BIG EAST WBB to go to 18 games in 2012-13

FRIDAY EDITION CARDINAL COUPLE:

-BIG EAST TO INCREASE LEAGUE GAMES IN 2012-13

-VOLLEYBALL SEASON TICKETS NOW ON SALE

Get ready for some changes in the 2012-13 BIG EAST Women's Basketball schedule. I know, you're thinking, can't we play the 2011-12 season first before they start monkeying around with things? New BIG EAST Associate Commissioner for Women's Basketball...Danielle Donehew...has a way of jumping right into things, though...whether they make sense, are right or not.

The BIG EAST commissioner tells Dorothy
she has to add two league games.

18 league games will be the new schedule for the 17 BIG EAST school in 2012-13. This is an increase of two league games from the current conference schedule. TCU joins the league in 2012-13. All schools will play each other once, then there will be two schools that will play each other twice. Repeat opponents will continue to be determined on a year-to-year basis by the conference staff and they will use the criteria of attractive television inventory, competitive issues, RPI implications, geographical issues and minimizing travel costs. 

Hold on one daggone minute...in the words of cartoon character Quick Draw McGraw. The original reason that a "mirror" opponent was added in the beginning was to give school and equal amount of home games and away games, right? 16 teams, 15 conference games...adding one game gave each school eight home and eight away games. Now, with the addition of TCU, 17 teams, 16 games...and (hold the presses) let's bump it up to nine home games and nine away.

Makes perfect sense to us. While we're at it, let's just make it an even twenty and let the conference members decide just who they'd like play twice. (Seton Hall and Cincinnati are going to get a lot of phone calls). Maybe they could let Geno draw up the schedule each year for the BIG EAST. Maybe I could be commissioner for a few days....

Danielle non-sequiters away the reason for the change:

"The change in the conference schedule reflects the growth of BIG EAST women's basketball. As the league grows, we need to adapt in order to create the best presentation of our teams and to showcase the depth and talent of the league."

(Yep...that Tuesday night game between Villanova and TCU will sure do that...)

Let's re-word Danielle's statement for her and see how it flies...

"The change in the conference schedule reflects that the BIG EAST Football conference got a chance to add a powerhouse (TCU) and then for no apparent reason, I decided to add a couple of women's basketball conference games because I can...I'm the commish." 

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UofL volleyball season tickets went on sale Thursday and it is a sweet deal if you like volleyball. 12 games for $55 and six of them in the KFC YUM! Center. Don't want to go to Cardinal Arena to watch? There is also a six-pack package out there for just the KFC YUM! games...$30 bucks gets you in the downtown arena with a reserved seat for the six games.  

Volleyball in the KFC YUM!..will they pack the place?

Youth (3-18) get in a lot cheaper and faculty/staff members get a price cut also.

You can download a form from www.uoflsports.com to get your seats or wait till the end of July and order them over the phone from the UofL Ticket Office.

Good competition ahead for the home games...10 of the 12 home opponents made it to the NCAA tournament last year.

CARDINAL COUPLE Director of Nonsense and Wagering Tommy Boy weighed in on the move...

"I'll go. I think the move to KFC YUM! will be a great move for UofL. More fans will have access to the games, more concession areas are available than at Cardinal Arena and the only real question that remains is if they'll open the lower level bars and beer stands.."

Hmmm...weekend volleyball with beer involved? Reminds us of our days in the novice league at St. Martha.

New volleyball coach Anne Kordes has a wealth of talent returning from last year's BIG EAST Tournament Championship team and it all begins in the YUM! on Sept. 23rd. when St. John rolls into town.

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Lady Cards to play three games in Canada in August

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THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE...

-Lady Cards to face three opponents in Canada

-Evaluation period ahead for college coaches

-Rutgers has another one transfer out

The University of Louisville women's basketball team will face three opponents in their Canadian trip this August. The Lady Cards will face The University of British Columbia on August 11th. (9:30 p.m.EDT), Trinity Western University on Aug 12th., (9:00 p.m) and University of Fraser Valley on Aug. 13th. (9 p.m.).

