Coach Arthur Albiero Has Louisville Women Feeling Confident as Postseason Nears
A raucous atmosphere. A three-hour flight. And on top of it all, a forecast for significant snowfall. The odds were stacked against the Louisville Cardinals heading into their recent matchup with top-ranked Texas and 12th-ranked Ohio State.
“It would’ve been easy for us to fall into a panicked or checked out state, especially on Saturday morning (with the forecast),” team captain Julia Dennis said.
And yet, the Cardinals did exactly the opposite. The team earned its biggest dual-meet win in program history, topping the Longhorns by a point. It’s a win which Coach Arthur Albiero emphasized was just a continuation of the team’s hard work all season long.
“It’s a team that’s really continued to learn and get better, and that’s the constant goal,” the coach said.
Over the course of 36 hours, the team showed character, while also making some noise in the college women’s swimming world.
“It’s a pretty big statement for us going into these next few meets,” sophomore Caroline Larsen said.
Building Toward Greatness
For the Cardinals, the win over Texas certainly wasn’t their first time receiving national attention. The team has strung together top-eight finishes at the past 10 editions of the NCAA Championships, highlighted by fourth-place showings in 2019 and 2023. To Coach Albiero, however, they’ve still slipped under-the-radar in the swimming world.
“2012 was the first time we were fully funded,” the coach said. “We’re still the new kids on the block, if you will.”
When the meet with Texas and Ohio State was initially proposed, Albiero and his staff saw it as a welcome challenge for their group.
“We love competition, it’s the base of our program,” he said. “So, of course, we didn’t shy away from it.”
Leadership At the Top
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A large part of Albiero’s confidence in his squad stems from the culture he’s built. His swimmers highlighted their unique bond as key to their win.
“Throughout the week, I felt like we just did a great job of maintaining composure, and not taking ourselves out of the moment,” Larsen said.
It’s a mindset Dennis believes extends down the roster, fueling them for meets like this.
“It’s so nice to be together (in a place) where every single person is working toward the same thing,” she said. “We didn’t take every swimmer to Texas, but I can look at any swimmer during practice, and we’re all on the same mission.”
Albiero recognizes the strong leadership at the top. It’s something he believes has carried over throughout years of Louisville teams.
“From Mallory Comerford back in 2019, to my daughter Gabby in 2023, to the captains now, there really is a common denominator for these teams, and that’s how they’re led,” he said.
He also pointed to the unity of the coaching staff as a key factor in the program’s rise.
“The cohesiveness, and the selfless approach we talk about as a program stems from these people,” the coach said. “We’ve created an environment where we might not always agree, but we work hard to create an environment that’s ‘one voice, and one heart,’ as we say.”
Weathering the Winter
As reports of a potential blizzard emerged, the team needed this unity. The potential of being stuck in Texas, due to serious inclement weather, could have weighed heavily on the group. However, Larsen pointed to a van ride with Director of Operations Bonnie Roman, upon arriving in Austin, as reflective of the team’s mindset.
“We were in the car talking about, are we going to make it to Indiana (for our meet next weekend), ” she recalled. “And (Roman) said, ‘That’s enough of that. We’re only speaking in positive absolutes right now.'”
The message, according to Larsen, spread throughout the team.
“We said as a team, we’re going to have a positive mindset, and take care of business before we worry about anything else,” she said. “It was a great reset, before we even started the session.”
An NCAA Preview
The positive team mindset was crucial, as the Cardinals faced their toughest challenge of the season. Not only were the Longhorns and Buckeyes a serious test, but the format of the meet created circumstances similar to what the team will face at the ACC Championships and NCAAs.
The meet included three sessions, spread over two days. It’s a setup that closely mirrors that of ACCs and NCAAs in its competitive schedule, albeit with more events jammed into a shorter period. Albiero explained the format as purposeful, something all involved coaches advocated for in initial discussions.
“The focus for us was, ‘How do we put ourselves in the best position to compete at NCAAs,'” Albiero said. “It was amazing to rehearse that championship format.”
Another challenge to the athletes, reminiscent of the championship meet, was the flight. The swimmers indicated swimming right after their flight to Austin as an obstacle, one they’d have to similarly face at NCAAs.
“Working through travel, and the stress of not being able to stretch on a plane is tough,” Dennis said. “It was a good reminder for those returning (of what’s to come), and a great introduction for the freshmen.”
Soaking In the Scene
Even with the various tests they faced leading up to the meet, to the Cardinals, it was impossible not to feel the energy upon arrival. The meet, named the “Eddie Reese Texas Showdown,” included many of the fan-focused elements that college swim programs have looked to implement at dual meets across the country.
“There were wild graphics, a spirit squad, all kinds of things,” Larsen recalled. “It was great for us to be able to hear all this outside noise, and use the energy and environment to motivate us.”
The motivation was evident from the meet’s start, as the Cardinals opened Friday night by edging the Longhorns in the 200 freestyle relay by .52.
“We do such a great job at practice of preparing for those competitive moments,” Larsen said. “It really showed us able to channel our emotional energy.”
Albiero once again pointed to the team’s approach as crucial to their fast start.
“We respect our opponents, but we’re going to line up and compete hard,” he said. “And sometimes, it’s a couple of hundredths that come from that, and make all the difference.”
Sprinters Show Their Strength
The Louisville roster is loaded with talented swimmers, all needed to take down a team like Texas. But the team’s greatest strength, on paper, is their sprint group, which returns three finalists in the 50 and 100 freestyles from last year’s NCAAs.
“Both as a sprint group, and as a team, we were all on the same page,” Dennis said. “It was really special.”
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
The Cardinals came away with wins in three of the four 50-meter races. Racing in just her second meet, freshman Anastasia Gorbenko emphasized that her connection with the team inspired her performance.
“I love being a part of this team, and I’ve been looking forward to competing with them for a year,” Gorbenko said. “I’m so happy and grateful to get that opportunity.”
With the meet in it’s final moments, and victory on the line, the team’s sprinters showed the same strength. Dennis held off Texas sprinter Eva Okoro to seal Louisville’s victory.
“We want to be able to step up in those moments,” Dennis said. “To be able to do it puts you in the mindset of ‘It’s championship season.'”
Next Steps
The win is obviously an exciting step for the team, and the program. But both Albiero and his swimmers were quick to point out it was far from the end goal.
“It’s a big deal, and we appreciate the opportunity (to compete with Texas),” Albiero said. “It’s a great thing for our sport to have people talking about our win, but our focus is on NCAAs.”
The swimmers echoed the same sentiment, looking to build on the win over the next month.
“(Coach Albiero) will always say, ‘How can we be 1% better every day?’” Larsen said. “As a team, the more we can focus on that, things will go pretty well.”
With steadfast progress, Albiero hinted at hopes to reach new heights at the NCAA Championships. He referred to the joy of earning a trophy two years ago and six years ago, respectively, for earning fourth place at the meet.
“It’s a different group than (we had) in 2019 and in 2023, and we’re not trying to live up to something we’ve done before,” he said. “But it’s fun to bring a trophy home, and it’s important.”
With a culture unified together, his swimmers feel the sky is the limit.
“It’s about showing up when it matters,” Gorbenko said. “That happened here, and it can happen at NCAAs and ACCs.”