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Female wrestlers hang tough

Last Updated: Dec. 3, 2000

As much as they try to fit in, they can't help sticking out.

More than a few eyebrows raised Thursday when a pair of female wrestlers stepped on the mat for Milwaukee Bay View in a dual at Milwaukee Custer.

The wrestlers, Melissa Miller at 112 pounds and Concha Mata at 119, both lost their matches.

Mata, a senior, hopes the fact that she is a female doesn't affect how an opponent handles her in a match.

"I've always wanted to do it. I don't feel it's any different," Mata said. "I tell them, 'Don't treat me like I'm just a chick. I'm a wrestler.'

"Don't go any lighter and, if you can, go harder. I don't feel it's a big difference, female or male," she said.

Bay View coach Mark Spoerk is wary of how male wrestlers might react during matches.

"I tell them right up front they should expect everything from guys trying to get a cheap feel," Spoerk said. "They're teenage boys, and I think some of them will try to do that.

"They've got nothing to lose and everything to gain. Everyone expects them to lose, but they'll go out there and win. Concha has won a fair number of matches. I expect her to win a fair number of matches this year. When she beats a guy, unfortunately, it's very humiliating for that male wrestler, but that's part of the sport as well."

Mata went 19-2 at 103 pounds as a sophomore and returned to action after missing her junior season with an elbow injury.

She takes wrestling seriously and expects other female wrestlers to do the same, no matter what the obstacles may be.

"You can say, 'Oh, I wrestled,' but did you do all the running?" Mata said. "The stretching, push-ups, sit-ups? You have to conquer all of that. The girls wrestling here have to go through all of that."

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