Dream drop another one...Youman, Juneau BIG EAST All-Academic... Okoro wins shot put

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE PRESENTS:

-Dream interrupted by Di & Mercury

-Five from UofL named to BIG EAST awards

-Chinwe Okoro wins Nigerian shot put

-What do you think?

The tough early season sledding continues for Angel McCoughtry and the Atlanta Dream. Last night it was our favorite here at CARDINAL COUPLE, Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury putting an "L" on the Atlanta record...with a 92-83 win in Atlanta.

Di is seen here asking George Bush to
give up the presidency and join the WNBA

Di had 20 for Phoenix and Candice Dupree contributed 18 in the Mercury win. Atlanta got Angel McCoughtry to toss in 24 - her second best performance of the season- and Courtney Paris added 13 but it wasn't enough to keep Atlanta from sliding to 2-6 on the season.

The Dream trailed by 20 points in this floater with five minutes left and never had an answer for the Mercury's fast paced tempo. The Dream used to run the ball pretty well too...but never got rolling last night. Atlanta gets San Antonio Sunday.

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Two Lady Cardinal student-athletes were selected for BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Awards. UofL's Nicole Youman (Field Hockey) and Sara Maude Juneau (golf) received the prestigious honors- a total of five Cardinals were named...giving Louisville the most student-athletes on the list out of all the BIG EAST schools. Joining Sara and Nicole were Chris Philpott (football), Michael Eaton (cross country) and Austen Childs (tennis).

Youman also had 19
assists her senior year.

Youman was the 2010 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and scored 17 goals her senior year. She was a four year starter for former Cardinal field hockey coach Pam Bustin and hails from Black Mountain, Australia.

Juneau was also named BIG EAST Player of the Year in her sport...golf...and it was the second year in a row she captured that honor. She led the BIG EAST with a 73.2 stroke average and was ranked in the nation's top 25 women's collegiate golfers by Golfstat. 

Congratulations to these five Cardinals who have combined successes on the field of play with academic excellence. The award is given to only one student per sport each year and academics, athletics and volunteer service to the community are the judging criteria.

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Former UofL track and field star Chinwe Okoro won the Nigerian shot put event, throwing her career best of 16.79m/55-1. Her toss qualified her for the 2011 All-African games. Okoro will also attempt to qualify in the discus today.

Okoro was part of the
Cardinal throwing team.
They were the best in
the BIG EAST

She was a valuable thrower for the Cardinals program a UofL and finished her senior season with All-American honors in the discus and shot put at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

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Does it matter if college athletes
are gay or lesbian?

All across college campuses, student-athletes are leaving their high schools and hometowns to arrive on college campuses as incoming freshmen and begin classes. Whatever happened to a summer break? Sue Favor takes a look at the issue on her They're Playing Basketball blog. It's an interesting read and you can access her blog over on the infamous left side of our blog. Also, does sexual orientation matter when it comes to athletes? We've posted a poll over on the left side and feel free to leave your comments and opinions on it here in our comments section. ESPN recently did an article on it that you can read on Sue's blog.
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Sara-Maude Juneau All-American golfer, Dream looks to defend title, Catching up with Candyce

TUESDAY TOPICS at CARDINAL COUPLE:

Sara-Maude Juneau graduates as one of
the best UofL women's golfers of all time.

-Sara-Maude Juneau selected as NGCA Honorable
Mention All-America golfer.

-Atlanta Dream looks for repeat.

-Catching up with Candyce Bingham

Louisville senior golfer Sara-Maude Juneau has been selected as a honorable mention All-American by the NGCA. This is the second straight year she has been honored with this award. Juneau, who was also selected BIG EAST golfer of the year two time in a row, led the team and the BIG EAST with a 73.2 scoring average. She finished in the top 20 in all of her matches this season and was in the top five finishers five times this year. She recently finished 20th in the NCAA East Regional.

Juneau won the William K. Warren Irish Invitational earlier this season and finished sixth in the BIG EAST Gold Tournament.

Congratulations to Sara and all of her UofL women's golf teammates for an outstanding season. Sad that the season has to end just when it's getting to be great golf season around the Louisville area...but we know Sara will be out there chipping for birdies and sinking long putts as a UofL graduate somewhere...who knows, maybe on the LPGA?

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Harding was the #1 pick in the WNBA draft in 2007
and is considered one of the top defensive guards
in the WNBA, She's a Dream now.

The Atlanta Dream goes in search of back-to-back Eastern Division titles this WNBA season...but will spend a little time in England before the league begins. Angel and crew are headed over to Manchester, England to face the British National team. It will be the first time that an WNBA team has gone over there for competition and it will be the only preseason game the Dream plays before the regular season begins. (Are you listening NFL?).

To enhance their chances of scoring a repeat, the Dream has signed former Duke and Washington Mystics guard Lindsey Harding to the roster.

