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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RED OUT Clothes Must Be Laundered Separately

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

(Staff columnist Sandy Walker brings us the Election Day edition of CARDINAL COUPLE this Tuesday. Basketball, Volleyball and Soccer are the items today. Thanks to Sandy for the updates and for donating her leftover Halloween candy to Bill the Goat out on Hwy 22...campaigning for Loquacious Gadfly! )

Sandy is running late today and has washer loads backed up waiting for the dryer to finish her red out outfit for this Friday’s basketball game.   For now, here are the moments highlights but feel free to promote current news in the comments.

BASKETBALL

It’s here! – the week we have all waited for since our earlier than desired 2012 NCAA tournament exit.   The women’s long awaited return to the court provides two opportunities this weekend.

TEXAS A & M

 This season’s opening game is Friday November 9, 2012.  Just in case you have been so involved with so many  of our schools other successful teams and have not noticed, this Friday’s game is against the 2011 NCAA National Champion Texas A & M.  Tip off is  at the YUM! Center at 7:00 pm.  This is our opportunity to shown A & M all of Louisville’s team and what they can do as last year’s game at Texas found us to be understaffed for the match.  Word is that we can look forward to seeing Mo back on the court, at least for part of the game, as she returns from last season’s injury with Tia soon to follow. 

Friday’s match is a RED OUT where everyone should show up wearing their brightest U of L Red attire.   Kroger is making it easier for us to pack the house by making $2.00 admission tickets be available to anyone who presents 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.

Texas claims everything is larger in their state, but compared to Louisville, attendance at their women’s basketball is not one of them.   Do your part to keep that fact in fact as this year the women strive to become the #1 ranking in women’s basketball attendance.   This has to be the best entertainment value in town.  Coach Walz has encouraged everyone to bring a first time fan to one game then let the team convert them into a full time fan.

The fan that we anticipate is traveling the farthest to see Friday’s game is Oregon native and Cards Fan Philip Van Der Weele.  Philip contacted Cardinal Couple owner Paul Sykes this fall and indicated his intent to attend Louisville’s opening game against Texas A & M and I hear that he already has his 1^st and 2^nd round NCAA Louisville regional tickets purchased.  This is just another example of Louisville’s athletic team influence which is truly coast to coast.   Other long distance visitors are welcome to contact us through the comments or Paul’s e-mail to let us know of your travels.

PORTLAND

Not to worry, basketball fans, we also have something to occupy us on Sunday.  Portland will be in town on Sunday to challenge U of L beginning at noon.   The game, as is normal with our women’s team, will also be at the YUM! Center.    We all need to get our game fix this weekend as the next home game is not until November 28 against Eastern Kentucky which is followed by Kentucky – at our home this year.

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.

RECRUITS

We at Cardinal Couple again want congratulate Emmonnie Henderson, Janelle Cannon and Alexis Montgomery for their great choice to become Louisville Cardinals.

L1C4

Are there other top recruits waiting in the wings to announce Louisville as their new home (such as maybe Imani Wright who is reported to be favoring staying in her home state) and join Louisville to be a part of the future in women’s basketball or will Coach Walz save those scholarships for the next season of young stars?  No matter which way it goes we are confident in our Coach’s proven ability to develop the players who want to be here into stars which surpass all of our and the national recruiting sites projected expectations.

100 BEST PROGRAMS IN DIVISION 1

Last week I included information about rankings created by James Bowman of SB Nation / Swish Appeal has again created what it considers to be the best 100 women’s basketball  Division I programs.  I am happy to update that information with Louisville women being named at # 10 in their poll.   The link below includes the Louisville information printed in the poll along with the 1^st through 9^th ranked teams.

These were their rankings 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.  http://www.swishappeal.com/2012/11/2/3524410/ncaa-womens-basketball-top-100-programs-recruiting-infractions

TIA GIBBS ARTICLE

The Courier Journal published a great interview article with Tia Gibbs.  It can be found at http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20121105/SPORTS02/311050143/Q-Louisville-basketball-player-Tia-Gibbs?nclick_check=1 . 

She is anxious to get back onto the court and has indicated that what she best plans to bring with her is Energy, Leadership and most of all DEFENSE.

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VOLLEYBALL

Friday is a great opportunity to fill your evening with Louisville women’s sports.  Our 23 -3 Volleyball team plays at Cardinal Arena against Marquette at 4:30.  This leaves plenty of time to watch our Volleycards then head downtown to park then off to a quick dinner before the 7:00 basketball game tip off.   I can’t think of a better way to start your weekend.  This is their next to last match before the Big East Championship begins.   Your final regular season opportunity to see this team in their race to win the Big East Championship is this Sunday November 11 at 12:00.  This match will also be at Cardinal Arena so get your tickets early as a sell out for both matches is anticipated.

Cardinal Volleyball in Cardinal Arena is a loud, rowdy and fun couple of hours spent. It's also intimidating for opponents.

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SOCCER

Charlyn Corral was selected as the 2012 BIG EAST Conference Midfielder of the Year. 

