Lady Cards rule UK in Governor's Cup...We look back at...Churchill Downs to race tonight.

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FRIDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Cardinal women sweep Wildcats in Governor's Cup

-We look back at.....UofL 85- Xavier 75

-Churchill Downs to race this evening

The University of Louisvile and the University of Kentucky's women's sports programs went head to head in nine different sports over the 2010-11 athletic season. The clear winner? Louisville who won seven of the events straight up, split one and lost one. The recaps:

Basketball

Louisville got 26 points from freshman Shoni Schimmel and 21 from guard Becky Burke in a 78-52 romp over the Cats in the KFC YUM! Center. Victoria Dunlap may have been the best player on the court going into the contest...but the game belonged to the Louisville defense. LOUISVILLE

Cross Country

The women's squads matched up in the NCAA Southeast Regional and it was close...the Cards finishing in 13th. place and UK running to a 14th. place finish.  LOUISVILLE

Soccer
The Cards blanked UK 2-0 in Cardinal Park on Sept. 9th....getting goals from Angelika Uremovich and Catlin Rehder. Goalie Taylor Vancil had seven saves in the whitewash. LOUISVILLE

Track and Field

The teams met four times during the season...at the Kentucky Invitational, the Rod McCravy Invitational in Lexington and in the NCAA Indoor Championships. Team totals were not kept for the first two events, so we'll go the the NCAA event...where Louisville finished 30th.with six points and UK failed to score. LOUISVILLE. The teams met again later in the season during the outdoor season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and Louisville finished 44th. , UK 60th, LOUISVILLE

Swimming/Diving

The squads met in Lexington in a dual meet and the Cardinal women swimmers splashed their way to a convincing 186-114 victory. Therese Bergstrom won the 100m and 200m breaststroke and Raine Thompson the 100m and 200m butterfly. LOUISVILLE

Softball

The Cards blanked the Cats 6-0 at Ulmer Stadium in the first of two meet ups this past season. UK took the second in Lexington, though... a slug fest that ended 14-8 in favor of the Cats. TIE

Volleyball
This one went down to the wire in Lexington...UK defeating the Cards in five sets 14-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-27, 15-10. UofL was on the verge of elimination in the fourth game but forced the fifth match before a rowdy UK crowd of almost 3,000 in quaint Memorial Coliseum. KENTUCKY

Golf
The two teams were up against each other in the NCAA East Regional and Louisville finished 12th...28 strokes better than UK, who ended up 20th. LOUISVILLE.

As you can see by the recaps above, there is no doubt about which school had the superior women's athletic program in 2010-11. Congratulations to ALL the hard working Cardinal athletes and go for back-to- back wins in the upcoming season, girls.

(Thanks to LSR for the data)

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The mood in the Cintas Center before the UofL vs. Xavier game was a study in two different mindsets. I watched the teams warm up and the Cardinal players were loose, relaxed...joking around and smiling. On the other end of the court, the Lady Musketeers were all business, grimly going through their drills and dead serious. They knew they had a lot to either gain or lose in the upcoming game and... as the favorites...the pressure was on.

The Xavier personnel that were manning the media break rooms and security were a friendly bunch of folks two nights earlier when Louisville defeated Vanderbilt and Xavier rolled by South Dakota State. There was a little more intensity for this one...they were anxious about the upcoming show.

Did someone say "Show"? Yes, there was quite a show that night and it came from the dead-eye shooting of Shoni Schimmel, who chalked up 33 points on the, at times, bewildered Xavier defense. This was not the same Louisville tea that had lost to Xavier by a dozen in November.

The Cards contained twin towers Amber Harris and TaShia Phillips early and zipped out to and early 18-11 lead...Schimmel hitting her first four shots of the game.Xavier wasn't about to see their 25 home game win streak go down without a fight, though...and responded with a 13-0 run to take a 30-23 lead. The twin towers found their touch late in the half and Xavier took at 40-37 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes of action.