Harding lands with the Dream in exchange for guard Kelly Miller and Dream draft pick Ta'Shia Phillips from Xavier. She is a speedy guard that can fill up the hoop...averaging
12.1 for the Mystics last season. She'll fit in well with the Dream's frantic up-and-down-the court, fast break style of play. Her steady point guard play will give the Dream a dimension they were missing at times last year and along with Iziane Castro Marquez in the back court...the Dream will have one of the best guard combos in the league.

This hasn't gone unnoticed by Dream superstar Angel McCoughtry. When asked about the addition of Harding to the roster and her transition from being a Mystic to a Dream, McCoughtry was frank and to the point:

"Transition was easy for her. She's already done that." McCoughtry replied.

Both Harding and McCoughtry are among the group of players being considered for the U.S. Olympic team.

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Candyce Bingham plays professional
basketball in Europe

CARDINAL COUPLE ran into former UofL great Candyce Bingham at the recent NCAA Softball Louisville Regional over last weekend. Bingham, who recently finished a season of European basketball in Luxembourg, plans on going back to the continent later this year and playing again. She'll be a fixture around campus until then and when asked about future WNBA possibilities, she just smiled and said:

"Maybe next year."

Bingham averaged 29.2 ppg for Amicale, second highest player point total in the league. No one could find her way to the basket for the close-in scores and put-backs like C.B. at UofL and, apparently in Europe as well....

Bingham is one of several former UofL players that toil in the European leagues...Angel McCoughtry and Jazz Covington also travel overseas to hoop it up for several months each year. Bingham, McCoughtry and Covington....sounds like a pretty solid front line to us....the three never played on the court at the same time, though...as Cardinals. Covington played two years with Angel, McCoughtry and Bingham were both on the court together for two years...but Covington had already graduated when Bingham arrived as a transfer from Xavier.
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Schimmel invited to USA Basketball U19 World Championship Tryouts.

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FRIDAY @ C.C.

The freshman Louisville guard will compete in the tryouts
with UofL target Bria Smith

-Shoni one of 35 invited to tryout camp

-Women's Golf 10th after East Regional 1st round.

Lady Card freshman guard Shoni Schimmel has been invited to the USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team Trials. She'll compete with 34 other invitees from May 22-25 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. The training camp for the team begins June 1st. at the ESPN Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, FL. They'll play an exhibition game against the Brazil U19 team on June 5th, which will be shown online at ESPN3.

Other invitees out of the 35 headed to the tryouts include Cardinal target Bria Smith, Bria Hartley (UConn), Odyssey Sims (Baylor), Alyssa Thomas (Maryland) and Meighan Simmons (Tennessee).

Schimmel was second leading scorer for the Cards in the 2010-11 season with 15.1 points a game. She was named first team Freshman All-American by Full Court Press and was on the BIG EAST All-Freshman team. She'll be the subject of the documentary film "Off the Rez" which will be shown on TLC on Saturday May 14th.

Sounds like a busy summer for the former Umatilla Reservation resident. If selected, she'd play in games in Chile from July 21-31.  A great honor and opportunity for "Showtime" and the UofL women's basketball team.

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Anna-Karin Ljungstrom was even par
until the 13th hole yesterday.

Sara-Maude Juneau fired a first round 72 to lead the Cards to a 10th place standing in the NCAA East Regional at the LPGA International Golf Course in Daytona Beach, FL. The Cards shot a 301 total and are 15 strokes back of leader Coastal Carolina after Day 1.  Sophomore Anna-Karin Ljungstrom carded a 75 for Louisville and is tied for 39th place.  Junior Maria Castellanos had a 76, Laura Anderson took 78 strokes...hindered by a triple bogey on the fourth hole. Tara Lyons finished with a 79...victim of a triple bogey on the #14th hole.

The top eight team in the region advance to the NCAA Championship on May 18-21 at the Traditions Club in Bryan, TX.

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Happy Oaks Day to all our readers!

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Juneau BIG EAST Golfer of the year, Bria Smith news, Rowing ready for BIG EAST.

SATURDAY with CARDINAL COUPLE:

Anna-Karin Ljungstorm joined Juneau
and Laura Anderson on the All-
BIG EAST first team.

-Sara-Maude named BIG EAST Golfer of the Year

-Bria Smith gets a visit from Sherry Coale

-Louisville rowing ready for BIG EAST Championships

Louisville senior Sara-Maude Juneau earned her second straight BIG EAST Player of the Year honor, announced by the conference office on Friday. Fellow senior Laura Anderson and sophomore Anna-Karin Ljungstrom joined her on the All-BIG EAST team.

Juneau led the BIG EAST with a 73.15 scoring average and was ranked #19 in the country. She participated in nine tournament this year...winning the Irish Invitational and gathering five top five finishes.

