March 27, 2024
By Remi Williamson and Lindsay Budin
Good morning,
March is coming to a close, which means Women’s Month is nearing its end. While we still have a few days left — which we plan to take advantage of — we want to take the time to spotlight some of the incredible features and stories written by female writers, highlighting female student athletes at Michigan.
Unfortunately, we’re only able to showcase a few of the many amazing Women’s Month stories, so make sure to take a look at the web special to check out the rest.
The annual Women’s Month Edition presented by the female writers of the sports section is one of the best traditions we have and the two of us are so honored to get to run it this year. Keep your eyes peeled for the Women’s Month Insert in next week’s print edition of The Michigan Daily.
Without further ado, check out some of the stories about female athletes in Michigan athletics!
Grace Lahti/Daily.
Destined to play: Jaedan Brown’s family legacy and stellar career
Long before senior Jaedan Brown stepped onto the court for the Michigan women’s tennis team, she was a part of a strong Michigan legacy.
With two older siblings who were previously Wolverines and both of her parents varsity athletes themselves at Michigan, becoming a Wolverine was always in the cards for Brown.
“Given her parents’ impressive collegiate and professional careers, it was clear Jaedan and her siblings would have athletic potential from a young age,” Daily Sports Writer Kendall McCaskill writes. “To nurture this potential, (her parents) Corwin and Melissa planted the seed of dedication and helped them find their own sport, allowing them to try several, including basketball, softball and gymnastics.”
Honing in on that athletic potential and pairing it with her deeply ingrained work ethic, Jaedan quickly prospered as a tennis player. But even while dedicating eight or nine hours a day to practice, she still prioritized academics.
Her natural talent and dedication paid off. As she developed as a player, schools took notice.
“After offers from USC, Princeton, Notre Dame and Georgia, she committed to play for the Wolverines just weeks after her visit in September 2018,” McCaskill writes.
“Her legacy was following her family’s footsteps and playing at Michigan. But now her legacy is everything she has accomplished since she committed.”
Destiny called, and Jaedan picked up.
Riley Nieboer/Daily.
Lauren Derkowski is the ultimate competitor.
Nowadays, the junior right-hander shows her competitive nature through her elite pitching on the mound, but her journey to becoming Michigan’s ace shows it as well. Derkowski’s steadfast competitive drive has been ingrained in her since a young age.
“In her preparatory years, Lauren honed her skills at York Community High School, which only strengthened her drive to succeed,” Daily Sports Writer Alina Levine writes. “Her impressive distinctions there — a three-time team captain and MVP with 754 strikeouts — earned her the school’s 2020-2021 Senior Female Athlete of the Year.”
Being the ultimate competitor isn’t cultivated merely through accolades, but through the desire to keep developing, and being willing to do whatever it takes.
“Her stats on paper didn’t capture her true spirit, her insatiable drive to do better, to be the best,” Levine writes. “Hence, while balancing her high school career and her place on the honor roll, she also decided to play travel ball with the Tennessee Mojo Club. And that decision was what opened her eyes to a clear path, a path that led to Michigan.”
When Derkowski arrived at Michigan, she didn’t see a lot of action, buried on the depth chart. But she wasn’t deterred. Instead, she saw it as an opportunity to improve. Two years later, that approach has certainly paid off.
As the Wolverines’ ace, Derkowski is their number one option in the circle. But that doesn’t mean she’s content — after all, the ultimate competitor never stops trying to grow and better themselves.
Grace Lahti/Daily.
The growth of women’s basketball through the eyes of Michigan’s seniors
In 2021, when photos of the weight room for the women’s NCAA Tournament went viral, it sparked an uproar. The glaring inequity between the men’s lavish gym setup and the women’s deplorable weight rack resonated with the public.
And the NCAA listened to the clamorings for change, investing into women’s March Madness. For the seniors on the Michigan women’s basketball team, it’s palpable progress compared to what they witnessed as freshmen.
“Facing a crowd of cardboard cutouts and sitting five feet apart from their nearest teammate on the bench while artificial crowd noise was pumped in from the loudspeakers, it wasn’t exactly the welcome to college basketball that they imagined growing up,” Daily Sports Writer Taylor Daniels writes. “But the explosive growth the sport has experienced since then has put them in an entirely new position.
That advancement doesn’t stop with an equitable setup in the Big Dance, though. The investment is burgeoning across women’s college basketball as a whole.
“And for the Michigan women’s basketball team’s senior class, who witnessed its sport’s ascension from the depth of COVID to the heights of network television, that change is even more special to be a part of.”
The Wolverines may have lost this weekend — falling in the first round to Kansas — but women’s basketball as a whole certainly has won.
Women’s Month Wrap Up
Softball: Top of the order fuels Michigan’s offense against Purdue
Alyssa Mulligan/Daily.
‘Michigan Mentality’: Karen Heimke crafts new environment for dance team
Karen Heimke’s story is not typical.
In her freshman year at Eastern Michigan, she didn’t plan to join the dance team. She eventually did, but soon after, the head coach of the program decided to leave. In the aftermath, Heimke was handed the keys to the kingdom, something she could never have anticipated.
She quickly learned to advocate for herself and the 26 dancers she led, and years later, she has brought that same mentality with her to Michigan as the coach of the Wolverines’ dance team. And while she’s at it, she’s changing the team’s environment.
“What she wound up doing with the team went far beyond dance itself,” Daily Sports Writer Grace Wright writes. “Heimke implemented a system that subverts the outdated principles much of the dance community experiences.
The world of dance has commonly been criticized for being negative and toxic, full of cutthroat individuals and out-of-date values. While no one person could possibly create an industry-wide transition, Heimke is certainly making sure that those outdated principles don’t make their way into her studio.”
Heimke is changing the Michigan program for the better while building success within it. Success may be measured by trophies and accolades, but in order to achieve that, the team has to believe in itself. Heimke is doing exactly that by championing a new era centered on the “Michigan Mentality” — her motto that involves no longer seeking perfection but staying true to oneself.
After being handed the keys with no guidance, Heimke has unlocked something special in the dance world.
Julianne Yoon/Daily.
Maynard Street Moments
Iowa State vs Maryland – Audi Crooks’ 40-point performance
The madness of March has commenced and Audi Crooks — a freshman, mind you — certainly demonstrated that. Crooks put up the performance of a lifetime in March Madness this past weekend, tallying 40 points and 12 rebounds to lead her team from a 20-point deficit to a come-from-behind win against Maryland in its first-round match up. Postgame, Crooks took to the podium to discuss the emotions behind her performance.
Duke vs Ohio State – Blue Devils upset the No. 2 seed
Although No. 7 Duke upsetting the No. 2 Buckeyes to reach the Sweet 16 is likely just one of many upsets this March Madness, it definitely stands out. What made it especially impressive was how the Blue Devils’ stayed dancing after trailing by 15 points in the second quarter. This one was for sure a bracket-buster, with only 16.2% of brackets picking the Blue Devils to win. Not to toot our own horn, but both of us nailed this upset. Duke survived — and so did our brackets.
Still on a National Championship high? The Michigan Daily has you covered. Preorder The Daily’s new book commemorating the 2023 National Championship-winning football team, with expert coverage from The Daily’s student journalists.
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