Monday, September 15, 2014

Valiant Family: Irish Twins on the Field


The Moricone Sisters  

In professional sports you hear about siblings playing a sport during the same season or even on the same team. It does not happen often but when it does it certainly can become interesting to watch. Manhattanville’s women field hockey team is lucky enough to have a sister duo playing for them this season. The Moricone sisters, Toni Moricone and Gina Moricone have been playing together for years and have shared the Manhattanville field for the last two years.

Toni Moricone will be playing her third season as a Valiant and Gina Moricone her second. What many people might not know is that the Moricone sisters are actually Irish twins; they were born 11 months apart with Toni Moricone being the oldest one. That certainly accounts for them being so similar and it has helped their relationship as sisters. Their sisterhood has been a secret weapon to the team and has helped influence the shape of the team as a whole.

“My sister and I have been close our whole lives, we obviously have had our downs with extreme arguments and fights here and there but I can definitely call her my best friend. On the field is where we put our sister skills to good use because we naturally flow together. I can read her really well so if were playing the same side of the field I know what kind of hit she’s going to give and where she’s positioned on the field,” shared Gina Moricone.

The dynamic duo may share many similarities but Toni Moricone was sure to note that they were still different from one another. “An interesting fact that no one knows about each other would be that even though we are so close, we are completely different. It is like night and day. She is quieter and more conservative whereas I come off as shy and quite but really I am more outgoing and talkative,” she elaborated.

One might ask how these sisters managed to end up playing the same sport. Toni Moricone had no hesitation in crediting one of her older cousins for her love of the game.  Her sister would then follow her footsteps and also find affection for field hockey.

“My older cousin (Jennifer Moricone) made me decide to play field hockey. I never heard of field hockey when I was little. It wasn't until I was going into seventh grade that my cousin told me that she used to play. She gave me her old stick and showed me how to play. I wanted to be like her since I was already playing softball just l like she had. Now I could play another sport [just] like her,” said Toni Moricone.

Needless to say, once these sisters were introduced to field hockey they’ve never stopped playing ever since. Both sisters have shared their own goals for the 2014 season, and one commonality was their desire to win. Toni Moricone wants to score more goals this season while Gina Moricone’s goal is slightly different.

“My goal for this season is just really to improve as a teammate, to be positive and a role model for all incoming freshman, as well as defiantly see my team come out on top in the conference and win as many games as possible,” explained Gina Moricone.

This duo is hopeful that this season will bring plenty of success to Manhattanville and they look forward to what lays ahead of them. 

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