2B — March 25, 2019
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

In observance of Women’s His-
tory Month, The Daily’s sports sec-
tion is launching its second annual 
series aimed at telling the stories 
of female ath-
letes, coaches 
and teams at 
the University 
from the per-
spective of the 
female sports 
photographers 
on staff. We 
continue the 
series with this 
story from the 
2018 Manag-
ing Photo Edi-
tors Katelyn 
Mulcahy and 
Alexis Rankin.
A

n old 
issue 
of The 
Daily hangs 
in the photo 
closet. Every 
time a Daily 
photographer walks into the 
closet to check out equipment to 
shoot, they are reminded of its 
presence.
On it, there is a photo of Sara 
Krulwich on the sideline in the 
Big House, with two of her foot-
ball photos included.
Krulwich was the Daily’s first 
female photographer in 1969, and 
that photo captures her during 
her first time on the field, as the 
first woman to do so. Standing 
there smiling and proud, she 
encourages us every time we go 
out to shoot, knowing that we’re 
following the trail she blazed for 
us.
As Managing Photo Editors 
in 2018, we both came into the 
job with different experience 
levels and different goals with 
sports photography. Katelyn, who 
will be working for the Houston 
Astros as their live content cre-
ator after graduation, knew that 
she wanted to pursue sports pho-
tography from the start. At first, 
Alexis didn’t even know if she 
wanted to shoot sports at all. But 
now as a second-year MPE, she 
has had the opportunity to shoot 

at countless basketball, hockey 
and football games with the 
intention, and desire, to do more.
It’s an intimidating experi-
ence to photograph sports, espe-
cially “the Big Three”: football, 
basketball and hockey. It’s even 
more intimidating for a woman 
working for a student paper with 
minimal experience. But like the 
writers on the Sports section and 
the rest of The Michigan Daily 
staff, we take the job as seriously 
as any other professional. Because 
that is what we are — profession-
als in our craft.
Since we both started at The 
Michigan Daily, we’ve practiced 
and learned from each other’s 
confidence, experience and sup-
port. We didn’t always consider 
ourselves sports photographers, 
and many other people still don’t. 
But when we step onto the court 
at Crisler Center, walk through 
the tunnel leading into the Big 
House, or take a seat at a photo 
hole against the glass at Yost 
Arena, that is exactly what we 
are. 
When either of us sets up our 
laptop and unpacks our equip-
ment in the media room, we have 
to believe that we deserve to be 
in that room as much as any of 
the other photographers there, 
because if we don’t believe it, they 
never will.
It’s telling that no matter our 
amount of experience, sometimes 
we still get treated as if we have 
none. So, when we step out onto 
the field, the court or the ice, it’s 
easy to feel small.
The job is strenuous. We carry 
two, sometimes three cameras, 
that make our arms sore the next 
day. We stand, kneel and crouch 
through rain, snow and freezing 
temperatures. We dodge foot-
ball players that run off the field 
and basketballs that come flying 
toward us, and keep our cameras 
focused on the action when two 
hockey players slam into the glass 
in front of us. It’s stressful and 
intense, but we never complain. 
It’s part of the job and we love it. 
We barely even notice anymore.
But everyone else seems to 

think we do.
It sometimes feels like we’re at 
a disadvantage right as we step in 
the room. When one of us goes to 
an event, the event staff is often 
unintentionally condescending. 
Like when one of us was in an 
elevator and someone referred to 
us as “sweetie.” In an elevator full 
of men, it served as a reminder of 
who we are in a male-dominated 
profession. He didn’t mean ill by 
it, and neither do the people who 
make comments about our cam-
eras being bigger than us or other 
similar remarks, but they are all 
reminders of how we are viewed 
differently as young women in 
this profession.
But the people who’ve told us 
we’re “overcompensating” by 
having two cameras or a 300mm 
lens don’t mean well. It some-
times feels the same way with 
the overly helpful male photog-
raphers who stand behind our 
computers while we’re ingesting 

