Frizell earns All-Region Honors -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 RILEY FRIZELL EARNS ANOTHER HONOR FOR LOUISVILLE SOFTBALL

 

The Cardinals Softball first baseman stepped into the lineup this season after three years at Missouri and promptly set the Cards and the ACC on fire this season. 

Frizell batted .337...which led the Cards...and also knocked out a team high 13 home runs. She was also responsible for driving in 49 runs and had 56 hits. 

Getting named to the NFCA All-Southeastern Region First team also made Riley a candidate for the 2024 NFCA Division I All-American squads. 

Frizell was one of the best and most consistant hitters on the 2024 Louisville Softball squad and had a 20 game streak of reachng base safely either by a hit or walk...and did that in 45 of the 52 games she played in. 

She is one of eight players that were listed as a senior or graduate student on the 2024 Softball Cards and  her 11 doubles or triples were second best on the team behind Daisy Hess's 15. 

Louisville Softball went 27-25 on the seson but was unable to quality for the 2024 ACC Tournament or the NCAA Tournament. It was the Cards lowest win perentage season since 2022 , when they were also 27-25 overall. 

Sometimes, you don't get the best very long, so it's important to honor, enjoy and respect the work they they can do while they are among us. We at Cardinal Couple are thankful for the time she graced Ulmer Stadium  and won't forget her play anytime soon...

paule

Pros and Perroni - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Nicole Perroni Interview

No more game recaps, no more consecutive game scoring streaks, and no more schedule rundowns, but we work to keep things interesting.  Paulie and Jared were able to get down to Floyd Street yesterday to interview the extraordinary Nicole Perroni as she wraps up her time at UofL.

Perroni played all five of her eligibility years here at UofL, with the 2020 season being cut short for Covid and extra year of eligibility granted in lieu.  And she will go down as one of the Cardinal greats in Lacrosse.  She built a 54 consecutive game goal scoring streak, only broken in the final game UofL played in the ACC tournament this year.  That is a program record, as you would imagine.

Paulie and Jared caught up with Perroni on the Lacrosse field at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium, unfortunately with a train passing by in the background, a perennial challenge with all of the Floyd Street sports venues.

You can check out the full interview on the Cardinal Couple Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF3CLR2V1SU

 

Pro Volleyball Federation Season Wraps

The inaugural season for the Pro Volleyball Federation began in late January, and the Championship match of the post-season tournament was last night.

UofL had several alumnae playing in the league, with Tori Stringer (nee Dilfer) getting involved in the league early and playing with the Atlanta Vibe to start the season, and jumping over to the Columbus Fury mid-season.  Wilma Rivera had a great season with the Orlando Valkyries.  And finally Claire Chaussee took her impressive arm swing to the Grand Rapids Rise.

The final match last night, in which the teams were playing for a million dollar bonus, was between Chaussee's Rise, and the Omaha Supernovas.  Played at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, the Supernovas' home floor, the Supernovas did emerge victorious in three sets.  The Rise were the four seed in the four team tournament and had advanced after upsetting the Atlanta Vibe

Chaussee was named to the All-League First Team on Thursday, which also happened to be her birthday, and the day of the semifinals, so all in all, it's been a pretty good week for the Louisville alumna.

The PVF will be back next year with an already announced increase in compensation for players.  The pay for the league was in the realm of a sustainable annual salary in most markets, and the increase will make that even better, with some of the top players pulling down six figure salaries in the coming year.

The PVF will also be adding three more franchises next year, in Dallas, Indianapolis, and Kansas City.

Also in the works for 2025, however, is a competing pro league called LOVB, or League One VolleyBall.  The ownership model for LOVB is different from PVF, with LOVB owning all of teams and the league itself all under one ownership group compared to PVF's franchise model.

Anna Hall (nee Stevenson) has announced that she's joining the LOVB organization to play, though we don't yet know which team she'll be playing for.  LOVB will initially have teams in Atlanta GA, Austin Tx, Houston TX, Madison WI, Omaha NE, and Salt Lake City UT.

All in all, it's an exciting time to be a volleyball fan.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

The guys put a bit of a bow on the Softball and Lacrosse seasons, discussed a bit of the future for those two programs before turning to the roster construction work for women's basketball.  And finally a quick run-down near the end of the announced fall volleyball schedule, in what was a good show.

