No. 10/19 Cardinals Host Cincinnati on Saturday for Senior Day

Saturday, January 30

LOUISVILLE, KY

Women 10 a.m.

University of Louisville

Cincinnati (WOMEN)

Mihalis Deliyiannis splashes into the wall

Photo by: Karl L. Moore

No. 10/19 Cardinals Host Cincinnati on Saturday for Senior Day

January 28, 2021 | Swimming & Diving

Cardinals return home for the final dual meet of the season.

By: Chandler Brandes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In the final dual meet of the season, the No. 10/19 University of Louisville men's and women's swimming and diving team returns home on Saturday, January 30 to face Cincinnati.

The meet will be held in two sessions at the Ralph Wright Natatorium, beginning with the women at 10 a.m. followed by the men at 2:00 p.m.

Prior to the start of each respective meet, the Cardinals will honor 10 seniors: Morgan Friesen, Rachel Howard, Libby Lambert, Carley Lowe, Ashlyn Schoof, Kaitlyn Schorr, Nicolas Albiero, Mihalis Deliyiannis, T.C. Smith, and Nikolaos Sofianidis.

About the Cardinals
The Cardinals split with RV/No. 10 Kentucky in the annual Battle of the Bluegrass last weekend as the men defeated their in-state rival 188-111 and the women fell 200.5-99.5. The men swept both relays and multi-event winners included Albiero (100/200 butterfly), Evgenii Somov (100/200 breaststroke), Mitchell Whyte (100/200 backstroke), and Haridi Sameh Kamel (50/100 freestyle). To cap off the team victory, Daniel Pinto dove to second place on the 3-meter board en route to breaking his own program record with a score of 402.83. Kaylee Wheeler and Alena Kraus paced the women's team by winning the 100 breaststroke and 100 butterfly, respectively.

On January 15, the UofL men took down Missouri 199-101 in the first home meet of the season while the women competed in a non-scoring meet against the Tigers. The Cardinals claimed both relays and a total of nine individual events, including two apiece from Hayden Curley, Whyte, and Pinto. It came down to the UofL men winning the final 400 freestyle relay to secure a narrow 152-148 victory over Notre Dame on January 9 where Whyte, Albiero, and Somov were once again double-event winners. The Cardinal women came up just short and fell 141-158 to the Fighting Irish despite winning both relays, and Friesen, Maria Sumida, Gabi Albiero, and Wheeler collected individual wins.

Louisville concluded the 2019-20 season with a 4-2 dual meet record. Both the men's and women's teams finished third overall at the ACC Championships where the Cardinals produced a total of four individual gold medalists and two relay champions. UofL qualified 10 men and 12 women for the NCAA Championships before the meet was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Scouting Cincinnati
Before facing the Cardinals, the Bearcats host Xavier for their home-opener on Friday, January 29. Last year, the Cincinnati men posted a 6-2 dual meet record while the women concluded the season with an overall mark of 5-3. Under head coach Mandy Commons-DiSalle, the men were the team runners-up at the American Athletic Conference Championships as the women finished third. At the conference meet, the Bearcats set numerous school records and produced four individual champions.

Cincinnati started their season at Notre Dame on December 4 as both the men and women suffered losses to the Fighting Irish. Hunter Gubeno was the Bearcats' only double-event winner after taking the 200 backstroke and the 200 individual medley while Blake Hanna sprinted to first in the 100 freestyle. On the women's side, Victoria Hunt (100 breaststroke) and Maddie Exton (100 freestyle) secured individual victories against nationally-ranked Notre Dame.

Last Time Out
Saturday's matchup marks the first meeting between the Cardinals and the Bearcats since the 2015-16 season. The Louisville men defeated Cincinnati 226-74 and the women won 212-87.