Women's Tennis to Face Boston College in ACC Tournament -- Walz at Baseball -- WEDNESDAY CARINAL COUPLE

 #14 seed Cards open against BC

Louisville women's tennis begins the ACC Tournament against Boston College today with a 3:30 p.m. first serve in Rome,GA. 

The Cards (8-14, 0-13) haven't had the best of seasons this year, but tournament time is that "second season" and, hopefully, Louisville can pull off the first-round upset. A win ovet BC would set the Cards up tp face sixth-seeded Georgia Tech. on Thursday night. 

The two faced in the ACC regular seaso, GT taking a 7-0 win over UofL. 

Louisville looks to end a eight-game losing streak as they go into the match against the Eagles..

Boston College is 8-12 on the season and 3-10 in ACC play. 

Cards head women's tennis coach Mark Beckham is in his 14th season at Louisville. 

#1 seed North Carolina, #2 seed Duke, #3 seed Miami and #4 seed Virginia received byes and will begin play Friday. If the Cards get by BC and GT, they'd face Miami then. 

Good luck to Louisville women's tennis !!

WALZ THROWS OUT FIRST PITCH AT UK VS LOUISVILLE BASEBALL

A nice honor Tuesday night for Louisville head women's baseball coach Jeff Walz, getting to throw out the first pitch at the Cats vs. Cards baseball game at Jim Patterson Stadium. 

Jared Anderson was there to get photos of the event and reports that Walz sent one right down the middle of the strike zone. 

The Cards won baseball's version of the Battle of the Bluegrass 4-2. 

... (There is no truth to the rumor that Jared stepped in to bat against Walz after the first pitch and got a high and tight "brush back" pitch delivered to him...or that Daryl Foust (a former softball player) went "grass, track, wall...touch 'em all" in the next at-bat against Walz...)   

We're also trying to verify the rumor that Walz invited Louisville baseball coach Dan McDonnell to receive the first "technical" of the Cards WBB 2022-23 season. 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

paulie

Cards Bounce Back Against Niagara -- Liz Dixon Grad Photos -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Lacrosse Bounces Back with Win at Niagara

Louisville Lacrosse broke their two-game losing streak with a 19-10 win at Niagara yesterday. The Cards improve to 7-9 on the season.

The Purple Eagles came out ready to play, scoring less than two minutes into the match and played Louisville to a 3-3 first quarter. Niagara would also score two of the first three goals in the second quarter for a one-goal advantage.

Louisville, historically known for big runs, proceeded to go on a 9-0 run over the back half of the second quarter and first portion of the third quarter for a comfortable eight-goal lead.

Niagara would cut the lead to five to close out the third quarter, but a 6-2 run over the final period allowed the Cards to cruise to a nine-goal lead and blowout win.

Caroline Blalock completed a hat trick early in the second quarter and would have five goals by halftime. The super-senior would complete a double hat trick in the third quarter and ended the match with a single game career-high seven goals. 

Nicole Perroni posted a four-goal performance, including three straight of her own spanning over the final minutes of the first half and early second half. Her fourth and final goal came early in the final period.

Louisville's leading scorer Hannah Morris scored two goals while six Cards contributed one goal apiece.

The split goalkeeper philosophy continued today. Sara Addeche got the start and surrendered give goals along with one save over 21:53. J Pleck would come in relief to allow five goals in addition to six saves. The two have nearly identical playing time on the year with the latter having a better save percentage and more saves.

Scott Teeter's squad returns home this Saturday to close out the regular season. Louisville and Notre Dame will square off on the Cards' senior day at Cardinal Stadium at noon. Admission is free at Cardinal Stadium for this match. A win would give UofL two conference wins and tie them for fifth (out of nine teams) in the ACC, pending no other teams earn a third conference win.

Liz Dixon Grad Photos

My Friday did not end following Louisville softball's run-rule victory over Syracuse in their series opener. My next stop was with Liz Dixon to take her graduation photos for her.

Although, Dixon is graduating, she will still be returning for one more season with the Cards and will take a few extra classes while focusing primarily on basketball and winning a national championship.

