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-

Rouse gets Called Up; Cason Below Cut Line -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Mollie Rouse Invited to Camp with England

In the latest news for the UofL women's soccer team, after what has been quite a busy spring, Mollie Rouse has been invited to the U20 (under 20) National Team Camp for the England Women's National Team. These identification/training camps are key for players with national team aspirations to be a part of. National teams find most of their players out of these camps, and like to build the relationships of their talented players as early as possible. After having already been a member of the U-17 and U-19 teams, Rouse's invitation is a continuation of her recognition and bodes well for her future. Next week's camp is set to prepare/select the team for the upcoming U20 Women's World Cup, and being involved with this camp makes Rouse a contender for making England's roster for next year's Women's World Cup. If not next year's team, Rouse will at least be in a better position of being recognized for future use with the national team. Good luck to Mollie as she continues her professional career.

Olivia Cason Likely to Miss Cut

Although second round play in the LPGA US Open was suspended until today due to dangerous weather, those that have finished their two rounds have put weekend play out of reach for UofL's Olivia Cason. Cason struggled in what was likely poor weather all day and carded a 7-over 79 in her second round at Shoal Creek. The projected cut is set for +5, which puts Cason's +11 well out of reach. Cason had uncharacteristic trouble at the NCAA tournament, as well, but golf can be a streaky sport. Olivia has not likely lost the ability to golf, as we remember that she was the team leader for most of the season and won an individual event to qualify for the Open. The junior will return as a team leader next season.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

After some minor car concerns last night (apparently those are common when your vehicle sits still for 2 months), I've sorted them all out to prepare for an appearance at the WCHQ station today. All four regulars will be in the studio for today's Cardinal Couple Radio Hour, where I'm sure we'll figure out something to talk about for the full hour. Tune in to 100.9 WCHQ FM if you're in the area. If not, you can find us online at wchqfm.com, WCHQ FM on facebook, or on the WCHQ app. The show, as normal, starts at 11AM and ends whenever you feel you've had enough of our antics!

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Paulie looks at golf and Olivia Cason goes to US Open -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CASON TEES OFF TODAY IN US OPEN

I've found over the years that golf is one of those sports that there isn't much of a middle-ground in. People either really love it and spend a bunch of their free time in the pursuit of it. Then, there are people who don't know the difference between a graphite driver and a putter and could care less. And, people switch in their interest of "a good walk spoiled" pursuit over the years. 

We have a couple of readers here at Cardinal Couple (that I know of) who pursue golf on a regular basis. David Watson, from what I hear, is the better of the two...although Joe Hill might dispute that. Dave O's son has the bug as well and is spending this summer honing his game and working at a Florida Golf and Country Club. Maybe he's the next Tiger Woods, who knows? I'm probably the only one of us four on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour who played the game regularly at one time. I may have to get up "The Cardinal Couple Invitational" at one of the local miniature golf locale around here and see how the boys do with a putter and water hazards.  

The Top Golf concept sounds interesting, but...there's a big group of folks opposed to where they are planning on trying to build the facility.  I always liked the idea of beer and golf. We'll see how that turns out. 

For years, I was an avid golfer. I had a standing tee time whenever weather permitted at noon on Fridays. I'd try to get in other weekend chances to play as well and loved trips, junkets, scrambles and playing different courses as they fit into my schedule. I wasn't good, but could hit the ball a long way off the tee and then find a way to get myself into all types of mischief. I had a hole-in-one at the age of nine on a local par-3 course. I still have the trophy. Our property ran parallel to the fourth hole on the now extinct Fern Creek Par 3 Golf Course. As kids, in the summer or after school, we'd 
"tee off and play around" to the clubhouse and then pay our fee. A pricey .50 cents back then. It's been a long time, but I can still remember where each tee and green were and could walk you around the former course. There's a elementary school, football, baseball and practice field now in place covering most of the holes. I wonder if any of my lost golf balls are still lurking around?  

I even got into a fight on the course once...as a kid...combining my "bad boy" football image with a short game, short temper and an annoying adversary who purposely stepped on my ball and dared me to do something about it. 

I did. I got tossed off the course. He went home with a souvenir black-eye and sore belly.

I went home with a "reputation" but the golf pro called my parents. That was not good. 

