Virginia Union University Has Two Sets Of Twin Sisters In Classes And On The Basketball Court

The Bartelle twins (LaTisha and LaTori) and the Middleton twins (Adia and Amber) the two pair of identical sisters who grace the Virginia Union University (VUU) girls basketball team- get a lot of attention on and off the court, and they don't mind it at all.

All four young ladies grew up in Washington, D.C., being noticed for their identical looks, so it is just a part of their lives they have learned to accept.

"I like it because of the attention we get from being twins," said LaTori Bartelle. "Everybody says, those are the big twins (the Middletons who are 6-foot-1) or `those are the little twins (the Bartelles who are 5-foot-7). If it was just one of us, I don't think we'd necessarily get noticed at all."

Each set of twins admit that they were very close growing up, however, they also confess that at times they wanted people to see them for their individuality.

LaTori said that she and LaTisha went through the "I'm tired of being a twin and dressing alike" stage.

"It gets on your nerves at some stage," said LaTori, who is the more mellow and conservative of the two. "Plus, everybody sees you as one person all the time, and you wish they could see your individual identity."

The Middletons agree.

"Everybody is always thinking you do everything together," said Amber, who says she is more laid-back than her sister Adia, who is very outgoing. "And that is not true. We have very different personalities."

While the characteristics of all four ladies may be very different, the one thing they do have in common is talent on the basketball court. Both sets of twins are seniors at VUU and entered the university on full athletic scholarships their freshman year.

"We figured we would always be together, especially coming out of high school," said LaTisha, the No. 3 guard and small forward on the VUU team. She did not want to be separated from LaTori, the first or second guard for the team, when they went off to college.

The Bartelles said they planned to attend the same college and ultimately chose VUU because the school gave both sisters full athletic scholarships.

Adia and Amber, who started playing basketball when they were 12 and both hold the center position for the lady Panthers at VUU, also agreed they were a package deal when it came to attending college.

"I got accepted first," said Adia. "And I said I wouldn't go [to VUU] if my sister didn't get accepted."

Though they had opportunities to switch characters to pretend one was the other, the twins say they have not used their looks to deceive others as much as they probably could have. Besides, to themselves, they don't really look alike.

When it comes to the twins' future career goals, it is easy to tell them apart. LaTisha is the journalism major who is an aspiring broadcast journalist, while LaTori is finishing her degree in criminal justice and wants to be an entertainment lawyer.

Amber will receive her degree in psychology and will attend graduate school to become a sports psychologist, while Adia receives her criminal justice degree and will pursue a career as a sports or entertainment attorney.

As for careers in the WNBA, all of the ladies say they would love to take a shot at it, but they certainly realize their education comes first.

A few years ago, LaTori won the "Scholarship Sports Woman Of the Year" award, and said that as a result of her acceptance speech, she and her sister were able to travel to Beijing, China, for the NGO (non-govermental organization) Forum.

"I included my sister in my speech because I knew that only one person could get the award," said LaTori. "But I wanted to share it with her because she had done just as much as I had as far as school work and on the court."

Adia said she wants Amber to stay close by when they finish at VUU.

"I told her I was going to school in California, and she told me I wasn't going," said Amber. "She won't let me and now I don't want to leave her."

Will these sisters ever part? Of course they will have to eventually, but for now and the near future, they haven't grown tired of each other, on or off the court.