Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Sandy catches up with Cardinal womens' sports

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

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#6 ranked Louisville women's basketball wins easily tonight in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico over Central Florida 94-73. Five Cards in double figures and Walz played the bench most of the final ten minutes of the second half after leading 55-33 at half. Louisville gets winner of Missouri State v. Gonzaga tomorrow night at 9:30 p.m.

BE SURE....to check back for CARDINAL COUPLE columnist Jenny O'Bryan's report on the game in the Wednesday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE!!!

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(Sandy Walker returns this week with her Tuesday recaps on Louisville Swimming and Diving, Volleyball, Basketball, Lacrosse and Soccer. Like Bria Smith picking up an opposing guard at the half court line...Sandy's got you covered!)

Re: You can listen through Cards TV (appears to be premium) for all three games (game tracker also available for the Tuesday USF game) which begin this evening at 7:00 against UCF.  Cards TV is now showing a 6:30 start time for tonight's USF game.

SWIMMING & DIVING

This week the women’s swim team moved up into the 16^th spot from 21.  Details and an explanation of how individual scores are compiled to translate into team scores can be found at:

 http://buzztap.com/link.jspid=17739350&cid=304&source=feed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed. 

Last week’s win over BIG EAST rival Notre Dame was fueled by their strength in the distance freestyle events.  Coach Arthur Albiero reported this as a great road win by a tough and intense team.

Last weekend they continued their success at the Purdue Invite where the women took 2^nd place.  They next travel to Austin, TX for a November 29 to December 2 meet known as the USA Short Course Nationals.

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 BASKETBALL

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RECRUITS

Last week was National Signing Day where Louisville received 3 National Letters of Intent signatures from Star Breedlove, Emmonnie Henderson and Janelle Cannon.  The 2013 class is ranked as high as 16th. nationally.  Recruit fact: Starr Breedlove is a member of the 1000 point club.  This was accomplished while moving through 3 schools in two states.

ACHIEVEMENT

Shoni Schimmel became U of L's 23rd 1,000-point scorer during the Austin Peay game. to Schimmel came into the game with 996 points and sank to free throws in the first half to join the list. Both she and senior Monique Reid have keys to this prestigious club. 

HARDWOOD TOURNAMENT

·         They women take their 3-0 record into the Hardwood Tournament of Hope in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  The team took a bus to Indianapolis Sunday for a flight to Phoenix and Mexico later in the day.  It was reported that yesterday an intense beach volleyball match took place as a part of the combination team building holiday and work trip continues.  You can see a picture posted by Mary Beth Whitaker of the team at practice yesterday.  Go to:

 http://twitter.com/mbwgocards/status/270635481648214017/photo/1.

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·         Beginning today the ladies will play game 1 in a tough grind of  3 games scheduled in the next 3 days.   You can listen through Cards TV (appears to be premium) for all three games (game tracker also available for the Tuesday USF game) which begin this evening at 7:00 against UCF.  All broadcasts will also be on 790 WKRD AM in Louisville.  Editors' Note: WE recommend that you just drive over to Tom Jurich's house and listen to the broadcasts with him. (Bring snacks..)

      If the Cards win, the second match on Wednesday begins at  9:30 pm against the winner of the interesting battle between
      Gonzaga / Missouri State game with the 3^rd game being played against the other 2-0 team from the contests. The official website for the event has the championship game starting at 9:30 EST when  Louisville advances to the title game. Louisville’s official site indicates a TBA start time.   Paul will provide the details later as they are available.

·         REGULAR SEASON

·         The women are on the road again next Monday at UT Martin with a 8:00 tip off.   Again audio is available on Cards TV and WKRD AM 790 radio.  The next home game is on Wednesday against Eastern Kentucky where they will begin a 3 game home stand which includes UK.

UK GAME

December 2 once again brings UK to the KFC YUM! CENTER and also a tip-off time change to 6:00 pm instead of the original 2:00 due to the decision of ESPNU to broadcast the game.  Get your ticket early and bring friends as the match against the 6^th ranked feral Wildcats will show the state and nation the huge level of support enjoyed by our Card Nation women.  For tickets, contact the U of L ticket office at (502) 852-5151 or go online at GoCards.com.