Anderson made the All-BIG EAST team for the fourth straight year.
She was third on the team in stroke average. She had three top twenty finishes this season and one in the top ten.

Anna-Karin Ljungstrom gathers her second straight BIG EAST honor. She had two top five finishes on the links and came in second in the BIG EAST Championships...losing in a sudden death playoff.

The Cards will participate in the NCAA Championships, ranked #13 in the East Regional. They tee it up beginning Friday, May 5th.

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Sherry Coale, head coach at Oklahoma, made a surprise visit to Bria Smith's Christ the King high school on Thursday. Coale got a talk in with head coach Bob Mackey and Smith and then left. Smith's reaction to the visit?

"It means they want you." A lot of people do. Mackey referred to the fact he had talked to over 100 coaches since Smith de-committed from Virginia following Debbie Ryan's retirement. Smith has made two visits...to Tennessee and Louisville and says she could visit two more schools before she makes her decision. That decision could come at the NY Daily News basketball awards dinner at B.B. King Blues Club on May 10th. Who's the leaders for her services?

Sherri Coale is the head coach at Oklahoma. She
paid an unannounced visit to Bria Smith and her coach.

"I'm not really sure. I made two trips this spring break, I think that's enough for spring break. I just have to think about what I'm going to do next." Smith has said she loved her trips to Louisville and Tennessee and that Oklahoma is in the picture now, as well. Smith's mother said that Bria has also expressed an interest in Georgia.

"I just have to make the process of finding a new school fun," she commented. "Hopefully, by next year, I'll be at a new school with a championship under my feet."

(Portions of this report came from Mitch Abramson's article in the New York Daily News, Friday April 29th, 2011.)

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Cardinal women's rowing enters the BIG EAST Championships at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, NJ with the #1 seed in the varsity eight and varsity four races. They'll practice today and hold the races Sunday. Louisville head rowing coach Laura Aubrey commented on the team and the preparation.

Louisville rowing opened a brand new facility
earlier this month by the Ohio River. It's nice!

"This team is very prepared for the BIG EAST Championships and despite the horrific Ohio River conditions, the morale, focus and determination of the team has not faltered for one second. They remain hungry, enthusiastic and prepared to perform at their absolute best this upcoming weekend. I am very proud of this team right now. We stress all year about taking care of the little things, building trust amongst each other, making good and selfless decisions and staying accountable for all of your actions. Right now, we are definitely feeling the benefits of the commitment we made to those principals.....I know this team is ready for their BIG EAST Championship and nothing is going to get in their way or stop them from reaching their goal."

(Good thing that the BIG EAST Championships aren't in Louisville this weekend. The Ohio River is way over flood stage and the rowers would have to contend with swift currents, trees and other debris floating down the muddy Ohio. Good luck girls, bring home the title and trophy.)

Softball splits in South Bend...Lacrosse wins...Women's golf in third

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

Anna-Karin Lljungstrom shot a
76 in the first round of the
BIG EAST Championships.

-Cards split with Irish in Softball

-Lacrosse dominates Villanova

-Golf 3rd in BIG EAST Tournament

UofL softball split with Notre Dame yesterday in a doubleheader in South Bend. The Cards narrowly dropped the first contest 4-3 and won the second 9-6.

Notre Dame 4 - Louisville 3

The Cards jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first when Chelsea Bemis doubled home Katie Keller. Notre Dame rallied in the second inning to go up 2-1 but the Cards regained the lead in the top of the third when Keller blasted a two run base clearer with Hannah Kiyohara on base...freshman power again...Louisville held the 3-2 advantage. After the Irish tied it in the bottom of the third...a solo home run off of Caralisa Connell...they tacked on the winning run in the fourth. Louisville had two base runners in the fifth and seventh innings...but could not push across the tying run.

Connell took the loss, going to 18-6. She allowed all four runs on six hits and fanned two in 5.1 innings. Tori Collins came in to finish...striking out one and allowing a hit in 1.2 innings of relief.

Louisville 9 - Notre Dame 6

Louisville fell behind early in the nightcap...a solo homer in the first gave the Irish a 1-0 advantage over starter Tori Collins. Katie Petrino relieved her in the circle and allowed two more Notre Dame runs in the third. She lasted until the sixth inning, when the Irish sent three more base runners across the plate and built a 6-0 advantage,

Chelsea Bemis hit a three run
homer against Notre Dame on
Sunday. Bye, bye Mr. Spalding!

The Cards had not conceded defeat, though.

In the top of the sixth, A Chelsea Bemis three run homer scored Kiyohara and Keller. Colby Wherry followed with a single run blast. Alicja Wolny and Maggie Ruckenbrod reached on base hits and Kristin Austin drove home Wolny to make it 6-5. Kiyohara batted for the second time in the inning and drove in Ruckenbrod and Austin to make it 7-6 Cards. Keller smashed a two run fence clearer to increase it to 9-6.

