UofL Golf adds new assistant coach -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good morning readers, 

UofL is gearing up for the fall semester and Monday mean new employee orientation.  And my favorites are the ones where I get a chance to meet those involved with the athletics programs.  

UofL Golf

Whitney Young adds Tristyn Stasi (maiden name Nowlin) to the coaching staff this offseason. The 26 year old from Richmond, KY is an alumnus of the University of Illinois where she competed from 2016-2021 and attended Madison Central High School.

In fact, in college, Stasi’s best and worst finish came in 2018 in the Cardinal Cup, her sophomore season. Finished her career with a 73.40 scoring average, the best in a career in Illinois history. She first joined the Epson Tour in 2022.  In her 2023 campaigns she completed in 18 events, 10 cuts made, $11,813.

To read more of Tristyn's college resume click here.

Lets make it a great week. 

As Always, 
Go Cards 
~Daryl

Final Batch of All-ACC Academic Teams Announced -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

T&F, Rowing, and Softball Smart Cards

First - I apologize for the late post today. Second - if you thought we were done with All-ACC Academic teams, surprise! But this is the last one for the 2024-25 seasons. The league finished announcing the remaining honorees, so here goes nothing. As I mentioned the other day, the requirements for inclusion are a 3.0 GPA for the previous semester, a 3.0 cumulative GPA, and competition in at least 50 percent of the team's contests.

Rowing topped lacrosse for the most honorees, surpassing lacrosse's 23 with 31 of their own. That's quite the feat, since the roster holds only 43 names overall. That's 72% of their players, which also tops the 64% from lacrosse. All in all, very impressive, and it's a program record. Thirty-one players is quite the handful to name, but you can see the entire list here on gocards.

Track and field had 32 players overall announced, but that is inclusive of the men's and women's side. The women made up 20 of those, which is quite the showing. Those honored, and their T&F specialty, were Olivia Alessandrini (distance), Keira Antoni (sprints/hurdles), Ashley Callahan (pole vault), Sophia Day (jumps), Lucy Fellows (multis), Maya Follmer (multis), Emma Heckel (distance), Soledad Jean (jumps), Olivia Jenkins (sprints), Demaria King (throws), Ellie Maurer (distance), Sharvari Parulekar (jumps), Layla Roebke (distance), Synclair Savage (jumps/sprints), Maddie Seaby (distance), Lydia Stuart (pole vault), Iliana Triantafyllou (pole vault), Jade Whitfield (throws), Chelsea Williams (sprints), and Kiyah Yeast (sprints).

Last, but not least, comes softball. Softball had a strong list as well, and some of the first-time awardees may very well have been multiple if they weren't transfers. Softball has a unique addition to the requirements, based on how the positions work with playing time, so pitchers need only to have appeared in 20% of the team's contests. In all, the softball team had thirteen honorees. Three players made the list for the third time: Ally Alexander (SR), Sam Booe (SR), and Alyssa Zabala (JR). Four more were honored for the second time: Maddi Grant (SR), Easton Lotus (SR), Chelsea Mack (JR), and Katie Thatcher (SO). The first time honorees were Bri Despines (JR-transfer), Riley Janda (FR), Camryn Lookadoo (SO-transfer), Char Lorenz (SO), Taylor Monroe (FR), and Madison Pickens (FR). 

Once again, congratulations to all of these Cardinals on a job well done on the playing surface as well as in the classroom. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Girls Basketball Takes Over Expo Center -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Run 4 The Roses in Town This Weekend

The Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center is full of basketball courts this week as the annual Run 4 The Roses Classic and Run 4 The Roses Championship events take place from July 10-12 and July 13-15, respectively. The R4R event is a massive exposure event for middle and high school basketball players, drawing teams and coaches from all over the country. In fact, a coworker from a different office has been making use of some of our spare space in the Louisville office as he is in town with his daughter for the games. 

Just searching "Run 4 The Roses" will yield numerous posts from athletes wanting to draw attention to themselves as well as teams indicating they'll be in attendance to scout. One such post, from Tennessee Tech, feels like a recruiting opportunity for the team just as much as a chance to scout. 

This year, the events will be played on 88 courts and host 2,910 teams. With a guaranteed four games for each team, you can bet that it's quite the jam-packed space. I confirmed with the aforementioned coworker that it can be a bit difficult to "play to the whistle" when you can hardly tell which court a whistle is coming from. Nevertheless, the event has tons of value for the athletes to get in front of scouts from the next level, as the website boasts that 2,037 college coaches are credentialed. You can bet that if Jeff Walz and Kenny Brooks aren't among them, they've sent representatives. 

The event is also open to spectators. If watching loads of competitive youth sports is your kind of thing, you can head down to the Expo Center during any of the event times listed below. Spectator tickets are fairly reasonable, given the scale, as you can get a day pass for $30 or an event pass for $85. Granted, you might also pay half that in parking thanks to the Fair Board's wonderful parking policies, but that's neither here nor there. 

