Louisville stood at seventh in the nation in the Learfield IMG College Director’s Cup Division I fall 2019 national all-sports standings, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of winter sports championships and nearly all of the springs sports season. The Cardinals were one of eight ACC schools in the top 20 schools in the Director’s Cup fall standings, five more than the next best conference.
 Louisville and Michigan were the only two programs to collectively reach the postseason in fall 2019 in football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, field hockey and volleyball. The 2019-20 season was the first time in UofL history that football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and field hockey have all participated in postseason competition in the same year.
 Cardinal sports teams achieved an impressive 3.332 combined grade point average for the 2019-20 academic year, including a record 3.507 GPA for the 2020 Spring semester. All 23 sports programs were above a 3.0 collective GPA for the 2020 Spring semester, with 84 percent (472 of 562) of the Cardinals’ student-athletes earning a 3.0 GPA or better and reaching Athletic Director’s Honor Roll status. A total of 117 UofL student-athletes achieved a 4.0 GPA for the 2020 Spring Semester.
 UofL Athletics won the 2019-20 NCAA Team Works Award competition, its second national title for outstanding community service in the six years of the competition. For the 2019 fall semester during the national competition, UofL student-athletes amassed over 6,800 service hours through its CardsCARE community outreach program in the NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Community Service Challenge. The Cardinals have ranked in the top 10 nationally in service hours for six consecutive years.
 UofL student-athletes achieved a record 91 percent graduation rate in the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) Report, which was developed 15 years ago to account for transfers into the university who graduate and those who leave in good academic standing. The Cardinals’ GSR, most recently reported for freshmen who entered in the 2012-13 academic year, has risen 25 percent since the reporting began 15 years ago.
 Louisville is the only school with players taken in the first round of all four pro drafts in 2020 — MLS, WNBA, NFL, and MLB: MLS 15th pick - Cherif Dieye; WNBA 12th pick - Jazmine Jones; NFL 11th pick - Mekhi Becton; MLB 10th pick - Reid Detmers; and MLB 29th pick - Bobby Miller. The 2020 NBA Draft is not scheduled until October 16.
 The Cardinals’ football team posted the best turnaround in the nation among Power Five schools, rising to an 8-5 record after finishing 2-10 a year ago, topping the season off with a Music City Bowl victory.
 The UofL field hockey team, ranked fifth in the nation, won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game before falling in the national quarterfinals.
 UofL’s volleyball team (22-10) advanced to the final eight teams of the NCAA championship -- its highest finish in school history -- while upsetting No. 2 Texas along the way.
 The Cards’ women’s soccer team reached the NCAA second round and its men’s soccer team advanced to the NCAA’s final 16 teams.
 Louisville’s women’s basketball team finished 28-4, won the ACC regular season championship and was ranked No. 6 in the nation before the NCAA Tournament was cancelled. The men’s team achieved a 24-7 record and finished the season positioned eighth in the nation in the NCAA’s NET rankings (No. 14 AP, No. 13 USA Today). Louisville was one of five schools with both of its men’s (14th) and women’s (6th) basketball teams ranked among the nation’s top 15 in the final AP poll.
 The Cards’ swimming teams performed well with the men (ninth in the nation) and women’s (16th) squads both highly ranked before their postseason was cancelled.
 While spring sports had a very limited competitive season, UofL’s golf teams, both men’s (11th) -- which won three tournaments -- and women’s (34th) were nationally ranked and UofL’s baseball team was the preseason No. 1 team in the nation, finishing their abbreviated season at No. 2.