Plans are for the team to meet in Vancouver on Aug. 4th to begin the tour. Louisville was granted an extra ten days of practice to prepare for the trip and did practice 10 days in June before taking the month of July off.

Here is a look at each of the three Cardinal opponents :

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Kristjana Young is a 6'0" guard for the British Columbia
Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds went 20-11 overall (17-7 in conference) in the 2010-11 season.

They also took an extended tour during the preseason...playing in the Fo Guang Cup (Taiwan) and going 2-3 against teams from Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan.

They were 4-0 against the Cardinals other two upcoming opponents during this Canadian trip...beating Trinity Western 78-67 on the road and 74-45 and Fraser Valley 60-49 and 72-49 at home.

B.C. was eliminated in the postseason Canada West playoff quarterfinals by Alberta 80-74 and 73- 60 in late February.

TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY

The 2010-11 Trinity Western squad.

The Lady Cards will face a young TWU Spartan team in their second Canadian contest. TWU signed seven freshmen to the 2011-12 roster recently. The 2010-11 season was rough for the Spartans...they went 3-25 and did not play in the Canadian post-season tournament. TWU was 0-4 against the other two teams Louisville is playing...losing to Fraser Valley 68-65 and 67-56 at home and 78-67 and 74-45 on the road at British Columbia.  

University of Fraser Valley

The 2010-11 University of Fraser Valley roster.

The Cards third opponent is the Fraser Valley Cascades, who went 20-16 in the 2010-11 season. The Cascades advanced further than the other two teams that Louisville will play in Canada...advancing out of the Canada West playoffs by beating Winnipeg in a best two out of three series and playing in the Canada West final four...where they lost to Saskatchewan 88-59 and Alberta 77-64 in the Bronze Medal game. The Cascades also played in the CIS National Regional tournament where Toronto eliminated them 78-69.

The Cascades were 2-2 against the other two Cardinal opponents (see above) and also hosted a pre-season exhibition in 2010..hosting Texas Tech (L-41-78), Texas A&M ( L-61-100 and 74-88)and Kwantien Polytech University (W-85-27)
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With about four weeks to go before the exhibition slate begins, Jeff Walz...like many other college basketball coaches...has an evaluation period now to evaluate future talent at various hoopfests, AAU tournaments and shootouts. The month of  July stacks up like this for women's college basketball coaches:

July 6-15. Evaluation period
July 16-21.  Dead period
July 22-31. Evaluation period

What do these terms mean?

An evaluation period is the time a college coach may watch a prospective student-athlete play or visit the high school but cannot have any in-person conversations with the possible recruit or the parents of the recruit off the college's campus. The prospective student-athlete and the parents can visit a college campus during this period and a coach may call or write during this period.

A dead period is a time where the college coach may not have any in-person contact with a prospective student-athlete or the prospects parents at any time. The coach may write or call (once a week) during this period. Coaches cannot:

-make in-person recruiting contacts
-conduct in-person evaluations on or off campus
-schedule official campus visits
-allow unofficial campus visits

A prominent recruiting writer/expert once described the month of July to me as "when all the college coaches are my friends. They hate and berate me for what I write 11 months a year...but in July, they call, text and e-mail the %$#@ out of me....because I can talk to the kids, cover the territory and tell them who was watching who...where and when."
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Julie Paunovic leaves Rutgers (Photo by Saed Hindash
The Star-Ledger)

BIG EAST member Rutgers loses a third player out of their women's basketball program via the transfer route. Julie Paunovic, a junior college transfer who played the second half of the 2010-11 season for C.Viv Stringer will leave the program. From Austrialia, the reserve guard played in 13 games for the Scarlet Knights...averaging 3.5 minutes, 0.8 points and 0.2 rebounds.