We likely won't have a show next week as it appears that both Case and I will be out, leaving no one to engineering it, but this was a good one!

Check it out:

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cardinal-couple/episodes/Are-There-Warm-Seats-at-UofL-e2jqmcb

 

-- 

JMcA

Perroni Awarded; Rowing at ACCs -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Nicole Perroni an All-American (Again)

After having been named as an Honorable Mention All-American by USA Lacrosse and selected to the First Team IWLCA West/Midwest Region, Nicole Perroni has picked up another honor for her outstanding season. Perroni was second in the ACC in caused turnovers per game (11th nationally) and led the league in ground balls and free position goals per game. Those numbers helped propel her to an Honorable Mention from Inside Lacrosse on their All-America list. The news was announced Thursday.

In addition to those strong stats league wide, Perroni scored 45 goals and had 10 assists this season. She scored a point in 55 straight games and a goal in 54 straight. Both of those look to stand as program records for quite a while. Perroni has been a keystone for the team since Scott Teeter took over, and her time ends with her ranked in the top-ten in program history in draw controls (fourth), turnovers caused (tied for first), goals, points, and ground balls. Louisville will miss the First Team All-ACC midfielder greatly, but we wish her the best going forward. 

Paulie and Jared will catch up with Nicole for an interview today on campus and Jeff will run the article in the Sunday edition of Cardinal Couple.

Cards Send a Boat to Grand Finals

Photo from @LouisvilleROW on X

Louisville rowing is currently competing in the ACC Championships in Raleigh, North Carolina. The program continues to make incremental headway into success in the league. They saw another step toward that yesterday with the qualification of the second varsity eight boat for today's grand final event. The events of the day will wrap up early, with the last race in which the Cards will participate (the V4 petite final) starting at 9:20 AM. Best of luck to the team as they work to earn a strong finish in the ACC Championships. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We should have a full house on board for this foggy morning's podcast episode. With the summer slump nearly in full effect, we don't have much to talk about in the way of results, but we'll carry the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics nonetheless. You can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Interview with Daisy Hess -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Paulie and I had the chance to meet up with Daisy Hess Thursday night and chat with her for a while. Hess recently graduated from the University of Louisville and played softball for the Cards the last two seasons.

Prior to her time at Louisville, the Georgia native played three seasons for Georgia State. She then played her senior season and COVID-19 eligibility season here in the Ville.

During her stint with the Cards, Hess tallied 106 hits, 57 rbis, 63 walks, and 31 stolen bases. She also hit over .330 and had an on base percentage of over .350 both seasons.

We are grateful to be able to catch up with Hess to talk about her time at Louisville, her decision to come to Louisville, her uture plans, and so much more. You can watch the entirety of the video below.

Daisy Hess interview

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cardinal Uniform Pick'ms -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Hello Cardinal fans 

Daryl again on a Thursday morning.   I think Jared and Paulie have been working on sharing some new content for us which I believe they will share Friday and I'm looking forward to that...so I gladly traded writing days with Jared.    

Looking ahead towards summer months... I was chatting with a coworker earlier this week about some of my favorite uniforms we've seen out of each program over the years so I thought it would be fun to pick some out and also an opportunity to share some of the images captured by our own Jared Anderson over the last school year.  

In alphabetical order...  first up, 

Field Hockey

The pinks!!!  

These uniforms really stand out to me because of the pink accents on the black base of the uniforms.  I don't think we have another program that does the pink out game quite like hockey!

Lacrosse 

   The classic whites with red accents!   

My favorite part of these uniforms is the solid red stripe on the bottoms.   Its a small touch but I think it really stands out and gives the uniforms that extra pop of red it needs.  

Softball

The mix-n-match!!!                             Softball has a unique ability to be able to mix and match the pieces of the uniforms and still be able to pull it off.  I do really like the white top and black bottoms with the classic horizontally striped socks.  

Volleyball

                                                                                                                   

The red back!!!                               This is a unique look for the volleyball program and I really love the cursive script.  Red is the dominant color but the white block on the front of the uniform really make these stand out among the others. 