Corral, of the Louisville women’s soccer team was selected as the 2012 BIG EAST Conference Midfielder of the Year while three other Cardinals earned All-BIG EAST honors during Thursday night’s awards banquet at the Hartford Downtown Marriott.   Charlyn was also a First Team All-BIG East selection.   Other recognized players were Angelika Uremovich who was named to the Second Team All-BIG EAST team while Chloe Kiefer and Christine Exeter were both named to the All-BIG EAST Third Team.   Complete details can be found at http://www.whas11.com/sports/university-of-louisville-sports/Louisvilles-Corral-named-BIG-EAST-Womens-Soccer-Midfielder-of-the-Year-176888711.html .  

SKILLS CAMP

On February 3, 2013 the women’s soccer program will host a Winter Skills Camp which will be held at the Trager Center at the U of L Campus.   The camp is open to all female soccer players ages 10-14.  Details are at U of L ‘s official website under women’s soccer news.

       

Sandy W.

( Our thanks to Sandy for the updates on our Louisville womens' athletic endeavors!)

Finally, a bit of sad news to pass on. Louisville women's basketball's assistant sports information director Kim Pemberton lost her mother to cancer Monday. It had been a long battle for Barbara and a tough struggle for Kim and the family as well...but the pain is gone now and she is watching over her loved ones now in Heaven.

Kim does a wonderful job keeping us updated and informed on Cardinal Womens' Basketball and our thoughts and prayers are with her during this tough period.

"We are only here for a brief time in the scheme of things. We never are really gone, though. As long as the memories and thoughts continue about those who have gone on to their great reward, they'll live with us forever."
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Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- It's Raining Women's Sport Activites

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

We have a special treat for you this Tuesday with a "two-fer" on articles. We begin with Sandy's laundry day...and she takes us on a merry ride through the spin cycle with her always informative and comprehensive look at Cardinal Womens' sports and beyond. Following her article is Jeff McAdams article on Volleyball.

It's like being in the same room with Cletus and Co-Co at the same time...OK, maybe not that dramatic...but a good thing..nevertheless!





Today’s Laundry Instructions and Tips from Sandy

	Machine Wash, Normal	Garment may be laundered through the use of hottest available water, detergent or soap, agitation, and a machine designed for this purpose.
	Machine Wash, Cold	Initial water temperature should not exceed 30C or 65 to 85F.
	Machine Wash, Warm	Initial water temperature should not exceed 40C or 105F.
	Machine Wash, Hot	Initial water temperature should not exceed 50C or 120F.
	Machine Wash, Hot	Initial water temperature should not exceed 60C or 140F.
	Machine Wash, Hot	Initial water temperature should not exceed 70C or 160F.
	Machine Wash, Hot	Initial water temperature should not exceed 95C or 200F.

VOLLEYBALL

Congratulations to the 14-2 and  12^th nationally ranked Volleycards whose win against Pitt at Pitt on Sunday was their 6^th sweep (25-18, 25-12, 25-22) of the season.  The win also avenges last year’s loss at home against the Panthers and their first sweep of Pitt since 2008. 

Emily Juhl (formerly of Louisville’s Sacred Heart High School)

 

Emily Juhl



http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/juhl_emily00.html contributed 9 kills and no errors which matched her season’s personal best.  Lola Arslanbekova continued her impressive season her 8^th straight match with 10 or more kills while Brooke Mattingly and former Card basketball player Gwen Rucker each had 7 kills and 7 blocks shared between them.   Caitlin Welch (formerly of Louisville’s Mercy High School) lead all players with 18 digs.

                                     

                                                                                    The win is particularly impressive as Saturday was spent traveling from Tampa after their Friday night 3-1 win over the  University of South Florida Bulls who had won 7 of their last 8 matches.



Caitlin Welch



Their next match is at home on October 6 against Seton Hall and is being played at Cardinal Arena. The match starts at 12:00.  This is followed by  KFC YUM! Center matches on the 7^th and 8^th against Rutgers then Texas.

Yesterday the NCAA released this season's first RPI standings and gave UL a 4^th seed.   The RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) is based on strength of both a team's winning percentage and strength of schedule.   To date Louisville  has 6 WINS over Top 50 RPI teams (6-2): Purdue (10), Kentucky (17), Miami (23), WesternKY (31), Duke (37), Illinois (43).   These rankings are used to determine post season seeding.  With the NCAA semi finals and finals being played in the Louisville YUM! Center we would love to see our team in those games.

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BASKETBALL

Finally!!!  The Season Begins

Monday was the first day of basketball practice.  Let the games begin.
 

Recruiting

The week of September 21 brought the women’s basketball coaching staffs from Tennessee and Louisville to the homes of Mercedes Russell and Emmonnie Henderson.  The seniors are set to make a return trip to both schools this month.  Sydney Brackemyre and others are still in the mix.   The more the merrier, we will happily take them all.

Cardinal Arena Graphics

New 2012-2013 team graphics are up in Cardinal Arena.  Check them out in person at the upcoming volleyball game held at 12:00 this Saturday at the arena but in the meantime take a sneak peak at Coach Sam’s tweet pic.twitter.com/GUAWXIdN .

