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Going to the mat: Women want to grapple
By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY

LAS VEGAS - Gender stereotypes took a beating last weekend at the U.S. National Wrestling Championships.

Never mind the many guys sporting bleached-blond hair.

On the same mats, side-by-side with men's matches, women wrestled women.

They muscled for pins, wiped bloody noses and continued their arm-twisting campaign for acceptance in a combat sport.

"It's still an uphill battle for a lot of girls, but it's changing rapidly," says Tricia Saunders, three-time women's world champ, nine-time U.S. titlist and mother of two.

About 2,000 U.S. girls participate in high school wrestling, up from 200 a decade ago. Though some high schools are starting girls teams, most compete against boys.

Minnesota-Morris has the only U.S. women's college team. It schedules women's club teams and Canadian colleges with women's teams.

However, in recent years national tournaments for young women have been created by USA Wrestling, the national governing body.

U.S. senior-level national championships for women started in 1990. World championships began in the late '80s.

USA Wrestling's hopes for the big move: women's wrestling in the 2004 Olympics.

"We're very optimistic," says Mike Duroe, national freestyle developmental coach.

At the Las Vegas Convention Center, Rachel Salazar, 15, of Concord, Calif., wore a Rosie the Riveter T-shirt with the slogan, "We Can Do It!"

Salazar, one of three girls on an otherwise male high school team, placed fourth in the 101.25-pound class.

"It would be cool to have women's wrestling in the Olympics," she says.

For the 33-year-old Saunders, 2004 is likely too far away.

"I'll be 38. You can never say never, but it's not something I envision," Saunders says.

Wrestling up a weight class this year at 112.25 pounds, she won 3-0 in overtime in the final against Malissa Sherwood of Rocklin, Calif.

Saunders' grandfather was a Big Ten champ at Michigan. Her father wrestled. Her two brothers wrestled. Her husband, Townsend Saunders, was a 1996 Olympic silver medalist.

As a kid in Ann Arbor, Mich., she figured she wasn't old enough to wrestle like her older brother. When her younger brother got wrestling shoes, she said, "Hey, wait a minute."

"She said, 'Dad, why can't I do it?'" says her father, Jim McNaughton. "There really wasn't a good answer for it."

She began competing at age 8.

"She just took it to all of us," says childhood friend and wrestling foe Zeke Jones, a 1991 world champion.

"She was a year older, and in physical maturity it seemed like she was five years older. That, combined with technical skill, made for domination."

When girls wrestle boys, it often prompts debate about sexuality and safety.

Another is whether boys are stigmatized if they lose to a girl.

No problem for Jones.

"Tricia was my friend. More than that, she never lost to anybody. So if I lost all the time to Tricia, I'd still have a box full of silver medals because she won the golds," he says.

The 8-year-old Saunders won regional and district tournaments but wasn't allowed to compete in the state tournament because she was a girl.

Her family filed suit. The ruling came too late for state, but she was advanced to nationals, where as a 45-pounder she was fourth in freestyle and second in Greco-Roman (no holds below the waist).

In junior high and high school, officials wouldn't let her compete. "I don't think my parents were up for another lawsuit. At 12, I retired and went into gymnastics," she says.

She returned to the mat 10 years later in 1989 after college.

Her brother, Andy, was wrestling at Arizona State. Jones was also there, and Bobby Douglas was the coach.

"Zeke and Bobby told me they had seen women wrestling at the World Championships," she says. "I said, 'I think I want to wrestle.'"

She's the only U.S. woman to win a world title. She sat out '97 after knee surgery and the birth of a child and won her third world title last year.

Sixty women competed at Las Vegas in six weight classes.

Kristie Stenglein, 20, of Albany, N.Y., won her fourth U.S. title at 165.25 pounds, the heaviest women's class.

At the finals, Stenglein's daughter, Kayla, 1, wore a mini, red wrestling uniform.

Stenglein, three-time world silver medalist, is a student at Hudson Valley Community College. "I was in the paper. One of my teachers saw it and announced it to my class," she says. "The whole class flipped out. 'You wrestle?'"

Angela Hesener, a 101.25-pounder from Bethlehem, Pa., has encountered wisecracks when she says she wrestles.

"'In mud or pudding?' That's the kind of questions we get," she says. "But it's a lot better than it used to be."

As a high school junior in Cleveland, Tina George was keeping the stats at a wrestling match when she saw a girl wrestling for the visitors.

She tried it as a senior, went on to wrestle at Minnesota-Morris and now is a 123.5-pounder with chiseled muscles.

"I'm only 5-foot. Sometimes people say, 'You're too short to be a wrestler.' Sometimes, older people say, 'That's not ladylike, not feminine," she says.

In the finals, George lost 2-1 in overtime to Stephanie Murata of Boca Raton, Fla., a four-time U.S. champ.

"Part of the reason I enjoy wrestling is it's so difficult," Murata says. "All the time and training we spend can effect you in a positive way.

"Not having that extra piece of bread, going the extra mile. That translates directly into life."

That's what you hear from the men, but there are differences.

"The women aren't as strong in the neck and shoulder areas," says Duroe, who's coached three women's world teams.

