kentucky. I was at my dear old alma mater in South Bend at the time, protesting the U.S. involvement in Vietnam and missed the blessed event. He attended Fort Thomas Highlands High School and was a decent enough basketball player to garner a scholarship to Northern Kentucky University. After a couple of years, he "retired" from the team and freed up a scholarship. The athletic department was in full agreement, according to him. He was fascinated with coaching, though...began at the eighth-grade level and parlayed his success, and the success of his younger sister Jaime ( Kentucky Miss Basketball 1996) into a job with Paul Sanderford at Western Kentucky University...where he coached her as a graduate assistant and got a master's degree in secondary education.

It wasn't in food service management, even though he's been pondering a career working for his friend Geno Auriemma in restaurant operations.

When Sanderford took the Nebraska head coaching job in 1997, Walz accepted the invite to be an assistant coach and headed to Lincoln. He and Paulie made three consecutive NCAA appearances there together.

In 2002, a lady named Brenda Oldfield (now Brenda Frese) asked him to join the staff at the University of Minnesota. He spent a year there, watching her improve the Golden Gophers from a 8-20 record to 22-8. She was named AP Coach of the year, and promptly left for Maryland. Walz went along, figuring he'd tried lutefish and was ready for some crab cakes. They turned the Terps into a national power...winning the 2006 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

Tom Jurich was watching. He was faced with the dilemma of replacing Tom Collen, who was offered a chance to go home to Arkansas and tend to the Hogs.
Cardinal fans should have seen that move eventually coming. Collen all but had the Vanderbilt job but because of a discrepancy on his resume..the 'Dores passed on him. Collen "settled" for Louisville. He craved the SEC. He finally got back there. It was great to see him in New Orleans also.  

Never claim to be an astronaut unless you've been one. Or list that you were one of the original Beatles. Collen seems like a nice enough guy. He bears a striking resemblance to Mel Brooks. That probably wasn't on the resume.

You know Jurich. He works his magic on everything. When the 2007-08 season tipped off, Walz was on the Freedom Hall bench -- skippering the Lady Cards.

He had Angel McCoughtry. A junior. He had another talented junior in Candyce Bingham. A precocious freshman named Dez Byrd was trying to learn how to be a point guard. Brandie Radde was the three-point specialist and the Cards were getting ready for their third season in the BIG EAST. Walz's inaugural team posted another 10-6 conference record, third in a row, and went 26-10. They made it to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. They also cracked the top 15 in attendance in WBB college ball, with 6500 fans a game watching McCoughtry magic.

We all know what happened in 2008-09.

He is now preparing for his seventh season as the head coach of Louisville. He is at 148-65 in his time at the corner of Cardinal Blvd. and Floyd Street and five wins away from becoming the leader in career wins for the Lady Cards program. It took Bud Childers eight years to get to 152. Against decidedly weaker competition.

Others are noticing. Tennessee considered making the call before elevating Holly Warlick. Ohio State rang the doorbell. There will be more inquiries and calls. It happens.

People want the best they can get.

Walz is a shooting star. He handles it with style -- unafraid to display his wonderfully sarcastic sense of humor in pressure situations.

He answers his own phone and returns his own e-mails and texts.

For now.

That he does that speaks volumes for the man. Paulie told me of a story recently where he was trying to get an on-line interview with Cal coach Lindsay Gottlieb after the Bears made the Final Four. He sent an e-mail to Ms. Gottlieb. He got a reply from an assistant intern, stating the the coach would love to do something like that. Would, in fact, reply that very evening. Paulie's still waiting for that reply. From either Gottlieb or the assistant intern. Or anyone in California.

Walz has sent two assistants to head coaching jobs. His college kids graduate and (although some do transfer) are taught life lessons about what to expect when their playing days are over. They stay in touch. They appreciate, eventually, what he teaches them.

So, how do you keep a shooting star in your galaxy?

Money helps. Filling the seats in the KFC YUM Center couldn't hurt. It's more than that, though.

There is the love of the campus, the city. He has the best boss in the business in Tom Jurich. He gets to watch Rick Pitino practices and play golf with him. And, he gets good seats for the Kentucky Derby. He even likes most of the local media guys. Think you can get that in New England or Knoxville?