The teams battled on and were tied in the second half 42-42 when Xavier three point specialist Katie Rutan got hot and nailed three long range bombers...part of an Xavier run that had them up 67-58. Louisville fans were getting very nervous.

Time for "the Show" again. Louisville went on a 13-4 run and tied the contest at 71-71 on a Schimmel three. Undaunted, she came down court again and nailed a spectacular three in front of me on press row to give Louisville a 74-71 lead. The Cintas Center was filled with screaming Cardinal fans and Xavier never challenged the rest of the way....Louisville getting some clutch play and free throw shooting from freshman guard Charmaine Tay to seal the victory. Final: Louisville 85 - Xavier 75.

Schimmel was modest after the contest about her performance.

"I don't think it was about me. I think it was about our team. All the way, we were like 'OK, we've got this.'"

And the Cards did have it, stunning the #2 seed in the regional and earning the Sweet Sixteen berth. Head Xavier coach Kevin McGuff summed it up this way:

"Shoni Schimmel was amazing tonight. Probably the most impressive thing was the poise she had down the stretch for a freshman. Not just because she made shots, but she kept her team together to execute."

Or as Tia Gibbs said:

'That's why we call her "Show". When it's a big stage and a big crowd, she's going to put on a show just like she did tonight."

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Despite storms and tornadoes that damaged five barns on the backside of Churchill Downs Wednesday night, Friday night racing will go on as scheduled. First race is scheduled for 6 p.m. and gates open at 4 p.m. Still shaking my head over the fact that no horses or humans were injured in the blast from Mother Nature. Still a lot of clean up to do back in the barn area.

Our favorite trainer at the track, Paul McGee commented on the wild Wednesday night.

"It's unreal. I got real lucky. It (the tornado) bounced right over the top of my barn."

A large section of the roof from Jinx Fires barn landed in front of McGee's barn. About 100 horses were displaced from the tornado and about 70 remained on the facilities...the other being shipped to stable at Keeneland.

#13 Cardinal field hockey falls to #10 Duke

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Field hockey takes Duke to O.T.

-Volleyball today at the Arena

-Ironman Triathlon

-Success, Success!!

-PANERA contest wide open

-Sara Rising

The University of Louisville field hockey team took Duke to two overtimes before falling 3-2 yesterday in the Champions Challenge at Michigan State. (Thanks to Tony Viscardi Designs for this great rendering of field hockey and check out his merchandise over at CARDINAL DOMINANCE).

The Cards and Blue Devils battled to a scoreless first half..a defensive struggle where neither team was able to get a shot on goal or a penalty corner attempt.

The Dukies fired out strong in the second half and put the first point on the board with less than three minutes elapsed. Louisville countered with a Amber Thomas shot into the net and the Cards took a 2-1 lead a few minutes later when Tuli Lim sent a penalty corner pass from Rachel Hollenbach past the Duke goalie.

Duke came back to tie the game and the Cards had a golden opportunity to win in regulation but Karah Nall's shot from a penalty corner got blocked.

The team battled to a scoreless tie in the first overtime but Duke managed a winning goal in the second extra session to take the victory.

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Louisville Volleyball returns to action this afternoon with a 2 p.m. match against Ohio University. Leonard Yelin's team will try to stay undefeated in Cardinal Arena against a talented MAC opponent. It's a busy week for the Volley Cards...they travel to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats on Wednesday.

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Sara Hammond, Rockcastle County's talented senior girls basketball star has been upgraded to 12th in the nation in the latest ESPN national rankings. She's scheduled for a visit Sept. 4th to Louisville and also will visit UConn. Vandy and WKU have also offered scholarships. Hammond was previously 27th in the ESPN rankings. The only other Kentucky high school girl that made the top 100 was Calloway County's Averee Fields at 80th. Obviously, the crew at the four letter network's ranking panel needs to spend a little time in the Bluegrass state watching the ton of talent out there on the hardwood. Their East Coast bias is way too obvious...

