McCurty, Dalton roll along...Soccer inks nine.

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THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY at C.C. (Seriously..)
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-Quaneisha McCurty rolls along.
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-Women's Soccer Signees
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-Mail Call
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-FREEE PANERA (not a request...a fact!)

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Quaniesha McCurty, a 6'5" Louisville commit for 2011 from Dalton, GA. continues to have an impressive senior season for Dalton High School. Dalton is 20-0 in Georgia Class 3-A and ranked second. In her last two outings, McCurty had ten points in a 'slowdown' type of game against #6 Chestatee. (Pictured here). Dalton won 42-23. Against Heritage-Catoosa, McCurty exploded for 30 points and 13 rebounds in a 86-55 romp. (Photo by Matt Hamilton /The Daily Citizen)
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McCurty is one of three (so far) new players that will be suiting up for Jeff Walz and the Lady Cards. Joining her is 6'2" Rockcastle County standout Sara Hammond and 6'5" UNC transfer Cierra Warren. The "height movement" is exactly what the Lady Cards need...Louisville has only senior Keisha Hines, sophomore Asia Taylor and freshmen Sherrone Vails and Polly Harrington as legitimate paint players on the roster this year. Shawnta Dyer is sitting out with a fractured heel. The Cards are sufficiently covered at guard positions...but many believe Louisville has the inside track on Jude Schimmel...a 5'7" guard from Portland, Oregon. She's Shoni's sister and last we heard she was averaging well over 25 points a game. Yeah, there's room for her on this roster...most def...
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If it sounds like Walz will have an abundance of players next year...all the better. From what appeared to be a capacity full roster this year...LaToya Johnson, Nikki Burton, Shawnta Dyer and Shelby Harper all watched the recent Georgetown game unable to participate. Walz had 10 players available for action. These days, there is strength in numbers. Ask Rutgers or Cincinnati. Thru injuries and defections, both these squads are down to 7-8 players available for duty. Even UConn has a thin bench this year. Reminds me of how my Dad...years ago... would carry a couple of extra spare tires in the trunk of his old Ford LTD. They'd come into play quite often. These "spare tires" on women's college basketball rosters are needed and welcome...they usually end up becoming key components by season's end. We all remember the woes UofL had last season in depth. A deep bench is good.
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The University of Louisville women's soccer team has added nine players for their 2011 recruiting class. Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes is bringing them in from everywhere as the Lady Cards look to find talent capable of showing up and being ready to compete for playing time this fall. The newcomers:

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-Sydney Blomquist ...Shannon Dennehey... Kim Sharo
Midfielder/Forward... Forward... Forward
Bel Air, MD. (Fallston)... Medford, NJ. (Shawnee)... New Windsor, NY (Cornwell)

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Devyn Ciotti... Hannah Konermann... Casey Whitfield
Defender... Defender... Forward
Liberty, OH. (Lakota West)... Louisville, KY (Mercy Academy)... Louisville, KY (Manual)
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Breynn Collazo... Zakiya McIntosh... Erin Yanney
Midfielder/Defender... Forward... Midfielder
Wall, NJ, (Wall)... Pickering, OH. (Pickering)... Troy, OH. (Troy)
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Welcome aboard to these nine standout college athletes and for a more detailed report on each signee, go to http://www.uoflsports.com/
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From the mailbag...
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Jenny asks:
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"Do you think that the Lady Cards will make the NCAA Tournament this year?" She also adds.." I enjoy attending the women's games in the KFC YUM Center and have gotten my husband and mom involved in attending. It's a great place for hoops!".

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WELCOME ABOARD, JENNY! Jeff Walz thinks that nine conference wins will punch the ticket to the NCAA Tournament. So far, Louisville has five. We predict that the Cards have a good shot of defeating Villanova, USF, Seton Hall and Providence...which would give them nine. The other opponents remaining are West Virginia (here), at Syracuse and DePaul (here). These three will be tough, no doubt.
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Ken writes:
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"I'm hearing a lot of good things about Sydney Moss, who plays for Boone County. Does Louisville have a shot at getting her?
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Only if we sign her Dad...Randy Moss...to a coaching contract. Seriously, Moss, who is a junior, really doesn't have a favorite listed yet. Never count out the magic of Jeff Walz when it comes to recruiting, though. We think her style of play and athleticism is a perfect fit for "Walz Ball", though. We will be watching and hoping and, as of now, Louisville has as good a chance at getting her as anyone. WKU, WVU, Kentucky and a slew of others are interested...as far as we know...UofL is the only school to offer a scholly so far.
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Davis, from Worcester, Mass., comments:
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"UofL is VERY LUCKY to have Justine Sowry as their new field hockey coach. She did an outstanding job with UMass in the A-10 and I'm a Louisville field hockey fan now...along with UMass. Great hire, we'll miss her..."
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Once again, Jurich and Hermann come up with the one they wanted. Admittedly, we were surprised when Pam Bustin announced she was leaving for Duke. The Atlantic Coast Conference is the supreme conference for field hockey, though and Bustin has a chance to basically rebuild a crumbling Duke program back to national prominence. Coaches love challenges, though and we're guessing the $$$ was right...so we can't be too hard on Pam for making the leap. She was a great interview and quote maker...and her preseason Field Hockey parties at the Parrish House legendary...she'll do fine with the Dookies and Louisville shouldn't miss a beat with Sowry as skipper.
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Dave sends:
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"Hi, I know you are primarily women's sports for UofL but I really enjoyed the DiMori article you ran a few days back about football. Wouldn't mind seeing more of his comments. Also, do the Cards get DaMarcus Smith? Thanks...
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You can get a daily dose of Dimori at http://www.cardinaldominance.net/ We love his football coverage too. He is the 'Sultan of South Beach" and covers all aspects of college football as only "Di" can. As for the Seneca QB, who knows? He's supposed to announce something Friday at 1:30 p.m. Whether it's a college choice, who knows? DaMarcus really enjoyed his trip to Central Florida...heck, who wouldn't love a few days in Orlando this time of year? Our very unofficial read on the situation is that it's DaMarcus's Mom who is trying to assume the role of deal maker and powerbroker here. Smith has been a Cardinal fan, along with his little brother and grandparents for a very long time. We don't feel he is scared about the competition with Teddy Bridgewater, either. Sources have told us that Smith and Fern Creek running back Jerrel Moore are very good friends and Smith was disappointed when UOFL backed off Moore for awhile. It now looks like Moore could be back in the picture with the Cards now. There is so much speculation, wild rumors, crazy claims and unverified Internet chatter and b.s. out there swirling around about this Smith situation that we've decided to just wait and see where he's going to send his letter of intent..
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HEYYYYY! Today is the final day to get your entry in for this week's PANERA GIFT CARD. This is a good week to do it, because the entries are pretty scarce this week. Just tell us which Panera you like to go to. Include a reason why and an employee you like there if you want. Send your entry to cardinalcouple@insightbb.com

It's free Panera. We're not going to beg you to take it...