Geno's job for him -- of busing tables and hauling trash -- may have to wait a very long time. Which begs the question...when the "man" steps down eventually in Hartford, does the "mad scientist" get the phone call?

Only Jeff Walz can answer that. For now, the challenge awaits of facing his pal for a season in a league where UConn and UofL look to be the exacta pick. Then, to battle against the ACC.

Jeff Walz will take it all in stride. From being the uninvited party crasher who ruined the dance -- his destiny will most likely turn out making him the honored guest at the coronation. And, he'll deadpan that, as well.

I've never met the man. Through Paulie's site here and on-line clips, though -- I feel I've known him for years. I'll probably never meet him -- my days of travelling 3 1/2 hours to watch Louisville WBB games are about to end. It's an age thing, and with this wonderful thing called the internet, I can follow the Lady Cards' successes in the comfort of my recliner. I may even start a checkered shirt collection.

I'll never match him in air miles. Every flight attendant at Southwest is probably on a first-name basis with him. I bet he gets two packages of peanuts or crackers. He probably never loses a piece of luggage.

Keep it up, Coach. These are fun days. When's the first game, again?

-David Watson

Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Sandy catches up with Cardinal womens' sports

.
TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

:::::::::::::::::::::::Game report::::::::::::::::::::::

#6 ranked Louisville women's basketball wins easily tonight in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico over Central Florida 94-73. Five Cards in double figures and Walz played the bench most of the final ten minutes of the second half after leading 55-33 at half. Louisville gets winner of Missouri State v. Gonzaga tomorrow night at 9:30 p.m.

BE SURE....to check back for CARDINAL COUPLE columnist Jenny O'Bryan's report on the game in the Wednesday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE!!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


(Sandy Walker returns this week with her Tuesday recaps on Louisville Swimming and Diving, Volleyball, Basketball, Lacrosse and Soccer. Like Bria Smith picking up an opposing guard at the half court line...Sandy's got you covered!)

Re: You can listen through Cards TV (appears to be premium) for all three games (game tracker also available for the Tuesday USF game) which begin this evening at 7:00 against UCF.  Cards TV is now showing a 6:30 start time for tonight's USF game.

SWIMMING & DIVING

This week the women’s swim team moved up into the 16^th spot from 21.  Details and an explanation of how individual scores are compiled to translate into team scores can be found at:

 http://buzztap.com/link.jspid=17739350&cid=304&source=feed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed. 

Last week’s win over BIG EAST rival Notre Dame was fueled by their strength in the distance freestyle events.  Coach Arthur Albiero reported this as a great road win by a tough and intense team.

Last weekend they continued their success at the Purdue Invite where the women took 2^nd place.  They next travel to Austin, TX for a November 29 to December 2 meet known as the USA Short Course Nationals.

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 BASKETBALL

.

RECRUITS

Last week was National Signing Day where Louisville received 3 National Letters of Intent signatures from Star Breedlove, Emmonnie Henderson and Janelle Cannon.  The 2013 class is ranked as high as 16th. nationally.  Recruit fact: Starr Breedlove is a member of the 1000 point club.  This was accomplished while moving through 3 schools in two states.

ACHIEVEMENT

Shoni Schimmel became U of L's 23rd 1,000-point scorer during the Austin Peay game. to Schimmel came into the game with 996 points and sank to free throws in the first half to join the list. Both she and senior Monique Reid have keys to this prestigious club. 

HARDWOOD TOURNAMENT

·         They women take their 3-0 record into the Hardwood Tournament of Hope in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  The team took a bus to Indianapolis Sunday for a flight to Phoenix and Mexico later in the day.  It was reported that yesterday an intense beach volleyball match took place as a part of the combination team building holiday and work trip continues.  You can see a picture posted by Mary Beth Whitaker of the team at practice yesterday.  Go to:

 http://twitter.com/mbwgocards/status/270635481648214017/photo/1.

·          

·         Beginning today the ladies will play game 1 in a tough grind of  3 games scheduled in the next 3 days.   You can listen through Cards TV (appears to be premium) for all three games (game tracker also available for the Tuesday USF game) which begin this evening at 7:00 against UCF.  All broadcasts will also be on 790 WKRD AM in Louisville.  Editors' Note: WE recommend that you just drive over to Tom Jurich's house and listen to the broadcasts with him. (Bring snacks..)