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The Ford Ironman Louisville triathlon takes place today in and around town. Competitiors will start with a 2.4 mile swim in the Ohio River, proceed with a 11.2 mile bike ride and finish at 4th street LIVE after a 26.2 mile run. Last year's women's winner Nina Kraft returns to defend her title. Much admiration to those who can complete this course. I might be able to do the .4 mile swim, .2 mile bike ride and .2 mile run (or walk) in about the same time...

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SUCCESS, SUCCESS hit the wire first for our favorite trainer Paul McGee in the third race at Ellis Park Saturday. Corey Lanerie got the winning ride and roared past contenders in the stretch to win by 1- 1/2 lengths and pay $6.80 to win as the 2-1 favorite. Our pick in the Travers Stakes yesterday FIRST DUDE set the early pace and fractions but could not hold off AFLEET EXPRESS or FLY DOWN in the Saratoga stretch. The DUDE paid $4.60 to show, though and he has finished in the money in all 10 of his lifetime starts. Calvin Borel and SUPER SAVER finsihed a dismal 10th out of 11.

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It's your next to last chance to win $10 in PANERA BREAD gift cards. We're still accepting entries for this week and quite frankly...it's still wide open for a winner. Can you beat this (name withheld) entry that reads:

"I like Panera bcoz they got fresh bread and stuff."

Send those entries to: cardinalcouple@insightbb.com by midnight Sunday.

Catching up on the Cards

In Saturday's CARDINAL COUPLE, we catch up on current events concerning women's' sports activities on campus. Captain Picard, pictured here, is obviously quite excited about the upcoming soccer and field hockey. Also, a tough loss for the Atlanta Dream and big win for trainer Paul McGee!

Two Cardinal events taking place this evening down on the Belknap Campus. Women's soccer in an exhibition match against Tennessee at 7 p.m. at Cardinal Park. A free soccer clinic from 5-6 p.m. for boys and girls ages 5 to 13.

Louisville returns nine starters from the 2009 team, plus an exciting group of freshmen that will challenge for playing time. Not to be outdone, the Vols have ten starters back from a 2009 squad that went 8-9-3 overall last year. The regular season begins Friday, August 20th against Eastern Kentucky at Cardinal Park.

Also tonight, the annual field hockey alumnae vs. current players game will be held at Trager Stadium at 7 p.m. Pam Bustin expects around 40 former Cardinal field hockey stars to show up for the event against the current Cards. Louisville looks loaded for the 2010 season, with nine starters and 15 letterwinners returning. Tuli Yim, Nicole Youman and Hayley Turner have been named for the 2010 All-BIG EAST preseason team and seniors Jenna Ahern, Simone Attles, Nikki Auker, Rachel Hollenbach, and Karah Nall will make the Cards a tough opponent this year. Bustin's squad will also host Kent State in another preseason match on Saturday, August 21st. at 1 p.m. The Cards are picked to finish 3rd in the BIG EAST preseason poll, behind Syracuse and Connecticut.

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UofL golfer Sara-Maude Juneau fared well in the U.S. Women's Amateur tournament, held at the Charlotte (NC) Country Club. Juneau made it to the round of 16 before bowing out to fellow Canadian Jennifer Kiby. Juneau also fired a 143 in the stroke play part of the tournament...good for 8th place.

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We told you about Paul McGee's three year old filly MYHEART'SRESERVED in yesterday's column and she romped the field yesterday in the Ellis Park 1st race...winning by an easy 8 lengths. Although TWILIGHT BAY, another runner we were high on didn't win in the 2nd...we got a late tip on DUAL FORECAST in the 2nd at Ellis and Jamie Theriot guided that one to a close win over TWILIGHT BAY.

McGee's horse rated off the early speed and found another gear when the runners hit the stretch. She could have stopped for a soda and hot dog and still won this one.

A good day out at Churchill simulcasting...watching Ellis Park, Saratoga, Arlington and Del Mar. Always nice to walk out of there with considerably more than you went in with.

