8A — Wednesday, March 27, 2019 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Caroline Hendershot is here to stay Caroline Hendershot is hard to miss. Whether it’s her height of 5-foot-11, her involvement in a student-run sports TV show or her cheerful demeanor guaranteed to light up any room, the senior on the Michigan rowing team is pretty distinct. And, she has challenged the gender-binding stereotypes that have plagued the sports industry ever since she was little. “I think of elementary school where boys would say that they were faster because they were boys,” Hendershot said. “And, I would do anything to beat the boys, making sure that I was the last girl left. I didn’t care if I was dripping in sweat. You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Coming from a family where both her parents and all three of her older siblings played college sports, Hendershot seemed predestined for collegiate athletics. “Family games are competitive to say the least,” she said, half-jokingly. Before committing to rowing as her sport of choice, Hendershot played nearly every sport in existence. However, when she found herself sitting down in a boat her junior year of high school, it was the unique format of rowing that sold her. “There is a very specific feeling in a boat when you have all eight people moving in sync and pushing a boat at the same time as hard and as fast as they can,” she said. “It is one of the most incredible feelings.” Although she faces long days of practice that regularly produce blistered hands, Hendershot feels that her teammates make everything worth it. In feeding off of their accomplishments to fuel her own success, Hendershot believes that her teammates have driven her to become both a better person and a stronger rower. When she’s not rowing, Hendershot works with Wolverine Women, an all- female sports talk show on WOLV TV, a student-run television station. What began as a desire to get more involved on campus the fall of her sophomore year quickly evolved into something larger. Two years later, Hendershot serves as an executive producer for Wolverine Women, doing everything from brainstorming storylines to obtaining athletes for segments. Her enthusiasm for the show comes from her personability — she wants to tell stories the average fan might not be aware of. After graduation, Hendershot hopes to work in sports broadcasting. “Interviewing people is something that I love feeding off of because I love finding out who people are,” she said. “Obviously, I can’t let (sports) go after four years, so I want to go into (broadcasting) and be able to help people tell their stories and express that different perspective.” In terms of ambition, she considers the community of Wolverine Women to be very similar to that of her team. “Everyone is so supportive and so uplifting and wants everyone to succeed,” she said. “They helped me realize that yes, you can be competitive, but you can also bring others along with you.” In December 2017, she interned with Tracy Wolfson — a CBS sports broadcaster and a Michigan alum — whom she views as a role model both as a woman in sports and as a person. Hendershot got to spend a weekend with Wolfson when she worked as an NFL correspondent with the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills. At the end of the day, Hendershot feels that everything distills down to a statement of purpose. As a woman in sports, she feels that her role is to push down boundaries. “Hopefully, when I have a career, I want to help open doors for other women that want to get into the industry,” she said. To Hendershot, graduating this May will be bittersweet. She is grateful for her experience over the past four years and is obviously sad that it is ending, but is extremely excited to navigate the world with the skills she has learned at Michigan. “I am really happy that I came here for my experience,” she said. “There is nothing like representing the University of Michigan with a block M on your back. That is the biggest thing I’m going to miss.” COURTESY OF MICHIGAN ATHLETICS/Daily Senior rower Caroline Hendershot hopes to go into the sports broadcasting industry when she graduates from Michigan in May. LILY ALEXANDER For The Daily From her sports broadcasting aspirations to her rowing prowess, Caroline Hendershot has left her mark at Michigan Men’s golf improves during final round of Tar Heel Intercollegiate The Michigan men’s golf team entered the final round of the Tar Heel Intercollegiate at the UNC Finley Golf Course looking to recover from a disappointing opening two rounds. The Wolverines were left trailing the rest of the field by the time players teed off Sunday morning in Chapel Hill. After shooting a combined 37 strokes over par as a team during the first two rounds and sitting in last place out of 14 teams after Saturday, Michigan coach Chris Whitten and the Wolverines were determined to respond. “It was unacceptable the way we played the first two rounds and we know we’re better than that,” Whitten said. In previous tournaments this season, Whitten felt that his team played well in final rounds, and the Wolverines did just that on Sunday. Despite being 39 strokes out of the lead and without a viable path back to contention, Michigan was unfazed and settled down to improve its overall team score. The Wolverines rebounded by scoring three under par to elevate themselves from last place to twelfth. The Michigan coaching staff noticed an increased level in confidence and comfort on the course on Sunday after lackluster performances up to that point. “We were determined to play very solid golf with good decisions and good attitudes