I quit golf shortly after my father died in 2006. He was one of the big reasons I got into golf and, despite the urging of friends and associates...I haven't hit the links since. Those memories are precious....but I just lost interest in driving or walking around for 4-5 hours without him.  

My dad worked at a golf course after he "retired"...he got free golf and was the "Sarge" of the clubhouse. He also used to like watching the US Open on television. He called it (and I'm kind of paraphrasing here) a true test of who's the best, whether they were pro or amateur. He played in the Kentucky Senior Open quite often in his latter years and won his age division a couple of times. He would have been a fan of and would be cheering for OLIVIA CASON...UofL junior from the women's golf team...who will take on "the best of land" in the US Women's Open at Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club in Shoal Creek, AL. starting today.

You just don't show up and tee it up to play in the US Open. You have to qualify. Cason did that back in May at a sectional qualifier in Indiana, PA. with a one-under par 143 to win the qualifier. This was also during the midst of the Cards quest and ultimate success to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, so she's seen a lot of fairways in this month that's about to end. 

Cason had a successful junior season for the "chip and putt" Cards. The Owensboro, KY native was third in stroke average for UofL with a 74.74 and had 10 rounds at or below par....plus (2) top-ten finishes. In the Cards NCAA run, she helped Louisville finish fifteenth in the NCAA Championships while tying for 74th. place. 

The first two days, all golfers in The Open will play eighteen holes a day. Then, the field will be cut to the top 60 golfers, who will compete for two more days, eighteen holes per day. Coverage is available on FS1 on Thursday and Friday...with the final two days being shown on FOX. 

Live results are available at LPGA.com and you can also follow the golf  and Cason's results on the women's golf Twitter site...www.twitter.com/UofLWGolf or on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/UofLWgolf .

 I also expect we'll give it a bit of round-table discussion on our weekly Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Saturday. I wonder if we could train the station dog "Punkin" to sniff out and find lost golf balls?

In closing, I bring you this quote about golf: 

"Golf combines two separate and quite different elements. Taking long walks and hitting things with a stick." 

Best of luck to Olivia in 'Bama! May her drives be straight and long, chips accurate and putting perfect. 


paulie
xxxxx

Molly Sauer Update From China -- Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Expansion -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Sauer and U.S. Collegiate National Team Prepare to Close Out Tour

Molly Sauer

Molly Sauer has enjoyed her time traveling with the U.S. Collegiate National Team - China.  Besides a schedule full of Chinese volleyball powerhouses they have had time to experience the culture.  Recently Sauer posted a picture on social media from the Great Wall of China.

In their first three matches they are 2-1.  The other two matches are listed for May 29 (no update) and May 30.  The second and third matches were against Zhejiang, a professional volleyball team in China.

Sauer's Instagram Story

May 24 vs Zhejiang lost 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-21).  The States committed 34 errors total in the match, proving to be the downfall in the loss.

May 25 vs Zhejiang won 3-0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-9).  Sauer and her squad rebounded from the loss one day prior and obliterated the Chinese in the third set after an easy first set and tight second set.

There were no quotes from Sauer, but we know the libero has played a huge factor on the team and is as beneficial with the U.S National Team as she is with Louisville.

The rising senior also celebrated her birthday three days ago while overseas.

Football Stadium Expansion Update Released

Panorama Photo by Morgan Lentes, WLKY

With the return of the football team for practices starting Monday night talk of the expansion update soon followed.  The team hosted media yesterday to explore the new addition and to see how it is coming along.

The $63-million expansion is quickly on its way to being completed.  The new training room is operational and features two plunge pools, hydro-therapy room, 4x rehab space as the old one, and a much larger weight and cardio room.  The seating is not yet completed, but will accompany the two new 40-foot by 80-foot LED video boards in time for the home opener against Indiana State.

Other News and Notes

Cardinal Forever Josh Rogers

UofL baseball alum Josh Rogers was back in town last night with the Scranton Railriders.  Rogers pitched for Louisville in 2013 and 2014 and was a key member on those two teams that made their way to Omaha.  The Triple-A pitcher got the start against the Louisville Bats and went a solid seven innings, giving up five hits and zero runs while striking out three.  His ERA is hovering around a 2.5 while his record is 5-3.  Unfortunately, he did not bring his buddies at Dunder-Mifflin down with him.