During our tour around downtown and campus, we ended up inside the Kueber Center, where the four ACC Championship and four NCAA Final Four trophies were sitting out. I picked up the 2022 Final Four trophy to use for the photos and made a comment on how heavy it was. Liz, with her quick witted sense of humor replied with "That's why we lift weights."

Here's a few of her grad photos:

On a side note, good luck to Louisville baseball as they take on their blue buddies down I-64 tonight at Jim Patterson Stadium. Tickets range from $5-$200.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Softball sweeps Syracuse - - She's Back ! -- LAX @ Niagara Today -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

SOFTBALL DOWNS SYRACUSE 3-2

Louisville Softball got the sweep in the weekend series against Syracuse, gaining 3-2 win Sunday at Ulmer. 

The Cards wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Carmyn Greenwood drew a walk and advanced her way around the bases -- to eventually score on a Kendall Smith single. She scored the second run of the inning for Louisville on a Dylann Cravens single. 

Taylor Roby drew the start in the circle for the Cards and Syracuse countered with a couple of runs in the top of the second on a single, Louisville fielding miscue and a two RBI single with two outs. 

The Cards pushed the go-ahead run across in the home half of the fourth when Cravens reached on a infield single and advanced to second on a Vanessa Miller single. Cravens got to third on a fielders choice and scored UofL's third run on a wild pitch by Syracuse pitcher  Kara Oliver. And, that concluded the scoring for the contest. 

Taylor Roby got the win to go to 13-6, going the distance and allowing just five hits over seven innings. The victory improved Louisville's record to 24-17 and 8-7 in the ACC. The Cards jumped to sixth place in the conference standings...percentage points ahead of Georgia Tech, who has a 11-10 conference mark. 

Louisville returns to action on the weekend when they'll head to 2/3 Virginia Tech for a three-game series. The Hokies are 15-2 in conference play and 32-6 overall. 

ASIA DURR RETURNS TO COURT

It's been a long time coming, but when WNBA training camps open starting today...a familiar face in the league will be back in action. 

WNBA, welcome back Asia Durr.  You know the New York Liberty have to be excitied about her return. Just the thought of her and Sabrina Ionescu at guards will probably make a lot of other WNBA teams a bit worried. 

For Asia, the return has been a long one. Struck with COVID, it was a two-year battle with the virus, and some wondered if she'd ever see the court again. 

Durr lost 32 pounds during the struggle with COVID and had days where she basically was not able to do anything but just lay in bed. 

AD, welcome back! So happy you are able to play again and tear'em up. !!!

LAX FACES NIAGARA TODAY

Louisville Lacrosse squad will try and get back on the winning track...stepping outside ACC play with a noon contest at Niagara today.

It'll be on ESPN+ and the Cards face a Purple Eagles squad that are 9-5 and 5-1 in the MAAC. 

The Cards will look to Hannah Morris and Nicole Perroni as two of their main goal-scoring threats for offense. The two had 11 of UofL's 13 goals in the loss to Syracuse Saturday. 

Louisville takes a 6-9 record into the match. The Cards will return home to face Notre Dame in the regular season finale Saturday. 

PARTIAL CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

Here's the link for (PART OF) Saturday's Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast.  Jeff, Jared and I spent an enjoyable hour discussing several UofL WOMEN'S athletics and the hour seemed to just fly by ! You get about 40 minutes of it. 

I have no idea what happened to the final 30 minutes of the broadcast...assuming it wasn't on his Easter dinner plate, maybe Jeff can find it.

Peter Sellers and his character -- Inspector Clouseau-- would have probably been  called in, but, sadly, he's unavailable. 

LINK: CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST 4/16/22

paulie

Happy Easter -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 HAPPY EASTER

From all of us to all of you, HAPPY EASTER ! 

-Paulie, Sonya, Jeff, Case, Jared, Daryl and the Cardinal Couple Chimps. 