Collins re-entered the game as pitcher in the bottom of the sixth and shut out the Irish in two innings of relief. For Petrino, it was her first win as a Cardinal. She allowed five runs on seven hits...with one strike out. Collins got the save, her third of the season, allowing one run on two hits.

Louisville travels to Lexington next for a Wednesday night game vs. Kentucky.

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Bergan Foley scored four goals
against Villanova

Louisville lacrosse took a win yesterday at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium over Villanova 16-4 Sunday. The Cards outscored the Wildcats 9-1 in the first half...putting eight straight goals in the net to break an early 1-1 tie. They also scored the first two goals in the second half. During the 10-0 run, Bergan Foley and Liz Lovejoy each had three scores. Katie Oliverio found the net twice and Nikki Boltja and Lianne Bobal added a goal each. 

The Cards outscored the Wildcats 7-3 in the second stanza. Louisville shot an impressive 16 for 26 on goals attempted and forced the Wildcats into 26 turnovers. 

Foley and Lovejoy each finished with four goals in the game. The Cards (10-4, 2-2) improved to a tie for fourth place in BIG EAST conference standings and take to the road for their next two...a Thursday contest at Syracuse and a Saturday face-off in Connecticut against the Huskies. 

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Sara-Maude Juneau shot an opening round 75 and the Louisville women's golf team finds themselves in third place in the BIG EAST Championships...13 strokes behind Notre Dame. The Cards are are one stroke behind Georgetown. Anna-Karin Lljungstrom carded a 76 for 18 holes and Laura Anderson finished the first round with a 77... good for 12th place. Tara Lyons' 80 and Maria Castellanos' 82 were the other Cardinal efforts on the first day. 

The Cards tee it up again today, beginning at 9:40 a.m. Becca Huffer, of Notre Dame, leads all participants with her 72...even par. Straight and long down the fairways, ladies and chip and putt!

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16 teams prepare for WBB Tourney...Sixth Region results

HOLA! Welcome to Wednesday with CARDINAL COUPLE


-Looking at the BIG EAST WBB TOURNAMENT


-Central wins, Central loses (say what?)


-Golf grabs fourth in Sir Pizza.


-Does Louisville need an NBA franchise?


Paul and Bob Domine (picture above) did not join Al Greener's fabulous pep band...they're just sitting in front of them at a recent Lady Cards game. Domine would make a fine addition, though...he's full of hot air and always toots his own horn. (oh, boy...I'll pay for that remark).

Just kidding, Bob...and remember that teasing is the most sincere form of...well, something or another. Enjoy today's column and "thank you".
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The standings are final and sixteen women's college basketball teams (or fifteen and the professional players at UConn) are headed to Hartford, CT. for the BIG EAST Tournament at the XL Center. Action begins Friday with seeds 9-16 going at each other. WE'RE going to take a look at these first four games and see just who might be advancing to second round action.
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#12 Pittsburgh vs. #13 USF. We see this one as a toss up and it features a Bulls team that had lost seven straight before waking up at the end of the year. The win over Georgetown impressive. The Smith twins are ballers and Porsche Grant can dominate on the boards. They don't have much skill from behind the arc...but they don't really play that style. They rough and tumble you and sometimes don't even seem concerned whether they score or not. Pittsburgh comes at you with the talented trio of Harrison, Cole and Sims. They've got regular season wins over WVU and Providence and they beat the Bulls in the Peterson Event Center during the regular season 70-66. On a neutral court, we think this one could go down to whoever takes the last shot...SONYA SAYS...Bulls by two.
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#9 SYRACUSE vs. #16 Seton Hall. The Orange have been a enigma this year...rotating between winning and losing streaks. Lord knows they have tons of talent in Alexander, Morrow, Hall and Hemingway...and no real need to explain the losses to DePaul, Connecticut, Notre Dame or Rutgers. There is probably a little bitterness there that they didn't make the top eight and have to play on opening day and WE expect them to take those frustrations out on a Seton Hall team that is having a "bridge" year. A bridge that isn't paved, dead ends and is crumbling. We feel Anne Donovan will eventually build a winner down the road at Seton Hall and they do get good play out of Crow, Johnson and Ashmeade...but losing Kandice Green hurt. The 'Cuse won the regular season matchup 75-50 and SONYA SAYS...Syracuse by double digits, maybe 20.
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#10 WEST VIRGINIA vs. #15 Cincinnati. The matchup between these two was strictly no contest during the regular season...72-44 'Eers (at Cincy) and this one could be the same. Repella drives this WVU train and she gets plenty of help from Ali, Miles and Hampton. WVU is another team that is probably disgruntled about not making the top eight. Poor Cincinnati is down to seven players, their win over Marquette unexpected but nevertheless a step in the right direction. They get quality performances out of Ulis each time out, Turner is a banger on the boards and Cook can shoot...but it won't be nearly enough. SONJA SAYS...WVU by 20+ unless Repella get in foul trouble.
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#11 Providence vs. #14 VILLANOVA. Could be closer than most expect. 'Nova only lost to the Friars by five in league action and they've been playing well at the end of the season. Kimmel and Sweeney could go to any of the other 15 teams in the league and start. Providence comes in with the big win over Louisville to close the regular season...they've got Hankins and Wright big on the boards and Tate is a legit three point threat. SONJA SAYS...Upset special of the first round. Villanova by 3. You heard it here first.... i