* Denotes team finish at ACC Championship
% Denotes regular season ACC Champion
^ Only fall NCAA Championships were held. Winter and Spring Championships were cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
Season Superlatives
Regular Season
Women's Basketball
Individual
Nicolas Albiero (100 and 200 Butterfly)
Grace Oglesby (200 Butterfly)
Colton Paulson (200 Freestyle)
Evgenii Somov (100 and 200 Breaststroke)
Men's Swimming 400 Medley Relay (Mitchell Whyte, Evgenii Somov, Nicolas Albiero, Andrej Barna)
Men's Swimming 800 Freestyle Relay (Nick Albiero, Colton Paulson, Andrej Barna, Samuel Steele)
Nick Albiero
ACC Men's Swimming Scholar Athlete of the Year
Dana Evans
ACC Women's Basketball Player of the Year
Scott Satterfield
ACC Football Coach of the Year
Kylee Shook
ACC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year
Mekhi Becton NFL, 1st Round/11th overall by the New York Jets
Jazmine Jones WNBA, 1st Round/12th overall by the New York Liberty
Cherif Dieye MLS, 1st round/15th overall by the New York Red Bulls
Kylee Shook WNBA, 2nd Round/13th overall by the New York Liberty
Posted a 13-4 record (2-1 ACC) through 17 games before the season was halted due to COVID-19.
Louisville opened the season as the top-ranked team in the country in three different polls and was voted as the preseason favorite to win the ACC.
The Cardinals’ offense was off to a strong start in 2020 ranking first in the country in doubles (54), third in batting average (.323), fifth in hits (189) and ninth in slugging percentage (.508). Junior Zach Britton led Division I with 11 doubles, while junior Reid Detmers was second nationally with 48 strikeouts.
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UofL had three players selected in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft. Reid Detmers (10th overall, Angels) and Bobby Miller (29th, Dodgers) were taken in the first round, while Zach Britton (136th, Blue Jays) was picked in round five. Louisville was the only school in the country with multiple players taken in the first round.
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Two other Cardinals signed professional contracts, with Justin Lavey inking a deal with the Seattle Mariners and Danny Oriente signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
In his second season with the Cardinals, UofL Coach Chris Mack guided Louisville to a 24-7 record and a 15-5 ACC mark in 2019-20, which tied UofL for second in the regular season standings before the postseason was cancelled due to health concerns. It was the best overall record through 31 games for a Louisville team in six years and marked the most conference victories for the Cardinals in their six years in the ACC.
The Cardinals finished the season positioned eighth in the nation in the NCAA’s NET rankings. After finishing No. 14 in the Associated Press poll and No. 13 in the USA Today poll, Louisville is one of only five schools to be ranked in the AP Top 25 poll at least once during each of the past 17 seasons, excluding preseason polls Louisville finished among the Top 15 in the AP poll for the 25th time, sixth-most all-time. Louisville’s No. 1 ranking in the Dec. 2 and 9 Associated Press polls were just the third and fourth times UofL has ever been ranked as the No.1 team in the nation in the AP poll.
UofL produced its 18th consecutive 20-win season. Louisville is one of four Division I schools in the nation which has won 20 or more games in each of the past 18 seasons. Reaching 20 victories this season and extending their streaks are Kansas (31), Duke (24), Gonzaga (22) and Louisville (18). UofL has won at least 19 games in 46 of the last 50 years.
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Junior forward Jordan Nwora became the Cardinals’ 21st All-America selection and first since Russ Smith was a consensus first team All-America choice in 2014. He was named to All-America third teams by The Associated Press, NABC, The Sporting News, US Basketball Writers Association, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and The Athletic. He is just the 12th consensus first, second or third team All-America selection for the Cardinals (10 individuals honored on 12 occasions). He was named to the 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-America basketball second team and earned his third straight All-ACC Academic Men’s Basketball Team honor. Nwora, a first-team All-ACC selection who was the second-leading vote-getter, finished second in the conference player of the year voting. Nwora entered the 2020 NBA Draft following the season.
With the 68-48 win over Boston College on Feb. 27, Louisville claimed a third straight ACC regular season title and its first ever outright ACC title. Prior to this stretch, Louisville had never won consecutive regular season conference titles. It also marks UofL’s first outright regular season conference title since they won the Conference USA regular season championship in 2000-01. It marked their 8th conference title.
At 16-2 in ACC play, the Cardinals tied the program record for conference wins in a season. They also went 16-2 in American Athletic Conference play in 2013-14.
UofL moved up six spots in the AP poll to No. 2 and seven spots in the USA Today poll to No. 2 following their win over No. 1 Oregon. It matched their highest ever ranking in both polls.
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At 28-4, UofL has recorded at least 20 wins for 10 straight seasons to extend the program record. The longest run previously was three, achieved twice. The Cards have won at least 20 games in 12 of Walz’s 13 seasons.