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ONLINE TICKET OPTIONS

Those of us who have wanted the option to online manage, purchase, exchange or donate our athletic tickets up until 2 hours before a game now have it.  Go to:

https://oss.ticketmaster.com/html/home.htmI?team=uofl

and register your personal account where you can forward purchased tickets to a friend or client until two hours before the start of the game.  We all know of great seats which go empty because the ticket holder cannot attend but to date has had no easy way of allowing the ticket to be used.

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VOLLEYBALL

NCAA TOURNAMENT MATCHES

The U of L VolleyCards are the 2012  Big East Conference and Tournament Champions.   Nothing is for yet for sure but we at Cardinal Couple are projecting that Louisville will be awarded the 1^st and 2^nd rounds of the NCAA tournament to go with the December 13 & 15 Semi-Final and Final NCAA Championship matches.  Great seats are still available at the ticket office for the final 4 rounds. Open dates at the YUM! Center are November 29 and 30^th which would lead us to believe that opening NCAA championship rounds could be scheduled for those dates.  We will know no later than this Sunday, the 25^th, where there will be a live ESPNU broadcast of the tournament selection.  We would assume that tickets will be available next Monday the 26^th.   Check Cardinal Couple or the ticket office for updates. 

 

FINAL REGULAR SEASON MATCH

On Friday the 28-3 Volleycards will play the OVC Champion Belmont at Cardinal Arena.  As you know seating and standing room is limited so get your tickets early.  If you get shut out for a ticket, live video of the 5:00 pm match is reported to be available on Cards TV.

AWARDS

Senior Lola Arslanbekova became the first volleyball player to be named Big East Player of the Year in consecutive seasons since 1996-97 and she is the first four-time All-Big East first-team since the 2006-2009 seasons.  Lola also is the only active NCAA Division I player with 2,000 kills and 1,000 digs. 

Senior Gwen Rucker was named as Big East Tournament MVP and made the first team all tournament team while Brooke Mattingly and Caitlin Welch made the second team. U of L’s Coach Anne Kordes shared Coach of the Year honors.

Additional BIG EAST Tournament information is available at :

http://www.gocards.com/sports/w-volley/recaps/111812aaa.html

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RANKING

Monday’s NCAA Poll finds the U of L Volleycards ranked as 9th
in the nation with a RPI rank of 4th.  Go CARDS!

LACROSSE & SOCCER

The Lacrosse & Soccer team members joined together to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.  by volunteering at the St. Jude’s children’s walk Saturday at the Louisville Zoo.  Pictures of them in the kids zone can be seen at:

 http://twitter.com/LouisvilleLCARE/status/269818918854606848/photo/1 .

(EDITORS' NOTE: Sonja and I are BIG believers of the life-changing work done at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Thanks to the sponsorships of individuals, companies and corporations...no child at St. Jude is ever turned away because of a family's inability to pay. When St. Jude was founded in 1962, survival rates for children with catastrophic cancers and diseases was 20%. It's now 80%. St. Jude's motto is: Finding Cures. Saving Children. Two very important things....).

Who will speak for the innocent children who cannot speak for themselves? You can, with a donation or by coordinating a fund-raising event for St. Jude.

You can read more about the St. Jude story at:

www.stjude.org
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Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Forget the Laundry - Let It Rain Recruits!

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- We'll just call her Hurricane Sandy today


(Cardinal Couple columnist Sandy Walker takes us on her weekly stormy deluge through Cardinal Women's Athletics and more this morning. We'll be back later today with coverage on women's basketball recruiting announcements.)



Pass out the Bubble Gum

IT’S Another GIRL!

Emmonnie joins Janelle Cannon

Hoping for Sextuplets

Check out Jenny’s Monday special Cardinal Couple Insert

EMMONNIE HENDERSON COMMITMENT

and again later today for the 5:30

MERECEDES RUSSELLL ANNOUNCEMENT

Janelle

Emmonnie

Don't make a POOR decision!

YOUR PICTURE BELONGS HERE!

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WHIRLWIND TIMES

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy I have been reminded that there truly is no place like home.   Since leaving Louisville for what was to be a short vacation -- wind and rain from my namesake has literally chased me from Washington DC down the east coast to Asheville, NC, through the mountains and for me now safely back home although the car continues its journey on to Houston, TX.   I find it remarkable that while in the same relatively short period of time that I have been holding onto what was to be a local use vacation rental car which now has enough new mileage to need replacement tires and a tune up that in addition to Janelle Cannon Emmonnie Henderson has announced that she will also be calling Louisville home for the next 4 years.  Such a great double treat to also learn of Emmonnie’s announcement and hopefully today additional commitments by what are to be the future stars and adopted family members of Cardinal basketball. Emmonnie is ranked #21 in the latest ASGR report.

