Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field Participate in Spring Sports Media Day

Photo by: Jeff Reinking | Louisville Athletics

Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field Participate in Spring Sports Media Day

January 22, 2019 | General, Swimming & Diving, Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis, Track & Field

Coaches and student athletes from swimming, tennis, track and field meet with the local media

The University of Louisville held its Spring Sports Media Day on January 22 at the Planet Fitness Kueber Center media room. The first of the two-part series featured coaches and student-athletes from men's and women's tennis, men's and women's swimming and diving as well as men's and women's track and field were on hand to preview their seasons and upcoming events with the local media in attendance.

The Spring Sport Media Day series will conclude on January 28 and will feature lacrosse, softball, men's and women's golf and rowing.

Swimming and Diving
•The Cardinals are currently ranked among the top-10 programs in the country with the women checking in at No. 6 and the men at No. 8.
•Five Cardinals have earned ACC Swimmer of the Week honors for their performances so far this season, including Mallory Comerford (twice), Nicolas Albiero, Molly Fears, Daniel Fecteau and Grace Oglesby.
•Mallory Comerford and Zach Harting represented the United States at the FINA Short Course World Championships in December. Comerford won five gold, two silver and one bronze medal while setting seven American records and two world records. Harting took fifth in the 200 fly and became the second fastest American in history in the event.
• In 2017-18, Albiero was named a FINA World Championships Assistant Women's Coach and Team USA's head coaches at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships for the American women where they won seven gold medals and 22 overall.
• He was selected to helm the ACC women in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and had two Golden Goggles winners in Kelsi Worrell Dahlia Relay Performance) and Mallory Comerford (Breakout Swimmer of the Year).
• Major awards during the collegiate season began when Albiero was named ACC Coach of the Year and saw his son Nick Albiero being named ACC Freshman of the Year with protégé Mallory Comerford winning ACC Swimmer of the Year, and newcomer Mariia Ashtashkina being named ACC Freshman of the Year for the women. In all, 24 Cardinals were named to the All-ACC team.
• NCAAs, the Cardinals raked in the honors led by Nick Albiero (4x All-American), Zach Harting (3x All-American), Andrej Barna (3x All-American), Sam Steele, (All-American), Carlos Claverie (2x All-American), Evgenii Somov (All-American), Marcelo Acosta (All-American). (Harting, Albiero, Barna, Matyi Kovacs, Acosta, Carlos all earned HM All Americans status as well. On the women's side, Sophie Cattermole (All-American), Mallory Comerford (6x All-American), Arina Openysheva (2x All-American) Lainey Visscher, (3x All-American), Avery Braunecker (All-American), Casey Fanz (2x All-American), Alina Kendzior (2x All-American) and Mariia Astashkina (2x All-American).
• At the ACC Championships, Evgenii Somov and Nick Albiero were both two-time ACC Champions. The 200 Men's Medley relay (Albiero, Harting, Claverie, Barna) also won gold at the ACC Championships in Greensboro. For the women, Mallory Comerford was a four time ACC Champion alsong with Grace Oglesby, a two-time ACC Champion; and Mariia Astashkina, an individual ACC Champion. The 400 Medley Relay team of Kendzior, Oglesby, Friesen, and Comerford won ACC Gold.
• Albiero coached his fourth NCAA Champion when Mallory Comerford won the 200 free.

Men's Tennis
• Louisville (3-1) kicked off its 2019 campaign with a 6-1 win over Hawaii on Jan. 11, marking the fourth straight season the Cardinals have won their opening dual match.
• The Cardinals enter the 2019 season with mix of experienced veterans and talented freshmen. Louisville returns six letterwinners from last year's squad and welcomes six newcomers.
• Among the Cardinals' returners is all-ACC selection and 2018 NCAA Tournament qualifier Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff. The senior finished last season at No. 69 in the ITA singles rankings, reaching as high as No. 53 throughout the 2018 campaign.
• Brandon Lancaster received the No. 104 singles ranking following fall tournament action and defeated his first ranked opponent of the season with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over Hawaii's No. 124 Blaz Seric.
• Lancaster and George Hedley earned the No. 34 doubles ranking following fall tournament play and are 1-0 in dual match action with a 6-4 victory over Hawaii's Blaz Seric/Asad Siyyid at No. 1.
• Head coach Rex Ecarma is in his 29th season at UofL and has compiled a 460-304-1 overall record.