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With the 70-53 win over Virginia Tech on Senior Day, Bionca Dunham, Jazmine Jones, Jessica Laemmle and Kylee Shook became the third straight senior class to conclude their career as the most accomplished class in program history. They finished their career at 125-19 (.868), which eclipses the 123 wins from last year’s class. They will also set the program record for winning percentage and the program-record for fewest losses.
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Jazmine Jones and Dana Evans became the 30th and 31st players to score 1,000 points at UofL, and the 11th and 12th to do so under head coach Jeff Walz. Jones had 26 points in the win over Duke to eclipse 1,000 points. Evans had 18 points against Florida State to reach 1,000 points in her career.
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Kylee Shook becomes UofL’s all-time leading shot blocker leader with 223 career blocks. She recorded six blocks at UT Martin to become UofL’s all-time leader, surpassing Angel McCoughtry (2006-09) who had 162. She has 86 blocks this year, which is the most in Louisville single season history. She had three blocks at Syracuse to eclipse Yuliya Tokoya’s 59 blocks in 2006-07 for the single-season record.
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Dana Evans became the first player in ACC history to be named ACC Player of the Year after being named ACC Sixth Player of the Year. It marks the fourth time in the past five years that a Louisville player has won ACC Player of the Year (Myisha Hines-Allen – 2015-16; Asia Durr – 2017-18, 2018-19; Dana Evans – 2019-20).
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Dana Evans was one of 10 players selected to the 2020 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America team. She is just the third Louisville player to earn WBCA Coaches' All-American team honors, the others being Angel McCoughtry in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 and Asia Durr in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
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Jazmine Jones named WBCA All-American Honorable Mention, All-ACC First Team and All-ACC Defensive team.
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Kylee Shook named ACC Defensive Player of the Year, All-ACC First Team, All-ACC Defensive Team and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Finalist.
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UofL averaged 9,159 fans per game, which topped the ACC and ranked fifth in the country. UofL averaged 9,818 in ACC games, including a season-high 12,086 fans vs. Notre Dame. They welcomed 12,008 fans for the exhibition against the USA National Team.
Sophomore Ivine Chemutai earned All-ACC honors as she placed 13th with a time of 21:10.5 at the ACC Championships, leading the women to a 12th place finish. Bailey Beery was Louisville's No. 2 runner as she finished 34th with a time of 21:41.0. On the men's side, sophomore Emmanuel Cheboson was the top finisher for the Cardinals, finishing 45th with a time of 25:22.7. The Louisville men also finished 12th at the ACC Championship.
Chemutai earned all-region honors as she placed eighth at the NCAA Southeast Regional with a personal best time of 20:18.8. She earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors for the first time in her career. Bailey Beery was Louisville's No. 2 runner as she finished 42nd with a personal best time of 21:17.4. She wraps up her best season as a Cardinal. Emmanuel Cheboson was the top finisher for the Cardinals, finishing 12th with a personal best time of 30:21.8. Cameron Stephens was the second finisher for the Cardinals, finishing with a time of 32:45.7.Â
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Chemutai earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional, turning in a personal-best time of 20:18.8. She posted a mile pace of 5:17, improving upon her previous 6K record time by a full 36 seconds, topping the 20.54.80 she turned in at the Pre-Nationals earlier in the season. Chemutai finished 59th with a time of 21:00.7. Her finish ranks third in school history, behind teammate Dorcas Wasike's 14th place in 2018 and 29th place in 2017. She wraps up the season with four top 10 finishes.
The 2019 Cardinals posted a 16-6 overall record, tying a program mark for wins and earned the overall No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, serving as a host site for the first time in program history. Louisville also made its first foray into the NCAA quarterfinals after defeating Michigan 2-1 in double-overtime in its first-round matchup.
UofL finished the season at No. 5 in the NFHCA Coaches poll after reaching as high as No. 5. The Cardinals spent the last 10 weeks of the season ranked among the top 10 in the nation.
For the third straight year, Louisville tied a school record with three UofL field hockey players earned 2019 Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division I All-America honors. Mercedes Pastor was selected to the first team while Alli Bitting and Carter Ayars were named to the second and third team respectively. Louisville was one of four teams with three honorees among the 48 student-athletes recognized by the NFHCA.