"Sometimes you see more moves up on the shoulder area that women use to score, where a guy can fight that."

But women have an edge.

"Some techniques guys use don't work on women because of their flexibility," Duroe says. "You can have their hips turned all the way over, but their chests are still on the mat."

Female wrestlers also cut weight. "But I think there's less of it in the women's division," says Joe Corso, who coached the last U.S. team at Worlds.

One factor: fewer weight classes, six for women compared to eight for men. But Corso says: "It seems to me women are smarter about it. They taper off."

Watching the women, you see matches delayed while they pull back their hair.

By rule, they must wear it pulled back. The refs, typically men, check it before matches.

"But refs don't know anything about ponytail technology," Saunders says.

And scrunchies come loose in the heat of battle.

Only a few wear headgear. You don't see women with the noticeable cauliflower ears like many men. But a few have a touch. "They'll probably wear their hair long," Saunders says.

Women also wear higher-cut singlets (the wrestling garb).

Some, like Saunders, have that same muscular wrestler's look in the arms and shoulders. They've got guns.

"Our top women are training now similar to the guys just in terms of intensity, strength training," Duroe says.

At Minnesota-Morris, Doug Reese coaches the men's and women's teams. He started the women's team in 1995 when the school was looking to add women's programs.

His pitch: "It was a lot cheaper to start women's wrestling. The facilities, the coaches were all there."

Reese hopes adding college women's programs will help achieve gender equity, a sore point in the wrestling community, where many college men's programs have been cut.

Duroe of USA Wrestling says: "It's certainly not our primary objective to try to stop men's programs from being dropped by adding women's. But we hope that as a result of starting women's programs, we increase interest in wrestling."

At first, at Minnesota-Morris, the teams practiced in the same room at the same time. But for two years, Reese split them.

"There wasn't respect between the programs," he says. "Guys who had been in the sport for years thought it was a joke that a girl could wrestle a couple of years and make the national team."

But they're back together.

"We're at the point where there is high regard and respect because of the technical skills the women have and what they've achieved," Reese says.

Trials are in June for the World Championships on Sept.10-12 in Sweden.

The top three at the trials qualify for training stipends from USA Wrestling. It's $900 a month for the trials winner, same as for men. But women don't get free room and board at the USA Wrestling training center.

The USA has placed third in the world three years in a row. Last year, Russia won the team title. Japan won eight of nine years before that.

Townsend Saunders, who coaches his wife at Worlds, knows she probably won't get an Olympic shot.

"We're at the point where all of her hard work has come to pay off for girls in the future," he says. "It would be nice if she could participate. But that's all right. I think she's happy to make a difference in a lot of people's lives."

Their daughter Tassia, 4, and son Townsend, 21 months, wrestle each other. "The little boy is taking some lumps," Tricia says.

She favors separate wrestling programs for boys and girls.

"Mostly, girls can only compete at the lower weight classes with guys who haven't hit puberty yet," she says.

But if her children wrestle, her first hope is equal opportunity: "Hopefully, they're not going to have doors shut in their faces like I had as a kid."

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FELIX MATCHES TENNIS WITH WRESTLING

Los Angeles Times

October 29, 1999, Friday,
Valley Edition

Wrestling season begins in a few weeks, but Laura Felix already goes
to the mat for the Calabasas High girls' tennis team.

Felix, a sophomore who is among a recent wave of female wrestlers, competes
in both sports for the Coyotes.

"They're very different," Felix said. "I enjoy playing tennis. But it just
gets me through the season, and then we go to wrestling."

Felix, a junior varsity tennis player most of the season, was promoted to
the varsity two weeks ago and has played in three matches. She is 4-2 in
sets at No. 3
singles and 3-0 in doubles with Jackie Yano.

The ambidextrous Felix has helped Calabasas (15-3, 6-0 in league play) to
its second consecutive Frontier League title with an accurate serve and a
competitive
attitude.

"She doesn't have a backhand," Coach Bill Bellatty said with a laugh. "She
hits both left-handed and right-handed, and she never runs around her
backhand. She just
moves the racket to whichever side it has to be.

"The thing about her is, she's tenacious, and that comes from wrestling. She
never, ever gives up. She just runs everything down."

Andy Falk, the wrestling coach and a special-education teacher at Calabasas,
encouraged Felix, a special-education student who was struggling in school
and with
personal problems last year, to come out for his team.

Little did either realize that wrestling would get Felix in a headlock, that
she would actually come to enjoy it, and that she would begin to give
near-falls and
half-nelsons her full attention.

"At first, I just did it because Mr. Falk suggested it," she said. "It was
just keeping me out of trouble. But then I just started to enjoy it, and as
I got better at it, I
started to really like it.

"Wrestling is just you. It's just whoever has more ability, more skill, and
more determination and pride in winning that's going to come out on top."

Felix, 14, came out on top often in her first year of wrestling.

Competing on the Calabasas boys' junior varsity team at 112 and 103 pounds,
she was 5-0 in Frontier League matches as a freshman.