 

  

Women's Basketball

                                                                  ALL WHITES!!!                                                                                          When it comes to basketball, I love the classics.   I want the all white uniforms with red lettering and that classic Louisville script.   Nothing else compares.   Nothing.  The wing on the leg was added more recently I believe and it was a welcome addition.  I think its a cool feature for a Cardinal look.  

Women's Soccer

The reds!!!!!                                                                                                        The soccer program has the ability to put some of the best Cardinal uniforms (kits) out there.  The 'notebook' style top is probably my favorite look from recently.  The thick solid black stripe down the leg also makes a great accent for pictures too and makes the Cardinal athletes look like they're actually flying.  Clever. 

I hope everyone is enjoying getting ready for the summer months!   Ill be 33 the next time I check in with ya!!!   EEEK!!! 

A special "Thanks" to Jared for the extensive, and excellent work he puts in for the site with his photography and game atendance work.  Believe it or not, he does have a full time job in addition to all the photo-taking he does for the site and he even dabbles in taking pictures of men's sports. A busy guy,

As Always,

Go Cards 

~Daryl 

WNBA Opener -- Mystics Fall short in 4th quarter to Liberty 85-80 -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WASHNGTON FALLS SHORT IN FOURTH QUARTER TO NEW YORK IN WNBA SEASON OPENER

FOLLOWING the Louisville WNBA players this season in the WNBA will be something I will try to stay fairly regulary with this WNBA season, and on last night's opening night  Tuesday night, Emily Englstler and Myisha Hines-Allen had their squad, the WashIngton Mystics, in action. So did Liz Dixon's Phoenix Mercury. The Mystics will probably be the team I follow the most, since they have two of my favorite Cardinals great on roster in "E" amd "Mooks"

The Mystics ran into a NY Liberty squad that caught fire in the fourth quarter and caught and passed the DC team, doubling up the score on them in the fourth quarter 26-13 and winning 85-80. 

Not much from the Louisville contingent in the opener. Neither Hines-Allen or Engstler drew the start. Emily didnt play at all and Hines-Allen saw just 19 minutes, putting up five points and grabbing five rebounds in the loss. 

Karlie Samuelson and Shikira Austin drew the starts at forward for the Mystics but the former Stanford and Maryland veterans were not all that effective, combining for just 20 points and nine rebounds in 47 total minutes. 

We all kinda figured that Washington's Dolson, Atkins and Sykes might be prominent scorers this season for the Mystics and they held true to form in the season opener. with 59 points between them. 

It was Washington's game to lose after three  quarters, having built up a 67-59 lead after three,,,but let the visitors take over in the fourth quarter. 

In other early, first night action, the Connecticut Sun ruined Caitlin Clark's opener with the Indiana Fever, thumpimg the visiting WNBA Fever squad 92-71.

The other two opening night contests were later affairs. with the Aces and Mercury hookng up and the Lynx and Storm going against each other. The Mercury are without Brit Grinner, who is oit with a toe injury, so we hoped to see a bit of Liz Dixon, who is on the Phoenix roster. Dixon was in a reserve role and saw six minuues, grabbing three rebounds but not scoring. The visiting Phoenix squad fell 89-80 to the two-time champion Las Vegas Aces. The Minnesota Lynx defeated the Storm 83-70. DI star from last year Taylor Soule saw one minute of action for the Lynx in the win. 

I'll agree with several readers here,...it's good to see basketball's bouncing again and some of Jeff Walz's stars from years past out there. Dana Evans and the Chicago Sky get their start tonight against  Dallas at Dallas. Unfortunately, it'll only be shown on You Tube Primetime WNBA League Pass,  a subscription service.. 

paulie

WBB Named 6th Ranked Recruiting Class -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville has 6th Ranked Recruiting Class

Imari Berry, photo courtesy of GoCards

Jeff Walz is working his magic again. While we already knew most of the freshmen planning to join Louisville women's basketball next season, the ESPN recruiting rankings put the Cards as the sixth-best in the country.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Walz and Co have focused more on the transfer portal with players such as Kianna Smith, Emily Engstler, Morgan Jones, Chrislyn "CC" Carr, Kiki Jefferson, and many more. The 2021-2022 season saw transfer Engstler and Chelsie Hall play a key role in helping Louisville get to its fourth Final Four in program history. As the game has changed, so has Walz.

