News Page
Minnesota/USA Wrestling's Women's Open
5/20/01
Rochester, Minn.
Entered by Eric Betterman
Team Scoring
Results By Weight
A.
1st Mariah Anderson St Cloud Sting
B.
1st Alex Clark Minneapolis
2nd Rachel Mixer Minneapolis
C.
1st Audra Lowe Stillwater
2nd KC Jo Pringle Minneapolis
3rd Victoria Williams Minneapolis
4th Brittany Schuna Eastside WC
D.
1st Morgan Holland St Cloud Sting
2nd Ashley Steuber Chain-O-Lakes
3rd Ashley Johnson Rolling Thunder
4th Marika Reese Minneapolis
5th Erica Heidemann St Cloud Sting
E.
1st Alyssa Cegelske Chain-O-Lakes
2nd Celia Thomas Minneapolis
3rd Kaylee Brinkman New Ulm
4th Samantha Michel Mat Stalkers
F.
1st Evelyn Bainbridge Minneapolis
2nd Sara Bergman St Cloud Sting
3rd Marissa Shotciff Chaska Stallions
4th Alyssa Strandjord Minneapolis
G.
1st Rachael Holthaus Hi-Flyers
2nd Kelli Rasmussen Buc Irish
3rd Alicia Short Cougars
H.
1st Colleen Nussbaum St Cloud Sting
2nd Samantha Tapplin Gladiators
3rd Patty Woodworth Eastside WC
I.
1st Alisha Zahn Minneapolis
2nd Maraela Ferguson Minneapolis
3rd Anna Wright Gladiators
J.
1st Chelynne Pringle Minneapolis
2nd Kari Bible Minneapolis
3rd Alisha Kreiser Gladiators
K.
1st Ali Bernard Rolling Thunder
2nd Sara Osness ST Cloud Sting
3rd Melissa Collins ST Cloud Sting
L.
1st Liz Sanders Masconville, IA
2nd Cassie Fiecke ST Cloud Sting
3rd Kaylene Snyder Mat Stalkers
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Athletic Department declines to renew wrestling coach Mike Burch's contract Wednesday
May 30th.2001
Chris Schofield
Aggie Sports Editor
The UC Davis athletic department has decided not to renew head wrestling coach Mike Burch's contract for the upcoming 2001-2002 season.
The move not to rehire Burch comes amidst a glaring controversy surrounding the participation of women in the UCD wrestling program - a situation many believe to be the foundation for the athletic department's decision.
At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Burch met with Athletic Director Greg Warzecka to discuss his future with UCD and the fate of his one-year renewable contract. What resulted was the end of Burch's tenure at UCD after six years as the head coach of the wrestling team. His contract, classified as a part-time position, is up for evaluation at the end of each year and will now effectively terminate on June 30.
"This is about something far more important than support of wrestling," Burch said. "I think this was retaliation for standing up for female wrestlers who have been discriminated against.
"I knew when I decided to do the right thing that I would be at risk and have to be prepared for any retaliation I would receive," Burch said. "People should be able to have philosophical differences without having their livelihood threatened."
The controversy involving the future status of female UCD wrestlers Arezou Mansourian and Chris Ng has drawn the attention of Assemblymember Helen Thomson (D-Davis).
"In Helen Thomson 's first year here her Woman of the Year was (former UCD women's wrestler) Afsoon Roshanzamir," said Craig Reynolds, Thomson 's chief of staff. "So she had been aware of the inclusion of women on the Intercollegiate team ever since she's been in assembly - she was impressed by (Roshanzamir) and even went and saw her compete - and was very alarmed to find that women were being excluded as a result of a new policy."
On May 3, Thomson sent a letter to Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef regarding the situation, which stated that Roshanzamir's "pioneering role contributed substantially to the growth of the sport and the visibility of women advancing in an arena normally occupied solely by men."
Thomson further wrote that she was "disheartened to learn that women at UC Davis are no longer being allowed to participate on the wrestling team as varsity student-athletes because they are female."
After no response from Vanderhoef and no "favorable" resolution to the issue, Thomson wrote assemblymember and chair of the Assembly Budget Committee Tony Cardenas on May 22 to request the removal of the UC Davis Sciences Laboratory Building from the Assembly version of this year's Budget Bill.
The reason for her request, according to the letter, is due to "a gender equity dispute involving the removal of women wrestlers from the intercollegiate program at UC Davis."
Reynolds echoes Thomson's sentiments in the letter, and further states the negative impact of removing women from the wrestling roster.
"UC Davis is the only UC campus with a wrestling program to accommodate men or women," Reynolds said. "This would be a huge step backwards when the university ought to be taking more aggressive steps forward for both male and female students."
In light of the recent move not to renew Burch's contract, members of the wrestling team believe it was the coach's vocal support of the female wrestlers that led to the athletic department's decision.
The athletic department's decision not to extend Burch's contract came as a surprise to Reynolds as well.
"It's not like this coach threw a chair or choked one of his athletes," Reynolds said. "Instead he stood up for women's equality and his own athletes. Based on what we know so far, it's hard to reach any positive conclusions."
Burch, however, is not shocked with the athletic department's decision, but is more perplexed with the imminent burden UCD will have to endure after such an action.
"I'm a little surprised, but it's certainly not out of left field," Burch said. "I'm a little surprised that the department is willing to expose themselves to criticism, which is certainly warranted."