She placed 10th at 106 pounds in a U.S. Girls' Wrestling Assn. national
competition in Michigan last spring. She also attended a freestyle wrestling
summer camp in
Fullerton, and has progressed to the point that she is expected to compete
on the Calabasas boys' varsity team at 103 pounds this winter.

"I guess I did pretty well for my first year," Felix said. "I knew I could
handle it, but I'm surprised I did as well as I did."

Falk isn't.

"I was actually not surprised she could do so well, but that she's continued
to," Falk said. "I've had other girls in wrestling, but Laura's the only one
who's stuck with
it.

"She just was a natural. She had a lot of moves already, on instinct, before
she knew a thing about wrestling. There are boys who are stronger than she
is, but she's
making up for it in speed and nerve."

-------------------------------------

Not just one of the guys
Beach female wrestler tries to tear down barriers
Carrie Ferderer has made her point.

The Beach High School freshman has competed in two wrestling duels and one tournament this season, pinning her first opponent during a recent tournament in Baker, Mont.

Ferderer, an honor student, said she decided to wrestle to prove a point. "We are equal to males and we can do anything they can do," she said.

Ferderer, who once played on a coed soccer team in Miles City, Mont., said she has been accepted by her teammates.

"I was prepared with documentation stating I had the right to be on the team, just in case I was denied admittance to the team," she said. "But I didn't need it."

Ferderer wrestled one dual with the varsity then moved to the junior high team where she competes at 110 pounds. "I feel more comfortable with that move," she said.

Ferderer admits wrestling practice is tough. She does everything the guys do, and she isn't allowed the luxury of doing female push-ups. "I do the male push-ups just like the other team members," she said. "If I'm going to do this I have to do it equally."

Ferderer said older, more experienced opponents seemed uncomfortable wrestling with her. But the younger ones don't.

Her parents, Les and Kathy Ferderer, support their daughter"s decision to wrestle. "I go to the meets and yell and cheer her on, just as any parent does," Kathy said.

Ferderer said she is debating whether or not to wrestle again next year. She has no desire to participate in any other male-dominated sports, such as football. "I don't care much for football, so that doesn't interest me."

Securing her place on the team has made Ferderer proud. "I wish more people would stand up for their rights," she said. "We need people to stick up for themselves."

Even though Ferderer is a rarity in Beach, one of her coaches, Keith Burwick, said there are several other female wrestlers in the North Dakota school systems.

Ferderer believes she has had good community support. "A lot of the parents have made comments to me saying that they came just to see me," she said. "Everyone has been very encouraging."

--------------------------

Female wrestlers give team a new look
by Jesse Cross-Call

Senior Tina George practices her moves during a recent practice. She was inspired to join the wrestling team after dating star wrestler Justin Turner, who graduated two years ago. George won her first varsity match, December 28, against Josh Dopson of Akron Buchtel

This year's varsity wrestling team has a new look. It is not a new coach or new uniforms. Rather, the team has crossed the gender line, with senior Tina George starting as a varsity wrestler at 125 pounds.

Although she may have seemed like a novelty while wrestling at the junior varsity level last season, Tina has showed that she is committed to the sport. "Tina has never missed a day of practice; she never comes up with excuses. I'm proud to have her on the team," Assistant Coach Kip Flanik said.

Tina, who also runs track and cross country, became interested in the sport during her sophomore year when she dated Justin Turner, a senior at the time. Turner gained fame by having a perfect 30-0 regular season record.

The next year, Tina was the team's statistician for the first half of the season. "I sat there and thought that I could do this," she recalls. She said that she received strong support from both her family and the coaching staff after making her decision.

"I was a little uncomfortable at first, but because I knew her, it was easier to accept," Flanik said.

The support that Tina received from her family and coaches was generally lacking from her peers. Because she wears ties with the rest of the team on the days of matches, she has had people question her femininity and even her sexuality. "I just think it's goofy," Tina said of wearing a tie to school.

Her time on the JV squad was a rough one for Tina. She finished with an 0-12 record for the season and twice was put against opponents who refused to wrestle her because of her gender. She has shrugged off such obstacles, saying that most opponents think she does not belong in the sport.

This season, though, Tina worked herself into the starting varsity spot at 125. Flanik does not blame her current 1-15 record on her gender but on her inexperience. "Tina is a great wrestler. The reason she is losing matches is not because she's a girl; any first-year wrestler will be beat by a fourth-year wrestler," he said.

Tina did get a moment in the sun when she won her first varsity match, December 28, at the Brecksville Tournament. She trounced Josh Dopson of Akron Buchtel, 18-2. After the win, Tina was calm. "I didn't have any reaction; I just knew the work paid off," she said.

Tina's example has already inspired another girl to go out for the team. Sophomore Shanita Tartt is also wrestling at 125 for the JV squad. "I'm glad she's out," Tina said, "She's going to be good."

The road to being a varsity wrestler has been at times a rocky one for Tina but she has no regrets. "It has been more than what I thought; the physical [part of the sport] is incredible . . . the positives outweigh the negatives," she said.

"Tina is a great wrestler. The reason she is losing matches is not because she's a girl."

- Assistant Wrestling Coach Kip Flanik