Olivia Cason just wrapped up her season with women's golf and is already moving onto another big event.  The rising senior will compete in the U.S. Women's Open in Shoal Creek, Ala., beginning this Thursday.  She is part of the 36-player field and the only Cardinal competing.


Kassidy Manning and Joe Delgado were named to the 2018 Google Cloud All-District Track and Field teams.  To be eligible, athletes must be a starter or key reserve and maintain at least a 3.3 GPA while reaching sophomore standing at their school.

I'd like to wish my mom a happy early birthday, as she adds another year of experience to her life this Thursday.  My dad celebrated his birthday about a week and a half ago and my brother's is next week.  My September birthday makes me the odd one out in my family.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Cards women's golf falls short in bid for Great Eight -- Do you know Cassidy Rowe? -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS FINISH FIFTEENTH IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Four 18-hole rounds in four straight days. Against the best in women's collegiate golf. 

Louisville women's golf's bid to advance to a fifth day in the NCAA Championships fell short yesterday in Stillwater, OK. The "chip and putt" Cards did record their best performance of the four days with a 8 over par 296 at the Kirsten Creek Golf Club...but it wasn't enough to move them up in the standings to eighth, which is where they needed to be in order to continue to Tuesday action. 

From the ACC only Florida State and Duke remain in contention for the title. After four days, UCLA and Alabama are tied for first at +9 for 72 holes. The Cards finished +47 for the four days in Oklahoma. 

It was Kristen Engle's day to have the lowest total for the Louisville five-some. She carded a 1 under par 71 in Monday's action. The freshman had five birdies on the final day and a total of nine birdies for the event. Out of Barbourville, KY, Engle was the top ranked golfer in Kentucky high school in 2016 and originally committed to play at Tennessee. She ended up a Card, though and has been a consistent performer for UofL head coach Courtney Trimble her freshman season. 

Lauren Hartlage and Molly Skapic had 74's on Monday.  Hartlage, a sophomore from Elizabethtown, KY was considered one of the best in the state during her high school playing days and forms a strong returning nucleus with Engle for next season. Skapic, a senior from Miamisburg, OH, had two eagles in the four-day event. 

Olivia Cason, a junior out of Elizabethtown, KY and Delaney Shah, a sophomore from North Potomac, MD filled out the Cardinal five-some and both also return next season...giving Trimble a strong and experienced nucleus back on campus and out at the UofL Golf Course links. 

The Cards also return several talented golfers who did not compete in the NCAA Championship. Expected to return for their sophomore seasons are Jordan Susce (Birmingham, AL), Linda Trockel (Berlin, Germany) and Margot Bechadergue (Aix-en-Provence, France). Also back is Meghan Nay, who will be a red-shirt junior. 

The finish for the Cards was quite impressive and is, we hope, the prelude to an even stronger showing next year "out on the links". 


NAME FOR THE FUTURE? 

There is a 8th grader playing girls' high school basketball in Pikeville, KY for Shelby Valley High School that you might want to get to know. We've mentioned her here before at Cardinal Couple...CASSIDY ROWE...says that Louisville is her favorite school, the Cards have shown reciprocal interest in the class of 2022 prospect, and...it appears she's got huge game. 

I know, teenagers can change their minds almost daily. A soon-to-be freshman, though, she has followed Louisville since the fifth grade, from many accounts. 

Former Cardinal Couple columnist Jenny O'Bryan might be one of the best authorities around about Cassidy. Our attempts to reach Jenny, unfortunately, have failed recently...but we figure she's probably busy with life. 

For you, a You Tube clip that shows this "Cassidy" doesn't need the "Sundance Kid" to help her shred defenses and rob opponents of wins. 

CASSIDY ROWE


WANT CHANGE? DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT ! 







Go Vote today if you're a registered party member and live in Kentucky. It's Election Day. 

 Being a staunch "independent", I don't cast my ballot in party primaries...but...I can tell you that anyone associated with current governor, UofL hater, Matt Bevin wouldn't get a dry piece of toast from me...much less my vote. 

Voting IS important! We have that right. In some countries, that right does not exist. It doesn't matter who you are, rich or poor, black or white, city or country, Cat or Card...research, make your choice and go vote. If you're not registered, GO REGISTER! 

If you don't vote, don't complain about political leaders.

