Holly Aprile, Caitlin Ferguson and Celene Funke Meet with the Media

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville softball coach Holly Aprile along with seniors Caitlin Ferguson and Celene Funke met with the media via a teleconference from their homes on Thursday afternoon.

Aprile gave a brief review of shortened season and talked about the 2020 senior class. In turn, the two student-athletes also discussed their future plans. Ferguson recently graduated and will depart Louisville to enroll in pharmacy school in the fall, while Funke has elected to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA in the wake of COVID-19.

The Cardinals had compiled a 10-13 record in the face of a challenging schedule that featured 10 games against teams in the top 25. The team started the season with a month-long road swing that featured against then-No. 21/25 Ole Miss and 10th-ranked Oregon.

UofL opened play at Ulmer Stadium with the Red & Black Challenge and closed the weekend with three-straight wins. The Cardinals were poised for their ACC-opening series against Boston College when the season ended due to the pandemic.

"The way things developed, it was so abrupt and fast. We went from 'hey let's go attack Boston College' for our first ACC weekend, to complete shutdown, everything is over and that was a lot to handle," said Aprile. "I had no expectation of that. I wasn't able to really communicate that with them in person. I didn't anticipate that happening, so it was definitely a lot to take in."

When asked about the opportunity to grant student-athletes an extra year, Aprile was pleased about the prospect, while at the same time she understands the gravity of the choice facing student-athletes.

"It's a tremendous opportunity to be able to get back what you had lost, and also a difficult decision if you have things already in place, like Caitlin does and for a lot of other student-athletes just like her, with plans that they were intent on doing and you can't always change things," said Aprile. "We're excited for (Celene) Funke to come back, but it's also difficult for Caitlin as well."

Ferguson grappled with the choice of extending her career or continuing with her preset plan of attending pharmacy school in the fall.

"I've played softball for 16 years and I don't know what I would be without it, but I was thinking to myself, that I need to make my pharmacy career my priority, because I don't plan on coaching or anything, and pharmacy is going to pay the bills one day. So pharmacy school was the best decision for me," said Ferguson.

She also recalled the mixed emotions of reaching that decision.

"I called Coach Holly and told her that I wanted to come back and she said, 'alright, that's great. We've got to figure out all the details of it.' But the next call was definitely difficult, because I really wanted to (continue to play), but at this time, there's really no reason for me to just stop my education for a year and not go into pharmacy," she recounts. "She was very supportive of my decision. I really feel loved by this program and she made me feel that way."

Looking back on her career at UofL, two memories in particular stand out.

"Freshman year against Notre Dame at home, I hit my first college home run and I can remember I hit it out to right field, where my dad was sitting with my dog and that was pretty great," she recalled. "And then (last year) against Florida State when we won that series, that was something so special that I've never experienced anywhere else and those two memories were probably my favorite for sure."

For Funke, the decision to return for another season was much easier.

"It just made sense for me to come back," she said. "I was lucky enough to graduate with my undergrad in three years. I wanted to get my MBA and I started a two-year program rather than a one-year program so that I would not be too stressed out with softball throughout my senior year. It couldn't have worked out better for me. When I called Coach and told her I wanted to come back, she was thrilled to hear it. At the time I thought Ferg was going to come back too and we'd have the team we had last year, but obviously things worked out a little differently."

For her part, Funke has discovered a newfound resolve.

"All of this has definitely given me a different perspective, a lot the alums tell you to cherish every moment, it literally goes by so fast, the and fact that my first three years went by very fast, but then how my senior year is stripped and we couldn't do anything about it, the pandemic was bigger than us," she said. "I think that it gives me a new perspective to truly live it out. It could be your last game on the field, you have no idea. For Ferg, she had no idea that would be her last weekend at Ulmer Stadium I think that the new perspective that I have on things, I'm really excited to bring that energy – which I think most of the team has that, but for the incoming freshmen and any transfers we get, it's something that we'll all have."

University of Louisville Athletics

Holly Aprile, Caitlin Ferguson and Celene Funke Meet with the Media

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