Softball Success over Syracuse - Saturday Cardinal Couple

(Jeff is filling in for Case on the write-up today)

Softball Sizzles

Quite a change of fortune for the Cards in the opening game of the weekend series vs Syracuse compared to the outing against Kentucky.  UofL gets it done in four and a half innings with the run-rule 8-0 win.

The Cards got the bats going early.  The first three batters for the Cards in the game all made good contact with the ball.  Unfortunately, Carmyn Greenwood's contact was caught for an out, but Korbe Otis followed it up with a double down the left field line.  Taylor Roby lit off the fireworks, though.  A seemingly casual swing saw the yellow orb hit the Brandeis Avenue sidewalk on a fly, easily bouncing into the street for the two run homer.

It has been a while since we've admonished people to be alert when driving on Brandeis, or Floyd for that matter, next to Ulmer when there's a game in progress.

The rest of the scoring for the Cards came in the bottom of the fourth inning.  Kendall Smith lead off with a single to left field, and was promptly lifted for the quicker Mia Forsythe.  With an extra boost of speed on base, Forsythe steals second on a Vanessa Miller at bat.  Forsythe scored and Miller was able to reach on a Syracuse miscue.  Miller also steals second, though the benefit was mooted as Hannah File drew a walk.

Ally Alexander put down an absolutely textbook squeeze bunt, and then beat out the throw to load the bases up for UofL.  Jenna Servi singled with the ball squeezing between first and second, scoring Miller and File.  Finally, Carmyn Greenwood wasn't going to let Taylor Roby have all the fun and lifts the ball to the berm straight away to the center field berm, of course scoring Alexander and Servi in the process.  That makes it a six run bottom of the fourth.

Taylor Roby finished the complete game run-rule win with just her 53rd pitch of the game.  Credit UofL's defense for backing up Roby to get that efficiency.

The series will continue today at 1pm on ACC Network Extra.

SOFTBALL PHOTOS FROM JARED 'SELFIE' ANDERSON

Lacrosse in Syracuse

Also in action today will be Lacrosse with a noon start.  They also are playing Syracuse, but in this case, they are in upstate New York for the game.

The Cards are looking for some traction in ACC play against the 11-3, 5-1 Orange.  The Cards would also like to get another win to hopefully improve their draw in the ACC tournament.  Seeds eight and nine in the tournament will play on Wednesday the 27th before the rest of the conference gets started on Friday the 29th.  The Cards are currently listed ahead of Pitt and Notre Dame, but the final game of the season in Notre Dame here in Louisville, so that could prove to be pivotal.  A win today might, depending on what other teams do, take some of that pressure off.

As is typical, this one is available on ACC Network Extra as well.

Transfers In and Out

Basketball

In 33 minutes of play on January 27th, Morgan Jones led Florida State in scoring 28 points against UofL Women's Basketball.  Now the grad transfer will suit up for a year in a UofL uniform to help fill the Kianna Smith, Emily Engstler, Chelsie Hall shaped void.

Jones is a 1,000 point scorer, twice All-American Honorable Mention, as well as All-ACC First Team twice.

Jones is a 6'2" guard out of Jonesboro, GA and averaged 13.8 points per game, all inside the three point arc.  She is a good defender, leading the Seminoles this season with 33 steals, and was only a single block behind Makayla Timpson's 31 blocks (along with Valencia Myers) for the season.  She also lead the team in rebounds with 39 offensive, and 131 defensive boards.

Will we see more transfers join the team for the coming year?  It's certainly a real possibility, so stay tuned.

Ramani Parker lands at Mississippi State with Sam Purcell and we'll see what she's got in the very challenging world of SEC Hoops. 

Volleyball

Brooke Smith has decided to depart the UofL Volleyball program and will join the University of Dayton to start her Junior year.  Smith is a 6'2" outside hitter and was expected to be behind Claire Chaussee, Anna DeBeer, and probably Nena Mbonu in the lineup for that position, so there's a good chance this transfer is an opportunity for her to get some more playing time.

Dayton only has two outside hitters listed on their roster and no right sides listed, so this is a good opportunity for Smith to jump into an immediate starting position on either pin on an up and coming team.  She'll join former UofL Assistant Coach Alyssa D'Errico with the Flyers program.

