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The Piedmont Highlander

The Piedmont Highlander

Sibling Duos Dominate

Sophomore Matt Fong shoots a glance across the court at his twin brother Chris.

“We know what each other is thinking,” Matt said. “If they’re really good, we look at each other like ‘we better pick it up.’”

Chris and Matt, who both run cross country and play tennis, are one of few sibling teammates at Piedmont. Nonverbal communication like this allows them to send and interpret messages, Matt said.

Because Chris and Matt play JV Tennis, the siblings can push each other to perform, Matt said.

“It’s like, if I’m doing better than you, I get to laugh at you,” Matt said, referring to his twin. “So you better do better than me.”

Senior Marina Fennell and her sister, freshman Kelsey, play Varsity Water Polo.

“Since [Kelsey] is the goalie, we don’t interact in the games, but we have fun with each other and we push each other harder to keep going.”

They realize that each sister has her own strengths and weaknesses, Marina said. Although they compete in the same pool, they play different positions, so the senior and freshman do not compare their performances.

“We understand that we are both different,” Marina said. “She’s good at basketball, and I do competitive sailing, so we’re good at different things.”

Varsity Water Polo brothers senior Ryan and junior Dylan Pike also play different positions.

“I mean there isn’t a lot of competition since we play completely different positions with him playing goalie and me playing field,” Ryan said.

Playing on the same water polo team has brought the Fennell sisters closer.

“We spend a lot more time together,” Marina said. “We can relate.”

The Fong brothers made the mutual decision to run Cross Country to get into shape for tennis, the sport in which they excel.

Marina, on the other hand, encouraged her freshman sister to play water polo.

“I’ve been persuading her to play water polo, but she has wanted to focus on basketball,” she said. “She has done swimming since she was young, so she decided to give it a shot.”

Other sibling teammates include Water Polo sisters senior Hannah and sophomore Sarah Mooney and Volleyball sisters senior Allison and sophomore Gabrielle Pehanick.

There are some perks that come with having a sibling as a teammate. The Pike brothers can team up while in the pool.

“We have a good understanding of how the other one plays,” Ryan said. “Plus we work well together because Dylan used to play field.”

Marina can communicate with Kelsey more efficiently than with other players.

“I can yell at her without her getting mad at me,” Marina said. “She always has my back and the whole team’s back.”

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