      If the Cards win, the second match on Wednesday begins at  9:30 pm against the winner of the interesting battle between
      Gonzaga / Missouri State game with the 3^rd game being played against the other 2-0 team from the contests. The official website for the event has the championship game starting at 9:30 EST when  Louisville advances to the title game. Louisville’s official site indicates a TBA start time.   Paul will provide the details later as they are available.

·         REGULAR SEASON

·         The women are on the road again next Monday at UT Martin with a 8:00 tip off.   Again audio is available on Cards TV and WKRD AM 790 radio.  The next home game is on Wednesday against Eastern Kentucky where they will begin a 3 game home stand which includes UK.

UK GAME

December 2 once again brings UK to the KFC YUM! CENTER and also a tip-off time change to 6:00 pm instead of the original 2:00 due to the decision of ESPNU to broadcast the game.  Get your ticket early and bring friends as the match against the 6^th ranked feral Wildcats will show the state and nation the huge level of support enjoyed by our Card Nation women.  For tickets, contact the U of L ticket office at (502) 852-5151 or go online at GoCards.com.

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ONLINE TICKET OPTIONS

Those of us who have wanted the option to online manage, purchase, exchange or donate our athletic tickets up until 2 hours before a game now have it.  Go to:

https://oss.ticketmaster.com/html/home.htmI?team=uofl

and register your personal account where you can forward purchased tickets to a friend or client until two hours before the start of the game.  We all know of great seats which go empty because the ticket holder cannot attend but to date has had no easy way of allowing the ticket to be used.

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VOLLEYBALL

NCAA TOURNAMENT MATCHES

The U of L VolleyCards are the 2012  Big East Conference and Tournament Champions.   Nothing is for yet for sure but we at Cardinal Couple are projecting that Louisville will be awarded the 1^st and 2^nd rounds of the NCAA tournament to go with the December 13 & 15 Semi-Final and Final NCAA Championship matches.  Great seats are still available at the ticket office for the final 4 rounds. Open dates at the YUM! Center are November 29 and 30^th which would lead us to believe that opening NCAA championship rounds could be scheduled for those dates.  We will know no later than this Sunday, the 25^th, where there will be a live ESPNU broadcast of the tournament selection.  We would assume that tickets will be available next Monday the 26^th.   Check Cardinal Couple or the ticket office for updates. 

 

FINAL REGULAR SEASON MATCH

On Friday the 28-3 Volleycards will play the OVC Champion Belmont at Cardinal Arena.  As you know seating and standing room is limited so get your tickets early.  If you get shut out for a ticket, live video of the 5:00 pm match is reported to be available on Cards TV.

AWARDS

Senior Lola Arslanbekova became the first volleyball player to be named Big East Player of the Year in consecutive seasons since 1996-97 and she is the first four-time All-Big East first-team since the 2006-2009 seasons.  Lola also is the only active NCAA Division I player with 2,000 kills and 1,000 digs. 

Senior Gwen Rucker was named as Big East Tournament MVP and made the first team all tournament team while Brooke Mattingly and Caitlin Welch made the second team. U of L’s Coach Anne Kordes shared Coach of the Year honors.

Additional BIG EAST Tournament information is available at :

http://www.gocards.com/sports/w-volley/recaps/111812aaa.html

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RANKING

Monday’s NCAA Poll finds the U of L Volleycards ranked as 9th
in the nation with a RPI rank of 4th.  Go CARDS!

LACROSSE & SOCCER

The Lacrosse & Soccer team members joined together to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.  by volunteering at the St. Jude’s children’s walk Saturday at the Louisville Zoo.  Pictures of them in the kids zone can be seen at:

 http://twitter.com/LouisvilleLCARE/status/269818918854606848/photo/1 .

(EDITORS' NOTE: Sonja and I are BIG believers of the life-changing work done at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Thanks to the sponsorships of individuals, companies and corporations...no child at St. Jude is ever turned away because of a family's inability to pay. When St. Jude was founded in 1962, survival rates for children with catastrophic cancers and diseases was 20%. It's now 80%. St. Jude's motto is: Finding Cures. Saving Children. Two very important things....).

Who will speak for the innocent children who cannot speak for themselves? You can, with a donation or by coordinating a fund-raising event for St. Jude.

You can read more about the St. Jude story at:

www.stjude.org
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