She is the third player to leave the program this off-season to leave Rutgers. Freshmen guard Daisha Simmons and freshman forward Briana Hutchen have also departed after the Scarlet Knights 20-13 season.

Not to worry, Rutgers has 11 players still on the roster for the 2011-12 season...adding five recruits that were ranked as the fifth best recruiting class in the nation. Two McDonald's All-Americans are a part of that class...Betnijah Laney and Briyona Canty.

The Scarlet Knights return all five starters from last year's team. 

WE talked with a former assistant women's basketball coach recently and asked him what he thought were the determining factors causing transfers. He came up with five primary reasons.

-Unhappy with playing time
-Being "recruited over" i.e. better players arriving on campus
-Dis-satisfaction with coaching styles
-Practice situations
-Personal issues with teammates or staff

He commented:

"Sometimes a fit of a player and a program just doesn't work out. The goals and aspirations don't match and you really don't want an unhappy player on your roster. We always wished our girls that transferred out of the program the best of luck and appreciated what they did for us, in most cases, while they were a part of the program. It's a part of the game. Only five that can be on the court for you at the same time and you've sometimes got 6-7 on the bench. They handle it in different ways and some decide to go where the competition level isn't as demanding and they can play instead of sit."
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So if you weren't a Cardinal fan...We look back at...David Watson sounds off...

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WEDNESDAY with CARDINAL COUPLE: 

-And if you weren't a UofL fan....

-WE look back at...

-David Watson sends summer greetings!

We were engaged in conversation at the 4th of July (actually the 3rd of July) cookout we attended. The crowd was mixed....almost 50/50 UofL vs. UK...but long time friends here and no hostilities involved....other than the usual friendly banter about the schools, the teams and the players. Call it what you will...but Paul and Larry were unstoppable as a team on bean bag toss (cornhole) when they were throwing on the UofL boards with UofL beanbags. The UK boards were set up later when the crowd grew and the "champs"  couldn't win a game. I suspect Calipari or Joker Phillips were hiding in the hedges laughing and practicing voodoo on the guys...but I have no proof.

The subject of team support rolled around and Tim brought up the question.

"If you weren't a UofL fan or a UK fan...who would you support?"

Ernie (who is a UK fan but proudly supports UofL football) tackled the question first.

Ernie prefers UK but is an avid UofL football fan.

"I'd go with the Cardinals. I cheer for UofL unless they're playing UK. My wife and one of my sons are UofL fans. But, when we were kids...my Dad was a UK fan and I guess that's why I like them better. He converted to UofL later on...I'm sure football tailgating out at the old Cardinal Stadium had a lot to do with that...but I still prefer UK."

Can you picture Paul in a blue shirt and hat with Cat logo?

Kenny (another BIG BLUE backer) chimed in next:

"Probably go with Tennessee. I just like the SEC. Kentucky and Tennessee have had some great rivalries over the years in basketball."

Paul followed:

This guy converted Paul to the Cardinals

"You all know me...I'm Cardinal red...but it wasn't always that way. I grew up listening to UK basketball on the radio with my Dad. I remember Cawood (Ledford) calling games when Pat Riley, Cotton Nash and the Rupp's Runts were playing. Cawood's pre and post game interviews with (Adolph) Rupp. It wasn't until junior high school that I started following UofL...my buddy Stu was a big UofL fan and this guy named Denny Crum showed up to coach the Cards. He was brash, had charisma and the Cards were an exciting team. If there were no UofL...I'd probably still be a UK fan...but I do like Notre Dame and Virginia Tech." 

How about you? If there were no Cardinals...what team would you back? We've set up a poll on the infamous "left side of the board" with nine other options and a "other" option. Let us know...

