2012-13 Results and Media Coverage
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| The Robichaux family (left to right): Jay, Nicole, Denise - (Pat Mashburn, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune) |
Nicole Robichaux wrestles in the St.
Paul's Invitational - (Pat
Mashburn, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
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Spirited. Driven. Unwavering.
All of the above certainly apply to Destrehan junior Nicole Robichaux. There is something, however, which places her in a relatively small group.
She's a wrestler.
In a male-dominated sport, in which body strength differences between the sexes are hard to ignore, the affable Robichaux competes in the 106-pound class while drawing the curiosity of spectators, as well as her male counterparts.
“It all depends on who you’re wrestling,” Robichaux said. “You can tell that some don’t want to wrestle a girl, and their attitude is, 'If you lose to a girl, you suck,' or 'You just beat a girl.' I just go into a match wanting to do the best I can possibly do.”
Sometimes the results go her way, and then other times, they don’t. Each match has its challenges, and Robichaux knows more often than not her opponent will be stronger.
“Before a match, they have in their mind that they are about to wrestle a girl,” she said. “I just think about competing and not wanting to lose. There aren’t too many girls in this sport, and I’m usually the only girl whenever we go to a tournament.”
It took a few matches before recording her first victory, but Robichaux's mother Denise remembers it well. “We were at a tournament in Pearl River and I could have sworn the people back in New Orleans heard me scream,” Denise Robichaux said. “I was on cloud nine for days. It just made me so proud to see her on the mat in a male-dominated sport. She’s very passionate about wrestling.”
Her daughter's choice of activity didn’t sink in at first. “I remember the day she came home from school and told me, thinking she was joking,” Denise Robichaux said. “I told her that Destrehan didn’t have girls wrestling, and she said she was going to wrestle with the boys. Because she’s very competitive, I told her to go for it.”
The proclamation came as no surprise to Jay Robichaux, her father. “She looks a lot like her mom and has my personality,” he said. “But, the mixtures of our personalities make for a very strong-willed person.”
Jay Robichaux believes his daughter's wrestling experience will carries ancillary benefits.
“I think about what it will be like when she’s out of high school and in the business world,” Jay Robichaux said. “ Having this experience will keep her from being intimidated and teach her not to back down, and she’ll stand up for herself.”