Northridge twins may look alike, but their approach to the game sets them apart ...Saudi Arabia

One quick glance at Cora and Jessica Santos is all that is needed to see they are the ideal tandem on the tennis court.

They seemingly always predict each other’s next move.

They have the type of chemistry that normally takes tennis partners years to develop.

They were born with it.

Jessica and Cora are 16-year-old identical twins who are two of the top players within the Northridge High School girls tennis program.

When they first began their high school tennis careers as freshmen a year ago, they had the distinct honor of teaming together to form a highly successful doubles pair on the Grizzlies team.

And though they very much look alike, their styles on the court aren’t nearly as identical as their physical appearances.

They benefited from each other’s approach, relied on their natural-born chemistry and immediately developed a rapport on the court that allowed them to rack up wins from the very onset of their high school careers.

“I think it was one of the best experience of my whole life being able to play a sport that I love with my twin sister, my favorite sibling, of course,” Jessica said. “Since we know each other so well, we would push each other so hard on the courts that it can be a little frustrating for each other. But other than that, we had great chemistry. We basically could read each other’s minds.”

Perhaps the only tangible way for one to distinguish each twin from the other: Jessica is right-handed, and Cora is left-handed. In fact, that was the primary clue the Santos twins’ coaches used to distinguish the sisters when they first began coaching the duo.

But for an opposing doubles team stepping on the court and staring across the net at the twins for the first time, feeling like they’re experiencing double vision can be a tad bit jarring.

“Our opponents were definitely taken by surprise,” Jessica said.

The Santos sisters began playing tennis just a few years ago when they joined a summer tennis program at the Bittersweet Swimming and Tennis Association’s courts. It was there where they were introduced to coach Robert J. Herrera.

Herrera runs the 4040 Tennis Academy, which now operates out of the Greeley Country Club. He is also an assistant coach on the Northridge tennis team.

He recalls, when he first met Cora and Jessica, encountering a couple of eager pupils with a ton of natural athleticism and a clear desire to excel within their new sport.

“You could see the spark very early on; this was something they really enjoyed, and you could tell they were going to be very good at it,” said Herrera, a Greeley native who excelled on the courts for University High before graduating in 1997. “That’s the beauty of this sport. When you find kids that really have the passion, you just help them any way you can and then stay out of the way and let them take over. … (The Santos sisters) are as competitive as any crew that I’ve ever had out there.”

Though the Santos twins had a little bit of experience playing club tennis under their belts when they stepped on Northridge’s campus for the first time about a year and half ago, they were, naturally, a bit nervous about making the jump to the high school varsity level.

Playing Class 4A tennis within a talent-laden Northern Colorado conference, they would face some of the more talented high school players in the state.

Jessica’s and Cora’s nerves were settled, significantly, when their coaches made the decision to allow the two rising players to team together on the same doubles squad. They occupied Northridge’s No. 2 doubles spot, capping a fine freshman campaign with a 6-5 record.

“I was really happy when they wanted us to play with each other because I was really nervous,” Cora recalled. “Having someone that I know so closely made it a lot easier for me to adjust. And that chemistry was natural. We definitely had an advantage.”

This is the first time Northridge head coach Lorayn Lang has coached a pair of twins in her half-decade with the Grizzlies.

Even though coaching identical twins poses some natural challenges — notably, the need to tell one apart from the other — Cora and Jessica have otherwise made the task of coaching them an absolute breeze, Lang said.

“And not just on the courts, but academic-wise, as well,” said Lang, who is also a mathematics teacher at Northridge. “I push them as students first. That’s why they’re student-athletes. And these girls just exemplify that. They’re great role models. They’re really involved in our STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) program, which is fantastic. … And they bring that same energy, that work ethic to tennis. It’s a breath of fresh air.”

Just because the Santos sisters appear to be mirror images, that doesn’t mean their playing styles and demeanors on the court are identical, as well.

In fact, Jessica’s and Cora’s approaches couldn’t be much more different from one another.

Jessica is an aggressive player who relies largely on her power game and likes to play at the net.

Cora is a patient player with exceptional control who excels closer to the baseline.

Jessica is also a bit more demonstrative and emotional on the court, while Cora’s calmness and composure is unflappable.

The styles complement each other well, and each player has relied on the other’s strengths to refine their own playing styles into a more rounded form.

“We help balance each other out,” Cora said.

Both players have steadily improved in their two years within Northridge’s program.

After teaming with her sister in a doubles tandem a year ago, Cora made the move up to No. 3 singles this spring. Despite facing hefty competition, she engineered a rock-solid 5-5 record this season heading into the 4A Region 4 tournament in Loveland this week.

Jessica was in a prime position to also earn a singles spot this season before hurting her back during the season’s infancy.

As a result of that injury, Jessica remained at doubles, teaming with junior Bella Shankweiler to occupy the Grizzlies’ No. 3 doubles slot.

Jessica and Shankweiler have been highly successful, recording a 6-2 mark heading into regionals.

“(Shankweiler) is one of my best friends,” Jessica said. “We’ve been on fire. She’s kind of like my twin, too. She’s more calm. She is really good, and she balances me out. So we’re great partners.”

In fact, the Santos twins’ uncompromisable passion toward the game, their limitless energy and their impeccable chemistry has seemingly rubbed off on the entire team, Lang said.

“They’re just as strong when they’re not teaming together,” she said. “It’s really cool, because Jess brings up her partner (Shankweiler) in a way that I have not seen. I haven’t seen that type of connection from non-siblings. … And Cora is out there playing singles. The mental capacity it takes to play singles — she’s like a tiger out there. It’s pretty cool to see how she’s blossomed as a singles player.”

Both players likely have plenty more blossoming as players in their immediate futures.

As mere second-year high school players, who are relatively new to the sport overall, the Santos sisters are in a prime position to be doubly impactful for the Grizzlies program in the years to come.

“Those two are certainly on their way to becoming leaders of this program,” Herrera said. “They’re the kind of kids that ask to hit extra balls when everybody else is doing something else. They enjoy competing. They have a love for the game. I’m happy to be a part of that journey with them. I can see them going as far as they want to.”

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