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The Cardinals placed a program-record seven student-athletes on the 2019 NFHCA Division I All-Region teams. Carter Ayars, Bethany Russ, Alli Bitting and Mercedes Pastor earned first team honors while Meghan Schneider, Madison Walsh and Erica Cooper were named to the second team.
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Mercedes Pastor was one of four finalists for the Class of 2020 Honda Sport Award for Field Hockey. She became the second Honda Sport Award for Field Hockey Finalist in program history. Jessica Javelet was also a finalist for the 2005-06 award.
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While producing a historic 2019 season on the field, the University of Louisville field hockey team also excelled in the classroom in the fall semester with a 3.528 team GPA. Additionally, the Cardinals were named to the 2019 Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA Division I National Academic Team Award list for the ninth straight year the Cardinals have earned the honor.
The 2019 Louisville football season was full of accomplishments. Coming off a 2-10 season the year before, the Cardinals posted the top turnaround among Power 5 teams, finishing at 8-5 and winning the Music City Bowl. Scott Satterfield, who was named the ACC Coach of the Year, became only the second coach in league history to take a winless team to finish with five league wins the following season.
After a dropping the season opener against No. 9 Notre Dame, the Cardinals went on to win seven of the next 11 games, which included a home win over Boston College and a road win at No. 17 Wake Forest. The Cardinals reached bowl eligibility with their sixth win at NC State and closed the year with a big home win over Syracuse.
Javian Hawkins moved into third place on the school's single season rushing list with 1,525 yards, becoming the first Louisville running back to rush for over 1,500 yards.
Wide receiver Tutu Atwell, who was named first team All-ACC, broke Harry Douglas' (1,265, 2007) school record for most receiving yards in a season with 1,276 yards and tied the mark with 12 touchdown receptions. He closed the 2019 season with 70 receptions for 1,276 yards. He caught nine passes for 147 yards to move into a tie for eighth place on the single season list for receptions.
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Micale Cunningham, the Most Valuable Player of the Music City Bowl, set the school record with a passing efficiency mark of 194.41.
The 2019-20 men’s golf team picked up three tournament wins, capturing the Bearcat Invitational, the Bank of Tennessee, and the Dorado Beach Invitational. Louisville finished no lower than third place in seven of the team’s eight events.
Senior John Murphy picked up his first two career tournament wins by earning victories at the Bearcat and the Dorado Beach Tournaments.
Murphy and junior Matthias Schmid were named to the Fred Haskins Award Watch List, which recognizes the nation’s top golfers – the only school nationally with two members on the list.
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Murphy and Schmid finished in the top 25 nationally in stroke average, finishing at 69.59 and 69.91, respectively.
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Head coach Mark Crabtree retired after the season, leading the program to 11 NCAA regional and four NCAA championship appearances.
The women’s golf team finished the year ranked 34th in the Golfstat rankings.
The team had four, top-4 finishes on the season in six events, including a match play win over Western Kentucky, under first-year head coach Whitney Young.
The Cardinals won the 16th annual Cardinal Cup with a three-day score of 868. Lauren Hartlage tied a program record by shooting a final-round 7-under-par 65. UofL earned its ninth Cardinal Cup victory after setting a new tournament record by three strokes with a final-round 8-under-par 280. It also ranks tied for fifth lowest all-time in program history. Louisville's 54-hole score of 868 ranked fourth all-time in Cardinal Cup history.
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Lauren Hartlage was named a WGCA All-American Honorable Mention. She became just the third golfer in program history to earn All-American honors by the coaches association, and the first since 2011. It's the third All-American honor for Hartlage, who was named a Golfweek Honorable Mention selection each of the last two seasons.
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Despite a shortened season, Hartlage still set a new UofL single-season record with a 71.53 stroke average in 17 rounds. She is the first Louisville golfer to average below par for a season.
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Hartlage's memorable season saw her begin the year by being named to the Golfweek Preseason All-American Second Team. She received an invitation to play at the second annual Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship, which was later canceled. In January, she won the Women's Orlando International Amateur by four strokes, where she led wire-to-wire at the three-day event. Hartlage was invited by the USGA International Team Selection Committee to participate in a practice session for the 2020 Curtis Cup.
