Profile: Rissolo and Testa Wrestle Attitudes As Well As Opponents

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 within the United States Code states “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance..." With a huge focus on sports, Darien High School does not have a lack of female athletes and it would appear no trouble with this law, but two girls do understand the trouble that female discrimination can create.

Junior Haley Rissolo and Senior Sami Testa are both members on the Blue Wave Wrestling team and the only two girls. “You have to work twice as hard as any other boy does because naturally boys are stronger and excel in the sport. Also sometimes boys don't like to treat us as equals and they will go easy on us even though we are tough and can handle it,” Rissolo said. “It can get really frustrating to see guys go easy on us and we still lose but for me that gives me the drive to become better and shock the guys into treating us equally,” Testa said.

But the girls say the coaches and the majority of the team are really supportive. The big trouble comes from other teams' coaches and athletes at competitions. Some people refuse to wrestle them at all. “The team itself is great and we aren't treated any differently by the coaches and the majority of the team so it's a great sport and it's so much fun to talk to these people I never would have known otherwise. Especially Haley, we bonded immediately,” Testa said.

Haley joined the team because she had done a lot with mixed martial arts and some other forms of martial arts at the YMCA prior to joining the team. Most of the programs she did at the YMCA were all guys anyways. “In fact they were all really big so after that I wasn't scared of boys anymore,” said Rissolo.

Sami joined the team because her brother wrestled on the team for all four years of high school. Also, after seeing other girls on the team her sophomore year she got up the courage to start.

Despite all the problems the girls seem to still love what they do and approach every meet with a good attitude. “Growing up around two brothers, being one of the only girls never bothered me. But it bothers others, I mean that's their problem,” Testa said.

Pictured above: Rissolo wrestles an opponent