Despite having been announced as joining the Dayton roster yesterday, she spent the day with the UofL team playing in the final day of the spring schedule in Beach Volleyball at Morehead State.  She played in the first match of the day paired with Elle Glock and saw some of the best success for UofL against MSU on the day.  Smith/Glock lost the match 17-21, 21-16, 13-15

Morehead State swept the Cards in both matches in the day, winning 5 courts to none in both.  MSU fields an official beach volleyball team and this does count as an official result for them, despite Louisville not fielding an official beach volleyball team and playing this as an exhibition for the indoor team.  This wraps up spring play for the Cards, and barring any other transfer news, the next news for volleyball will likely be schedule announcements over the summer.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Case and Daryl are unable to be on the call today, but Jared, and Paulie will be on the podcast, and I will be returning from several weeks of absence and am looking forward to it.  I would expect discussions of spring sports in action, of course, with Softball and Lacrosse being the primary ones.  I'm sure we'll take some time to remember, now with a smile, how well Morgan Jones did against us in January, and I'm sure there will be other tomfoolery afoot.

Check it out on the Cardinal Couple Youtube channel where the live stream will be available:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Lb0KWORvn2eARnCZfjxww

JMcA

SOFTBALL hosts Syracuse -- WBB News& thoughts -- GOLF ; FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

 

Happy Easter weekend, I hope everyone had a safe week. Today is Good Friday.  I want to thank Jared and the rest of the gang stepping up when I am unable.  Full time employment and 6 day home stands with the Bats leave me very little time to check in at times.    

I did get to watch the WNBA draft Monday night and have to shout out the newest draft class of the Jeff Walz Era.   Emily Engstler was selected with the fourth pick by the Indiana Fever.  Kianna Smith was selected with the 16th pick by the Los Angeles Sparks.  Its so perfect that Emily got to attend the draft in her homestate of New York and landed with an organization a couple hours 65 north of Louisville and Kianna lands at home in California with her family. 

  

From social media it looked like Mykasa Robinson and Chelsie Hall watched the draft with Kianna while Hailey Van Lith and Merissah Russell were in New York with Emily.  Big shoutout to Chelsie's old school Louisville tee and HVL's hot pink sunnies. 

WBB Sidenote - Ramani Parker announced on her Instagram she will be transferring to the Mississippi State Bulldogs with new Head Coach, Sam Purcell.   I think we all figured Purcell would be able to pull at least a Card or two from Louisville.  Parker wore #0 for UofL in her two seasons.  She averaged about 7 minutes in the 20-21 season and 3 minutes in the 21-22 season.  MSU currently has 8 players listed on the roster for the 2022-23 season, the 6'4 forward could find some quality minutes at a new home under a familiar coach and we wish her luck in Starkville.

SOFTBALL 

The Cardinals bring a 21-17 overall record into the game following a midweek loss to that blue team.  Louisville also carries a 5-7 mark in ACC play and stands eighth in the conference after taking two of three games against North Carolina last weekend.

Syracuse brings a 20-15 overall record into the weekend following a midweek double header split against Canisius. The Orange are 3-10 in ACC play, currently placing 11th in league standings.

Angel Jasso carries a .380 batting average with a team-high 19 stolen bases. Neli Casares-Maher leads the team with eight home runs, 28 RBIs and 31 runs on the season.  Lindsey Hendrix has made a team-high 17 appearances in the circle and carries a 7-4 record and 3.97 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 65.2 innings.

GOLF 

Kendall Griffin finished the first two rounds in a tie for sixth place to pace the Cardinals into a tie for seventh at the ACC Women's Golf Championships in Pawley's Island, S.C.

Collectively, the Cardinals carded a 14 over par 590 to close the first day 22 shots off the lead. Wake Forest and Florida State are tied for the overall lead at 8 under par. The Cardinals opened play with a first round 299 but improved by eight shots to finish at 14 over par for the day.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast -- Both Case and I will be out for radio this weekend with personal matters to take care of but I believe the rest of the gang is on for the regularly scheduled 11 a.m. start time.  