The Cardinals went 5-4 in the shortened season, marking the first time since 2017 that they have finished with a winning record.
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Louisville recorded a 16-6 win over Marquette and a 15-13 win at Vanderbilt, marking two wins over teams they lost to the previous season.
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Rachel Florek set the program-record for saves in a game with 17 twice this season (Virginia Tech and Michigan). Against Virginia Tech, she allowed eight goals and had a .680 save percentage; she had a .531 save percentage against the Wolverines.
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The Cardinals ranked second in the ACC and eighth in the NCAA with 11.8 caused turnovers per game.
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Louisville ranked second in the ACC with 19.8 ground balls per game.
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Maddie Birch led the ACC with 1.9 caused turnovers per game.
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Hannah Morris led the ACC with a 72.7 free position percentage and ranked 11th in the league with 21 goals.
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Rachel Florek led the ACC and ranked fourth in the NCAA with 95 saves. She led the league with 10.6 saves per game and ranked fourth with a 50.3 save percentage.
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Caroline Blalock ranked sixth in the ACC with 2.2 ground balls per game.
The spring season was just about to begin for Louisville rowing when the season was cancelled. The team had competed in three fall events.
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The V8+ boat placed seventh in the Women's Club Eights race at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta. The Cards finished the three-mile event with a time of 16:56.989. UofL was sixth among NCAA schools, finishing ahead of ACC rival North Carolina by nearly 23 seconds
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At the Head of the Hooch, the Cards earned a pair of silver medals over the course of three races. A fog delay forced the cancellation of the Championship 4+ event. In the College & Club Novice 4+ race, the Cardinals earned silver, finishing ahead of 29 other boats. In the Championship 8+ race, UofL put three boats in the water. The V8 boat picked up a second place finish with a time of 15:20.944. They finished two seconds behind the winner Alabama, and ahead of ACC rival North Carolina by nearly 26 seconds. The 2V8+ crew finished in eighth place and the 3V8+ boat took 11th place. In the final race of the day, the top novice boat finish sixth among the field of 28 in the College & Club Novice 8+. The Cardinals' second boat in the N8+ race placed 20th.
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At the final fall race, the Rivanna Romp, the V8+ boat finished in seventh place of 21 boats with a time of 13:56.5. The Cards finished ahead of Miami and Clemson's top boats and just a tenth of a second behind SMU. UofL's 2V8+ boat finished 13th and the 3V8+ boat finished in 18th place. The V4+ race saw Louisville put five boats in the water. The V4+ boat came in sixth with a time of 15:29.6, beating out UCF, SMU and Clemson's top boats. The 2V4+ crew crossed the finish line with a time of 16:03.1 to finish 18th. Just behind with a time of 16:05.0 was the 3V4+ boat. The 5V4+ boat finished 22nd in a time of 16:25.7, while the 4V4+ crew was 25th in a time of 16:52.9. The N8+ boat for the Cardinals came in eighth place with a time of 15:58.6.
The men's soccer team concluded its first season under head coach John Michael Hayden with a 10-8-2 record, which included two NCAA tournament victories over USF and No. 18 UC Davis.
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The Cards qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year and have now made the NCAA Tournament 12 of the last 13 seasons. The Cardinals advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four years and the seventh time in the last 10 seasons.
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The Cards handed eventual national champion Georgetown its lone loss of the season.
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UofL finished the season ranked 20th in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
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Junior forward Emil Elveroth was named to the watch list for the 2019 MAC Hermann Trophy, which honors the United Soccer Coaches Division I National Player of the Year.
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Head coach John Michael Hayden is the second UofL head coach to lead the Cardinals to the NCAA Tournament in their first season as coach (Ken Lolla in 2007). He is the first head coach to win multiple games in the NCAA Tournament in their first year at the helm.
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Cherif Dieye was selected 15th overall in the MLS SuperDraft by the New York Red Bulls. He became the seventh Louisville player to be drafted in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft.
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Dieye was named to the United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-South Region Second Team and the USC Scholar All-South Region Second Team. In addition, he was a 2019 All-ACC Second Team selection.
