Softball loses at Syracuse. McCarty wins shot put...and more!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY SUNDAY TO
CARDINAL COUPLE READERS!

-Softball drops two to the 'Cuse

-McCarty takes shot put in BIG EAST

Championships.

-Golf finishes 12th in Regional

-Samantha Williams to Louisville?

-WE recap Derby (with a slight headache)

The University of Louisville softball team dropped a double-header at Syracuse yesterday that dropped them back into fifth place in the BIG EAST standings. Lack of bats was the culprit in the opener...the Cards going down 3-0 and lack of pitching the nemesis in Game 2 with a 9-5 loss.

Despite Tori Collins eight strike out, three hits allowed performance in the first game, the Cards could manage only five hits against Syracuse ace Jenna Caira. The 'Cuse got all they would need in the bottom of the first when Collins gave up a base loaded walk to make it 1-0. A two run blast in the fourth by Veronica Grant put the 3-0 final score on the board.

Louisville tried to rally in the sixth when Katie Keller and Jennifer Esteban reached on singles with one out...but Caira got the next two to end the inning. Louisville knocked on the door again in the seventh...with bases loaded with one out after Alicja Wolny and Esteban singled and Taner Fowler reached first after getting hit by a pitch...but Caira got the final two outs again without the Cards getting to the plate.

Chelsea Bemis smashed a three run homer but
it wasn't enough to get Louisville the win.

In game two, Louisville jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first, aided by a Chelsea Bemis three run homer...but the Orange responded with two runs in the first and five runs off Tori Collins in the bottom of the second on back to back home runs from the 'Cuse to lead 7-4 after two.  

The Cuse outscored Louisville 2-1 the rest of the way...a solo homer by Katie Kohl in the bottom of the sixth securing the win.

The teams play again Sunday at 11 a.m.

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D'Ana McCarty won the shot put in second day competition in the BIG EAST Championships at Jumbo Elliott Track and Field Complex on the Villanova campus. The Cards fared well in the event...Khadija Abdullah taking second, Chinwe Okoro finishing third and Amashi Kendall seventh. The Louisville women's track team leads the Championships going into the final day by six over USF. 50-44.

Other Lady Cards having success were Rachel Gehert (2nd in the long jump finals) and Gabrielle Jackson (3rd in the 400 meter hurdles). Louisville's women have won the event each year since 2007. Good luck today....Lady Cards!

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Louisville women's golfers ended up in 12th. place in the NCAA East Regional. The top eight teams advanced to the Championships. Sara-Maude Juneau recorded the best finish for the Louisville team...a final day 71 that gave her a 220 over three days. Other Cardinal finishes:

Laura Anderson. 72 in her final 18 holes for a 222
Anna-Karin Ljungstrom. 74 final day and a 229 total.
Maria Castellanos. 79 third round for a 231.
Tara Lyons. 84 last round and a 240.

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Samantha Williams to the Lady Cards?
Rumors are that she is...

Rumor mills are linking Duke women's basketball assistant coach Samantha Williams with the open coaching position for the Lady Cards. Nothing out of the Louisville camp yet about this...Williams is highly regarded as a recruiting coordinator and has served four years for Joanne P. McCallie at Duke. McCallie originally hired Williams at Michigan State and Samantha moved to the ACC school with her when McCallie took the head coaching job in 2007.  

Williams graduated from Louisville Manual High School and was a Parade and Street and Smith All-American before going to Auburn to play for McCallie....then an assistant. When McCallie left to take the head coaching job at Maine...Williams remained at Auburn and had four outstanding years playing for the SEC school.

Louisville has an open assistant coaching position...created when assistant Bethann Ord accepted the head coaching job at Weber State. The Cards have three confirmed freshmen arriving on he UofL campus for the 2011-12 season in Esther Monny Niamke, Jude Schimmel and Sara Hammond and are waiting on a decision from Bria Smith...who reportedly is down to Louisville or Tennessee in her choices. She is expected to announce May 10th., at the New York Daily News Sports Awards banquet at B.B.King's Bar and Restaurant.
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The 137th Kentucky Derby has come and gone and, in a surprise upset, ANIMAL KINGDOM,  passed the field in the Churchill stretch and won by two lengths over Paul's choice NEHRO. Wagering for the day didn't go exactly as planned...Sonja's pick DIALED IN tuned out when the 19 runners turned for home.

Animal Kingdom was the best on Saturday
by winning the KY DERBY.

Paul took a nice profit on across the board wagering on NEHRU but a couple of exactas and trifectas failed to include Johnny Velazquez on the #16 ANIMAL KINGDOM.

 A nice return on investment if you had the 20-1 runner who hadn't raced on a dirt surface in four lifetime starts before trying the Derby. His win in the Spiral Stakes at Turfway on the polytrack was impressive...but most felt that no previous dirt track experience would keep him out of the winner's circle. Most were wrong.

Velazquez was primed and ready to go and we were very pleased to see him win the 9th race on 13-1 shot AIKENITE. It allowed us to "play on the track's money" the rest of the way. Another horse who parlayed a polytrack win in his last race to a win next time out on the dirt. Shoulda seen the signs...

ANIMAL KINGDOM and NEHRO are both headed to the second round of the Triple Crown of Horse Racing in two weeks...the Preakness...held at Maryland's Pimlico Race Track.
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