today and take a step in the right direction going into the next tournament,” Whitten said. The home squad, North Carolina, took the top spot on the leaderboard as a team over the weekend, while Illinois’ Adrien Dumont de Chassart dominated the competition individually by outshooting the next closest opponent by six strokes. North Carolina was the only team to remain under par by the tournament’s conclusion. Standout performances by Michigan came from sophomore Henry Spring and senior Nick Carlson. Spring finished as the team’s lowest scorer for the second consecutive tournament, tying for 18th place after a successful two-under-par outing on Sunday. Carlson finished tied for 31st overall by shooting two under par on Sunday and seven over par in total. The Wolverines now turn their attention to the Aggie Invitational in Bryan, Texas, where they will most likely face their toughest field all year. Thus far this season, Whitten believes that Michigan has not arrived at its full potential. But the next tournament could offer the chance to change that narrative. “We know we have a good team and we haven’t put it on the scoreboard as many times as we wanted to this year,” Whitten said. “So this would be a great opportunity to go show some people that we can post the scores that we know we’re capable of.” The Wolverines will need to start off future tournaments as well as they did in the final round on Sunday to reach the top of the leaderboard. CHRIS SULLIVAN For The Daily Youth offers high hopes for future LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Right now, the wound is likely still fresh. On Sunday afternoon, the Michigan women’s basketball team saw its season end when it bowed out of the NCAA Tournament following a 70-51 loss to top-seeded Louisville. While it may be hard to see it now, this year’s tournament run may have laid the bricks that will eventually serve as the program’s foundation. Not long ago, Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico announced the nation’s 12th-ranked recruiting class, which was headlined by freshmen forward Naz Hillmon and guard Amy Dilk. Tasked with the impossible job of replacing the production of the program’s all-time leading scorer Katelyn Flaherty, Dilk ran the offense with great efficiency — as if she was a seasoned veteran. While there were some bumps along the way, Dilk looks poised and ready to handle having the keys to the Wolverines’ offense. “I’ve learned a lot obviously, mentally and physically, growing as a player,” Dilk said on Friday after the team’s win against Kansas State. Hillmon, on the other hand, became one of the biggest surprises of the season, averaging a team-high 13.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game despite coming off the bench. The season helped Hillmon earn two honors: the media’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the coaches’ Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year. If she continues her exceptional play, it’s hard to imagine that these accolades won’t be the last she receives in her career. For Hillmon, though, the bond she shares with her teammates means far more than whatever awards might come her way. “This has been the most fun year I’ve had playing basketball,” Hillmon said. “We’re really close as a team, that’s what makes it a lot of fun. That’s all that matters.” Despite having just finished their first collegiate seasons, Hillmon and Dilk represent the next generation of Michigan basketball. While seniors forward Hallie Thome and guard Nicole Munger helped to establish Michigan basketball as an NCAA Tournament-caliber squad, the next generation will be responsible for keeping it there. Barnes Arico believes that her squad is more than up to the challenge. “We are going to respond and we are going to show that it’s not just one year,” Barnes Arico said following the loss to Louisville. “We’re going to be (in the NCAA Tournament) year-in and year-out and we want to take the next steps in the program.” Next season, the Wolverines will be without Munger and Thome, who helped set the tone for the team’s culture both on and off the court. Despite losing two of its key pieces, Michigan will return virtually its entire roster, all of whom should only continue to grow and develop with a season or more under their belts. “This is probably one of the first teams in my career that I have to throw them out of the gym after practice,” Barnes Arico said. “They want to continue getting shots up or they want to continue working or they want to get better.” Of course, a second consecutive defeat at the hands of one of the nation’s most dangerous squads will be a tough pill to swallow. That being said, if this Wolverine team has proven anything this season, it’s that it is more than prepared to put in the extra work to not only stay on the mountain that is the NCAA Tournament, but also reach its peak. And while this year’s departing class was never able to reach that point, those who will be able to fight another season are more than prepared to get there. “We have a lot of great pieces coming back and our kids know that they are hungry to take those next steps in the NCAA Tournament,” Barnes Arico said. With this group, these next steps look within reach. TEDDY GUTKIN Daily Sports Writer FILE PHOTO/Daily The Michigan golf team rebounded from a poor first two rounds at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate with a strong showing. KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily Freshman forward Naz Hillmon will be a major contributor in the coming years. I want to help open doors for other women to get into the industry.