As always, Go Cards 

~ Daryl 

Busy Weekend Slate -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

It's another busy weekend for Louisville Athletics with plenty of the women's teams in action over the next few days.

Women's Golf

The ACC Championships begin today at The Reserve Golf Course in Pawley's Island, S.C. Each individual and team will compete in 36 holes today and 18 tomorrow. The top four teams will advance to a final round to decide a team champion. There will also be an individual champion announced.

There are 12 overall teams competing in the ACC Championships with Louisville being the 7-seed. The top four teams are all ranked in the Top 25.

Louisville has not released the roster of players competing in the event as of Wednesday night.

Softball

Fresh off a rough 9-0 loss to rival Kentucky, Louisville softball looks to bounce back with a weekend series against Syracuse. The Cards and Orange will play at Ulmer on Friday at 5:00, Saturday at 1:00, and Sunday at noon. Despite Sunday being Easter, the game is expected to remain at noon.

Louisville is 21-17 on the year and is 5-7 in the ACC. The Orange are 20-15 but have struggled in conference play with a 3-10 conference record. They had a game against Pitt and a game against Notre Dame cancelled due to weather.

Lacrosse

Lacrosse also faces Syracuse this weekend, but will head north to do so. At 11-3 on the year, Syracuse has had a much better season for lacrosse than softball, and they sit in the Top Five in both major polls and second in the rpi.

Track and Field

Owsley Brown Frazier Park will be busy the next couple days as the Cards host the Louisville Invitational. The event will last all day Friday and Saturday.

Go Cards

Jared

Cats blank Louisville Softball -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

UK 9 -- LOUISVILLE 0 

Tuesday night was a beautiful night -- weather wise -- out at Ulmer Stadium. 

The result of the contest wasn't so great for the Cards, though. They ran into a buzz-saw in UK pitcher Stephanie Schoonover in the circle, and #8/12 UK got a five-inning win over the Cards 9-0. She held UofL hitless in the five innings. 

The Cats were "on" with their bats from the jump, touching UofL staring pitcher Taylor Roby for five runs and two home runs in the top of the first inning. UK stayed hot at the plate in the visitor half of the second inning and the book was closed on Roby after two innings and a 7-0 Wildcat lead. 

Freshman Sam Booe was given the assignment to try and shut the Cats down next and she did a little better, allowing just two runs over the next three innings on three hits, but it was a night where the Cards could not generate any offense and they fell to UK -- generating just two base-runners...Carmyn Greenwood and Vanessa each drawing a base on balls. 

Tough to watch for the 90 minutes the two squads were on the field, if you're a Louisville fan. The Cards also had two fielding errors in front of a Ulmer Stadium crowd of 1,130 and those who caught the ACCNX stream on it. 

Time to tear off the rear view mirror on that one and not look back. ACC foe Syracuse comes in for a three-game weekend series and Louisville (21-17) will look to move up the ACC standings from eighth place against the 11th place Orange. The top ten teams qualify for the ACC Tournament, so Louisville needs to try and get a sweep here to move closer to seventh place Georgia Tech, who is 8-10 in conference play.  Louisville is 5-7. 

(photos by Jared Anderson)

FIVE WBB CARDS NAMED TO ALL ACC ACADEMIC TEAM

They not only get it done on the hardwood, but also in the classroom, these Louisville women's basketball players. 

Emily Engstler, Chelsie Hall, Kianna Smith, Haley Van Lith and Kasa Robinson have been named to the prestigious All-ACC Academic Team. 

To make this team, a student-athlete needs to earn a 3.0 for the previous semester and have a 3.0 or better cumulative GPA during one's academic career. 

It is the second straight season all five have earned the award. 

This past fall, the Cards WBB squad had an collective 3.326 GPA. That's hitting the books hard, in addition to making the Final Four. 

I used to brag that I reached a 4.0 in my college years...I'd add the 2.0 GPA I'd get in the fall to the 2.0 GPA I'd get in the spring semester and -- voila! -- a 4.0 !!