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Girls regional action in the Sixth last night:

In the Cougars battle, Holy Cross held off Bullitt Central 48-48.

Louisville Central got 21 from Brianna Averette and sent PRP packing 59-50

Butler is to be feared. They disrupted Presentation last night 63-41. Megan Cureton with 13.

Bullitt East thumped Doss 70-13. 49-8 at halftime. Nikole Isabel 21 for the winners.
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In the 11th region, Sara Hammond and Rockcastle County had no trouble with Wayne County...winning 77-35
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Louisville women's golf finished the three day Sir Pizza Challenge at Weston Hills Golf Course in 4th place. Sara Maude-Juneau was third in the competition and ended with a 216...just four strokes off the winning total. Anna Karin Ljungstrom carded a 229 and ended up tied for 21st. Candice Wiley played the 54 holes in 229 also. Laura Anderson toured the three days with a 231. Tata Lyons took 233 strokes, Maria Castellanos finished with a 241 and Maike Klein 244.
The Cards head to the LSU Gold Classic next, beginning March 11th.
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Talk of Louisville and a possible NBA Basketball franchise has ebbed and flowed ever since the Kentucky Colonels and the ABA folded some 30 years ago. It has resurfaced recently with the Sacramento Kings franchise looking to vacate the California capitol city. Louisville does not need, would not support and should not consider getting an NBA team. Even though the KFC YUM Center would a excellent showcase for any franchise...NBA teams are costly, they dictate the terms and schedules of arenas during the season and the University of Louisville men's and women's squad don't need that in their coffee. The Colonels were a lot of fun, back in the day...Paul was a regular attendee. You could also get great $6 seats back then. Those days are gone. A family of four would easily shell out $100 and we're not including beverages, food and team gear.
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A suitable alternative would be a WNBA franchise. Lower prices, the season doesn't conflict with college basketball and it's an entertaining product. No multi-million dollars pompous athletes whining about practice, playing time and being misunderstood by coaches, fans and other teammates. Affordable ticket prices and some very good talent for the female version of the pros. Drop all this nonsense about the NBA and chase a WNBA team. Sermon ended.
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Volleyball, Field Hockey, Golf successful on Saturday

SUNDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Volleyball snaps Notre Dame win streak

-Field Hockey wins at Rutgers

-Women's Golf second round action

-Soccer today on TV

-How about that Charlie Strong?

A great day for many UofL sports contests yesterday!

Emily Juhl had a career high 16 kills in Louisville's win over Notre Dame 3-1 in CARDINAL ARENA yesterday morning. With the win, the Cards improved to 9-5 on the season and 4-1 in the BIG EAST.

The Cards won the first game behind the strong arm of Juhl and Anastasia Artemeva...overcoming an early Irish lead with a 8-2 run late in the contest to post a 25-21 victory. Notre Dame jumped on Louisville early in the second game, going up 9-4 and although the Cards rallied back to get with two at 22-20 they could get no closer and fell 25-23.

After the intermission, both team battled back and forth in the third game of the match but a key Louisville 7-2 stretch put the Cards ahead 21-15 and went on to score the 25-19 victory. In the final game, the Cards steadily built the lead to hold a 19-11 advantage and finished out to take game and match 25-17.

Volleyball fan Jack Wimsett was in attendance and told CARDINAL COUPLE:

"Juhl was out of this world. She and Anastasia just kept blasting rockets over the net against Notre Dame and Simmons dominated the net with some great blocks. It was a great morning!"

Louisville returns to the court Sunday afternoon to face DePaul. Action begins at 2 p.m.

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Field Hockey pitched a shutout in Piscataway, N.J. Saturday afternoon, blanking the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 2-0 in BIG EAST action. Amber Thomas broke open a defensive battle in the first half when she scooped up a Nicole Youman (WOO HOO! for Nicole!) and sent the ball sailing past Rutgers goalie Sarah Stuby for a one point Cardinal lead. TEAM CARDINAL took the advantage into the half-tine break and continued to hold Rutgers scoreless in the final frame. They added a second goal midway thru the second half when Jenna Ahern knocked a missed Youman attempt (WOO HOO! for Nicole! ) past Stuby for the final goal of the match. Did we mention how much we like Nicole Youman?

