Monday Cardinal Couple - UofL women ready for ACC Golf?

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Cards and ACC women's golf

-Louisville WBB 9-1. Not too shabby.

When the Louisville Cardinals join the ACC in 2014, the women's golf team will have three established veterans on the squad and three promising members of the 2013 recruiting class.

Katie Petrino, Emily Haas and Sara Karlsson will be seniors then and all three have been steady contributors since their arrival on campus. Coach Courtney Trimble has also inked three golfers due to arrive on campus next fall who have very impressive credentials.

Louise Oxner

Louise Oxner, from Greenville, SC is a Palmetto state two time champion. Emily Kurey out of Alpharetta, GA was second in the state last year and has won four major junior golf events throughout the south over the past couple of years. Shannon Gramley, from Shady Side Academy, PA is a two-time Pennsylvania state champ. These three look to be golfers that can come in and contribute right away for Trimble and the Cards and will have a year of experience in their bags when the Cards join the ACC.

Emily Kurey

Women's golf is a little different than the other ACC (and BIG EAST) sports in the nature of the season. Teams play in classics and tournaments and there are no two-team contests...like basketball, softball or field hockey have. The schools gather for a tournament at the end of the season to determine the conference champ...but there is no regular season title at stake.

The ACC had nine schools field teams (including Maryland) in 2012 and Duke won the ACC Women's Golf Championship. Seven of the teams qualified for the NCAA tournament regionals.

Shannon Gramley

Besides Duke...UNC, NC State, Virginia, Florida State, Wake Forest, Miami and Boston College field teams. Duke was ranked #4 as of November 30th...UNC #9, Virginia #16 and NC State #19. Notre Dame will add to ACC strength, ranked #17. The Cards were #58. Future members Syracuse or Pitt do not field field women's golf teams.

Emily Haas

How the tournaments and events that Louisville will participate in over the next couple of years set up probably won't change too much. The level of competition come tournament time, though...looks to be much stronger than the Cards have been facing in the BIG EAST...where they finished third in the tournament this fall.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

The Louisville women's basketball team (9-1) is ranked at #8 in the nation as the Cards prepare to spend a little time on Fall semester finals...then games on Friday and then next Tuesday and Friday before getting 10 days off for Christmas break.

Despite this success, there has been dialouge here (and on other sites) about the effectiveness of Jeff Walz's coaching style. Namely, the game against Kentucky...where the Cats came back from a 14 point deficit to win in the KFC YUM! Center.

Coach Walz will tell you that he will do what he and the staff feel is necessary to win games. We agree and trust fully in the options and style of play that the Lady Cards employ in their contests.

Witness the DePaul Blue Demons. They went into the Kentucky game Friday night with Doug Bruno (DePaul head coach) thinking they could run with UK.

Big mistake. UK 96 - DePaul 64.

Louisville, on the other hand, knew the Cats strength and turned it into a defensive struggle. They held UK to 48 points...their lowest point total of the year. Even Baylor gave up 51 to UK.

(Photo by Charlie Springer - UofL Card Game)

Walz has also developed his bench into players that can come in and produce immediately. Witness the improvement of Jude Schimmel and Nita Slaughter this season. Sherrone Vails and Cortnee Walton had strong games against Valpo and there's nothing to suggest that those two won't continue to contribute as the season goes on.

Still, the griping about Walz continues.

We hope the Louisville women's basketball fans realize what a great coach and staff the Lady Cards have. We hope that they are here a long time. The women's college basketball world realizes it...with Bethann Ord and Michelle Clark-Heard getting head coaching jobs after several years of Walz's tuteledge. Cam Newbauer is being groomed for a head coaching spot down the road as well and so is Samantha Williams. Both will make great head coaches someday. Stephanie Norman has been with Walz since he arrived here. Coach Steph is equally responsible for the Cards success over the last five years and she's probably had offers to have her own program as well. We'd hate to see her go as well.

The old adage is that you don't miss what you've got until it's gone. We hope we don't have to worry about that in regards to the UofL head coach and his staff for a very long time.

Sonja and I have sat through the lean years of Louisville women's basketball in the past. We endured the losses to Western, UK and lesser schools like FIU, Oakland, Evansville and Chattanooga. We have no desire to re-visit those days. We're confident that under the leadership of Jeff and staff, we won't.

The Cardinal football team implores you to "get on the train". We ask you to "enjoy the Sho" and quit tearing down the "Walz". (Sorry about the steal from the late President Reagan when he pleaded "Tear down that wall, Mr. Gorbechev" )

9-1. #8 in the nation. Not too shabby, Cardinal fans. Beats a double-digit loss to UNC-Charlotte any day of the week. We recall travelling to Muncie, IN back in 2002 to see the UofL women's team play Ball State in the first round of the WNIT and lose. That's when things were rough. Sometimes a glimpse into the past makes one realize how good you've got it currently. 

You've got it good, Cardinal WBB fans. Appreciate it.
.
.

...

Softball begins road trip...We look at Christina Roesel...Asst. WBB Coach Norman...KENTUCKY OAKS Picks

.
WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

Freshmen right fielder Hannah
Kiyohara is batting .384

-Softball heads to Georgetown

-Spotlight on senior Christina Roesel

-Lady Cardinal WBB Assistant Coach Norman

-KENTUCKY OAKS Picks

Wow, a busy day here at C.C. Let's get to it...