Congratulations to Hailey, Kianna, Kasa, Emily, Chelsie and all the hard-working athletes on the Louisville campus. Making the grade -- on the field of competition and in the classroom 

paulie

WNBA Draft -- Softball vs UK -- Two National Champions -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WNBA Draft

Last night was a big night in the world of women's basketball- the 2022 WNBA Draft. We kept a particularly close eye on the draft due to multiple Cardinals who were projected to get drafted.

Rd 1, Pick 4: Emily Engstler, Indiana Fever. Congratulations to Emily Engstler! Louisville knocked one out of the park when she transferred to Louisville to finish her collegiate career for the 2021-2022 season. The Cards' fourth Final Four appearance in program would not have happened without her. Engstler was one of four players taken in the first round by the Indiana Fever. The Fever had seven overall picks.

Rd 2, Pick 16: Kianna Smith, Los Angeles Sparks. Congratulations to Kianna Smith! Smith was on the court the last two seasons for the Cards after sitting out the 2019-2020 season due to the NCAA transfer rules. The California native reached 1000 career points early this past season. She heads back to her home state of California as one of four players selected by the Los Angeles Sparks this draft.

Louisville has had 16 players drafted in the WNBA in program history. The Cards have had at least one player selected in the last four drafts and have had eight total players drafted in that span. 14 of the 16 have come under the Walz era. 

The ACC had eight players taken in the 2022 WNBA Draft: Louisville (Emily Engstler, Kianna Smith), NC State (Elissa Cunane, Kayla Jones), Florida State (Kierstan Bell), Georgia Tech (Lorela Cubaj), Virginia Tech (Aisha Sheppard), and Notre Dame (Maya Dodson).

The SEC had seven players taken in the 2022 WNBA Draft. The Big Ten and Big 12 each had four players drafted. The Pac-12 had two players drafted. Baylor and UConn each had three players drafted.

Softball Hosts Kentucky

After an eventful seven-game weekend revolving around volleyball, softball, and baseball, plus a bomb threat scare, I'm ready to get back to campus for more UofL sports. Louisville softball welcomes rival #8 Kentucky to Ulmer Stadium at 6:00 p.m.

This game is rescheduled from last Wednesday, when weather was not cooperative. The weather appears to be not cooperative again today, but fingers crossed we will get this game in.

The game is marked as a RED out. Admission for chair back seating is $5 while outfield berm seating is free.

Kentucky is 27-9 on the year with an 8-4 conference record. They are 9-6 against ranked opponents, including a sweep over LSU. They boast a .318 team batting average with nearly the entire starting lineup batting over .300.

Erin Coffell has been the top offensive contributor for the Wildcats with a .415 batting average, 11 home runs, and 41 rbis.

Maranda Stoddard is their top pitcher with a 5-3 record, a 3.30 ERA and 30 strikeouts. Alexia Lacatena and Sloan Gayan have each had strong seasons with sub-3.00 ERAs. As a whole, UK's pitching corps has a 3.00 ERA with 159 strikeouts to 90 walks.

You can catch this game on ESPNU.

Cheer and Dance Have High Success at NCA/NDA Championships

Louisville Cheer brought back two national championships from their All-Girl and Small Coed squads and a third place finish from the Large Coed squad. The four-person stunt groups finished third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and ninth.

The Louisville Ladybirds finished fourth in the team/pom division and second in the hip-hop division.

Between a pair of national championships and several other top-tier finishes, we would like to congratulate the unofficial athletics teams at UofL, especially since neither championship could've have been accomplished without women student-athletes.

                                   **********************************************

Circling back around to the bomb threat at Jim Patterson Stadium (baseball) on Sunday that I mentioned, I want to take a moment to praise the Louisville game day and operations staff for acting quickly and clearing out a 2000+ crowd out of the stadium in under 10 minutes. They were able to act a professional manner while keeping everyone calm. We never want to see an emergency situation at a game, but it is comforting to know that the staff and volunteers are all well-trained to handle a situation if it were to arise.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared