By Michael Wojtychiw

Having a twin is a special thing. You get an instant friend, someone that always seems to know what you’re thinking and doing, a confidant and oh so much more.

In Emma and Grace Curry’s experience, they also got a teammate.

The New Trier girls lacrosse players have been playing on teams together for all their lives, starting with youth lacrosse to club lacrosse to New Trier. The stretch will continue next year when the two head off to play lacrosse at George Washington University.

It wasn’t a given that the two would attend and play at the same university, however.

“Before I looked at the lacrosse aspect of GW, I was looking at the school aspect,” Emma Curry said. “I found GW because I was looking at schools with good journalism programs. So, I came across GW that way and then filtered lacrosse into it and then reached out to the school, because of my interest in the program that they offered.” 

Her sister happened to find the Washington D.C. program in a different way though.

“I think Emma and I had pretty much the same process because we went through it together,” Grace said. “When we visited November of our junior year and just walked around, I fell in love with it then. 

“And then, we went back again to the campus this summer and we were able to get a tour of all the buildings and amenities and stuff like that, it just propelled my interest in the school even more. 

“I think it was more the campus and the city life that I liked about it. And the lacrosse aspect was obviously a huge part of it. I loved the team, the atmosphere and just everything about the school as a whole.” 

However, when the two sat down separately in their freshman year of high school with coaches and parents to look at college options, they actually listed the same schools that they were interested in. 

Considering the same schools helped when they had calls with coaches and the two would mention that they have a sister that also plays and they work well together. 

“Having each other on the calls and just reaching out to the same schools, it wasn’t like we had to go to the same school, but it just happened that schools were interested in the both of us,” Grace said. 

The twins will be playing in their third year on the Trevians’ varsity program this spring, meaning that their first varsity season really wasn’t one thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic canceling high school sports in the spring of 2020. 

That cancellation in a way stunted the recruiting process because coaches weren’t able to come out and see the girls play at tournaments or showcases with their Team One Lacrosse club team. George Washington wasn’t even able to see them play live until this past summer when they offered them scholarships. So they had to adapt. 

“A lot of our recruiting process was just through films,” Grace said. ”So, we would get films from our high school games and through our tournaments, through our club team. And we would post those on our Sports Recruits page and that’s what we would send out to schools in our emails. When we were really into COVID, our club coaches saw the impact that not being able to go to these tournaments and camps was having,” Emma said. “So they suggested we make YouTube videos and Instagram pages where we could show off our skill on that and use platforms to be able to get seen by coaches in other ways, because of the fact that they couldn’t see us in person.” 

And that’s another way having a twin pays off, the two girls were able to film the videos together. 

The high school graduating classes of 2021 and 2022 have arguably been the most affected high school student-athletes by the pandemic. In 2020, the NCAA decided that it would offer every student-athlete in college during the 2020 spring season and 2020-2021 school year an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, meaning that some athletes could come back for fifth, sixth, or in some cases, seventh years of athletic competition. 

Then in April 2021, the NCAA decided that it would allow all undergraduate student-athletes in all sports the opportunity to move freely one time without having to sit out. That rule made the transfer market in all sports crazy, with hundreds to thousands of student-athletes in all sports deciding to transfer without having to sit out. 

What all of that meant, however, is that there could, and in many cases would, be less scholarship and roster opportunities for high school athletes in the classes of 2021 and 2022 than there normally would be. 

The Currys said that wasn’t brought up in the recruitment process and that even though they’re aware of the ramifications, it’s really out of their control what else happens. 

“I think we definitely let everything fall the way it falls,” Emma said. “As long as we’re doing everything we can in our power to make sure that we’re the best that we can be. And going into our freshman year, making sure we’re in shape and working hard. I think that’s what really matters.” 

But before they go to D.C., they’ve got unfinished business at New Trier. After dropping a heartbreaker to Loyola in overtime in the sectional championship last season, the Trevians will look to get back to the state’s final four and hopefully get that state title back to Winnetka. 

“I’m looking forward to winning state,” Grace said. “We were so close last year and it was a really difficult game. But this year, I think we’re ready and we’re stronger and we’re going to come back and prove ourselves, and hopefully win state.” 

Story published in the March edition of the Northfield Neighbors magazine, a monthly magazine published by Best Version Media.