By Matthew Idema and Travis Devlin
Twins Rosalyn (left) and Audrey Wyse (right) hold the NJCAA Region XII-District F Tournament plaque
There is a thin line between love and hate in sibling rivalries, especially when you’re on the same team, battling for the same position on the court. That’s something the Wyse twins are all too familiar with. Rosalyn and Audrey Wyse are twin sisters.
They are currently 18 year-old freshmen that attend Grand Rapids Community College, formerly of Greenville High School. They’re also a part of the GRCC Volleyball team. Audrey is the oldest by one minute and after some debate between them over one or two minutes, Audrey is still the oldest.
The Wyse twins began playing Volleyball in fifth grade, through high school. They also played basketball from third grade to tenth grade and track and field from sixth grade all the way to senior year of high school. It was the ability to play together that led them to choose volleyball over the other sports, however they noted that they play the same position.
“We push each other, we want the best for each other,” Audrey said.
In their first year as members of the Raiders Volleyball team, it has been something they have really embraced.
“It’s a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun, I’m really impressed with the focus of this team, we seem to improve every practice,” Rosalyn said. “You have to be committed to your sport and love it to play any college sport, otherwise there’s no point in doing it,” said Audrey, when asked what it’s like to play for the GRCC volleyball team.
The best experience that the twins have so far in their freshman year playing volleyball is winning regionals.
“We play the same position, so we do get competitive, but we always push each other on and move on the best for each other,” Audrey said.
Rosalyn had a devastating injury last year tearing her ACL in her left leg and is still trying to come back this year and she says it still isn’t at 100 percent.
Audrey took over Rosalyn’s position her senior year of high school. The two don’t really see themselves continuing to play volleyball in the future, unless they have an offer from another college. They would like to follow their college pathway of pre-med and see what the future has in store for them.
Some people might wonder if people have a difficult time telling Audrey and Rosalyn apart or had any problems in the game with telling them apart. Amazingly they say there was really only one incident.
Chip Will coached the twin’s club volleyball team last year at nationals down in Florida. He accidently mixed up Audrey and Rosalyn’s numbers on their jerseys, and the referee wouldn’t allow him to change them back.
Audrey had to play left side and Rosalyn in the middle that game, Audrey always played middle, and neither of them ever played those positions. “It was a disaster,” said Audrey laughingly.
The twins feel at home at GRCC and plan to stick together throughout their college careers. They are best friends and even have the same major. They do plan to move to a bigger school, though they haven’t picked a transfer school yet.