Cardinal athletes take on the world this summer

It may seem as though summer is a slow period for UofL Athletics. However, that perception is wrong.

In fact, many Cardinals have been firing things up even more these past few months – going beyond the ACC and the NCAA to take on the world.

Some are even sitting on top of it.

Take Mallory Comerford, for example. Even if you don’t follow the sport of swimming, you probably know she’s one of the most decorated athletes in UofL history, with four NCAA titles under her belt. Now, she's also a world record holder.

During the FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, in July, Comerford swam the third leg of the mixed 400 freestyle relay, which won a gold and set a new world record. She was also part of the women’s 400 freestyle relay, which set an American record and earned a gold medal, and the women’s 400 medley relay, which also won the gold.

For measure, Comerford’s individual effort in the women’s 100 freestyle earned her a seventh-place finish in the world.  

Her former teammate, UofL alum Kelsi Worrell Dahlia, also earned a world record during the meet as a member of the women’s 400 medley relay. The day prior, Dahlia achieved an American record in the 50 butterfly with a fourth-place finish.

Newly-graduated Zach Harting also competed in the World Championships, finishing sixth in the 200 men’s butterfly. The Cardinals’ head coach Arthur Albiero was one of Team USA’s coaches during the meet, marking the fifth time he has been tapped to coach a national team.

This meet is one of the last international competitions before the 2020 Olympic season starts and our Cards are in a good spot to potentially represent Team USA next summer in Tokyo.

Women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz is also a world champ, having coached Team USA at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, last week. Team USA beat Australia in the championship game 74-70 in overtime.

Meanwhile, Dani Busboom Kelly, head coach of the Cardinals’ volleyball team, spent much of July coaching USA Volleyball’s High Performance Teams in Florida. This experience builds on her 2018 resume, in which she coached the US Collegiate National Team to a gold medal in the European Global Challenge in Croatia.

One of Kelly’s players, Tori Dilfer, a sophomore setter from California, was part of the U.S. Women’s Collegiate National Team this summer, which placed ninth in an international tournament in Nocera, Italy, in July.

Incoming UofL freshman Jessica De Filippo was part of the Canadian U-20 soccer team during a Women’s U-20 international series played in England in early July. Speaking of soccer, former UofL standout Chinyelu Asher represented Jamaica during July’s World Cup.

UofL incoming lacrosse players Maddie McDonough and Nicole Perroni are currently representing their respective countries (Israel and Canada) in the 2019 FIL U19 World Championships in Canada. 

UofL's head coach Scott Teeter led the 2019 Canada Women's Field Lacrosse U19 National Team Evaluation Camp in June, as well. Teeter has served as head coach of the Canadian U19 National Team since 2009.

Finally, (we think?) Louisville baseball coach Dan McDonnell spent much of his summer coaching the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, his first year as head coach.

"To put a uniform on, especially a USA uniform, one just to compete again is fun and healing when the season ends with a loss, but especially when you put the USA uniform on. It’s a real treat,” McDonnell told the Courier Journal. 

From the pool to the court to the pitch to the field, Cardinal Athletics have made quite an impact on the world stage this summer. This should provide plenty of momentum heading into the fall sports season, and plenty of pride while donning the red and black.