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Tough loss last night for Angel and the Atlanta Dream..falling to New York 90-83. McCoughtry led the Dream (18-13) with 22 points and Erika DeSouza added 21. They had no answer for Cappie Poindexter, though...the former Rutgers star lit up home standing Atlanta for 31. The Dream fell to 4th place in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games back of Indiana...New York climbed up to 2nd place...1 1/2 back in the topsy turvy East.

It doesn't get any easier for the Dream, they travel to Chicago tonight to take on the Sky. Three games left in the regular season. After Saturday, they host Chicago and then Washington to finish the season.

Showtime, girls.

Cardinal Volleyball picked 2nd in BIG EAST

FRIDAY'S CARDINAL COUPLE LOOKS AT:

Louisville Volleyball: A repeat happening?
Local high school sports: A busy weekend!
A fly in UConn's ointment?
A brief word with someone "in the know"

(Just a reminder...today is Friday the 13th. If you are a believer in trypanophobia...take care out there today.)

Leonard Yelin's University of Louisville women's volleyball team won the BIG EAST tournament last year and went to the NCAA Tournament. That success made an impression on the league coaches...as the Cards are picked to finish second behind Cincinnati in the preseason coaches poll.

The Bearcats received all but one vote to finish first...and since coaches couldn't vote for their own team...it looks like the Bearcats are the prohibitive favorite for the conference title. Louisville garnered second place honors...followed by Notre Dame and Marquette.

Cards' sophomore outside hitter Lola Arslanbekova was selected for the preseason All BIG EAST
team unanimously.

Louisville defeated the Bearcats in the BIG EAST tournament last year here in Louisville.

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A busy weekend for high school girls sports here in Louisville. The Shively Sporting Goods/Chase Marketing Jefferson County Public Schools Volleyball Championships will be held Friday and Saturday at the Basketball Academy. 19 area high schools will participate...including four top 25 teams...#11 DuPont Manual, #14 Eastern, #15 Butler and #24 Male.

Manual has won the event the last three years. It might be considered a rebuilding year for them since they lost three top seniors to graduation. Expected to lead the Crimson are senior Mechael Guess and sophomore Maya McClendon.

In the preseason poll, Louisville Catholic schools hold the top three ranking...#1 Mercy, #2 Sacred Heart and #3 Assumption.

The Apple Tournament for high school girls field hockey kicks off Saturday. All action will take place at Sacred Heart. The home standing Valkyries have won the Apple six years in a row.
Also participating is Assumption...last year's state champions. Mercy, Eastern, Butler, Collegiate, Presentation, Manual, KCD, Holy Cross, Christian Academy and Male round out the field of 12.

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News out of Connecticut that starting UConn womens' basketball guard Caroline Doty is out for the season with a torn ACL in her left knee. The junior is scheduled for surgery in the next week or so. UConn has won their last 78 games...but with Tina Charles graduated and Doty on the shelf...the Huskies suddenly look vulnerable. How much game have you got, Maya Moore?

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Our "person in the know" down at Ellis Park tells us that MYHEART'SRESERVED is a lock in the first race today at the Henderson, KY track. We love hearing good news about our favorite trainer Paul McGee's horses...and lights out apprentice jockey Orlandi Rossi is on board for the ride. We're also hearing great things about TWILIGHT BOY in the 2nd race at Ellis. Daily Double, anyone?

The track with the soybeans in the infield continues to hang in there, despite racing only three days a week. Ellis manages to offer high purses for claiming, maiden special weight and allowance races despite not having the financial windfall of casino money. Track owner Ron Geary continues to defy the trends and odds by making Ellis a viable summer racing option for horses and trainers who ran at Churchill's Spring Meet.

