Worcester Telegram & Gazette: "Shrewsbury Twins At Worcester State"

Shrewsbury twins at WSC

By Jennifer Toland, College Beat Writer

October 1, 2008

People who know twins Abby and Amanda Cosenza best don't have much trouble telling them apart. For others, it's not so easy.

But there are clues to distinguish the Worcester State juniors.

Amanda is about an inch taller, and "I have a longer face," she said. Their eyebrows are shaped differently. Amanda had blond hair for a while, which was a pretty good giveaway, but recently went back to her natural dark brown like Abby's. Then there are their lacrosse sticks - Amanda's is royal blue, Abby's is yellow.

"That's the only way Coach (Deb Draper) can tell us apart when we're on the field and wearing our goggles," Amanda said. During games, the sisters from Shrewsbury can be identified by their uniform numbers (Abby is 22, Amanda 8). WSC women's basketball coach Karen Tessmer claims she can tell them apart by their calf muscles. "I never heard that one before," Abby said with a laugh.

This summer, Abby and Amanda, along with fellow Worcester State students and twins Lauren and Erin Moore of Brimfield, road-tripped to the Twins Days Festival, the world's largest annual gathering of twins, in - where else? - Twinsburg, Ohio. The event, which includes a cookout and "double take" parade through the center of town, drew some 3,000 sets of multiples. The Cosenzas won bronze medals for most look-alike twins in their age category (20-24).

"Basically, we just sat there and judges stared at us for a really long time trying to find a difference," Abby said. "They have you smile, face each other, look in opposite directions, and they're taking notes."

Abby and Amanda said they must have posed for about a million pictures with other twins (identical and fraternal) during the weekend and met twins ranging in age from newborns to a pair of sisters in their 70s. One of the more interesting sets they met, who also medaled, had been coming to the festival for 15 years, since they were five.

"And they said they still dress exactly the same every day, down to the earrings," Amanda said. "And they dated twins they had met there. It was funny. It was really cool to meet people on the same page as you. Normally, we stick out as ‘the twins.' There, everyone was a twin."

The Cosenzas have never tried a "Parent Trap" trick on anybody, though they did think about it one April Fool's Day. A Shrewsbury High teacher squelched their plan. Often, teachers, and sometimes even aunts and uncles, will call them by each other's name. They usually just go along with it. Even they have trouble picking themselves out in baby pictures.

"My mom's the only one who knows who's who," Abby said.

The personable pair dressed alike as kids - same outfits, Abby in purple, Amanda in pink. They've grown into their own identities, but still share many common interests, including sports, and they hang in the same circle of friends. They also share a dorm room. They started at Worcester State with the same course of study, early education major/psychology minor, but Amanda has switched to secondary/health education.

Abby and Amanda both played soccer, basketball and lacrosse at Shrewsbury. They played basketball as freshmen at WSC. After lacrosse season in the spring, a return to the Twins Days Festival is in the works.

"We're definitely going back," Abby said.