Might we see the next great Louisville player stand out this weekend? Surely there's a chance. It might even be a player not yet on anyone's radar, such is the nature of a huge exposure event like this. One thing is for sure, with more hotel compression in Louisville than the Kentucky Derby, the annual Run 4 The Roses hammers home that Kentucky is a basketball state and Louisville is a basketball town. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

No CCRHP This Week

When we skipped the show last week for the 4th of July, we anticipated returning to the booth this week. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we'll be off again this week. In the middle of the summer slump, you're not missing much on the news front, but we'll aim to get back into the swing of things next week as we are just about a month out from the fall schedule getting underway. 

WBB Video Coordinator on Team USA -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 


Finally my favorite day of the week again... 

Its also 7/11 day... not sure if that means free slushies anymore. I also dont know where a 7/11 is located in Louisville anymore but, it used to mean something around here! 

Other than that 'get off my lawn' rant... A small flutter of some news through the UofL sports programs as we get some Team USA news but its not exactly new news.  

A familiar face around the UofL WBB program, our very own Lamont Russell being asked back to serve in a familiar role.   

WBB

Photo from: Lamont Russell X account

from gocards.com -  Louisville women's basketball Director of Video and Graphic Design LaMont Russell will be representing the United States as he was named the video coordinator for USA Basketball's U19 National Team for the upcoming FIBA U19 Women's World Cup, held in Brno, Czech Republic.

This is the third year in a row Russell has been selected by USA Basketball as he was the video coordinator for the 2023 AmeriCup squad that competed in Leon, Mexico and held the same position last year for the FIBA U18 Women's World Cup team that competed in Colombia. The 2024 squad came away with the gold medal last year, which qualified them to compete in the FIBA U19 World Cup this year.

In Brno, USA Basketball will compete in Group A alongside Israel, Hungary and Korea. The red, white and blue will tip off vs. Korea on July 12 before taking on Hungary the following day, both at 2:15 p.m. ET. Group play concludes against Israel on July 15 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The FIBA U19 Women's World Cup, which was launched in 1985, features the world's top 16 U19 national teams who qualify based on their finishes the previous year at the biennial U18 zone championships. The USA has won the gold medal in nine of the last 10 competitions, including the last three.

Make it a great weekend, everyone. 

As always, 

Go Cards 

~Daryl 

Spring ACC Smart Cards -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Spring Sports See Many on All-ACC Academic Teams

All-ACC Academic Teams are being announced this week, and while we haven't heard about softball yet, the remaining spring sports are well-represented in the league. Requirements for inclusion are a 3.0 GPA for the previous semester, a 3.0 cumulative GPA, and competition in at least 50 percent of the team's contests. 

Tennis announced five honorees. Allie Gretkowski (R-SR; Sports Administration) and Berta Miret (SO; Neuroscience) each earned the nod from the league for the second time. Teammates joining them for the first time were Alice Otis (JR; Marketing), Germany Davis (SO; Political Science), and Elisabeth Iila (Psychology). 

Women's golf had a touch more than a handful, with six golfers being named to the list. That group was led by Carmen Griffiths (SR; Exercise Science) picking up her third All-ACC Academic honor. Beatriz Barrios Fernandez (SR) and Millie Cottrell (SO) are both majoring in Sports Administration (SPAD) and both were honored for the second time. SPAD is a popular major among Louisville athletes, as freshman Bailey Burkett, honored for the first time, is also in that program. The other two first-time honorees were transfer Thienna Huynh (JR; Political Science) and Veronika Exposito (FR; Finance). 

Lacrosse led the way in All-ACC Academic Honors as they placed a program record 23 players on the list. Forgive me for excluding classes and majors for a list so long. You can check out  the full post from gocards here if you want to see them all. Just know that the Business School is heavily represented. 

Three-time honorees: Ava Coyle, Negai Nakazawa, Abby Scully, and Izzy Seikel

Two-time honorees: Rian Adkins, Abigail Cole, Karli Kirchenheiter, Maggie McMahon, and Ashley Osborne

First-time selections: Kelsey Commerford, Abbie Dunlap, Riley Engelberg, Charlotte Jackson, Catherine Kangas, Issy Leech, Sophie Macleod, Erin Nicholson, J Pleck, Cece Reilly, Olivia Scorggie, Ella Terrell, Morgan Vasseur, and Reese Whiteman

Congratulations to all of these Cardinals on their academic accomplishments!

Aimee Plumb Honored by CSC

Formerly identified as the CoSIDA, the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America teams have been announced and Louisville field hockey's Aimee Plumb has been named to the At-Large third-team. Plumb is receiving her second national accolade from the group, having been previously honored following the 2022-23 season. Playing in her final season as a graduate, Plumb scored four goals and had four assists, moving up to seventh in program history in points (86) and goals (30) while going to ninth in assists (26). While doing all of this, she maintained a 4.0 GPA en route to graduating with a bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Art.  