Mackenly Randolph, photo courtesy of GoCards

But Jeff Walz is also known for his ability to recruit talented freshmen and develop them into top-tier players that make a name for themselves in the pros. Some of the four-year players recruited by Walzz that we have seen have major success at Louisville and beyond include Becky Burke, Mo Reid, Asia Taylor, Sara Hammond, Myisha Hines-Allen, AD Durr, Sam Fuehring, Jazmine Jones, and Dana Evans. This doesn't include players at Louisville prior to the Walz Era or players who either transferred in or out. See where I'm going with this?

The bulk of Walz's success has come with the recruitment and development of players. Adding a transfer or two can certainly help round out a roster, but his bread and butter has always been the long term players. It comes as no surprise that Walz has scratched the idea of stocking up on as many talented transfers as possible to go back to what has been successful for him, especially after a first round loss in the NCAA Tournament this past season.

Taj Avant-Roberts, photo courtesy of GoCards

The incoming freshmen class for the 2024-2025 season is arguably one of his best ever. The confirmed incoming players include:

Imari Berry, guard (ESPN #19)- Berry is a do-it-all guard that withdrew her commitment from Clemson following the coaching change and switched to Louisville,

Mackenly Randolph, forward (ESPN #23)- Randolph is the daughter of former NBA player Zach Randolph and a small forward that has shown signs of strong rebounding skills.

Reagan Bender, photo courtesy of Go Cards

Taj Avant-Roberts, guard (ESPN #24)- Avant-Roberts was a point guard for much of her high school career, but has recently developed her three-point shooting to make her a dual-threat scorer.

Izela Arenas, guard (ESPN #88). Arenas is the daughter of former NBA player Gilbert Arenas. She was named "Queen of the Court" after winning a one-on-one showcase held in Atlanta last summer.

Anaya Hardy,photo courtesy of X.com

Reagan Bender, guard. Bender is a guard from the local Sacred Heart Academy (high school) known for her three-point shooting and helped the Valkyries to four straight state titles.

Isla Juffermans, forward- Juffermans is a bit more unknown compared to the others, due to her being the only international player on this list. The Aussie native is a true post player that can step into the role of either a forward or a center.

Izela Arenas, photo courtesy of Louisville Report

Anaya Hardy, forward- Hardy was a walking double-double in her high school days and showed improvements with her blocking during her summer stint in the Under Armour Association circuit.

Adding this star-studded lineup to an experienced crew of Oliva Cochran (fifth year), Merissah Russell (fifth year), Jayda Curry (senior), and Nyla Harris (junior) puts Louisville into an immediate position for success. We can't wait to see how the Cards fare next season.

Isla Juffermans, photo courtesy of Instagram

Happy Monday and Go Cards!

Jared

Four Cards on WNBA Rosters -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Mercury, Sky and Mystics have UofL WBB alumnae on rosters. 

With the WNBA scheduled to start Tuesday., let's look at the Louisville Cards WBB players.that are on the teqam rosters in the league.  

Liz Dixon --  Phoenix Mercury. Dixon was a recent addition to the Phoenix squad,brought back on a training game contract. She did play in 10 games with the Mercury back in 2023 and was re-signed again this year, to replace Charisma Osbourne.  She averages 5.6 points per game, and 4.4 rebounds a contest. 

Dana Evans -- Chicago Sky. Dana returs to the Sky this year, her third season in the WNBA. The sharpshooting guard should be an essential part of a roster that had seven guards most recently listed. Here is an interview with her, done on May 10th.  DANA EVANS INTERVIEW

Emily Engstler --  Washington Mystics. Engstler begins her second year in the league. She was originally drafted by Indiana last year. She'l averaged 1.8 points per game last year and 0.6mrebounds. Here is a brief spotlight on her....EMILY ENGSTLER

Myisha Hines-Allen -- Washington Mystics. Hines-Allen enters her sixth season in the WNBA,and was drafted back in 2018, She vaerages 5.6 points per game and 6.4 rebounds.  The Mystics list only four forwards on their roster currently, so we like her chances to see a starting role and a lot of court time. 

We wish all our "Cardinals Forever" the best of luck this season and we're already ready for a little hoops this spring...

paulie. . 

