European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 28, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday february 28, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 23 err icentary army should go to the mat Tor her g h Norma Lorenzo has this problem. She wants to wrestle men. The army s 21st sup port come says no. They break my heart Lorenzo said from her army unit in Germany. After All my practices they say no. They think a female can t do it. But they have to Sec me. I m a Powe Lifler. I be got upper body strength. They just Don t give us a on March 18, the army s major command sports directors will vote whether to push women wrestling or trash it. All seven of the directors Are men so you know their whispers women Are too weak women can Al Hurt women will be susceptible to embarrassing Olds. Forget it Guys. Trash your dark age theories and let women wrestle. Women Are too weak Lorenzo is a Champion now Erlister. She has to be stronger than some of the dudes i be seen fall in 10 seconds. Women can gel Hurt women compete in gymnastics and skiing. Wrestling is a Pansy sport compared to those. Embarrassing holds translated Crotch and Chest grabs ? grow up. Try throwing those excuses at Norma Lorenzo and she s Likely to throw you off the mat. You try to injure me i would do the same Back and it would be a real Tough match she said. In the army we do the same As men carry heavy things and Don t get Lorenzo 20, started throwing her a foot a 118 Pound Frame on the mat while attending College in her Homeland of puerto Rico. She beat women. She beat men. The men were real Strong but slow she said. When they moved Lap they were on the floor. They said she s too fast for me then she joined the army which told her to be All she could be. Besides her Field duty she wanted to be a Power lifter. She became a Champion winning last year s us a p. Eur 123-Pound class lifting 435 pounds. She wanted to be a wrestler. She trained with airmen and tiled for entry at the 21st support come wrestling championships dec. 7 at Bremerhaven. The answer came Back through the Sheinberg sports office which services Grilc Skirchen no. They did t explain anything Lorenzo said. They just said actually the 21st support come said nothing squirm shrug Blush which added up to no. Soon after Lorenzo s request 21st support come sports director Daryl Budda passed the Buck to army Headquarters in Heidelberg. Bruce Martin who helps formulate army sports policy checked with the . Wrestling association. When he received an answer Martin shot off this message to All major command sports directors mixed participation men and women in the Usa eur wrestling championships is i told them 21st Over the phone it s their Call Martin said. I just told them that if in fact they let her wrestle and she qualified she could go on to Budda did t receive Martin s message until after the 21st meet. If we would pc gotten the message we would be allowed her to wrestle Budda said. If i d been in Budda s shoes said Martin i d have let her wrestle. It was his decision. That getting the message late is an awfully Flimsy excuse. I can t Tell him How to run his program. I assumed he was going to let her go ahead and Budda s problem was not making a Quick decision. He should have told Lorenzo go ahead and wrestle and Well find out what Heidelberg says in Stead he passed the Buck again this time through 21st army commanders based on facts and Varia in other words we be never had women wrestle what do we do what they did was Tell Lorenzo she could t wrestle. Here arc a couple of reasons i. Equipment. Wrestlers Are supposed to Wear nothing beneath the narrow top. So give her a to shirt like Northern Illinois Brenda Maxey wears. 2. Weigh ins. Wrestlers must step on the scale naked. So let a woman supervise that Tough decisions. On the same Day her fellow 21st men wrestled Lorenzo went to Mainz and won a Power lifting invitational in the 123.5-Pound class. She lifted 462.7 pounds. Amid this War of Waffle cars Vii corps entered this Agenda item for the March 18 sports Council women not be allowed to participate on any level in Usa eur Vii corps sports director Tom Hlavack says he proposed that for the Sake of debate. Me says he believes let pm How do others Sec it Darmstadt sports director Mike Dowhower who saw women wrestle in the University of Maryland s intramural program it s an unsafe arrangement. I saw one woman get pinned. Her arms were Bent Way beyond the Range of movement. Fortunately she was flexible a Schaffenburg sports director Paul Rohler a for Mer Usa eur wrestling Champion who now coaches in a Public environment it s difficult to make some holds. It makes people uneasy. Plus there s a difference in strength. A Man at 105 and a woman at 105 it s like night and Day. They can t compete with a Man Pound for Pound. One of two things will happen the Guy will Lay Back and try to be very gentle not wrestle his full potential or he11 resent it and try to Hurt her to get her Cut of Usa eur assistant sports director Amy Kaplan my big concern is the danger of it. Women can gel Hurt. But there s danger in any sport with men in wrestling too. If the woman is in shape she should be Able to command sgt. Mai. Karen Erickson who played volleyball softball and basketball in the army the danger does t hold a lot of water. I m sure she Lorenzo is in top condition and if she asked to com Pete she s obviously prepared. She would probably be a threat to men wrestlers. That s All the More Rea son to prepare harder. A Man can get Hurt too. If she gels hurl she gets Hurt. She could get Hurt playing volleyball or basketball. I give her let s Hope by next fall that the army gives Norma Lorenzo credit and a Chance to wrestle. Tow St and Smet baseball teams seeing new lineups managers pirates Jason Thompson pedals along of an exercise Bike teammates from left Steve Kemp. Junior Ortiz and Tony Pena set the Pace by the associated press the first Days of baseball s Spring train ing season always have their share of new signings new managers and absent stars and this year is no exception. St. Louis cardinals Pitcher John Tudor a 21-game Winner last season signed a three year contract wednesday reported baseball Roundup by for More than s3 million while injury plagued Roger Clemens was inked by the Boston red sox. Dave Winfield and Rickey Henderson missed the new York Yankees first full workout under new manager Lou Pinilla and Pedro Guerrero was absent from the los Angeles dodgers Camp. Meanwhile while new san Diego manager Steve Boras conducted his first full squad work out at Yuma Ariz. Boras was hired tuesday to replace Dick Williams who resigned monday amid growing signs of player disenchant ment with his managing style. It was a Nice introduction. A Nice meeting to kick off Camp said padres first baseman Steve Garvey who is at tending his 16th Spring training As a major leaguer. He s upbeat positive. I like that i like optimism said Andy Hawkins the padres winning est Pitcher last season with an 18-8 record. The Yankees said Henderson was visiting the dentist but they did t know Why win Field was absent. Win infield s lawyer Jeffrey Klein called the team Laic wednesday and said Winfield has been involved in Public service matters involving the Winfield foun Dation and will be at Friday s workout. For the third year in a Row Guerrero missed the dodgers first full squad work out of the Spring. Guerrero the Only player not in Camp As the club kicked its Spring schedule into High gear remained at Home in the dominican Republic but has said he plans to report saturday. Clemens a right hander agreed to a one year contract reportedly Worth More than the s140,000 he received in 1985. As a Rookie in 1984 he was 9-4 and last year with Peri Odic shoulder problems was 7-5 before being sidelined for Good on aug. 11. Also signing wednesday was free agent first baseman outfielder Tim Corcoran to a minor league contract with the acts. Corcoran 33, batted .214 in 102 games with Philadelphia last year. Pitcher Rick Rhodon who has said he wants be traded away from Pittsburgh was the pirates Only Absentee As the team convened under manager Jim Leyland. Rho Den s agent said he would report by sat urday. Jackie Gutierrez obtained by Baltimore from Boston for Pitcher Sammy Stewart in a Trade that has since caused controversy reported in the orioles Camp a Day ahead of schedule. Gutierrez a shortstop at Boston and a third base candidate with the orioles spent the previous nine Days in Baltimore undergoing a series of examinations