photos, giving unsolicited advice 
and comments. We’ve had men 
take photos of us while we’re busy 
shooting, only for them to show 
us later and comment on what 
we’re doing or the way we look. 
We hear these comments and 
have these experiences almost 
every time we shoot, and while 
it’s frustrating, it also makes us 
work harder. We know we don’t 
need to prove ourselves to the boy 
making snide comments from the 
student section — who has proba-
bly never picked up a DSLR in his 
life — or to the sideline photogra-
pher who thinks we can’t handle 
our equipment.
While the negative experiences 
sometimes outweigh the positive 
ones, it’s important to recognize 
the support we’ve received as 
well. Many of the photographers 
we’ve met at games have wel-
comed us, anything from chatting 
during a media timeout to giv-
ing us freelance tips. Sometimes 

something as simple as a com-
ment, like or retweet of our pho-
tos online goes a long way.
Our sports writers are equally 
as supportive, retweeting our 
content and texting us to tell us 
how much they liked our pho-
tos. And we find allies in the 
other women out there with us, 
whether it’s another Daily staff 
photographer, an editor from the 
Michiganensian or one of the few 
experienced, professional women 
photographers.
The encouragement we receive 
makes up for the microaggres-
sions and outright insults that we 
sometimes experience. We knew 
going into sports photography 
that it would be difficult. We 
heard stories from editors and 
photographers before us about 
the comments they received 
while shooting. For example, a 
former MPE was told, “You’re 
only here to get closer to the bas-
ketball boys, right?”

Wrong.
He said it with a laugh, prob-
ably thinking it was funny, but it 
was a comment that lingered and 
was passed down to us as manag-
ing editors. So while we appreci-
ate the support and advice we’ve 
received from some of the other 
photographers, we know that we 
have to work twice as hard every 
time we shoot. Every time we 
pick up a camera, we are build-
ing a reputation for ourselves and 
for the other women on our staff, 
as talented, dedicated photogra-
phers.
We’ve come a long way since 
Krulwich stepped out onto the 
field as the first female photog-
rapher to do so. Stories like hers 
push us to keep going. That’s why 
we’re proud to be women on the 
sideline, to even out that imbal-
ance. To show the girls in the 
crowd that they could be us some-
day, too, just like Sara Krulwich 
did for us.

SportsMonday Column: Behind the lens of two female sports photographers

KATELYN 
MULCAHY

ALEXIS 
RANKIN

Road crowd and slow start lead to 
season-ending loss for Wolverines

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It was 
never going to be easy.
Playing in front of a crowd 
of 7,725, the Michigan women’s 
basketball 
team 
knew 
that 
it would be a daunting order 
to 
defeat 
the 
top-seeded 
Louisville Cardinals, who boast 
one of the best home-court 
advantages in all of college 
basketball. 
The 
Wolverines 
even tried to replicate the 
raucous environment of the 
KFC Yum! Center before the 
game. 
“We 
practiced 
yesterday 
with a speaker and a lot of loud 
noises,” said senior forward 
Hallie Thome.
And yet, despite its prep, 
Michigan was blitzed out of 
the gate. National Player of 
the Year candidate Asia Durr 
scored 12 quick points, and the 
Wolverines found themselves 
in a 19-4 hole before the game’s 
first media timeout. With each 
basket, the Cardinals’ lead — 
and cheers — only grew.
Before 
the 
season 
even 
began, Michigan head coach 
Kim Barnes Arico made a 
point to schedule tough non-
conference road games in order 
to prepare her squad for the 
road environments it could face 
if it earned a spot in the NCAA 
Tournament.
“We’ve 
tested 
ourselves 
against the best teams in 
the country in hopes for an 
opportunity like we’re going to 
have tomorrow,” Barnes Arico 
said in a press conference on 
Saturday.
While Michigan had played 
against hostile road crowds, 
nothing came close to the 
atmosphere that the Wolverines 
were faced with on Sunday 
afternoon. The crowd’s sheer 
volume sounded like it could 
have easily been ripped from a 
sold-out football stadium.
“We just got shook and 
rattled,” Barnes Arico said, “It 
took us a few minutes to get out 