Plumb's second naming to the team makes her one of eight players on this year's list to be a repeat selection. It makes her just the second Cardinal to pick up this specific honor multiple times. Plumb joins Jessica Javelet, who made the list in three straight seasons from 2004-2006. 

A huge congratulations to Aimee for a job well done throughout her career. We'll be sorry to see Aimee not suited up for the Cards next season, but we hope to still see her around as her younger sister Chloe looks to help fill the gap in her absence. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Yevheniia Putra will add depth to Louisville WBB front line --WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 6'3" UKRAINE CENTER HAS A WEALTH OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE.

Jeff Walz Has done well with tall European and Russian players over his time at Louisville. Cardinal fans rave over Elif istanbulloglu, who will be a junior on the 2025-26 squad. Many Cardinals fans will remember Yuliva Tokova. Yacine Diop was invaluable for the Cards front line in her playing days  

The newest name to the "EuroCards" list is Yevheniia Putra, a 6'3" freshman that hails from Kyiv, Ukraine. She played for the Ukrainian Senior National team on the 2025 FIBA Women Eurobasket Qualifiers. She played in all six games of the qualifiers and her best performance was against Portugal where she had 13 points and three rebounds. 

She has played in multiple International league and the 20 yr. old freshman and will joiN seven returning Cards as part of a six-player incoming freshman class. There is additional height in the incoming class...with Grace Mbugna from Danville Christian measuring in at 6'5" and transfer, 6'2" Laura Ziegler from St. Joseph. 

In addition, the Cards return 6'4" Isla Juffermans from Austraila and 6'3" sophomore Anaya Hardy  are back.

It will be interesting to see how Walz forms and aligns the 2025-26 Cards. The Cards did have 6'5" Eseosa Imafidon transfer out to Providence but she was seldom used in her two years as a Cardinal. Walz will probably lean on Imari Berry, Taj Roberts and Mac Randolph in the upcoming season...and Reyna Scott comes in from Oklahoma with impressive numbers. 

We wait anxiously for the opener against UCLA in Paris. 

How about a little Grace Potter and the Nocturals to tide us over until then? 

If I was from Paris

paulie

Brittany Morris Joins UofL WBB -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Morris is Newest Asst Coach for the Cards

Photo by GoCards

Following the departure of Stephanie Norman to her alma mater Arizona State, Louisville women's basketball had an assistant coach vacancy. That has been filled with the hiring of Brittany Morris.

Morris was an assistant at NC State for the last four seasons, where she worked under Wes Moore. During her time at NC State, the Wolfpack made three Sweet Sixteens, two Elite Eights, and one Final Four. NC State also won a combined three ACC regular season and tournament championships.

Prior to her time at NC State, Morris spent a year with East Carolina and three with UNC Wilmington. She was a part of UNCW's transition to DI. Morris specialized in recruiting during her time at each school, something she will be a part of at Louisville. 

We will catch more of Coach Brittany Morris this fall for the Louisville women's basketball season.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!
Jared

Summer Basketball Fix -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good morning readers, 

A quick basketball fix for the sports heads and some positive headlines for some former Cardinals... 



Dana Evans scored a season-high 18 points on 7-11 shooting for the Aces (9-9) Sunday afternoon as Las Vegas beat the Connecticut Sun 86-68 to move to an even .500 on the season.

Jeff Bottari/NBAE via Getty Images

Upcoming games

July 7, 2025

Myisha Hines- Allen is coming off a 5 point 5 rebound performance as the Wings (6-13) beat the Mercury (12-6) on 7/3.  The two will rematch tonight at 10pm. 

July, 8 2025

Emily Engstler is coming off 4 pts 5 rebounds in 20 min on the floor vs the Minnesota Lynx on 7/3. The match up with the Sky is scheduled for 11:30 am for some reason....

As Always, 
Go Cards 

~Daryl 

Enjoying the Extended Weekend -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cardinal Couple Summer Break Continues

Photo by UofL Magazine

With much of the Cardinal Couple crew out traveling and myself hosting company from out of town, we are taking a small break from our regular reporting to enjoy a bit of a summer break. Don't worry, we are only a month and a half away from the first UofL women's sport picking up.

Until then, we all plan to enjoy our holiday weekend with some relaxation... if the post-4th of July firework parties around the neighborhood can stop. Our neighborhood had fireworks going off well past midnight for about the 10th night in a row. 

Wishing everyone a happy holiday weekend. Happy Sunday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cardinal Couple on Vacay -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CC Summer Break

With the 4th of July falling on a Friday, that means that it's a summer break three-day weekend, which means everyone is gone. There also just so happens to be no news this week, so it's a good time for a short and sweet "Gone Fishin'" post. 

I don't think any of us will actually be fishing this weekend, but the Cardinal Couple crew are scattered to the wind this week. As we mentioned, the podcast will take a break this week with eyes on returning next Saturday. 

Wishing you and yours a safe and happy holiday weekend. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case