Classic rock band Chicago has a great song about
making it happen: DIALOUGE PARTS 1 &2 - CHICAGO




paulie
xxxxx

Golf and Baseball Result - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Golf Leaderboard

After two days of play, Louisville Women's Golf sits in 10th place of the preliminary rounds.  The initial winnowing of the field, which will happen after today's action, will take the top 15 teams on for another day of play.  The top 9 individuals not on advancing teams will advance as well.

Molly Skapik had a good day of golf, leading the Cards in the clubhouse with a 1 under par for the day, for a total 3 over for her two days.  Lauren Hartlage stuggled through much of the teeing off on 18 for +5, but hopefully pulled herself out of the doldrums with the eagle that she got on the last hole of the day.  While the other members of the team, Delaney Shah, Olivia Cason, and Kristin Engle all ended up back in the clubhouse with +5s for the day.

Again, the consistency across the team is serving the Cards well, putting them in solid position to be able to advance to at least another day of play on Monday with a solid round today.  The squad will also be looking to put themselves in the best possible position to advance beyond Monday's play.  They will need to at least maintain the status quo to do so as a team, as the top 10 teams advance beyond Monday.

Baseball Rounds Out the Season With a Win

Louisville Baseball has Notre Dame's number, winning the last 16 meetings between the teams, but
sometimes the wins are a bit nerve-wracking.  Yesterday's come from behind win wasn't the soothing romp we would've like it to be, but the Cards got the job done, finally taking the lead in the bottom of the 8th with 4 runs in the frame for the 10-7 win.

The Cards were powered largely by Josh Stowers, with 2 touch-em-alls in the game with 6 RBIs, including a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 8th.

The win to close out the season lands UofL in the 5th "seed" for the ACC tournament, putting them in the D pool with #4 Duke and #9 Wake Forest.  The Cards will have to win both games in the pool play to advance to the four team single-elimination bracket for the championship.

The other accomplishment with the finale game win was to reach 40 wins on the season for the Dan McDonnell squad.  That is now 7 consecutive seasons with 40 wins, and for the last 6 of those, they reached the mark during the regular season.

The Diamond Dwellers will not just be looking to advance from pool play in order to win the ACC championship, there will also be an eye towards their rankings as they have made a late season run up the ladder.  If they can, with potentially 4 games in the ACC tournament, climb to the Top 16 vicinity (they're currently 25th ranked, so this is a long-shot), they then stand a chance to host a Regional in the NCAA tournament.

A Moment of Commentary

Who, on earth, could possibly think this ACC Baseball tournament format is a good one?  First you have a pool play format that results in many of the 2nd games for teams being played with no mathematical chance of advancing.  You have to go 2-0 in pool play to advance, unless you're the top seeded team in the pool, in which case you can potentially drop one of the games.

OK, I'm not a huge baseball fan, in general, but I enjoy following Dan McDonnell's squad late in the season after other UofL Athletics have wrapped up...and then every year, this monstrosity of a tournament format is foisted upon us.

Ultimately, this is a week that I have to figuratively grit my teeth and get through, to get to the more sane NCAA tournament format.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

 The four knuckleheads were all re-united in the studio for the first time in...months?  Merriment was
had, and I think we even managed to convey some useful information for those listening.

A special "Thanks!" to Arica Carter for the interview with us.

Check out the fun with the Facebook Live video at https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/2038248432865096/

--
JMcA

David Watson column -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HOW'S YOUR DERBY WEEK? 

Hey, ho! Dave-O here, pinch-hitting this morning for Paulie. 

It is Derby Week in Louisville, KY., in case you've just come out of a coma or happen to be reading this in a locale where the residents do not place as much emphasis on the first week of May as the Louisville locals do. 

I spoke with "our fearless leader" last night and he's involved in a myriad of events and activities that began on Tuesday and will carry him through "The Run for the Roses" (as they call it up there.) I can only surmise that running through roses has its share of calamities. The thorns and occasional bumblebee could turn against you.

I always wondered why they never had Bret Michaels and hair-metal band Poison sing "Every Rose Has Its Thorns" on Derby Day at Churchill? Sing along at the link below. 

EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THORNS

Paulie is quite busy with his horse-racing handicapping site 
(check out HANDICAPPING HEROES at this LINK ). Truth be told here, when we spoke last night, he sounded worn-out but happy after a day at Churchill Downs and gladly and gratefully turned the keys to the website vehicle over to me today with what sounded like relief, gratitude and maybe a bit of Jefferson's Reserve mixed in. So, let's go for a spin! 

I grew up in New Albany and so I remember quite a bit about Derby Week back "in the day". Being in Bradenton now, an expatriated Hoosier, if you will, I still have an interest in things like Balloon Glows and Steamboat Races, along with Mini-Marathons a few of the many events that are part of Derby week. Following them from afar is tough at times, but ask you hve to do is ask Google, Siri or Alexa, right? I even ran in the "Mini" -- as we called it back then -- and finished. I spent the next three days recovering, but I can say I did it. I apologize again to the guy whose front yard I threw up in. No pain, no gain, right?  

On the Louisville Cardinals sports scene, I see that things are slowly winding down. I should mention (after all, this is a women's sports site) that Sandy Pearsall's squad came out on top of the "hit parade" in Ulmer Stadium last night. It was a 13-10 win for the Louisville Sluggers against Marshall and the final regular-season home game for the Cards. 

Megan Hensley has been quite the offensive dynamo for UofL lately -- in addition to her pitching prowess -- and knocked a grand slam home run last night that was essential in Louisville's come-from-behind victory. This contest featured what had to be a wild and wonderful fifth inning, where a total of 16 runs were scored. What did UofL do? Bring Jeff Walz back throw the opening pitch and just decide to leave him in the circle? 

As the scoreboard operator gets a few days off to recover from sprained fingers, the Cards conclude the season at Ulmer with a guaranteed spot in the ACC Tournament but uncertain of their seed just yet. They'll head to the Panthers lair by the three rivers' convergence this weekend to decide all that. One can only hope, for Louisville's sake, that they don't bring in the Pittsburgh Pirates dressed in wigs and clean-shaven, to do their bidding. Or, maybe that wouldn't be so bad...the Pirates are in fourth in the NL Central, right behind my Cubbies and just above those laughable, losing Reds. 

I'm a big golfer (not gopher) as you might know if you've read these pages previously, so I do need to give you a report on the UofL women's golf squad. 

Olivia Cason, a junior from Owensboro, KY, has qualified for the U.S. Women's Open Championship. She fired a one-under par 143 to win the qualifying event for the Championship. That's 36 holes of golf in one day, dear readers. Ol' Dave-O can barely get through 18 holes these days, unless he's playing miniature golf. Even then, the clown's mouth and water hazards always get me.

Cason's big day, plus Louisville women's golf getting selected to compete in the NCAA Championships from May 7-9 out in California and being sponsored by Stanford, are another bright and successful sport for UofL women's athletics. I guess I could even surmise, if you're playing golf at Stanford, one must watch out for "the Trees"? 



It's been my esteemed pleasure to return to the hallowed pages and visit with you today. Thanks to Paulie for calling me out of the bullpen to pitch a few innings of relief here at the site. And, NO, I wasn't pitching for either Marshall or Louisville last night. The score would have been much higher. 

I hope, if you're of that persuasion and location, you have a great rest of Derby week and have a winner on Derby Day. I'd offer to give you a Derby horse I think might win, but my knowledge of horse-racing is equal to my knowledge of fluid hydraulics. I can tell you they run around the track in counter-clockwise fashion and the hooves pounding the dirt are quite audible if you stand by the rail.

Wait a second. Audible. Hmmm. There's a horse named Audible in the Derby! 8-1 morning line and won the Florida Derby? OK, I guess I have a Derby Pick after all. Audible. Barely. I can't heat you! (with respect to Gomer Pyle's Sgt. Carter) 

(Thanks to whoever for the pics I borrowed for today's article) 


Your pal
Dave-O
David Watson

  

Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Worldwide reviews Women's Sports

As is usual, we like to focus on the positive results here at Cardinal Couple.

Golf

Women's golf is playing in the Fall Intercollegiate Invitational, the last tournament of their fall schedule.  On the second day of competition, the UofL team has moved into a tie for first place with Kennesaw State.

The Cards are lead by Olivia Cason, now a Junior, got a lot of attention in Louisville at the end of her freshman year when she was the lone Cardinal golfer to qualify for the NCAA Championships, and Lauren Hartlage.  They sit tied for 3rd, and tied for 6th one stroke back in the overall tournament.  Hartlage played a textbook round yesterday, in less than stellar weather, with a scorecard full of pars broken up by only a single birdie.  I think I've played a round of golf that well at some point in my life, but it was at Putt-Putt.

The top 5 teams in the tournament so far are Louisville, Kennesaw State, Illinois, Georgia, and Indiana.  The 2nd Louisville team currently sits in 9th.  Molly Skapik is also playing for the Louisville scoring team and is only two strokes back from Hartlage tied for 11th.

Volleyball Standings Update and Destiny Control

I spoke about this on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour yesterday, and posted a twitter thread from the CardCoupleRadio account Friday night.  Case hinted at some of this in his article yesterday.

Four matches in the past two weeks have put Louisville in the driver's seat for ACC Volleyball play.  It starts back on the 18th, when NC State got beaten by in-state rival UNC.  No doubt fueled by their first conference loss in the mid-week match, they came back and hung the first conference loss on Pitt on Sunday the 22nd.  By this point, Louisville had taken its 2nd conference lose to Miami (on the 20th).

Then Friday happens.  Pitt comes to Cardinal Arena.  Louisville had just played a long 5 set match just two days before at Notre Dame, and pulls off the upset, again in 5 sets, against Pitt.  After the match was over, word starts to spread around that Miami had swept NC State in Coral Gables that evening as well.

So, in ACC standing, that puts Louisville, Pitt, and NC State, all sitting atop the leaderboard with 2 losses.  Technically, Louisville holds 1st place alone right now with a conference record of 10-2 compared to the 9-2 records of Pitt and NC State because we played Wed. and Friday this week, while Pitt and NC State have more typical Friday and Sunday (today) schedules.  Presuming Pitt and NC State win their matches today, at the end of this week's conference play, we're all in a 3-way tie for first.  I'll point out that NC State plays Florida State today, and Pitt plays Notre Dame...neither of those matches are easy wins for the Pack or the Panthers.

OK, so let's look out the future.  We still have to play NC State (November 17th, here in Louisville).  That match will resolve the tie one way or the other between NC State and Louisville.  If Louisville wins that, and we get to the end of the conference season still tied for first with Pitt, we have the tie-breaker over Pitt in the head-to-head win (we only play them once this season) and would get the NCAA tournament automatic qualifying bid for the ACC as there is no ACC conference tournament.

This all means that at this point, Louisville controls it's own destiny in the Volleyball.  Not bad for a team picked to finish the season in the middle of the pack.  Now, there is a lot of volleyball still left to play in the season, and this assessment assumes Pitt, NC State, and Louisville all win out the rest of their matches in conference other than the NC State head to head with UofL, which is not even close to being certain given the level of parity among the top 4-6 teams in the ACC.

So, if you haven't checked out this volleyball team this season, maybe do so.  They're more than a little bit of a surprise on the upside to just about everyone.  They play a very fun style of volleyball with lot's of spectacular power hitting thanks to the likes of Tess Clark, Melanie McHenry, and Amanda Green, fantastic blocking with credits to Maggie DeJong, Jasmine Bennett, Wilma Rivera and the aforementioned hitters, and even the defensive play is fun to watch with the GabMolLexis trie of Gabbie Wiley, Molly Sauer, and Alexis Hamilton flying all over to the court, coming out of nowhere to dig up balls with amazing accuracy to get the offense running.

The next home match is November 10th vs Virginia at 7pm.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Another fun hour of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour happened yesterday.  Paulie, Case and I were joined by first time guest Mike Gilpatrick, editor-in-chief of River City Cards.  Let's hope we didn't traumatize him too much so he will be willing to come back and join us again sometime.

As always, you can check out the replay on SoundCloud, thanks to our wonderful hosts WCHQ FM.  We covered a lot of territory yesterday...talking about the Women's Basketball luncheon, summarized the above about Volleyball, talked about Field Hockey, and more.

-- JMcA

Teeing it up Thursday-- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WOMEN'S GOLF TAKES FIFTH IN FALL KICKOFF

( In an effort to get you full coverage on all the UofL women's sports we can...Paulie has declared Thursday will be devoted to women's golf for the next few weeks. We'll see what we can come up with as far as coverage and possible interviews go.) 

I know...the terminology doesn't quite fit...a kick-off at a golf tournament...but another fall sport at UofL has had their inaugural meet and the University of Louisville women's golf squad finished fifth at Fall Kickoff in Norcross, GA. 

Sophomores Olivia Cason (148) and Jacqueline Twitty (149) led the Cards...who finished fifth overall ...and were matched against Georgia, Auburn, Vanderbilt and others in the 36 hole tournament at the Berkeley Hills Country Club.  

All told, nine Louisville golfers tried the links in Georgia . Here are the other final scores for the Cardinal contingent: 

Louise Oxner              150
Delaney Shah             150
Lauren Hartlage         152
Meghan Nay               153
Shannon Gramley      154
Molly Skapik              157
Ellen Kehoe               160




Shah, Hartlage and Nay are freshmen for the Cards...Kehoe a sophomore...Skapic is a junior and Oxner and Gramley seniors.

The Cards will have five matches this fall...they head to Minneapolis next for the Minnesota Invitational Sept 12-13. 

The Cards will host the Cardinal Cup October 23-25 at the UofL Golf Club...a big field always comes in for this three-day event in Simpsonville. Golf will take a little break after that until February...when they'll head south for a few matches. 

The Cards were seventh in the ACC Championships back in April...Virginia won the finals for the second year in a row. With departing seniors Katie Mitchell and Laura Restrepo pursuing professional golf opportunities and the absence of Meredith Moir (transferred to Transylvania) and Lexie Long from this year's roster....Coach Trimble has a bit of a rebuilding season ahead of her.  Skapic played in the NCAA Championships earlier this year and Hartlage was named best high school player in the state of Kentucky in 2016 by GolfWeek. Shah received the same honor in Maryland in 2016...so the Cards are getting quality newcomers to tee it up. 

In our efforts to get a little more coverage for the "Chip and Putt" Cards this season...we have plans to send our newest columnist Case Hoskins...dressed as Judge Smails...out to play in a foursome behind the Cardinals this season. He'll be joined by Paulie (portraying Ty)... Worldwide (as Spaulding) and Sam Draut (Carl the Groundskeeper).

We will kill every golfer gopher on the course... 

Sorry, couldn't resist getting in a Caddyshack reference...mananananana...




paulie
xxxxx

Monday Cardinal Couple

Golf Back in the Clubhouse

Olivia Cason, the lone member of the Women's Golf squad to qualify for the NCAA championship finished her rounds yesterday.

Cason scored an even par on the last round to finish out the competition with a total of four over.  That scores is good for a tie for 45th in the overall competition.  For comparison, the best score was by Virginia Elena Carta from Duke with a 13 under.  2nd place was 7 under scored by three players.  Even par would've earned you a tie for 15th.

Olivia, as a reminder, is a freshman, so there should be great things ahead for this young woman and this Cardinal Golf team.

Volleyball Trip Update

Last week I reported on the trip that the Volleyball squad was taking to Europe to play, practice,
sightsee, and shop.

The trip is underway at this point, (maybe a little less than halfway), and the VolleyCards have done some of all of the above.  As I reported Saturday on the radio show, the trip hasn't been without some incidents, though everyone associated with the Cardinal squad is fine.  More about that below.

The Wide-Netters flew into Milan, Italy, after an odd couple of connections via Atlanta, and JFK in NYC.  A tour of Milan was undertaken that day with some absolutely wonderful pictures coming across various social media sites from the beautiful city, and then I suspect a fairly early bedtime thanks to jetlag.  The 2nd day saw a trip outside Milan to Lake Como, location of the original Hotel Bellagio, and another steady stream of stunning pictures on social media.  A little bit of a scare here as the team came across the lake on a ferry, and after docking, one of the crewmen on the ferry got hit by a car right at the waterfront.  The car had him sandwiched between itself and the railing at the edge of the dock.  The crewman fell over the railing and into the water.  The Cardinal trainer, Sarah Kasprow, along with the tour guide Federica, and Coach Kordes brother John, all immediately jumped into the water to render assistance and help get the crewman lifted back up out of the water and on short.  The folks rendering aid were all fine, but the crewman did have some fairly significant injuries, with a broken leg, and some other injuries to his arm and head.  He is expected to recover well, though.