Congratulations go out to our buddies Richard and Patricia Lenihan, part owners of SEA ROAD. The 3 year old filly beat the competition Saturday at Saratoga in the $70,000 Hattie Moseley States...and paid a sweet $25.00 to win as a 12-1 longshot. Rich and Patty were in attendance for the race and both looked good in the winner's circle for the presentation. Seeing Rich in a three piece black suit seemed a little weird, though. I prefer to remember him in a t-shirt and shorts, struggling vainly to keep up with me in high school cross country. Rich is one of the good guys in horse racing...and a fervent supporter of saving racing-finished thoroughbreds from mistreatment and slaughter. Keep it up, buddy...and I bet I could still beat you on the two mile course at Seneca Park. (Walking...not running.)

Pearsall adds Scott to Softball coaching staff

Courtney Scott has joined the University of Louisville coaching staff. Scott was an All-American catcher during her playing days at UC-Berkley and played in four Women's College Softball tournament...leading the Golden Bears to the championship in 2002 and 2nd place in 2003. She also played in the pros...catching for the NYNJ Juggernaut and in Japan for three years. She also served as a graduate assistant on the nationally recognized Oklahoma Sooners team.

Most recently, she was an assistant at Maryland where she worked with the pitchers and catchers for two years and was a recruiter. With the young Cardinal pitching staff and graduation of Melissa Roth at catcher for the 2011 season, Scott's experience and knowledge will be of great benefit as Louisville competes in the Big East.

"We're happy and pleased to have Courtney on our staff." says Pearsall. "She brings a wealth of experience as a player and a coach. She's a high caliber person, player and coach and will share her great ideas and enthusiasm with our program. She is one of the top assistants in our game."

Another Maryland assistant lands at the 'Ville. We all know how that worked out when Jeff Walz came to Louisville. Here's to shutouts and low ERA's.

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Churchill Downs conducted it's final "Friday Night Under The Lights" last evening and it was a boot-scootin' , beer drinking, barbecue eating cowboy and cowgirl affair. Over 32,000 were in attendance and the party was still going full blast when Paul left after midnight. His highlight of the evening? Cashing in on big BIG TALL PAUL in the 4th race...minutes after talking to trainer Paul McGee and his lovely wife Angie. The little buckaroo ended up home sporting a cowboy hat, bandanna and sheriff's badge that weren't part of his attire when he left the house. He claims he has no idea how he got them. I suspect his henchman in arms Tom...but sometimes it's best to let sleeping bears lie. HAPPY 4TH TO EVERYONE...and if you're looking for a few hours of fun on Sunday...Churchill will be offering $1 hot dogs and beers and free admission on the final day of their Spring Meet. Derby winner from 2009 MINE THAT BIRD returns to the track that day for the FIRECRACKER.

Just look out for 6'4" cowboys that have a mischevious gleam in their eyes.

Cards blank St.John 8-0

The rains eventually came to Ulmer Stadium Saturday but not before Chelsea Bemis slugged three home runs against the Johnnies in the first of two scheduled games. Game two was postponed until 10:30 Sunday morning when the teams will pick up action in the second inning and they'll play the final game of the series after that.

Louisville put five Spaldings over the fence in the contest and jumped on St. John early with a three run first inning. Melissa Roth led off with a deep centerfield blast over the fence and after a Jennifer Esteban walk, Bemis connected with a base clearer. The Cards went on to load the bases after that with no outs but St. John's got out of the inning without allowing any more runs.

Louisville (30-15, 9-5) struck again in the bottom of the third. Jordan Trimble reached first on a error and scored when Alicia Wolny doubled. Wolny found the plate when Kristin Austin tripled and the Cards led 5-0.

Bemis went to work again in the bottom of the fourth with a solo blast and Trimble connected for a tater in the alley also in the inning to put Louisville up 7-0. Bemis got her third of the game in the 7th for the final run in the 8-0 win. Tori Collins went the distance for Louisville on the mound, scattering three hits and getting her first complete game of the year.

The last Louisville player to hit three home runs in a game was Melissa Roth, back in 2009.

The Cards started the second game is fine fashion, jumping out to a 3-0 lead on St. John before the rains came.