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Tuesday, January 4th. was a raw and blustery evening. #18 St. John's was in town to face the Lady Cards at the KFC YUM! Center. The first five minutes of the contest saw the leads exchange...a Becky Burke three-pointer put Louisville up 8-7...but St. John's came back and led 13-12 at the 12:48 mark. Keyed by a Tia Gibbs 3...the Cards regained the lead at 15-13 and would stretch it out to 19-13 on a Monique Reid jumper with 10:30 left in the first half. St. John's found a run of their own, though and cut it to 19-17. It was the closest they would get the rest of the game, though...as Louisville controlled the remainder of the half and took a 36-27 lead into the locker room. Burke had 13 first half points, with three for five shooting beyond the arc, and Tia Gibbs and Monique Reid combined for 15 points. Shoni Schimmel was having an off night early...1-8 from the floor.

Shoni's late free throws helped seal the win over
the Red Storm.

The Red Storm came out as a tropical depression in the second half and hit just two of their first nine shots. Louisville bumped the advantage to 45-33 and the crowd in the downtown arena was on their feet and loud. St. John's made a brief rally and cut the margin to 50-41 before Schimmel wowed the crowd with a deep three to stifle the comeback. Tia Gibbs was on fire in the second half along with Monique Reid and the Louisville lead grew to 69-58 with just a little over three minutes remaining. The Red Storm weren't conceding, though and Nadirah McKenith scored to cut the Cardinal lead to 71-65...capping a 7-2 Red Storm run...with 1:50 left on the clock. They would keep it close...A Eugenia McPherson three made it 75-70 with 53 seconds remaining. The Cards knew they would need to convert on the free throw line the remainder of the game and did just that...Schimmel hitting four attempts from the charity stripe and UofL making seven free throws down the stretch to pull away with a 84-73 win

Five UofL players accounted for 80 of the Cardinals' points...Monique Reid led the way with 24, followed by 21 for Becky Burke, 18 for Tia Gibbs, 11 out of Shoni Schimmel and 6 for Keisha Hines. The Cards were now 2-0 in the BIG EAST and had conquered their third top 25 opponent of the season...

In the post game press conference, Jeff Walz talked about "toughness" and the Cards had shown plenty of it on a night where the "Storm" failed to materialize in the "Ville." 

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DAVID WATSON is a special contributor to CARDINAL COUPLE. He catches us up on his summer...

Nat King Cole sang a song years ago called "The Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer" and the title fits for me as we roll out of the 4th of July weekend and head into the "dog days" of 2011. Ever wonder how that term."dog days" got started? It refers to the the "dog star" or Sirius-which rises and sets with the sun during July and August. The ancient Romans thought that it added extra heat to the earth. They also thought that feeding Christians to the lions was a lot of fun. Go figure.

David believes in improving
fairway lies. On those rare
occasions he actually hits a ball
there...

My pre "dog days" have been spent chasing a little while ball and coaching little league baseball. I'm not very good at either this year and double bogeys and double digit defeats are causing me troubled dreams and constant mutterings to myself. I'm identifying with the University of Tennessee fans these days.

I like this time of year. Even though UofL sports are inactive, I like the prolonged daylight, warm weather and soft summer nights on my back porch deck-listening to the Cincinnati Reds or Chicago Cubs on the radio and nursing a few beers or Makers on the rocks. Hearing my oldest daughter talk about her day working at the "big box store". I even like cutting grass and watering my flowers. I'm not a big fan of thunderstorms, though.

I hope your summer is going well. Before we know it, Jeff Walz will be in Canada, Rick Pitino will be in the tropics and Charlie Strong will be prowling the sidelines. All three are probably better golfers than me. I have no doubt they're better coaches. I'm going to devote the next couple of weeks attempting to talk Brett Farve out of making another comeback. Good luck there, right?

(The "Mercy Rule"in sports was created with David's coaching abilities in mind.
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Unveristy of Louisville WBB to spend 10 days in Canada...

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE...

-Lady Cards will be in Vancouver, Whistler in British Columbia

-Just how well do you know Cardinal WBB?