of that.”
While the Cardinals thrived 
off of the crowd’s energy, 
it ended up serving as the 
catalyst for the Wolverines’ 
undoing. The team committed 
five turnovers by the time the 
first media timeout hit, and 
struggled to find any offensive 
rhythm against 
Louisville’s 
daunting 
press. 
The 
Wolverines, 
who had used 
the 
press 
to 
spearhead 
its 
dominant 
84-54 win over 
Kansas 
State 
just two days 
prior, 
now 
found its own weapon being 
used against it.
Though Michigan eventually 
settled 
down, 
cutting 
Louisville’s lead to 21-15 with 
eight minutes remaining in the 
first half, turnover struggles — 
it finished with 17 in the first 
half alone — prevented it from 
further attempts at a comeback. 
Once again, the crowd helped 
play a major role.
“We couldn’t hear … our 
defensive switches or offensive 
plays or things like that,” 
said junior guard Akienreh 
Johnson.

Despite 
the 
loss, 
there 
is still plenty of room for 
optimism as the book closes 
on the Wolverines’ 2018-19 
campaign. Though Michigan 
will lose Thome and senior 
forward Nicole Munger, the 
team will return several of its 
key 
contributors, 
including 
freshman 
forward 
Naz 
Hillmon 
and 
guard Amy Dilk.
“I’m sure that 
they’re going to 
watch that film 
and learn from 
that experience 
so they are never 
in that position 
again,” 
Barnes 
Arico said.
Even in a loss where it may be 
difficult to find a silver lining, 
the Wolverines showed fight 
against one of the toughest 
home crowds the sport has to 
offer. Barnes Arico, despite 
another 
second-round 
loss, 
says her team will enter the 
offseason with its heads held 
high.
“We have a great basketball 
team,” Barnes Arico said. “Just 
going up against one of the 
top teams in the country on 
their home court is tough and 
Louisville was great tonight for 
sure.”

TEDDY GUTKIN
Daily Sports Writer

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Senior guard Nicole Munger scored eight points in the Michigan women’s 
basketball team’s season-ending loss to Louisville on Saturday.

COURTESY OF ALEXIS RANKIN AND KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Katelyn Mulcahy and Alexis Rankin served as co-Managing Photo Editors in 2018, each shooting many different sports in their times at The Daily so far.

Michigan bows out of Tournament 
with 71-50 loss against Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — From the 
tip, the game followed a frenetic 
pace. Egged on by a sea of red, the 
top-seeded Cardinals jumped 
out to a quick start.
The crowd was raucous to 
begin with, but a 3-pointer 
and 
breakaway 
layup 
from 
Louisville’s All-American guard 
Asia Durr put it into a full-out 
frenzy.
After just three minutes of 
play, Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico had already called timeout 
in an attempt to calm her team 
nerves after falling behind 10-2.
Though those nerves calmed 
eventually, 
the 
Michigan 
women’s basketball team (22-
12) had already dug itself a hole 
against 
the 
Cardinals 
(31-3) 
that it couldn’t climb out of, 
eventually losing 71-50.
The 
Wolverines’ 
offense 
looked completely out of sorts 
early. 
Louisville’s 
pressure 
defense 
overwhelmed 
Michigan’s 
ball-handlers, 
leading to five turnovers within 
the first five minutes of the game.
“They sped us up a lot,” said 
junior guard Akienreh Johnson. 
“That was their game plan. They 
like to take away the point guard 
because it messes up everything 
on offense. I don’t think they 
did anything different against 
us, but they definitely brought 
a lot of intensity the first couple 
minutes of the game.”
The turnovers led to offensive 
opportunities, 
especially 
for 
Durr, who went 3-of-5 from 
beyond the arc in the first quarter 
— including a four-point play.
“I don’t think we did a good 
job on Durr initially,” Barnes 
Arico said. “Anytime a great 
player gets going early, you know 
you’re trouble. Once you get some 
open looks and you get them to 
fall, holy cow and that happened 
with her. They did a tremendous 
job finding her early.”
With the help of their full-
court press, the Wolverines 
did settle in towards the end 