The University of Louisville women's softball team heads out during Derby week in a race of their own...to secure and clinch a top four finish in the BIG EAST regular season standings. They'll play two today against the Georgetown Hoyas in Washington, D.C. Georgetown, in eighth place with a 6-11 conference record, is battling also...to maintain or improve on their eight place standing...since only the top eight teams get invited to the BIG EAST Tournament that will be held in Louisville May 12-14.

For Louisville, it's been a long break between games...the Cards winning a 4-0 rain-delayed victory over Providence on April 21st....at the beginning of the Louisville monsoon season that has lasted about two weeks. Hannah Kiyohara leads the Cards with a .384 average...followed closely by seniors Chelsea Bemis at .379 and Colby Wherry at .373.

The Cards have a lifetime 2-0 record over the Hoyas in softball...sweeping a doubleheader against them in Ulmer Stadium back in 2009...7-0 and 4-2.

***********************************************************************************

Christina Roesel has
played infield and
outfield for the Cards.

Sandy Pearsall has three seniors on her young squad this year and yesterday we recapped super shortstop Colby Wherry. Today we'll look at infielder Christina Roesel. The infielder/outfielder hails from Morris, Illinois and was a four time all-conference shortstop at Morris Community High School. "Rosey" also was a four year letter winner in hoops and volleyball.

She arrived at Louisville in 2008 and became the Cards starting second baseman her first year...one of three freshmen infielders on that Cardinal squad. Her sophomore year found her back at the "2" bag again and she started 55 games at second.

Her junior year saw her providing an important backup role to the Cards in fielding and pinch running...participating in 20 games and she continues that role as a senior. She's been on the Athletic Director's honor roll and the Dean's List and is majoring in sports administration.

*********************************************************************************

We all recognize and know a little about Lady Cards head basketball coach Jeff Walz. Today we'll introduce you to one of his assistant coaches....Stephanie Norman. She arrived at Louisville during Walz's first year in 2007 and was one of his first hires. She came from Vanderbilt University...where she had spent five years as the recruiting coordinator for the Commodores. Her invaluable efforts and assistance in recruiting at Louisville over the last four years has helped the Cards bring in arguably the best four freshmen classes in school history. This continued a trend she started at Vanderbilt...helping bring in the top class in women's college basketball in 2003and subsequent top 20 classes in 2005 and 2006.



UofL WBB Assistant coach Stephanie
Norman teaching skills.

Norman has also served as an assistant at Oregon, Oregon State, Hawaii and the University of British Columbia. She actually got her college degree in wildlife biology from Arizona State, which no doubt helps her understand the crazy UK basketball fans in this area.

The speculation, from our point of view is that Norman is ready to...and would prove to be...a very good head coach for some program out there...if that is the next step she wants to take. With Louisville, the experience that she and Michelle Clark-Heard add to the Louisville brain trust has proven to be invaluable...and with the departure of Bethann Ord to assume the head coaching job at Weber State...they'll be counted on to also help acclimate whoever Walz's hires for the open assistant coaching position.

*****************************************************

We're not ready to release the official CARDINAL COUPLE Derby Picks just yet, gotta see how the post position draw goes...but here's how we're seeing the Friday Kentucky Oaks shaping up. The post positions,jockeys and odds for the 13 runners:

1. JOYFUL VICTORY. Mike Smith  5-2

The best filly of all time, ZENYATTA...did not run in the
Kentucky Oaks.

2. LILACS AND LACE. Javier Castellano 12-1

3. SUMMER SOIREE. Gabriel Saez  5-1
4. KATHMANBLU. Julian Leparoux  4-1
5. SUAVE VOIR FAIRE. Miguel Mena  50-1
6. ZAZU. Joel Rosario  4-1
7. HER SMILE. Garrett Gomez  20-1
8. BOUQUET BOOTH. Robby Alberado  20-1
9. DAISY DEVINE. James Graham  20-1
10. STREET STORM. Shaun Bridgmohan  50-1
11. HOLY HEAVENS. Kent Desormeaux  50-1
12. PLUM PRETTY. Martin Garcia  5-1
13. ST. JOHN'S RIVER. Rosie Napravnik  30-1

WE love where ZAZU and KATHMANBLU ended up with post positions and will take these two as our choices to win (Paul with ZAZU and Sonja with KATHMANBLU). Hate the fact that JOYFUL VICTORY drew the rail, or #1 post and cannot see her winning from there. We'll still use her, though...in any exactas or trifectas we attempt, along with ZAZU, KATHMANBLU. LILACS AND LACE and DAISY DEVINE. You might want to include SUMMER SOIREE and PLUM PRETTY if you play superfectas.... on the bottom levels.

Wise guy pick....STREET STORM, trained by Steve Margolis and getting top rider Shaun Bridgmohan comes highly recomended by ace handicapper Alan Patterson. Won the Mardi Gras at Fairgrounds...driving at the end. Distance won't be a problem. The price will be nice...opening odds are 50-1.  

Good luck and we're happy to provide these "entertainment only" selections to you...if you wager, wager responsibly...