Louisville Athletics Holds Top-30 Standing in Learfield Directors’ Cup
April 25, 2019 | General
The Cardinals accumulated 297.5 points from winter sports to move into the top 30.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On the backs on success during the winter sports season, the University of Louisville athletics department climbed into the top 30 in the latest Learfield Directors' Cup Division I standings that were released on Thursday.
Louisville accumulated 297.5 points from its winter sports to move the Cardinals to 29th in the standings. UofL is one of eight ACC schools inside the top 30, tied for the most of any conference in the country.
The Cardinals picked up 80 points from women's swimming and diving, 75 from men's swimming and diving and 73 from women's basketball. Men's and women's indoor track and field added 44.5 and men's basketball tallied 25 more.
Louisville swimming and diving made a historic run this season. History was made on the final night of the NCAA Championships as the Louisville men's swimming and diving team had program-record fifth place finish on Saturday evening at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. The Cardinals' 212 points were also the most scored by a Louisville team at an NCAA Championships. Prior to this year's NCAA Championships, the Louisville men's top finish occurred in both 2018 and 2012 when the Cardinals placed ninth overall. UofL finished the 2019 ACC Men's Championship on a thrilling note, posting the fastest time in the nation in their 400 Free Relay gold medal. With three silver and two golds on the final night, UofL fought off a hard-charging Virginia team to claim the runners-up slot with 1135.5 points.
Following the Louisville women's fourth place finish the 2019 NCAA Championships, the Cardinals become the first ACC program in history to have both its men's and women's teams finish among the top-five in the team standings at NCAAs in the same year The women's NCAA week was highlighted by a pair of national championships by Mallory Comerford. Comerford, a senior from Kalamazoo, Mich., is the three-time ACC Women's Swimmer of the Year and a 10-time individual and 16-time relay All-American. She led her Cardinals to a best-ever fourth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championship. She was the first woman to win both the 100 and 200 freestyle at the NCAA Championship since 2006 and is a four-time NCAA individual champion overall. The University of Louisville women won three gold and two bronzes and finished third in the 2019 ACC Swimming and Diving. Cardinal senior Mallory Comerford won her second Most Valuable Swimmer Award to cap off a stellar ACC career. Arthur Albiero was named ACC Women's Coach of the Year.
Head coach Jeff Walz led the women's basketball team to a 32-4 record, an Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2018-19. The Cardinals finished with eight wins against Top 25 teams, including a 78-69 win over No. 2 UConn at the KFC Yum! Center, and reached as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press and USA Today polls. The senior class of Arica Carter, Asia Durr and Sam Fuehring concluded their careers with a 123-23 record, making them the winningest senior class in program history. Durr was named ACC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American.
First year UofL Coach Chris Mack guided the men's basketball team to a 20-14 record while facing the nation's fourth-toughest schedule and reached UofL's 38th NCAA Tournament. Picked to finish 11th in the ACC, UofL achieved a 10-8 conference record and earned a tie for sixth in the final regular season standings. The Cardinals beat four Associated Press Top 25 teams and were No. 22 in the nation in the NCAA's NET rankings.
The Louisville women finished fourth in at the ACC Indoor Championships this season. Alivia Ash and Dorcas Wasike won ACC titles while 10 athletes earned All-ACC honors. Makenli Forrest and Wasike advanced to the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships. Forrest threw a personal-best 22.54m/73-11.50 in the final round of the weight throw to clinch second place. She earned first-team All-American accolades, becoming a two-time All-American after earning second-team honors in 2018. Wasike clocked a time of 15:55.84 to finish ninth in the 5,000m, earning second team All-American honors. The Louisville women finished tied for 27th at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships.
Louisville accumulated 297.5 points from its winter sports to move the Cardinals to 29th in the standings. UofL is one of eight ACC schools inside the top 30, tied for the most of any conference in the country.
The Cardinals picked up 80 points from women's swimming and diving, 75 from men's swimming and diving and 73 from women's basketball. Men's and women's indoor track and field added 44.5 and men's basketball tallied 25 more.
Louisville swimming and diving made a historic run this season. History was made on the final night of the NCAA Championships as the Louisville men's swimming and diving team had program-record fifth place finish on Saturday evening at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. The Cardinals' 212 points were also the most scored by a Louisville team at an NCAA Championships. Prior to this year's NCAA Championships, the Louisville men's top finish occurred in both 2018 and 2012 when the Cardinals placed ninth overall. UofL finished the 2019 ACC Men's Championship on a thrilling note, posting the fastest time in the nation in their 400 Free Relay gold medal. With three silver and two golds on the final night, UofL fought off a hard-charging Virginia team to claim the runners-up slot with 1135.5 points.