The next day was back in Milan for a day of shopping.  The Cards did get their workout in for the day, however, with a 15 minutes sprint across downtown Milan to just barely make it back for the last train of the day back to the training facility where the team is staying.  The team covered, in 15 minutes, what I'm told is typically a 40 minute walk, and keep in mind that they weren't in athletic attire for a day of shopping, and "ancient European city" probably can be translated to, "cobblestones."

The Cards travelled, this morning, to Bled, Slovenia where they will get a half day of spa time, and more Volleyball playing later.


THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

The latest broadcast of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour is available for listening on the SoundCloud at Crescent Hill Radio or by going to the link below:

LINK:
THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 5/21/16

A broadcast that covered a wide variety of things...including interviews with Louisville Softball players Jordan McNary, Lillie Goetz, Michala Riggle, handicapper Scott Harris (who gave out some phenomenal and profitable selections) and several different Louisville women's sports squad updates.

- JMcA

Olivia Cason completes second day at NCAA Women Golf Championships -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRESHMAN FIRES A 78 IN EUGENE

Louisville women's golfer Olivia Cason couldn't quite match the opening round 70 she had in the NCAA Women's Golf Championships in Eugene, OR yesterday...carding a 78 for the 18 holes at the Eugene Country Club. She is now tied for 67th. with the six-over-par performance. 

Cason started her round with a bogey on the opening hole and then suffered through a double bogey before getting two birdie over the next four holes. 

The Owensboro, KY native will tee off today at 3:55 PM ET in her quest to finish as one of the top nine individuals not associated with a team. By doing so, she'd qualify for an additional 18 holes on Monday to compete for the individual golf title. 

It's been a whirlwind month for Olivia...


HELLO, RADIO! 

WE'RE NO ONE TRICK PONY

Our Saturday morning radio show THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR  rebroadcast is now available at the Crescent Hill Radio Soundcloud. Here's the direct link for listening to this stellar and informative review of Louisville women's sports and (this time of year) some sage handicapping advice on the ponies at Churchill Downs and elsewhere: 

LINK: https://soundcloud.com/chradio/cardinal-couple-20160521


We had a fun show discussing softball, horse racing, volleyball, track and field and more! 

Our handicapping expert Scott Harris gave us some excellent picks and eventual winners for the Preakness Stakes races and Churchill Downs. If you followed his advice, you would have had the WINNER (Exaggerator) the exacta, trifecta and possible superfecta in the second jewel of the Triple Crown races! In addition to that, he laid out the horses (Mizz Money and Vielsalm) that combined for a $770 exacta payout in Race 10 at Pimlico! 


Me muddah thanks ya, me brudder thanks ya and me wallet be fat now and it thanks ya! 

paulie
xxxxx

Women's Golf leads CARDINAL CUP by a stroke going into final day -- Tuesday Cardinal Couple

CARDS Black Team up on FSU in CARDINAL CUP

Led by Laura Restrepo and Olivia Cason, the Black squad for UofL women's golf has a one stroke lead over FSU as they go into the final round this morning at the UofL Golf Club. 

Restrepo fired a two-under par 70 to pull her into a tie for third place...just two strokes back of tournament leader Brooke Ferrell (Wisconsin). Cason looms at eight place, just two strokes behind Restrepo and fired a 71 in the first 18 holes yesterday. 

You can follow the action on golfstat.com



CARDINAL COUPLE offered to provide whispered, monotone golf commentary on the 18th hole via Periscope but our request was never replied to when we outlined our plans to have chimps do the on-green interviews and provide wedgies while Worldwide and I sat in the tower and provided garbled non-sequitors about putting, driving, club selection, changing fall colors and what the girls were wearing....while keeping a watchful eye out for Kracken, gophers and zombies.  

Notre Dame is six strokes back of the leaders, Illinois a stroke behind them and the Louisville Red team and Wisconsin 13 strokes off the lead. 

             *            *            *            *            *

WAY TO GO...PHILO! 

For the second week in a row, Aniah Philo was been named ACC Freshman Volleyball Player of the Week.

This was an easy one for the selection committee...the outside-hitter from Texas led the Cards in kills in straight set wins over Wake Forest and Duke. 

paulie
xxxxx