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 (Photo courtesy of Princeton's Office of Athletic Communications) caption:
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Displaying Special Fortitude, Pang Makes History As First Woman to Compete for Tiger Wrestling
By Bill Alden
Audrey Pang will be spending a lot of time over the next few months completing her senior thesis on female CEOs and their struggle to overcome the gender gap.
The Princeton University senior, though, has already gotten a special seminar on cracking through an athletic glass ceiling as she has become the first woman to compete in dual meets for the Princeton wrestling team.
While Pang has taken her lumps so far this season, the Toronto, Canada native believes she is better for the experience. "I try to look at it like any other match, another chance to get better," said Pang, who has been wrestling at 125 pounds for the Tigers.
"It's definitely different, there is no getting around the fact that there is a guy there and not a girl. I'm not as strong as the guys my weight. I've taken a beating but that's happened wrestling girls or guys. But the strongest guy doesn't always win or there would be no point to wrestling."
It took a while for Pang to get the point in wrestling. Pang started wrestling in 1996 as a freshman in high school when her school resumed the sport. The school had a girls' team so Pang only wrestled against girls during her high school career.
At first, the sport was a sidelight for Pang, who was also a competitive swimmer and a field hockey player. By her junior year of high school, though, Pang realized that she had developed a special passion for the mat.
"It was very, very different from anything I had tried before," explained Pang, who competed for a spot on the Canadian women's wrestling squad for the 2004 Summer Olympics.
"I loved the challenge it presented. It wasn't just competing against yourself, it's competing one-on-one against somebody else. There's no relying on a teammate to score the goal for you."
Utilizing her athleticism and competitive nature, Pang has developed a distinctive wrestling style. "I'm a very defensive wrestler," added Pang, whose body ripples with muscles from her daily 2-hour mat workouts at practice and her supplemental strength and cardio training.
"I don't react like a lot of wrestlers, I'm a little unorthodox. I've always been flexible so my style has developed around that. I hate losing, I will fight to the end."
Pang needed her flexibility and tenacity upon arriving at Princeton and breaking the gender barrier in the Tiger wrestling room. "It was a little intimidating," recalled Pang, who noted that the initial transition was eased by pre-season workouts and the fact that she was one of two female wrestlers at practice.
"There wasn't so much resistance, as a little bit of what do we do with them. They never had girls before and it was little things that came up like the locker room and where to put us."
While the other woman wrestler eventually dropped out of the program, Pang stuck with it even though she was not wrestling in dual meets for the Tigers over the first three years of her career. Pang was able to satisfy her competitive fire by wrestling on the collegiate women's circuit and at the national level.
Overcoming any simmering resistance to her presence, Pang is serving as one of the team's tri-captains this winter. "I was definitely honored by that," said Pang with her ready grin in reflecting on her captain status. "I was tentative at first, concerning myself with the captain's role. The guys have been incredible, it's all very comfortable. They're used to me, I'm just one of the guys."
From his vantage point, Princeton wrestling head coach Michael New considers Pang as a whole lot more than just one of the guys.
"She's a great kid, full of youthful enthusiasm," asserted New. "She's a fierce competitor, she wants to be a success. She's tough, focused, and positive. I have two young daughters and they really look up to Audrey. I would be proud if they turned out like her."
Pang's fortitude in staying with the program has also gained the admiration of her male teammates. "There were a lot of issues," said New, recalling Pang's initiation to the program.
"We tried to be fair but we didn't bend over backwards. She has led by example by showing such determination. I think the wrestlers who have been associated with her have gotten a more liberal view of what a woman can accomplish."
Having gotten off to a 0-6 start in her individual matches with Princeton, Pang is looking to accomplish more this season when the Tigers resume action after the exam break when they wrestle at Cornell on January 28 and at Columbia on January 29.
"It's definitely made me tougher," maintained Pang. "I didn't expect to be that overmatched physically. I'm in better physical condition. It's always about getting better but I'd like to put a win up. I want to contribute something to the team and make a difference."
Pang is also looking to make a difference on the international level as the sport of women's wrestling looks to gain a foothold in the Olympics.
"I'd like to keep training and competing at the national level," said Pang, who has been wrestling at 112 pounds in women's competitions. "We'll see what happens three years from now. With the Olympics being in China in 2008, that definitely helps the sport. Wrestling is big in China."
The economics major also plans to apply the lessons she has learned through wrestling in the business world.
"It's definitely been one of the best things I've done at Princeton," said Pang, who plans to work in New York City in the financial field and to continue training at the New York Athletic Club.
"It's kept me more focused, more disciplined, and has made me a better student. It carries over into other things. I went to job interviews and they were interested in my wrestling experience. They said they can see an extra layer of determination."
That extra layer of determination has helped Pang carve out a special place in the history of Princeton wrestling.
