The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MARCH 2024 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS The culture of accountability and academic success is strong under women's basketball head coach Kim Barnes Arico, and senior guard/forward Elise Stuck embodies that within the program and in the classroom for the Wolverines. Stuck, a Charlevoix, Mich., native who is halfway through her senior season, is a two-time Aca- demic All-Big Ten contributor and one of the program's key tone-setters. "School is very important to me, so that's a very cool honor," Stuck said. "I'm studying move- ment science here, so I want to eventually go to PT [physical therapy] school. I feel like it's a good stepping stone along the way. And I'm also glad a bunch of my other teammates were Academic All-Big Ten as well." Barnes Arico's program hangs its hat on integrity and dependability, which are standards that Stuck has taken to heart during her senior season. She came up through the program with strong leaders like Naz Hillmon, Emily Kiser and others during her early days. Now, the goal is to pay it forward. "We talk about the integrity of this program all the time and what I think it stands for. Just being an upperclassman now, you have to continue the role of the people who held me to that standard," Stuck said. "I just try to hold everyone else to that same standard, whether it be on the court or in the classroom. "One of our core values is integrity, so we do talk about that often. We also have our support staff who check in on us regularly on an academic basis as well. They're not solely just talking about athletics with us. That just comes from being at Michigan in such a prestigious school, but we're checked in on a lot and held to a very high standard." Stuck takes pride in doing the little things that may not show up on a stat sheet to fire up the team and set a tone. It's that work that she hopes can fuel life after basketball in whatever form that takes. "However I can help is how I want to help the team. Whether that be the things that normally get me going in games like hustle plays, loose balls, charges, rebounding, little things. And then off the court, I'm excited to graduate in the spring. I have a couple of credits to finish up, so I'm just hoping to finish strong and not get senioritis. "I'm hoping to go to PT school, I don't have plans to go this coming cycle, but in a year or so from now, so that's my end goal. I'm very interested in having my own practice working with athletes. That's kind of the goal for me." — Anthony Broome Stuck plans to continue her education by going to grad school to study physical therapy. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY ❱ Student-Athlete Of The Month Women's Basketball Senior Guard/ Forward Elise Stuck MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Men's gymnastics graduate student Paul Juda: He was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week Feb. 12, after helping lead the Wolverines to a victory over No. 3 Nebraska the previous weekend. He set a career high with a nation-leading 86.20 in the all-around and won event titles on floor ex- ercise, pommel horse, vault, parallel bars and high bar. His 15.10 vault score also led the country. The honor marked his ninth time earn- ing Big Ten Gymnast of the Week during his career and his second time this season. Wrestling freshman Sergio Lemley: He was tabbed as Big Ten and NCAA Wrestler of the Week Feb. 6, after a 14-2 triumph over Iowa's top-ranked Real Woods Feb. 2 at Crisler Cen- ter. Lemley — a Chesterton, Ind., native who competes at 141 pounds — was ranked 19th the prior week before earning the bonus win with a pair of six-point moves. His seventh ranked win of the season improved his record to 13-4 on the year. He checked in at No. 13 nationally in his weight class in the Feb. 12 FloWrestling rankings. Ice hockey sophomore Rutger McGroarty: The forward earned the distinction of Player of the Month for January by the Hockey Commissioners As- sociation. The No. 14 overall pick by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2022 NHL Draft led the nation in scoring in January, totaling 16 points (2.67 per game) with at least 1 point in all six tilts. He netted 3 goals and posted 13 assists, while finishing with a plus-9 on-ice rating and adding 4 blocked shots. Water polo freshman Jillian Schlom: The attacker was named the na- tional Rookie of the Week by the Collegiate Water Polo Association Jan. 31. She tal- lied 3 goals and 6 assists over a four-game span at the Wolverine Invitational Jan. 27-28, including 4 help- ers in a 20-3 victory over Sa- lem. Through Feb. 15, she'd registered 3 goals and 7 assists on the season. — Clayton Sayfie