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