The athletic department declined to comment as to any particulars for the decision to eliminate Burch from the wrestling program, but claims Burch received fair treatment.
"We've treated Mike Burch just as we've treated anybody else," Warzecka said. "In the process we've chosen not to renew his contract.
"Personnel matters like that are a confidential matter," he added. "We have chosen not to renew his contract. A search for a new head men's wrestling coach will begin immediately and the men's wrestling program will move forward."
Burch, however, is skeptical as to the future of UCD wrestling in the post-Burch era.
Burch came to UCD six years ago and transformed the Aggie wrestling program from the doormat of the Pacific-10 Conference to a highly competitive Division I team.
In his first year as head coach, Burch produced a nationally ranked D I recruiting class. During the three seasons prior to Burch's arrival, UCD had failed to record a single dual-meet. In his first three years, UCD tallied 19 dual-meet wins and have continued to improve.
"I am deeply worried about the future of UC Davis wrestling," Burch said. "There are many disgruntled student-athletes. There's a past that nobody wants to return to and the athletic department is saying that it is acceptable to them.
"I'm worried about all the athletes that have to choose between a quality wrestling program and a UC degree," he added.
What has become his final season with the Aggies, Burch coached the UCD wrestling team to its best season in school history this year. The Aggies collected 10 dual-meet wins en route to a seventh place finish in the Pac-10 - the highest of any UCD team ever. The Aggies also ended with a program-best six placewinners at the Pac-10 Conference Championships and sent a school record four athletes to the NCAA National Championships.
To not renew the contract of the most successful wrestling coach in UCD's history following his best year with the Aggies is a move challenged by Reynolds.
"We don't have all the details, but you have someone who had the most successful season in the history of the school, who apparently made the mistake of speaking out in favor of women athletes," Reynolds said. "It appears the women sought assistance from their elected representative and the response was to fire the coach. It doesn't look very good. There may be more to it, but we've had a letter into the chancellor's office for over three weeks and we haven't heard back until today."
Though his contract will expire on June 30, Burch said he will continue to work toward equality for the female wrestlers. While his contract as a teacher in the fields of exercise science and religious studies at UCD remains in tact, Burch's future at the university remains questionable.
"I'm not just going to walk away, but my future at UC Davis is very much in jeopardy," Burch said. "I'm going to continue to advocate for the women, advocate for an end to censorship and advocate for fair support of student-athletes who choose to wrestle.
"Currently, I have no plans," he continued. "I suppose I could continue to lecture and be a volunteer assistant."
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UCD coach's contract not renewed
By James Hart/Enterprise staff writer 5/30/2001
For reasons not being disclosed, the contract of UC Davis wrestling coach Mike Burch will not be renewed when his current contract expires June 30.
In a meeting Tuesday afternoon, UCD athletic director Greg Warzecka informed Burch that this, his sixth year at UCD, would be his last. According to Burch, Warzecka did not supply a reason in the meeting as to why his contract was not being renewed. When contacted, Warzecka stated he could not comment on personnel matters.
"I can verify two things. I can verify that coach Burch's contract runs through June 30 and that we have chosen not to renew his contract," Warzecka said this morning. "Other than that, personnel issues and surrounding issues concerning Mike's contract are not public information."
The end of Burch's tenure at UCD comes amidst controversy. Earlier this month, two female wrestlers - Arezou Mansourian and Chris Ng - filed a complaint against the university with the Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, claiming sexual discrimination after they were told they were no longer a part of the UCD wrestling program.
According to the women, Warzecka informed them in January that they were no longer a part of the team and that they never actually were a part of the program. Burch supported the women's charge, saying Warzecka told him to cut the women from his roster prior to the 2000-01 season.
The university has since reinstated the women, but the charges have not gone away. On Tuesday, some members of the wrestling team, including Mansourian, Ng and captain Mike Maben, participated in a protest that began at the Memorial Union and ended on the steps of Mrak Hall. Along the way, the wrestlers, wearing their familiar singlets, passed out fliers detailing the events of the past month.
The rally fizzled on the steps of Mrak Hall when Maben, speaking to Vice Chancellor Bob Franks, requested a meeting with UCD Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef, but was told Vanderhoef was on vacation.
Warzecka would not say whether the recent charges of sexual discrimination brought against the university by Mansourian and Ng and their subsequent support from Burch had anything to do with the university's decision, but Burch believes this is hardly a coincidence.
"It's clearly retaliation," said Burch. "They certainly would have renewed my contract if the events of May hadn't taken place.
"It's not like the program has done poorly. We've done well. They've just chosen not to renew me in the face of controversy."
In his six years at UCD, Burch transformed the Aggie wrestling program from a perennial loser into a contender. Prior to his arrival, UCD hadn't won a dual meet in three years. In his first three seasons, Burch won 19 dual meets. This past season the Aggies went 10-7, the best record in school history, and sent four wrestlers to the national tournament.
One of a handful of part-time coaches at the university, Burch had worked on a one-year contract basis since his arrival in 1995. In three previous May meetings with Warzecka, Burch said he inquired about his future with the university and was told a decision on his contract would be made by June 1.
Now, the future of the UCD wrestling program is in flux. Warzecka says a search for Burch's replacement will begin immediately, but already several wrestlers have expressed to Burch their intention to transfer.
- Reach James Hart at jhart@davisenterprise.net