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Cody Cochran, Cherif Dieye, Jake Gelnovatch and Emil Elveroth were named to the All-ACC Academic Team
Louisville, finished fourth in the ACC with a record of 5-3-2, and made their sixth NCAA Championship appearance with an overall record of 13-5-2. The Cardinals finished the season ranked No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
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Emina Ekic led the Cardinals with eight goals and eight assists for 24 points on the season. Brooklynn Rivers wrapped up her senior season ranked second on the team with five goals for 10 points while Delaney Snyder finished third on the team with four goals and one assist for nine points. Louisville starting goalkeeper Gabby Kouzelos finished with an overall record of 13-5-2 along with nine shutouts for a 0.70 goals against average.Â
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The Cardinals had three players earn All-ACC honors in 2019. Emina Ekic was named a first team All-ACC selection for the second straight year and her third straight year of earning All-ACC honors. Redshirt junior Gabby Kouzelos was named a second team All-ACC selection while senior Brooklynn Rivers earned third team All-ACC honors for the second straight year.Â
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Louisville junior Emina Ekic was named a second team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches association for the second straight year. Ekic is one of 50 players named to the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's All-America Teams. Ekic was also named a first team all-region selection after completing her best season to date. She also earned first team All-ACC honors. Ekic finished the season as the team's leading scorer with eight goals and eight assists for 24 points. She also led the team in assists. Ekic converted a career-high 3 of 4 penalty kicks on the year. While also finishing the year with five game-winning goals, ranking her third in the ACC and 27th nationally.
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Ekic and Rivers earned All-Atlantic Region honors by United Soccer Coaches association. Ekic earned first team honors for the third straight season while Rivers earns first team honors for the first time and her second straight all-region honor.
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Louisville had five athletes on the 2019 All-ACC Academic Women’s Soccer Team. Seniors Arianna Ferraro and Brooklynn Rivers, junior Emina Ekic and Gabby Kouzelos and sophomore Delaney Snyder represented the Cardinals on the list. Ekic is a three-time honoree while Kozelos earned the honor for the second straight year. Rivers, Ferraro and Snyder are first time honorees.Â
The Cardinals finished the shortened season with a 10-13 record on the eve of their ACC-opening series.
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During the early season, the Cardinals faced a tough schedule that featured 10 games against teams in the top 25.
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The team opened the season with four straight road tournaments. The Cardinals emerged with some impressive milestones, including a season-opening upset against No. 21/25 Ole Miss, a no-hitter from junior Chardonnay Harris against Wichita State and handing then-10th-ranked Oregon its first loss of the season.
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UofL opened play at Ulmer Stadium by hosting the Red & Black Challenge. After dropping their first game 2-1 in extra innings to Illinois, the Cards posted three straight wins against Northwestern, Illinois and Evansville to finish the weekend.
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Sophomore Cassady Greenwood paced the Cards offensively with a .386 batting average (17-for-44). her sister, redshirt junior Carmyn Greenwood stood second at .373.
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Redshirt sophomore Taylor Roby led the team with seven home runs and 16 RBIs. She also carried a 5-7 record in the circle with a team-best 2.00 ERA.
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2020 Preseason All-ACC selection Celene Funke led the team with three triples. She was tied for second in the ACC and tied for 21st in the final NCAA standings in that category. Funke extended her career total to 18 and placing her in second place on Louisville’s all-time list for triples.
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Funke was 13-for-13 in stolen bases in 2020, extending her career tally to 62. She stands at No. 3 on Louisville’s all-time stolen base list and needs six more to tie Sidney Melton (2015-19) for third. Audrey Rendon (2004-07) holds the record with 82.
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Funke was selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2020 Senior CLASS Award. She was also named to the 2020 Preseason All-ACC Team as voted on by the league’s 13 head coaches.