I wonder if they yet really and truly understand the virtual rock star status the players and coaches hold in what is truly a southern atmosphere college-team town.  Fans of the Cards begin their attendance in strollers and end it in wheelchairs, yet they keep coming to watch returning and new Cardinal family members such as Emmonnie and Janelle -- and hopefully others which will commit today and beyond.  I hope they do and are able to soak it all in as just as how so much had changed in the short time I was away, their time as a Cardinal player will pass all too quickly but they will always be a member of the Card Nation

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CARD Nation Success


Louisville defeats Cincinnati in Volleyball, Football and Men’s Soccer.

Louisville's current ranked teams: M Basketball 2, W Basketball 9, Football 12, Volleyball 13, M Soccer 14, M Swim/Dive 16, W Swim 24 #L1C4

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SCHOOL RANKINGS

U of L teams hold a separate but uniquely additional joint national record.  Currently Women’s basketball is ranked 9^th, Men’s basketball is ranked 2^nd, Football is ranked 12^th, Volleyball is ranked 12^th, Men’s Soccer holds 14^th while Men’s Swimming/Diving is  16^th and the Women’s team holds the 24^th spot.  We are unaware of any other team in the nation with 7 of its teams holding one of the top 25 national spots. 

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BASKETBALL GAME TICKETS

Single game tickets went on Sale Monday.   Corner arena and baseline season tickets are still available.  http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/102912aaa.html  Contact the ticket office at 502-852-5151. Also, don’t forget – U of L is pleased to be hosting the first and second rounds of the 2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament in the KFC Yum Center!. Tickets are currently on sale.  Coach Walz had indicated the need to pre-sale at least 8,000 tickets at this year’s award of the openings rounds is hoped to be the beginning of what some day will culminate in the hosting of the Final 4 Championships.  Selection to the 64 team NCAA tournament team will insure that U of L will play in the first round in their regular season home.  A win would give them home court advantage also in the 2^nd round which is also being played in Louisville.   U of L has not enjoyed the tournament home court advantage in recent years, if ever.  I would advise you to get your tickets now before the tournament teams are announced and you find yourself competing with fans from other teams for premium seats.

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GOLF

The women’s golf team is in 12^th Place of the Alamo Invitational After First Round.

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FIELD HOCKEY

Senior goalkeeper, Erin Conrad,                                                     

was named BIG EAST Conference Field Hockey Defensive Player of the week.  She had 10 saves for the week including six in the 2-1 Providence win.  She added four saves in the 4-3 overtime win against Ohio State.  The 12-7, 3-3 Big East team faces Connecticut Friday in the semifinals which are being played at Trager Stadium.

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MEDIA

CARDINAL COUPLE

Coach Walz is scheduled to talk to the media at noon today.  The players will then be made available at 12: 30.  Paul and possibly Coco will be attending and providing a report

BASKET BALL PRE-SEASON RANKING

Saturday the Associated Press released the current pre-season rankings.  Four returning starters from a 23-10 prior year’s record earned Louisville a 9^th place position and is the highest pre-season projection ever received by the team.  The always tough Big East had 5 teams included in the top 25.  They are Connecticut, Notre Dame, St. John’s and DePaul.

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BASKETBALL EXHIBITION GAME!

The long awaited pre-season basketball tip-off game begins with an exhibition match with Eckerd College on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 7:00 p.m. The KFC Yum! Center match will be the only exhibition game of the season and admission is free.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

The regular season tip off for women’s basketball is next Friday November 9.   The return match from last year against No. 15 Texas A&M is at the YUM Center! At 7:00 p.m. and is a great opportunity to see the ladies avenge last year’s loss when the 2011 National Champion Aggies benefited not only by playing at home but also did not have to compete against Shoni.   It will also be great to see Monique and Tia again on the court after the long rehab.

This game is a

RED OUT with the goal of filling the house this and every game as we the fans control U of L’s advance into placing the Cards in a position of having the highest average attendance of NCAA women’s basketball.   Make your plans now for the game and bring a friend for what is the best value event for entertainment in the region.  Coach Walz indicated at the tip off luncheon that if you get them in the door for the first time, the team will keep them coming back.    