Following the Louisville women's fourth place finish the 2019 NCAA Championships, the Cardinals become the first ACC program in history to have both its men's and women's teams finish among the top-five in the team standings at NCAAs in the same year The women's NCAA week was highlighted by a pair of national championships by Mallory Comerford. Comerford, a senior from Kalamazoo, Mich., is the three-time ACC Women's Swimmer of the Year and a 10-time individual and 16-time relay All-American. She led her Cardinals to a best-ever fourth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championship. She was the first woman to win both the 100 and 200 freestyle at the NCAA Championship since 2006 and is a four-time NCAA individual champion overall. The University of Louisville women won three gold and two bronzes and finished third in the 2019 ACC Swimming and Diving. Cardinal senior Mallory Comerford won her second Most Valuable Swimmer Award to cap off a stellar ACC career. Arthur Albiero was named ACC Women's Coach of the Year.
Head coach Jeff Walz led the women's basketball team to a 32-4 record, an Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2018-19. The Cardinals finished with eight wins against Top 25 teams, including a 78-69 win over No. 2 UConn at the KFC Yum! Center, and reached as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press and USA Today polls. The senior class of Arica Carter, Asia Durr and Sam Fuehring concluded their careers with a 123-23 record, making them the winningest senior class in program history. Durr was named ACC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American.
First year UofL Coach Chris Mack guided the men's basketball team to a 20-14 record while facing the nation's fourth-toughest schedule and reached UofL's 38th NCAA Tournament. Picked to finish 11th in the ACC, UofL achieved a 10-8 conference record and earned a tie for sixth in the final regular season standings. The Cardinals beat four Associated Press Top 25 teams and were No. 22 in the nation in the NCAA's NET rankings.
The Louisville women finished fourth in at the ACC Indoor Championships this season. Alivia Ash and Dorcas Wasike won ACC titles while 10 athletes earned All-ACC honors. Makenli Forrest and Wasike advanced to the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships. Forrest threw a personal-best 22.54m/73-11.50 in the final round of the weight throw to clinch second place. She earned first-team All-American accolades, becoming a two-time All-American after earning second-team honors in 2018. Wasike clocked a time of 15:55.84 to finish ninth in the 5,000m, earning second team All-American honors. The Louisville women finished tied for 27th at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships.
| 2018-19 Learfield Directors' Cup Division I Winter Standings | |||
| 1. | Stanford | Pac 12 | 1158.75 |
| 2. | Michigan | Big Ten | 912.75 |
| 3. | Penn State | Big Ten | 830.50 |
| 4. | Wisconsin | Big Ten | 715.50 |
| 5. | Minnesota | Big Ten | 661.75 |
| 5. | Kentucky | SEC | 661.75 |
| 7. | Ohio State | Big Ten | 652.50 |
| 8. | Notre Dame | ACC | 622.00 |
| 9. | Virginia | ACC | 621.00 |
| 10. | Florida | SEC | 603.75 |
| 11. | NC State | ACC | 588.50 |
| 12. | Duke | ACC | 580.00 |
| 13. | Texas | Big 12 | 572.25 |
| 14. | Oregon | Pac 12 | 550.50 |
| 15. | BYU | WCC | 539.50 |
| 16. | Florida State | ACC | 536.75 |
| 17. | Indiana | Big Ten | 512.00 |
| 18. | LSU | SEC | 510.33 |
| 19. | Princeton | Ivy League | 503.50 |
| 20. | Texas A&M | SEC | 495.00 |
| 21. | North Carolina | ACC | 489.50 |
| 22. | USC | Pac 12 | 482.50 |
| 23. | Iowa | Big Ten | 465.00 |
| 24. | Nebraska | Big Ten | 463.75 |
| 25. | Tennessee | SEC | 462.75 |
| 26. | Arizona State | Pac 12 | 437.00 |
| 27. | Arkansas | SEC | 432.50 |
| 28. | Virginia Tech | ACC | 430.33 |
| 29. | Louisville | ACC | 422.50 |
| 30. | Washington | Pac 12 | 420.00 |
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Elif Istanbullouglu and Laura Ziegler Postgame Presser vs. Virginia 2.22.26
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Pat Kelsey Postgame Presser vs. Georgia Tech 2.21.26
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