Following their third place finish at the ACC Championships, the University of Louisville women's swimming and diving team qualified 12 individual swimmers and two relay swimmers to the 2020 NCAA Championships, which was to be held on at the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga., prior to the cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cards tied the school record for participants set in 2018 with 12 and have the third most qualifiers in the nation. The Cardinals' 12 individual qualifiers are entered in a combined 10 races. In addition to the individual swims, Louisville has also qualified in all five relays.Â
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Following their third place finish at the ACC Championships, the University of Louisville men's swimming and diving team qualified 10 individual swimmers and four relay swimmers to the 2020 NCAA Championships, which was to be held on March 25-28 at the IU Natatorium at IUPUI in Indianapolis, Ind., prior to the cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cardinals rank in the top six in most qualifiers in the nation and the most in the ACC. UofL is entered in 12 different individual events and all five relays.
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Nick Albiero was named to 2019-20 USA Swimming National Team in the 200m fly. Molly Fears became the first Cardinal diver to ever represent Team USA at the 2019 World University Games where she finished 11th in the finals of the platform.
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Nick Albiero was named the 2020 All-ACC Academic Swimming Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Albiero has a 3.952 GPA and majors in health & human performance in exercise science. The Cardinal swimmer was named an All-American in the 100 backstroke, 100 and 200 butterfly, 400 and 800 freestyle relays and the 400 medley relay, winning both fly events at the ACC Championships. Albiero is a three-time All-ACC Academic honoree.
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Daniel Sos represented Hungary at the 2019 World University Games where he finished sixth in the 200m IM & 19th in the 400m IM. Andrej Barna represented Serbia in the 2019 FINA World Championships. Hayden Curley participated in USA Swimming's National Open Water Select team. Haridi Sameh was named as a member of the Egyptian National Team and competed for his country at the 2019 FINA World Championships.
The 2019-20 men’s tennis season ended on March 12 as the Cardinal were getting ready to take on ACC opponent Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. The Cardinals posted a 9-6 overall record and a 2-1 mark in league play during the shortened season.
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Louisville was led in singles by junior Tin Chen, who carried a 21-7 overall record and was 6-4 at No. 1 in dual matches. Chen was ranked as high as No. 42 in the ITA singles rankings and appeared in the top 100 four times during the season. He stood at No. 91 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) singles rankings. Chen was named ACC Men's Tennis Co-Player of the Week on January 21.
Sophomore Fabien Salle paced the Cardinals in doubles with an overall tally of 17-6 overall record and a 6-4 mark in dual matches playing mostly at No. 1.
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On January 18, the Cardinals upset No. 10 Virginia 4-3 in their ACC opener at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. It marked the first time the Cardinals beat a top-10 since defeating No. 10 North Carolina 5-2 on March 20, 2015 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.
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On October 28, 2019, Tin Chen became the first player in program history to capture the ITA/Ohio Valley Regional singles title. With his 6-0, 6-3 win over Indiana's Bennett Crane in the finals of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)/Ohio Valley Regional Championship. With the win, the junior qualified for the Oracle ITA National Fall Championship.
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Head coach Rodrigo da Silva was in his first season as Louisville’s head coach. He took over the program in September 2019 after spending four seasons as the head coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He made his return to UofL where he spent six years (2009-14) as an assistant coach, helping guide the Cardinals to three BIG EAST Conference tournament titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances.
In a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Louisville Women’s tennis team turned in an 8-6 record.
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The Cards blasted off the season with six straight wins including two sweeps apiece of North Alabama, Southeast Missouri and highlighted by a 5-2 win over Lipscomb.
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The Cardinals made a strong showing in doubles with a team record of 33-11. The pair of Maia Haumuller and Raven Neeley posted a 10-2 mark, going 4-0 at No. 1 and 6-2 at the No. 2 slot. Andrea DiPalma paired with Rhea Verma to board a mark of 7-2, primarily at the No. 1 spot. Overall, Neely holds a 12-3 cumulative record with two different partners.
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The Cardinals had a winning record in singles overall with a mark of 50-34. Freshman phenom Andrea DiPalma put up an 8-2 record with Rhea Verma turning in an 8-5 mark. Raven Neely, tasked with the duties of No. 1 singles, went 7-6 in the country’s best conference.