With the win, Louisville improves to 9-4 and 3-1 in the BIG EAST. Goalie Erin Conrad had five saves in the game and the Cards outshot the Scarlet Knights 15-10. Louisville travels to Princeton next for a Sunday match in the Garden State against the #3 Tigers. Thanks to Louisville assistant S.I.D. for keeping CARDINAL COUPLE in the loop on the womens' East Coast swing.

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Sara-Maude Juneau continues to find the sweet spot in Carolina, firing a 69 in the second round of the Tar Heel Invitational. Her great round moved her up to 5th place after two days and only five shots off the lead as the teams wrap up play on Sunday. Juneau had a 70 yesterday.

Laura Anderson, pictured above, had a 71 Saturday, her best effort of the season so far, and has a two day total of 147. Anna-Karin Ljungstorm carded a 78 in day two and Maria Castellanos toured the 18 in 80 strokes. Sophomore Candice Wiley impressed with a 73 yesterday, seven strokes better than her opening round 80.

Louisville climbed the ranks to 16th. place after second round action with a 592 total. Alabama leads the pack with 551.

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Louisville Women's Soccer will play on local television today with a 1 p.m. game at Cardinal Park against Georgetown. WHAS-11 TV will show the match live. It is Senior Day for the Cards. While we're on the subject of "futbol"...congrats to UofL men's soccer team...still undefeated after yesterday's 2-1 win over host Rutgers. Bad day to be a Rutgers' fan yesterday...

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What in the world has gotten into this Charlie Strong football team? Paul and I sat there yesterday in the baking sun and watched touchdown after touchdown and surmised that either Memphis really was that pitiful or Charlie Strong has fined tuned these guys to success. Friday night will be a much more true test of how far Strong has taken these Kragthorpe leftovers when the CardStrong Nation welcomes those dreaded Cincinnati Bearcats to PJCS. The Bearcats did some growling of their own yesterday, smacking around Miami of Ohio 45-3.

The Cards did better with their 56-0 whitewash of the Memphis Kittens. I sure wouldn't wanted to have been in that feline locker room when the sun set to the west of the Pizza Palace.

Soccer, Softball with Friday wins

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Soccer rolls over Villanova

-Morehead falls to UofL Softball

-Sara-Maude Juneau cards a 70

The University of Louisville women's soccer team improved to 9-4 with

a big win over Villanova in Cardinal Park yesterday 5-2. Villanova contributed to the Cards success early by actually scoring a goal against themselves when goalie Erin Ryan mishandled the ball and put in into her own net. Nova would roll back and tie the score at 1-1 minutes later but the Cards would regain the lead when Emily Cardell found paydirt on a pass from Christine Exeter.

Nova tied it when Heidi Sabatura connected on a 10 yard fire past Louisville goalie Taylor Vancil but the Wildcats would not score the rest of the game.

Louisville also got goals from Exeter, Caitlin Rehder and Jordan Pawlik to improve to 3-3 in BIG EAST play. They face Georgetown Sunday and the match will be shown on WHAS-TV live at 1 p.m.

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Sandy Pearsall's softball squad ended fall play by trouncing Morehead 11-1 in Ulmer Stadium. The Cards struck early with five second inning runs, highlighted by a Colby Wherry's two run double. They added three more runs in the third and Chelsea Bemis started the fourth inning with a towering home run to make it 9-0

Junior Tori Collins picked up the win for Louisville and freshman Caralisa Connell also hurled for the Cards, as they end with a 5-0 fall record.

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Sara-Maude Juneau is tied for eight place with a two under par effort in the opening round of the Tar Heel Invitational in Durham, NC. Louisville sits in 17th place with a 301 combined score. Anna-Karin Ljungstrom, pictured above, fired a 75 and Laura Anderson finished with a 76. Maria Castellanos and Candace Wiley toured the 18 holes with 80 strokes.

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The action starts early in Cardinal Arena this morning, as Volleyball begins at 10 a.m. vs, Notre Dame. See you there!

Women's Golf in Fifth Place in Colorado

TUESDAY @THE COUPLE


- UofL women's golf starts the season

-Lady Cards exhibition hoops

-Game watch party!

The University of Louisville women's golf team got their 2010-11 season
underway this weekend in the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic in Fort Collins, CO. The Cards are tied for fifth after two rounds of play...Sara Maude-Juneau leading the way with a two round score of 75-67 for a 142 total.

Anna-Karin Ljungstrom (pictured right) is at 144. Sophomore Candace Wiley put together a 75-73 two day total and is tied for 31st. Maria Castellanos sits at 155 and freshman Tara Lyons debuts as a Cardinal at 158.