of the quarter. Off an inbounds 
play, Michigan’s freshmen duo 
connected for two as point 
guard Amy Dilk lofted the ball to 
forward Naz Hillmon.
Louisville’s 
stellar 
3-point 
shooting also subsided as the 
quarter went on. Even still, the 
Cardinals led the Wolverines by 
eight after 10 minutes.
The pace continued into the 
second frame. Dilk answered a 
tough fadeaway from Durr with 
a contested layup over 6-foot-4 
forward Kylee Shook.
Louisville’s 
offense 
methodically worked through 
Michigan’s 
press. 
In 
one 
sequence, Durr caught in mid-
air 
between 
two 
Wolverine 
defenders made a no-look pass 
to a cutting Jazmine Jones, who 
finished the layup with ease.
Michigan 
was 
made 
to 
continually climb out of a hole. 
Every time the Wolverines had a 
productive offensive possession, 
they gave up two on the other 
end.
In 
many 
ways, 
Michigan 
was lucky to trail by just 12 
points entering the halftime 
break — given a season-high 17 
turnovers and a potent offensive 
performance from the Cardinals.
The Wolverines cleaned up 
their turnover issues in the third 
quarter. Dilk and sophomore 
guard Deja Church handled the 
Louisville press more efficiently 
and 
yet, 
Michigan 
couldn’t 
outpace the Cardinals’ offense.
Durr continued to orchestrate 
their offense to perfection — 
hitting difficult jumpers and 
sharing the ball when necessary. 
Jones also provided a spark for 
Louisville with six third-quarter 
points.
“(Durr’s) an All-American, but 
she is also the kind of kid that let’s 
the game come to her,” Barnes 
Arico said. “She doesn’t press too 
much. She did a tremendous job 
for them tonight.”
Though 
not 
induced 
by 
turnovers, 
the 
Wolverines’ 
empty possessions cost them. 
Consecutive over-the-top dishes 
from Jones to her bigs and 

another three-pointer from Durr 
increased Michigan’s deficit to 
23 entering the final quarter.
Rebounding 
had 
been 
a 
strength 
of 
the 
Wolverines 
throughout 
the 
year 
and 
particularly in their first-round 
game against Kansas State — 
when they out-rebounded the 
Wildcats 50-19. That disparity 
was nowhere to be seen against 
the Cardinals, who managed to 
outdo Michigan on the glass.
“Everybody started to get into 
the mix,” said Louisville coach 
Jeff Walz. “We had talked to 
the guards and said ‘You’ve got 
to rebound the basketball.’ One 
thing we told our kids, whoever 
was guarding Hillmon, ‘I don’t 
care if you get a rebound, she 
can’t.’ ”
The Wolverines did what 
they could to chip away. In what 
ended up being her final game, 
senior guard Nicole Munger, 
as she has done so many times 
before, hit a three-pointer from 
the wing. On a fastbreak, she 
then found senior center Hallie 
Thome for two points to briefly 
cut the lead to 18.
Unfortunately for Michigan, 
this 
run 
was 
short-lived. 
Louisville was one step ahead 
of the Wolverines and exploited 
any holes in their defense. Durr 
— who finished with 24 points 
— hit her fifth three-pointer to 
officially put the game out of 
reach.
As the seconds ticked away 
on 
Michigan’s 
season, 
the 
Cardinals emptied their bench, 
replacing key contributors Durr 
and Jones to standing ovations 
from the 8,000 Louisville fans in 
attendance.
On the other side, Munger and 
Thome trotted off the court for 
the final time in their impressive 
careers as Wolverines.
“I think a lot of people doubted 
us this year with losing Katelynn 
Flaherty,” Thome said. “But we 
proved so many people wrong. I 
definitely wouldn’t have traded 
it for the world to have gone 
through Michigan. I’m excited to 
see them only get better.”

CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer

It took us a few 
minutes to get 
out of that.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

