Photo by Mark Lee
 
Freshman Lisa Bisers started wrestling in the 4th grade and immediately fell in love with the sport. A varsity-level wrestler through all four years of high school in her hometown of Pittsburgh ("wrestling country"), she faced only male opponents and compiled winning records each year.

After visiting Hopkins and meeting men's wrestling coach Kirk Salvo, Bisers was sold on joining the Blue Jays' program. "I didn't want to wrestle for a women's program," she says. "I feel I'll improve more wrestling men."

The first woman ever to join the Hopkins wrestling squad, Bisers competes in the 125-pound weight class. "She's got great technique and she works really hard," says Salvo. Bisers says, "I'm not as strong [as the men I wrestle], but I'm more flexible. I've learned to depend on my technique, not my strength." She and her teammates face a grueling schedule that stretches from November into March, with only one match at home. As of mid-January, their record stood at 2-6.

Bisers, a member of the U.S. national women's team that competed in Sweden--and won--in the summer of 2000, has set her sights on competing in the 2004 Olympics. "It's a part of me," she says. "I don't think anyone can imagine me not wrestling." --SD

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