Women's Tennis
• Cards have three new faces, a pair of transfers and a true freshman after losing half of the starting lineup from a year ago.
• Home matches this year include Duke, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. There are seven ACC schools are ranked in the Top 20.
• The Cards are 2-0 to start the season and play Ball State and Northern Kentucky this Friday.
• Aleksandra Mally is nationally ranked in singles.
Noting last year:
• The doubles pair of Mariana Humberg and Abbie Pahz ended the season ranked No. 48 in the ITA National Rankings. The doubles pair of Sena Suswam and Raven Neely ended the season ranked No. 90, making it the first season in school history where two different doubles team earned a national ranking.
• Four Cardinals, Tiffany Huber, Mariana Humberg, Raven Neely and Abbie Pahz had 20+ wins in singles. Three Cardinals had 20 or more wins in doubles led by Mariana Humberg's 27-8 overall record.
• The Cardinals finished 13-13 overall and were 11-5 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.
• Abbie Pahz and Mariana Humberg had three upset wins over nationally ranked players and finished 26-6 as a pair.
• The women's tennis was one of ten University of Louisville athletic teams that posted a perfect score in the most recent single-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) data that was released by the NCAA. Women's tennis had a perfect 1,000 single-year APR score for the most recent 2016-17 figures.

Track and Field
• The Cardinal women's were ranked No. 19 latest edition of the NCAA Division I Women's Indoor Track & Field National Rating Index released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday.
• This weekend the men's and women's track and field teams won the Notre Dame Invitational. The Cardinal women won with 145.5 points while the men finished tied with Notre Dame with 126 points each. Eleven Cardinals earned wins in individual events while Gabriela Leon set a new school record in the pole vault.
• The Cardinals return five All-Americans from last season. Louisville finished the 2018 season with 11 Cardinals earning All-American honors, while three earned honorable mention honors. Seven Cardinals earned Indoor All-American honors while four earned outdoor All-American honors. Jerin Allen, Joe Delgado, Makenli Forrest, Emmonnie Henderson, Holly Hankenson, Alexis Gibbons, and Javen Reeves earned indoor All-American honors. Delgado, Gabriela Leon, Damar Robinson and Dorcas Wasike earned outdoor All-American honors.
• Louisville also returns four ACC Champions this season. The Cadinals finished 2018 with nine ACC Champions. Six Cardinals won event titles at the ACC Indoor Championships: Joe Delgado (heptathlon), Holly Hankenson (pentathlon), Emmonnie Henderson (shot put), Makenli Forrest (weight throw), Dorcas Wasike (5,000m) and Javen Reeves (high jump). Three Cardinals won event titles at the ACC Outdoor Championships: Eric Fox (decathlon), Damar Robinson (high jump) and Dorcas Wasike (10,000m).
• Thirty-six Cardinals earned All-ACC honors in 2018 for Louisville. Nine Cardinals earned first team honors at the ACC Indoor Championships while six athletes earned second team honors. Eleven Cardinals earned first team honors at the ACC Outdoor Championships while 10 athletes earned second team honors. Louisville also tied a school record with 23 athletes qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminary.
• Dorcas Wasike, the 2018 ACC Women's Track Athlete of the Year, impressed everyone at the NCAA Championships, finishing runner-up in the 10,000 meters while breaking a 30-year old meet record. The redshirt freshman made her move in the final two laps, passing some of the sport's veteran runners. She rolled in the final lap to pass the favorite Karissa Schwizer, closing with a 69.2 in the final lap. Wasike finished with a personal best time of 32:11.81, behind Kansas' Sharon Lokedi.