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While softball is playing at Ulmer, the Louisville lacrosse team finds itself needing a couple of wins to close out the season and make the Big East Tournament. #11 Syracuse visits today and the Cards go to Rutgers Friday and Villanova on Sunday.. A win over the Orange would help their chances to sweep the final three and end the season with five wins in a row.

Th Big East lacrosse tournament will be held at Rutgers beginning May 6th. Louisville is 9-5 on the season and 2-3 in the Big East.

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We told you about Bob Baffert's HURRICANE IKE yesterday being a horse to watch in the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs and Calvin Borel got the job done, winning easily on a sloppy track and paying $13.80.

Cool Cal won five races yesterday on opening day for Churchill. He took the Derby Trial in typical Borel fashion, stalking the pace and zipping up the rail in the stretch to storm by the competition. AIKENITE, another one we loved, ran second...about three lengths back...making for a very nice exacta payout in the feature race. Neither AIKENITE or HURRICANE IKE will head on to the Kentucky Derby but trainer John Sadler says a run in the Preakness is a definite possibility for HURRICANE IKE.

Congratulations also to regular guy and trainer superb Paul McGee who saddled FOREST WARFARE to a very convincing win earlier on the card. In a driving rainstorm, FOREST WARFARE contested the early pace, drew clear and won for fun, skipping down the spashy Churchill stretch 10 lengths in front of the nearest competitor.


A great afternoon at the track despite the wet weather. Prowling the bricks by the paddock and meeting the fans were such notables as Chip Wooley, trainer of last year's Derby winner MINE THAT BIRD and TVG expert anaylist Frank Lyons.

Lyons genuinely seemed to relish the fan appreciation and held court in front of one of the Churchill concession stands...grinning broadly, posing for photos and offering his unique and colorful advice on racing and handicapping.
Written by Paul 4/25/10

Softball loses to Irish 3-1

Although the senior infield hails from Glenborg, Illinois...she has made Ulmer Stadium her second home over the last four years. Her three run blast against UofL Sunday led the Irish to a 3-1 win in the series final.

The bats failed to fire again for the Lady Cards softball team Sunday, as Notre Dame took the final game of the three game set. Christina Lux connected with a three run blast in the top of the 4th inning to give Notre Dame all the runs they needed to take down the Cards.

The Cards could get nothing going until the bottom of the seventh against Notre Dame. Colby Wherry scored on a fly ball to left by Jordan Trimble.

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A tip of the hat to the UofL women's golf team. They lead the Big East Championship by seven strokes after the first round. Louisville got a 74 from Sarah-Maude Juneau to pullaway from the second place Irish. She's atop the leader board down at Innisbrook, FL. Laura Anderson carded a 78 and Daphine Parker finished with a 79 for the Cards.

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One of our favorite trainers, Paul McGee, saddled Dubious Miss to a victory in the $150,000 Ben Ali at Keeneland Sunday. On board for the win was Churchill Downs legend Calvin Borel. Borel got Dubious Miss out to the lead early, saved ground by going to the rail in the stretch run and held off Kiss the Kid by 1 1/2 lengths for the victory. The six year old gelding is 8 for 19 lifetime and has earned almost $450,000 for owner David Holloway.

Calvin on the rail with a favorite. How many times has that scenario been played out over the years? A nice win for St. X grad Paul McGee, who still continues to send out his throughbreds on the Kentucky circuit despite the ridiculous inability of the Kentucky state legislature to pass rack track casino gambling here in the Commonwealth. More and more horse trainers are headed to the out of state tracks who boost racing purses with the casino monies. McGee is one of the good guys in horse racing...doing it the right way and devoid of the arrogant and superior attitude some trainers possess. Hanging in here despite dwindling purses and smaller fields.

As Mark Twain once said:

"When the world comes to an end, I want to be in Kentucky...because they're 20 years behind the rest of the nation."

Written by Paul (who still has a sore arm from throwing cornhole bean bags all day Saturday)
4/18/10