-Churchill Downs ends Spring Meet

The Louisville women's basketball team will spend 10 days in British Columbia, Canada...leaving Louisville on August 4th. and arriving first at Whistler, British Columbia. They'll stay in the former 2010 Olympic city from August 6-10. Next up is Vancouver, where the Cards will be in town from Aug 11-15. Should give Shoni and Jude Schimmel fans a chance to come up from the Portland and Umatilla areas and see the girls in action. Wonder if Mercedes Russell will use her passport and head north to watch the scrimmages?

Olympic symbol in Whistler

Whistler held several events during the 2010  Winter Olympics...including the luge and bobsled. The area has several skiing resorts and is a large vacation and holiday destination. Stay away from the skis, Mo!

Vancouver is one of the largest cities in Canada and has many tourist and scenic attractions. One that we really enjoyed in a visit there several years ago are the beautiful Butchard Gardens. Located on Victoria Island, they have incredible rose gardens...which should be right at their peak during the time the team is in the area. 55 acres of beautiful gardens and easy walking paths line the property.

General Motors Arena in Vancouver. The NBA Grizzlies played there
until 2001.  

No schedule out yet on who Louisville will face during the trip.

Louisville should benefit greatly from the preseason chance to get in several basketball games before the schedule gets underway. Opportunities like this give the coaches a chance to see how the team performs on the road and to juggle lineups and players. The competition level probably won't be as strong as they might face in an early season tournament or classic...but still provides a series of games to build on before they begin the official schedule.

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We hope you had a great 4th of July weekend and are refreshed and well-rested...because it's time to get busy again and get ready for the fall women's sports schedule at UofL. We've got a little quiz here about the Lady Cards for you today...good luck and no cheating!

1) Louisville women's basketball's first season was:

Did Monty Hall do play by play
radio for the Lady Cards?

a) 1990-91

b) 1975-76

c) 1955-56

d) 1898-99

2) Which of these people did not coach UofL women's basketball?
a) Terry Hall
b) Bud Childers
c) Donald Driver
d) Peggy Fiehrer

Did Elvis ever perform at
Sacred Heart Academy?

3) Which of these places is not a place where UofL has played home games?
a) Cardinal Arena
b) Sacred Heart Academy
c) Bellarmine College
d) Broadbent Arena

4) Louisville went 4-24 in 1998-99. Which of the teams did Louisville get a win against?
a) Eastern Kentucky
b) Morehead State
c) Austin Peay
d) Cal Poly Pomona

5) Only one Lady Card has recorded a quadruple-double in a game. Who was it?
a) Angel McCoughtry
b) Sara Nord
c) Marla Inman Eltrevoog
d) Jackie Spencer

6) The highest finish in the Associated Press Poll for Louisville was seventh. What year?
a) 2000
b) 1991
c) 2009
d) 2008

7) Which of these ACC schools has never played Lady Cards?
a) Clemson
b) Wake Forest
c) Miami
d) Duke

Have the Huskies ever lost to Louisville? We know Muffet has.

8) Which of these teams has never lost to the Lady Cards? 
a) Connecticut
b) Kentucky
c) Georgia
d) Maine

9) Which of these players is not on the current Lady Cards roster?
a) Shawnta Dyer
b) Asia Taylor
c) Laura Sweeney
d) Shelby Harper

Has Mo scored a 1000 points yet?

10) Which of these Lady Cards are not a member of the 1,000 point club?

a) Gwen Doyle

b) Jazz Covington

c) Sonia Jenkins

d) Monique Reid

OK...how did you do....?

(Answers below)

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Churchill Downs ended their Spring Meet with a bang on the 4th of July...some comments on the meet:

- More night racing, please! The event(s) bring in a ton of people, it's a fun and festive evening and it's really something to see the horses run under the lights. It's even rumored a few of the Lady Cards got out to enjoy the spectacle. Reports that Shoni rode in a race are unfounded, though. (She would have probably won, though).

-Julian Leparoux was the leading rider...winning 53 of his 209 races. 