Angel Update

Last Monday, the WNBA awarded Angel McCoughtry the 2012 WNBA Peak Performer Award for leading the league in scoring at 21.4 points per game. She also led the league in steals this season.

Extra Dirty Laundry Being Aired in the Courts

The associated press reports, as most following the story have expected, Former Tennessee Lady Vols media director (of 35 years) Debby Jennings has filed a lawsuit against the University of Tennessee and athletic director Dave Hart alleging that age and sex discrimination led to her forced retirement.  In May, Mr. Hart had released the statement “I concluded that she was insubordinate, disrespectful and fostered an atmosphere of negativity and division." 

At the moment we have a case of he said, she said which unfortunately will take more than a bottle of bleach to clean up. I don’t think it is possible to regularly cover and comment on any segment of women’s sports without at least acknowledging the ongoing internal battle between these parties as it represents many other such battles which have occurred throughout the history of women’s sports. 

A single hierarchy of administrators for both men’s and women’s college athletics is the norm throughout the nation and I personally believe that the consolidation of Tennessee’s departments would have occurred long ago without Pat Summitt’s undisputed strength and power base within the UT system.  With the combined tragic loss of Pat as the women’s head coach (and after this 1 year contract, the ending of her head coach emeritus position) and the financial difficulties being experienced by the schools athletic department, consolidation was inevitable. Ms. Jennings charges also state that 12 of the 15 employees laid off as part of the consolidation of the men’s and women’s athletic department’s were female and of the current athletic departments 23 executive staff and senior administrative staff level positions, only three of the positions are now staffed with women and none are African American. 

The associated press story can be found at:  http://m.espn.go.com/ncw/story?w=1c6l7&storyId=8432902&disableShare=true&adBlock=block&i=SC&hidePageFooter=true&hidePageHeader=true.  Regardless of the outcome of the litigation (historically these types of fights result in a bit of truth and a bit of exaggeration alleged from both parties with no one really winning), a reading of the 40+ page Complaint includes an interesting history of women’s sports at the University of Tennessee.  A link to the complete complaint can be found at http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/441938-complaint-filed-against-the-university-of.html  or http://www.wbir.com/pdf/jennings_ut_hart.pdf .

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SOCCER

The soccer team traveled to South Florida and came away with the equivalent of kissing your sister. Junior middle fielder Angelika Uremovich’s late penalty kick brought the teams into a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation.  The teams remained tied for the two 10-minute overtime periods and ended as a draw.  In goal for Louisville was senior Chloe Kiefer

(http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/w-soccer/mtt/kiefer_chloe00.html) 

(Divine Saviour HS of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin) who had four saves.




Chloe Kiefer

 

Next up is Villanova which will be in town this Friday for a 7:00 match. Georgetown is next with a 1:00 start on Sunday at Cardinal Park.

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TENNIS

The Tennis team has been extremely busy.  A review of the news links at http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/w-tennis/spec-rel/lou-w-tennis-spec-rel.html leads you to a history of their activities.  Most recently, Rebecca Shine rose through the singles tournament bracket of the Riviera ITA National Championship where she eventually lost in the semi-finals.  Earlier Gabrielle DiSimone of USC def.  Julia Fellerhoff of Louisville 6-7(4),6-3,6-4.

Julia Fellerhoff and Rebecca Shine combined for doubles play but were downed 9-7 by Florida State's Sargeant/Segarelli, who unfortunately were the tournament’s top-seeded doubles pair.

Julia Fellerhoff

Rebecca Shine

       

                                                     

Pre-qualifying singles and doubles matches were once again hosted by UCLA with the actual tournament held at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, CA.  Singles semifinalists, doubles finalists and consolation champions will receive automatic entry into the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships Nov. 8-11 in Flushing, N.Y.   Next the Cardinals will compete at Winston Salem, N.C. in the Wake Forest Invitational from Oct. 5-Oct. 7.

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TRAVEL

FIELD HOCKEY – VOLLEYBALL - SOCCER

The women’s teams are so busy that they are meeting themselves coming and going.  These teams met up with each other in Chicago on Sunday and pretty much took over the plane coming home.  Perhaps it should have been renamed as a charter flight.   The soccer team also managed a safe flight home from Tampa on Sunday evening.

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SOFTBALL

Last weekend our 2012 Big East Champion Softball Team participated in a Fall tournament with Bellarmine and EKU. The Cardinals defeated Bellarmine 10-0 and Eastern Kentucky 1-0 Friday evening at Ulmer Stadium.

                                                                            

On Sunday the team  defeated Murray State  7-1.   The full story can be read at http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/050812aaa.html. 

Louisville will finish their “Fall Ball” this Saturday against Bellarmine and Tennessee State at Ulmer Stadium.  Saturday’s schedule begins at 12:00 p.m. with Louisville vs. Bellarmine, continues with Louisville vs. Tennessee State at 2:30 and finishes with a final game beginning at 5:00 pm with Bellarmine vs. Tennessee State.

The Cards return seven starters and 12 letter winners from their 55-5 season.  If this fall is any indication of what is to come this spring, it is going to be a great season.

Sandy W.
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