Before the NCAA canceled all winter and spring championships, Louisville’s Makenli Forrest and Gabriela had advanced to the NCAA Indoor Championships. Leon's school record mark of 4.40m/14-5.25 at the ACC Championships ranked 11th in the nation heading into the championship. Forrest's throw of 22.11m/72-6.50 at the Tyson Invitational also ranked 11th in the nation as she entered the championship.Â
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Fourteen Cardinals earned All-ACC honors at the ACC Indoor Championship. Micah Oberhausen (Heptathlon), Dorcas Wasike (5,000 Meters), Alivia Ash (High Jump), and Gabriela Leon (Pole Vault) earned first team All-ACC honors. Makenli Forrest (Weight Throw), Halee Hudson (Weight Throw), Renate van Tonder (High Jump), Alexis Gibbons (Long Jump), Cayden Spencer-Thompson (High Jump), Trey Allen (High Jump), Sterling Warner (60 Meters), Christian Buckley (Shot Put), Aliyah Welter (Pole Vault), and Auriane Viola (Pole Vault) earned second team All-ACC honors. Louisville had two athletes qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championship.
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Eight Cardinals were named to the All-ACC Indoor Academic Team. Christian Buckley, Makenli Forrest, Alexis Gibbons, Halee Hudson, Gabriela Leon, Auriane Viola, Dorcas Wasike and Aliyah Welter represented the Cardinals. All eight athletes earned All-ACC honors at the 2020 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships while two of the eight athletes advanced to the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships. Wasike and Leon earned first team All-ACC honors while Buckley, Forrest, Gibbons, Hudson, Viola, and Welter earned second team All-ACC honors. Forrest and Leon advanced to the NCAA Championship.
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The Cardinals broke three school records during the 2020 indoor season. All three records were broken at the ACC Indoor Championships. Kayla Alexander broke the 60m hurdles record with a time of 8.32, Sterling Warner broke the 60 meters record with a time of 6.68 and Gabriela Leon broke the pole vault record with a height of 4.40m/14-5.25.
The University of Louisville volleyball team finished the 2019 season with a 22-10 record. The Cardinals were 13-3 when leading scorer and passer Melanie McHenry went down with a knee injury, sending UofL into a spiral as they lost four of the next five matches. Louisville regrouped and won three of its four final regular season matches and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA.
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The Cardinals made their 28th NCAA appearance, sweeping Samford in the first round and outlasting host Western Kentucky 3-2 to advance to their fifth Sweet Sixteen which was held in Austin. There, the Cardinals pulled what has been called the biggest upset in tournament history when they knocked off No. 2 Texas in five sets to advance to their first-ever Elite Eight. The Cards fell to a tall Minnesota squad to end their Cinderella run.
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Aiko Jones and Tori Dilfer were named to the All-Texas Regional, a first for any Cardinal. The Kingston, Jamaica native scored 86.5 points in the four tournament matches, 40 more than the next Cardinal. She averaged 4.56 kills per set, notched seven aces, 21 digs and 12 blocks. Dilfer had 166 assists, five aces, 32 digs and seven blocks in the NCAA tournament run.
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Aiko Jones was named an AVCA HM All-American. She led the Cardinals in points (460), kills (382) and is second in blocks (97). She was the leading hitter in NCAA play in with 86.5 points in the four post season matches.
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Aiko Jones was named to the AVCA First Team East All-Region Team. She led the Cardinals in points (460), kills (382) and is second in blocks (97). She was the leading hitter in NCAA play with 80 points in the four post season matches. She was First Team All-ACC, All-LUV Tournament, and All-Cardinal Classic this year.
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Lone senior Melanie McHenry won the 2020 Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship Award as announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference.
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Amber Stivrins and Amaya Tillman, who earned the starting nods were voted to the ACC-All-Freshmen team. Stivrins hit .243 with 169 kills, four aces and 30 blocks. Amaya Tillman hit .180 with 122 kills, two aces and 95 blocks, including a career-high 13 versus No. 2 Pitt.
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Aiko Jones was voted to the First Team All-ACC Squad with teammate Anna Stevenson making the Second Team. Stevenson, a transfer from Auburn, is second on the team in point production with 310 adding a team-high 140 blocks including a season-high 10 at Boston College.
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Members of the All-ACC Academic Squad included: Tori Dilfer, Alexis Hamilton, Aiko Jones, Melanie McHenry, Anna Stevenson and Amaya Tillman.