-We had a great final day at the Twin Spires...celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday. Hit three pick 3's on the day and scored big on the final two races with WISE DAN  in the 10th...$30.60 to win...and CHILLED in the 11th...$55.00 to place...for our favorite trainer Paul McGee.
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now...to the quiz answers...



Answers:

1)  B. The Lady Cards inaugural season was 1975-76. They went 12-11.
2)  C. Donald Driver plays football for Green Bay.
3)  B  Louisville has never played a home game at Sacred Heart Academy
4)  C. Austin Peay lost 75-65 to the Cards. Good job if you got this one right!
5)  D. Jackie Spencer with 14 points, 12 assists, 12 boards and 10 steals against Cincinnati
6)  C. 2009...the Cards went 34-5.
7)  B   Wake Forest and the Lady Cards have never played.
8)  C  Georgia is 2-0 lifetime against Louisville
9)  C  Laura Sweeney (Villanova) 
10 C  Sonia Jenkins  


9-10 correct.  You know your Lady Cards. Report to sports information immediately!

7-8 correct.  Not bad. Have a seat next to Shelby Harper on the Cardinal bench

5-6 correct.  So-so. Start reading Cardinal Couple daily and take notes.

3-4 correct.  Report to study hall and put away the 4G network! 

1-2 correct.  Lace up the shoes and start running the steps at the KFC YUM! 

0 correct.  You must have picked "A" each time. (None of the answers were "A")

(And Monty never did play by play for
Louisville. He was the emcee on
"Let's Make A Deal")

Stars & Stripes FOREVER!

WEEKEND OF 4TH CARDINAL COUPLE

We wish you a fun, safe and enjoyable 4th of July weekend. Whether it's going to a picnic or gathering, watching fireworks or just grilling out or chilling out...enjoy this weekend where we celebrate the independence of our nation. We'll see you Tuesday. 

PAUL, SONJA, DAVID, TOMMY BOY, CO-CO and BILL THE GOAT.


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Father Bob, an elderly parish preist was visiting the parish school one afternoon and stopped by to see the 4th graders. The children were studying the states...so he asked them how many could they name. They came up with about 40. He jokingly told them that in his day, the students knew the names of all the states.

One lad raised his hand and said:

"Yes, father, but in those days there were only 13 of them."

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John B. was at a horse racing track in Indiana and not having a great day handicapping the ponies. Frustrated at his attempts, he decided to bet the date in an trifecta in the upcoming race. The finish..7-4-10...paid $823 dollars on a $2 bet. (Try this at Churchill Downs tomorrow!)

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Mrs. Grover was telling her nursery class about Independence Day and the 4th of July. She finished her comments by saying:

"We are very fortunate to be in a country where everyone is free."

A little boy jumped up from his chair and shouted back at her:

"I'm not free! I'm four!"

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The employees at a factory were excited when the owners told them that the factory would be closed on the 4th of July and it would be a day off with pay. One new employee was heard commenting to another...

"How many times a year does this happen?" 

The other employee wisecracked...

"The 4th of July rolls around once a year."

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Ron Mann hires Sheehan as assistant...Tom Collen hires his wife (again)...Big Ten hires Nebraska

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE :

-TARYN SHEEHAN joins UofL Track and Field staff

-FORMER UOFL WOMEN'S BB COACH HIRES WIFE

-NEBRASKA OFFICIALLY JOINS BIG 10...uhhh 11...maybe 12...whatever!

Ron Mann has announced that Taryn Sheehan has joined the UofL Track and Field team as an assistant coach. Sheehan competed as a distance runner at UofL for a year (2007-08) and comes to Louisville from Western Michigan...where she held a similar job.

She was Taryn Gibson when
she ran the 3000m in record
time for the Cards.