Injured Laura Anderson did not make the trip and Maike Klien fired a 160 as the Cards alternate. The Cards share 5th place with Illinois and Oregon...the host Colorado State leads with a two day total of 578...Louisville scoring 585.

Juneau had three birdies and an eagle in round two to highlight the competing Cards. The teams finish up the three day event today with a 8:30 a.m.shotgun start. (Many is the time I wished I had access to a shotgun on the links...)

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We know now who Jeff Walz's Lady Cards will debut against and it will be in the form of an exhibition game against Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday, Oct. 30th. in the KFC YUM! Center. Game time hasn't been set yet...pending the start time of the Louisville football game against Pitt in Heinz Field that day. Best guess? This BIG EAST matchup isn't one that will be designated as the BIG EAST Game of the Week...too many other and better conference matchups that day...so I predict a 3:30 kickoff and Walz Ball at 7:30 p.m.

Just a guess...knowing the BIG EAST...they'll sell the game to ESPN Ocho Cinco and the gridiron gainers will match up at noon or 7:30 p.m. You just never know about the BIG EAST and their scheduling theories...

Indiana Wesleyan is no hand-picked patsy designed to come in and roll over for the Lady Cards. They went 29-7 last year in the MCC and made it to the semifinals of the NAIA Tournament Championships in March.

The Marion, Indiana school has depth, height and shot well from the perimeter last year. It'll be a good preseason test for the young Lady Cards...with seven new players and only two seniors on the roster this year. OK...it isn't Stanford or Baylor...but the Cards will get tested soon enough...opening the season a few days later against Pat Summit's Tennessee Lady Vols in the downtown Yummy! arena.

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Our pals over at CARDINAL DOMINANCE are inviting all to a UofL football game watch party at TAILGATERS for the Oregon State contest. Louisville travels to Corvallis...by plane, train and automobile I suppose...to face the powerful Beavers. The Dominance guys plan on kicking the festivities off at 4 p.m. and food and drink specials will be available at the establishment next to the Parrish House.

No idea on which channel this one is on as of article time. Shannon, Terry, Bill the Goat and Murray the K invite you to join other Cardinal football fans for a fun and action packed afternoon of football viewing. WE'LL probably load up the chimps and a few interns and attend the event. Read all about it by clicking on the link we have here at CC for CD.

This one could get ugly early if Louisville decides to score in only one quarter...like they did against perennial Ohio Valley Conference FCS power EKU. Just put some hogs on the line and give Abe Froman, the Chicago sausage king, a little time to chuck a few missiles down the field.

You ain't gonna be able to run against these Beavers...Charlie.

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.

Juneau bows out of US Women's Open

Angel McCoughtry and Allison Bales try to contain Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx. The Dream lose a close one on the road 83-81.

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For senior Sara-Maude Juneau, the term close but no cigar might apply when it comes the the US Women's Open. She's been a participant in the event three times in her career but never made it to the final two days. Juneau fired a 75 and 71 to qualify for the event at Persimmon Woods (St. Louis, MO) but could only manage a opening day 79 and second round 81 at the Oakmont Country Club...missing the cut by ten strokes.

Juneau did make the third round back in 2007.

Sara-Maude is a key component for the 2010-11 UofL Ladies golf team. The squad qualified for the NCAA Regionals last season and the team should fare well in upcoming BIG EAST competition.

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A thriller last night between the Atlanta Dream and Minnesota Lynx in WNBA action. With the score tied at 81-81 and 30 seconds to go, the Dream's Erika de Souza missed a jumper from the paint and Lynx's Nicki Anosike grabbed the rebound and threaded a pass to Rebekka Bruson for the go-ahead layup with 7.2 seconds remaining.

The Dream's Angel McCoughtry saw a jumper roll out and de Souza's putback as time expired bounced off the rim and the Lynx escaped with the win,

McCoughtry led all scorers with 25 points and the Dream's de Souza added 18 points and 20 rebounds in the losing effort. The Dream went a woeful 1-18 from three point range.

Atlanta (14-6) still sits atop the Eastern Division and travels to Indy next for a Friday night game against Indiana. The game is the second of four straight on the road for the Dream.

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Word is circulating that Valley High School in southwestern Jefferson County may be the new home for a 3200 seat gymnasium. Original plans were to rebuild

the gym to seat 1600 but the school board is considering constructing a larger venue to host events like regional play instead of going to Bellarmine or the Gardens. Being a Valley grad, I have mixed feeling about the proposed expansion. Proud that my alma mater is getting a nice

upgrade but I also wonder if a facility like this shouldn't be constructed in a more central location for the 6th and 7th Region schools. It's a pretty far drive from places like Ballard or Eastern and it would make sense to put an enlarged facility like this somewhere more accessible to all the county high schools.