Ulrich Wins Again - Sunday Cardinal Couple

ACC Championship Number 2

As Case mentioned in yesterday's Cardinal Couple article, Jayden Ulrich would be vying for her 2nd ACC Championship of the weekend yesterday in the discus throw, and sure enough, she prevailed and will return to Louisville one of only two UofL athletes to accomplish the double-thowing victories.  Her throw reached a distance of 61.31 meters, or 201 feet and an inch or so.  The previous meet record for the ACC Championships was 60.80 meters, or 199 feet 6 inches making her the first to break the 200 foot distance in the ACC Championship event.

The previous double ACC Champion was Emmonnie Henderson in 2015.  2015 was Henderson's freshman year, which was the year she played basketball, and was an Engineering student at Speed School, and after losing in the Sweet 16 to Dayton, decided to switch sports and take up throwing in track & field.  Not a bad decision, all things considered.

Next up for Ulrich and other track and field athletes, will be the NCAA East Regional event, taking play May 22-25 in Lexington.  Ulrich will qualify along with a few other UofL athletes.  The criteria for inclusion in the regional is to have a Top 48 finish in their event throughout the season.

If I'm reading the data I've found correctly, Louisville athletes will include Rylee Penn in the 1500, Soledad Jean in the High Jump, Natalie Lark, IlianaTriantafyllou, and Paris Bond in the Pole Vault, Ariel Lawrence in the Long Jump, Alba Cuns Iglesias in the Triple Jump, and Lucy Fellows in the Heptathalon.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

A fearsome foursome for the CCRHP yesterday.  We talk a bit of weather, both in atmosphere and space weather, before turning our attention to the rapidly thinning Cardinal sports calendar.  We took some time to honor some award winners around campus, and picked up a few other bits and bobs of news.  Of course we gave the newest ACC Champion, Jayden Ulrich a bit of coverage, and this was recorded before she won her second event yesterday.

Join us as we continue to bring you all things UofL women's sports, even as we start into the summer slump.

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cardinal-couple/episodes/Another-ACC-Champion-for-TF-e2jhk0p

-- JMcA

Cards Continue ACC T&F Championships -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Ulrich Earns Shotput Sweep

Jayden Ulrich's list of accomplishments at UofL continues to grow. After taking gold at the ACC Indoor Championships in shot put earlier this year, Ulrich defended her crown by winning the event in the Outdoor Championships yesterday. Her throw (17.95m; 58'-10 3/4") was half an inch shy of being three feet longer than second place. There is some distance to find to break the ACC record, though, as Laura Gerraughty from UNC holds the overall conference record (18.82m in 2003) and the ACC Outdoor Championships record (18.59 in 2006). Only a junior, Ulrich will be looking to chase those numbers down in her senior season next year. 

Photo per UofL Athletics

For now, though, Ulrich has her eyes set on a Louisville first: winning two events at the same ACC Outdoor Championships. Ulrich will compete in the discus throw, which is set for 2pm. Ulrich currently holds the best throw in the country, a scorching 64.29m (210'-11") set on April 11th. That throw is five-and-a-half feet longer than second place. It is almost six meters longer than the next best ACC competitor, Marie Forbes from Clemson. Forbes' best throw of a 58.31m (191'-4") came on April 12th, and it is the 15th best mark in the country. 

Louisville is sitting at 4th in the overall conference standings. They also got good points from Natalie Lark, Lucy Fellows, and Iliana Triantafyllou. Fellows, fourth in heptathlon, and Triantafyllou, fifth in pole vault, both earned Second Team All-ACC marks as freshmen. Lark set a personal best clear on the pole vault, taking second. Her podium gives Louisville five straight years of a Cardinal medaling in pole vault at the outdoor conference championships. 

Not scoring points, but turning in an impressive performance, was Rylee Penn. Penn ran the women's 800m for the first time this season and set the second-fastest time in school history. Somehow, that time wasn't fast enough to advance to the finals. 

Ulrich will be first up for the Cards, as the discus throw kicks off the events of the last day of competition. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We ought to have four on the floor today as we return from our Derby break. Results may be harder to come by as the calendar isn't quite so packed with events, but we'll still bring you all the news and notes surrounding the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics. You can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case