To help you painlessly get them in the door you can bring several friends to this match for $2.00 a ticket by showing a Kroger Plus Card at any U of L ticket office location.  Information can be obtained by calling the U of L  ticket office at (502) 852-5151.

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VOLLEYBALL

The AVCA coaches poll has moved U of L up to No. 12 in the nation.  Gwen Rucker was named to BIG EAST honor roll for the week. http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/102912aaa.html.   Sunday’s win over Cincinnati gave the Volleycards a perfect record of 7-0 in away matches for the season. They are joined only by Hawaii and Marquette with perfect away match records for the year. Louisville will host a match against Marquette on Nov. 9 in Cardinal Arena.  Prior to the NCAA tournament they will play the final four games of the regular season in Louisville against Villanova on Nov. 2, Georgetown on Nov. 4, Marquette on Nov. 9, and Cincinnati on Nov. 11.


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BEST 2012-2013 BASKETBALL PROGRAMS IN DIVISION I

Yesterday James Bowman of SB Nation / Swish Appeal has again created what it considers to be the best 100 women’s basketball  Division I programs for the 2012-2013 season.  The link indicated are for teams published on Monday ranked as 71-100 http://www.swishappeal.com/2012/10/29/3509016/ncaa-womens-college-basketball-top-programs-71-100. The schedule continues today for teams ranked #41-70, Wednesday for #26-40 Thursday: #11-25 and Friday ends with teams they have ranked #1-10.

What caught my attention is that the rankings are their ranking of the 100 best programs in Division I. This is not the same thing as the 100 best teams in Division I for the 2012-13 season.  Considerations were Wins and quality of competition, Attendance, Recruiting, and Hitting benchmarks.  Benchmarks are Postseason play, win totals, Conference titles and tournament victories, All Americans and WNBA high draft picks.  Excluded were Faraway glory, Coaching records and longevity and Academics.  I will be checking each day looking for Louisville.  

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FIELD HOCKEY

The Field Hockey team clinched 3^rd place in the Big East Tournament by defeating Providence 2-1. 

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"The logical choice, Jim is that she verbals to Louisville."

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Friday Cardinal Couple -- Stars galore at Cardinal Elite Camp Clinic

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Action, competition and talent the order of the day in Cardinal Arena on Thursday.


It may have reached the 100 degree mark in Louisville Thursday afternoon, but it wasn't as nearly as hot as the all-star group of players on display at the Jeff Walz Cardinal Elite Camp Clinic in Cardinal Arena. 

Despite having hip surgery Wednesday, Asia Taylor was
on hand to run the score clock. 

Talented high school girls basketball players from all over the nation were on hand for the four hour event. One didn't have to look too far to see the best and the brightest in action. Whether it was Mercedes Russell banging under the paint, Makayla Epps lofting that sweet mid-range jumper, Rebecca Greenwell taking one to the hoop with skill and grace or Erica Moore making head-shaking play after brilliant play...the stars were out early Thursday afternoon before an appreciative crowd of around 150.

A brief hydration break before another drill

After a brief overview of NCAA rules, regulations and guidelines by assistant WBB coach Cam Newbauer for the campers, Teena Murray took over and took the players through a series of dynamic stretching exercises. Also there to lead and spur them on was the UofL WBB squad..the vocal encouragement from Mo, Sara, Sherrone and the rest of the Lady Cards filling the gym. 


The campers then separated into four smaller groups 

Working on the mid-range jumper

for skills practice on essentials such as jump shots, transition basketball, layups, 5 player weaves and trans-post passing. Almost two hours went by as the Cardinal coaches, players and camp staff worked with the groups on shooting, defense, rebounding and breakdown moves according to position. 


When 3:00 p.m. rolled around, it was time for the first of two thirty-minute scrimmages. The players were divided into two red and two white squads and competed for fifteen minutes against each squad of the opposite jersey color. 


This is where it got really fun and competitive. 

UofL WBB Freshman Megan Deines takes in the action

With so much talent and skill level competing, it's really hard to pick out who performed the best...but the four members of the CARDINAL COUPLE staff present were sold on the efforts of Makayla Epps (Marion County), Katie Collier (Webb School), Raven Merriweather (Sacred Heart), Maci Morris (Bell County) Jasmine Lumpkin (Joliet) and Lauren White (Edwardsville) as "ones to watch" when it came to guard play. Also keep an eye out down the road for 6th grader Casey Collins (Katie's younger sister) who went toe-to-toe with the bigger, older guards and never backed down. 