Nobody is asking me for my input...but Moore or Seneca would be better choices and there is plenty of room on both campuses for a expansion and they are much more centrally located.

If approved, construction could begin in late 2010 or early 2011.

Women's golf 14th after two rounds in Columbus

Sara-Maude Juneau fired an 80 on windy Otter Creek golf course to remain in the top twenty golfers as Day 2 competition concluded in the NCAA Central Regionals in Columbus, IN. Juneau has a two day total of 154 and is in 17th place headed into the final round Saturday.

Freshman Anna-Karin Ljungstrom had the best round of the day for the Cards with a 77. She has a two day total of 158. She is tied for 38th with Laura Anderson..who finished the day with an 84. Daphine Parker and Candice Wiley are further back with two day scores of 170. Wiley toured the eighteen with an 83 Friday and Parker shot an 84.

Louisville needs low scores in today's final round from their top four golfers if they are to climb to 8th place and qualify for the NCAA Championships in Wilmington, NC. The Cards will tee it up at 12:30 Saturday afternoon.

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Much has been said lately about the involvement of basketball AAU coaches and the "brokering" of their performers to college coaches and the handling of certain things for the recruits families. The issue concerns mostly men's college basketball but sometimes it drifts into the women's game. Maya Moore and UConn drew a little press a few years back when it was alleged that Moore received improper benefits while being recruited by the Huskies...including a tour of the ESPN studios in Bristol, CT.

It is a dubious relationship for these AAU coaches...who probably work more with the kids on Select and other all-star teams than their high school coaches do. I recently spoke with a former high school assistant coach who flat out told me...

"We only get these players 5 months a year at best. A lot of them play all year round and their AAU coaches don't have nearly the restrictions or limitations enforced upon them that we do as academic institutions. I've been involved in situations where we are coaching our tails off in the huddle during timeouts at games and the AAU coach of a kid is up there in the stands shouting out to the kid to do something different when we break from the huddle. The relationship with some of these kids and AAU ball starts way before they become freshmen in high school. I can guarantee you that a former UofL men's basketball recruit was basically shopped around thru the AAU guys and the kid's parents to several institutions before they got the deal they wanted from one of the schools. The kid ended up going there, and it wasn't Louisville... and having a pretty good four years. Pure coincidence, I'm sure...but the kid's dad ended up with a new job at probably twice the pay he was making before the kid went to college."

So, parents...in addition to encouraging your son or daughter to hone their sport skills...you might also want to brush up on your collective bargaining skills and buy a trench coat and wide brimmed hat. The good thing is that it will probably never infiltrate women's sports to any major degree. The bad thing is that it will probably continue to grow in men's athletics until the NCAA comes down with great vengance on the snake oil salesmen and dream weavers out there in the bushes posing as AAU handlers and coaches.

Written by Paul
5/8/10

Women's Golf wins Big East Championship

Sara-Maude Juneau fired a closing round 75 to finish as the low scorer in the three day event. She dusted the competition by six shots...finishing with a three day total of 220. It is the junior's first Big East title.

The Cards finished strong in the Big East Championship, carding a 304 for the final day, good enough to defeat runner up USF by eight stokes. Notre Dame took third place. Anna-Karin Ljungstrom matched Juneau's 75 in the third round for the Cards, who captured their 4th Big East title.

Freshman Candace Wiley knocked the ball around 80 times in the finale for Louisville and Laura Anderson, who had to withdraw from round two with a sore wrist, came back Tuesday to end with a 80 also. Daphine Parker shot a 74 for the Cards Tuesday.

All five golfers return next season for Louisville, who advances to the NCAA Regionals. Juneau. Parker and Ljungstrom were selected to the Big East 1st team Squad.

The Cards led from day 1 in the Big East Championship and gave head coach Kelly Meyers-Rothberg her fourth Big East title. A UConn women's basketball type dominance for Louisville on the links.

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Softball at Ulmer Stadium Wednesday with a doubleheader against the Syracuse Orange. First game is 1 p.m. and if you can't make the action, it will be televised on ESPNU.

Syracuse (23-17, 7-4) comes to Louisville in possesion of third place in the Big East standings. The Cards (27-14, 6-5) could leapfrog the Orange in the standings with a sweep of today's games.

Melissa Roth continues swinging the hot bat for Sandy Pearsall's team, with a .455 average and 14 home runs. Four Cardinals are batting over .300 so far this season. Louisville leads the all time series against Syracuse 8-1 and have never lost to them in Ulmer Stadium.

Cardinal pitchers Kristen Wadwell, Tori Collins and Chelsea Leonard have tossed 272 strikeouts this year.

Why not make it a bat and ball day? The weather is calling and you can head over to Patterson Stadium after the doubleheader to catch the guys in 6 p.m. action against WKU.

Written by Sonja
4/21/10