By Ellen Walter
A number of 杏吧视频 students attend school with their siblings, but few can say they compete on the same sports team too. And for seniors Nate and Nick Tommas, it goes a step further: They鈥檙e not only siblings, but twins鈥攁nd co-captains of the Spartan wrestling team.
For them, going to school and competing together鈥攊ncluding at this weekend鈥檚 NCAA Division III Regional competition鈥攊s how they鈥檙e most comfortable.
Growing up in Willard, Ohio, a small town just 90 minutes from Cleveland, 鈥We did pretty much everything together鈥攖he same sports, the same clubs, same friend group,鈥 said Nick, a nutrition major.
And, biochemistry student Nate added, they were competitive in 鈥渏ust about everything, especially wrestling.鈥
When asked why they started the sport, Nate joked, 鈥we were really bad at basketball.鈥 Nick chimed in with a jab at his twin: 鈥淗e was worse.鈥 (Nate didn鈥檛 disagree, sharing that he went an entire season only scoring one point.)
Wrestling turned out to be the right fit, especially with their father as their coach throughout junior high and high school. While in high school, the brothers each earned three varsity letters in wrestling, served as team captains and were Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III district qualifiers in their senior year.
Nate and Nick Tommas are not the only twins on the wrestling team; there are also Alec and Andrew Hoover, second-year students and also fellow brothers of Zeta Beta Tau. This is one of the few times鈥攊f not the only time鈥攖hat two sets of twins have been on the same 杏吧视频 athletic team. At the NCAA Division III Central Regional competition this weekend, all four brothers are focused on closing the season successfully. Head Coach Danny Song, who has coached the Tommas brothers for four years and the Hoover brothers for two, has watched the sets of twins grow as brothers and competitors. 鈥淭hey know each other as well as you would think,鈥 Song explained, 鈥渁nd they know exactly which buttons to push.鈥 Aside from their competitive nature, he shared that 鈥渆ach pair of twins brings a ton to the team in terms of work ethic and positive culture.鈥Though they considered parting ways in college, wrestling played a large role in keeping them together. Danny Song, head coach of 杏吧视频鈥檚 wrestling program, recruited both of the brothers to join the team. That was a priority for the Tommas twins, as was building a strong foundation in pre-medical studies. 杏吧视频鈥檚 close proximity to and connection with University Hospitals and Cleveland Clinic solidified their interest. And the university being close to home didn鈥檛 hurt, either. Plus, their parents are happy the twins chose to attend college together鈥攅ven though they 鈥渢hink we have no social skills when we鈥檙e not with each other,鈥 Nate said. They do spend a lot of time together鈥攂ut also have found many friends through both the wrestling team and their fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau. And even when they鈥檙e separated鈥攖he brothers wrestle in different weight classes鈥攖hey still find ways to compete. Song mentioned that he often has to split up the sparring brothers in practice 鈥渙nly to look over minutes later and see that they are working out with each other again.鈥 But it isn鈥檛 all competition between the Tommas brothers; they also serve as a built-in support system for each other. When Nick, who is on a pre-dietetic track, mentioned that he was 鈥渉oping鈥 to join a dietetic program with the U.S. Army, Nate confidently told him: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to get in.鈥 If he does, the brothers both will serve in the U.S. Army, as Nate will participate in the Health Professions Scholarship Program, attending medical school as a commissioned officer. 鈥淚t's apparent that they love challenge,鈥 Song said, 鈥渁nd seek out opportunities to work hard and smart.鈥