CARDINAL COUPLE's Jenny O'Bryan will have a future article about who she thought was impressive and her thoughts on the afternoon. Don't miss it! 

Front liners that impressed would have to include the names of #1 ranked 2013 recruit Mercedes Russell (Springfield), Erica Moore (Mount Vernon), Nora Kiesler (Assumption), Logan Powell (Marion County) and Taylor Robinson (Ladue Horton Watkins). 


Then...there was Becca Greenwell. The senior-to-be at Owensboro Catholic showed no ill effects from her knee surgery. A quick crossover move, silky-smooth jumper and all-over-the-court awareness made her my personal choice as MVP of the first round of scrimmages. Some players just "have it". She's one of them. 

CARDINAL COUPLE'S Sonja and Sandy react to the
aggressive post play.  

After the scrimmage, the groups broke up into guards and forward/centers. These drills were fun to watch...Coach "Sam" had her guards doing a lot of push ups whenever I looked at that end of the court...I was concentrating on the battles that the bigs were displaying underneath the basket.

One to watch in future years is 6'6" center Nancy Mulkey out of Texas. Still a bit thin and just a freshman, but goes to the hoop with aggression and has a nice outside shot. Keep an eye on Logan and Kendyl Powell out of Marion County, too. Definitely not afraid to mix it up underneath and both hit the boards well.

Stretching it out the Teena Murray way...

Free throws and 3-point drills followed before the second and final 30-minute scrimmage of the afternoon. I dedicated this one to Mercedes Russell watching, who Louisville really wants to land.


I can see why. 

A.J. flashes that beautiful smile before going out to
teach the campers. (Take it easy on Jude, A.J!)

She positions well on the offensive sets and her height and agility allows her easy access to close in shots and put-backs. Teamed with Epps and Morris, they played with the precision of a squad that had been together for years. One writers dream: To see these three in Cardinal Red and Black against Big East opponents. Epps has a "lights out" jumper and Morris runs the point with the skill of a college senior. 


It was fun to watch these three compete against Becca Greenwell's squad for 15 minutes. You could tell that neither squad wanted to lose this scrimmage. Add Greenwell to this writer's wish-list to see in a Cardinal jersey. Her skill set is light-years beyond her age.

Free throws: a very important factor in any game

It was also good to see the Lady Cards out there working with the campers and teaching. Sara Hammond is a natural coach and it was fun watching her work the sidelines during the scrimmages. All the Cards seemed to be enjoying themselves and after the scrimmage they engaged the campers in conversation and a lot of laughter and fun filled the court. Mo Reid is brimming with confidence and authority this summer...can't help but think she's on the cusp of a sensational season. All of the Lady Cards went out of their way to encourage, teach, demonstrate and reinforce the things that are essential and important on the court. You can tell this bunch really likes each other and brief, casual chats with Cortnee Walton and Megan Deines indicated that they are fitting in just fine with the group and enjoying being Lady Cards. Although freshmen aren't allowed to work camps, they both seemed to enjoy watching the action and are ready to join in next year. 

Nora Kiesler (middle left) is a rising star for Assumption.

The four hours seemed to fly by. 


As Sonja and I walked to the car in the blazing heat after the camp, we talked about the massive amounts of talent we had just witnessed. A short chat with Rebecca Greenwell after the camp confirmed that she had a great time and that Louisville is still among the top schools she is looking at. Mercedes Russell grinned broadly when asked about the camp and saw it as a "great afternoon of fun and learning." Makayla Epps thought she had an "OK" camp and assured us that the ice wrapped around her knee was nothing to worry about...just a standard post-practice procedure. 

We had a wonderful time with the CARDINAL COUPLE staff writers in attendance Thursday afternoon and enjoyed meeting the CARDINAL COUPLE readers who came up to us and introduced themselves as the afternoon went on. If anyone had a better time at the camp than us, it was probably the actual participants...who got in a great four-hour workout Thursday afternoon in Cardinal Arena. 


Our thanks and appreciation to the coaches, staff and players who were gracious, entertaining and so much fun to watch and be around. 


This is Cardinal basketball, ladies and gentlemen...and you will not find a better product, philosophy and way of doing things out there...in our book.   


--Paul Sykes