"We wanted to bolster our distance program to prepare for the NCAA Cross Country Championships when we host it in 2012. Taryn's addition will certainly help us from that standpoint. This also provides us with the opportunity to build the Louisville family with coaches who have been a part of the program in the past and are familiar with Louisville and our supportive community" Mann said about the hiring.

Taryn sounds excited to be back in Louisville:

"When we (her and her husband) were driving in this week and we crossed the (Ohio) river, I felt like I was home again" Sheehan confided. "I loved my time here as an athlete and I started my coaching career here as a volunteer. The chance to come home and take the women' team specifically to another level is an opportunity I'm very excited about."

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Former UofL head women's basketball coach Tom Collen is up to his old tricks again, bring wife Nicki on boards as an assistant coach down at Arkansas. She replaces Tim Eatman, who was Collen's assistant coach and defensive guru. Eatman heads to Boston College to take a similar position in the rough and tough ACC. Nicki will take over the defense and work with the guards. She is the second new hire to Arkansas's staff in the last two months....Tari Cummings joined the Razorbacks when Zenarae Antonie, who was with the Collen's at Louisville, took the head coaching job at Texas State.

Nicki Collen was an assistant for her husband at Colorado State and Louisville in previous years and also held the assistant coaching position at Ball State. She also did a little radio work as color commentator for Lady Cards hoops.

We'll always remember Tom for a couple of things...he did help develop the talent of Jazz Covington, Candyce Bingham and Angel McCoughtry...three of the best to ever don a Lady Cards uniform...and his acceptance of the Arkansas slot gave Tom Jurich the chance to bring in a highly praised Maryland assistant by the name of Jeff Walz.  

Maybe Tim Eatman got an offer he couldn't refuse at B.C. Maybe he saw the writing on the wall that the Razorbacks weren't going to become the bullies of the SEC. In Eatman's four years as an assistant to Collen at Arkansas , the team has complied a 69-63 record. In four years at Louisville...they were 88-37. Best of luck to the Razorbacks as they slug it out in a SEC Western Division that isn't nearly as strong as the Eastern Division.

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Nebraska officially joined the BIG TEN Friday. Gives them 12 teams now. Since the BIG 12 name is already taken, the BIG TEN is stuck with their current moniker. They'll officially start play on Aug 19th. as a BIG TEN member when their women's soccer team battles North Carolina. They may do well in the BIG TEN in women's basketball...leaving a conference that has Baylor and Texas A&M powerhouses....along with always tough Oklahoma and Texas. BIG TEN women's hoops hasn't been relevant in years...with Purdue and maybe Michigan State the only two teams to fear.

Despite the drop-down in competition for women's hoops...the Cornhuskers are going to be a part of a powerhouse football conference with Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State and the rest. Can you name all 12 teams in the BIG TEN?  Which one was the hardest for you to come up with? In OUR case...Paul had to stretch to remember that Minnesota was a member and Sonja always gets confused on whether Iowa or Iowa State is a member. (It's Iowa).

OK, we've given you over half the conference here...see if you can name the other five members...

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Cards women swimming freshman class ranked #7...Dream win...Cardinal rower named to Canada team...Lady Cards WBB to play at EKU.

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE...

-Freshmen swimmers ranked #7.

-Fawcett to coxswain Canadians.

-Dream down Liberty.

-Lady Cards to play at EKU

The University of Louisville women's swimming team's freshmen recruits have been ranked seventh in the nation by CollegeSwimming.com.  Louisville will have eight freshmen making a splash in the Ralph Wright Natatorium this fall...joining a team that won the BIG EAST Championships last season. The top ten rankings:

1) California
2) Georgia
3) Stanford

Lindsey LaPorte was a backstroke specialist
in last year's freshman class.

4) Texas

5) Virginia

6) Florida

7) LOUISVILLE

8) Auburn

9) Harvard

10) Minnesota

The Cardinals arriving:

- Tanjya Kylliainen (Towson, MD)
- Danielle Barbiea (Springboro, OH)
- Victoria Mitchell (Cary, NC)
- Abigail Chin (Columbus, OH)
 -Emily O'Neill (Freehold, NJ)
- Johanna Cowley (Grosse Point, MI)
- Erika Wozniak (Savannah, GA)
- Rachael Lewis (Wilmington, OH)



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The coxswain faces the rowers and gives them
instructions as they row...

Sophomore coxswain Ellen Fawcett will guide the Canadian National Team in the Would Under 23 Rowing Championships scheduled for July 20-24th in Amsterdam, Netherlands. As a sophomore at UofL this past season, she guided the second varsity eight boat squad to a second place finish at the BIG EAST Championships and three wins during regular season matches.

Fawcett is a native of St. Catherine, Ontario and received her training at the St. Catherine's Rowing Club...coached by former and current Olympic rowers.  

Rowing is a big activity in the province of Ontario...an area which has many lakes and waterways. To make the squad, Fawcett had to endure four weeks of tryouts against the elite of Canada. Being selected over the competition was a surprise for her.

The coxswain is in charge of a boat's direction and navigation. She faces the rowers and shouts out instructions as they row. Hmmm..sounds like my mother-in-law when she's in the car with us...

Good luck to Ellen in the World Championships!

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Angel got some help last night in
the Dream's six point win over New York.

The Atlanta Dream finally notched one in the win column last night, getting 27 points and 15 boards from Erika DeSouza and 25 points from Lindsey Harding in a 87-81 win. The Dream rallied from a 10 point 3rd quarter deficit to take a 62-61 lead late in the quarter and held on the rest of the way. 

Angel McCoughtry had seven points in 18 minutes of court time. The Dream (3-7) get a week off and will be bolstered by the return of Sancho Lyttle...who has been playing for Spain in the European Championships....when they return to action. Spain went 2-3 in the tournament and did not qualify for the quarterfinals.


It'll be interesting to see if Atlanta retains the services of Courtney Paris...signed to replace Lyttle over her five game absence. Paris has played solid ball for Atlanta and had six points and four rebounds in a reserve role at center last night for Atlanta.

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Another piece of the Lady Cards non-conference schedule has been fitted into place....Louisville will travel to Richmond, KY on Thursday, November 17th. to play the Eastern Kentucky University Lady Colonels. It will be EKU's opening game and the Cards first visit to EKU since 1990. Louisville did play EKU in 2005 in Murfreesboro, TN. during the MTSU classic...winning 75-45. The Cards are 17-8 all-time against the Colonels..

EKU head women's basketball coach Chrissy Roberts is excited about the impending matchup:

"Our team, our coaches and our staff are excited to host a program the caliber of Louisville. The Cardinals are one of the best programs in one of the best women's basketball conferences in the nation, and we look forward to playing them on our home court." she commented. 

Sara Hammond will have a
large following in attendance
for the Lady Cards game at
EKU November 17th.

Great chance for Sara Hammond fans to make the short drive from Rockcastle County to see the Cardinal freshman and EKU is only a two hour drive from Louisville, in case local Lady Cards fans want to get an early viewing of Jeff Walz's 2011-12 team. 

It's good to see that Louisville is making the effort to play some of the in-state schools in women's basketball besides Kentucky. WE still miss the annual matchup against Western Kentucky back in the days when Crystal Kelly (Sacred Heart) led the Hilltoppers. The two teams met seven straight years from 2000-2007 and WKU held a 4-3 advantage in these match ups.

WE'LL never forget the 2007 game at Diddle Arena in Bowling Green...a rowdy affair where hundreds of UofL fans made the trip to see Louisville beat WKU 76-60 in Jeff Walz's first year as Cardinal head coach. Four days later, the Cards travelled to Lexington and defeated UK 80-65 in a classic matchup at Rupp Arena. Angel McCoughtry left the game in the second half after getting smashed over the eye by a UK player going after a loose ball. 15 stitches later, McCoughtry returned to the court and helped seal the win for the Cards...
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