Sisters help University of Chicago women's tennis team set sights on national title
CHICAGO (CBS) – The University of Chicago women's tennis team has been near the top of the Division III rankings the last couple of years.
This year seems like as good a time as any to get their first national championship with a pair of very talented sisters from Willowbrook helping lead the charge.
Sylwia Mikos is a two-time UAA Conference Player of the Year, but she may not even be the best player with her last name on the University of Chicago's women's tennis team. Her younger sister Oliwia was just named First-Team All-Conference as a freshman and is part of the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the nation along with Yale Transfer Rena Lin.
So what is it like for the sisters to play on the same team?
"It's great honestly," Oliwia said. "Playing with her, it's more exciting and we're always yelling at each other to boost our energy. Being there, supportive of each other is really great."
Slywia added, "I can't say this enough. I'm really grateful to have her on my team and as a teammate."
Head coach Jay Tee said, "You can see how much they love being around each other, and the support they have for each other has made a huge difference in Sylwia and Oliwia's tennis career."
The Hinsdale South alums have helped the Maroons to another conference championship and another run in the NCAA Tournament, hoping to break through with a title after finishing runner up in Division III the last two years.
"We've fallen short in the past, but we want to be ... the first women's team at UChicago to get the NCAA Championship," Oliwia said. "So we're just really excited."
As for what it would mean to celebrate such an accomplishment with her sister, Oliwia said "it would be amazing."
Sylwia and Oliwia have two older twin sisters who also played tennis in college as well. What's interesting is their parents were actually not big tennis players. It was almost by accident the four Mikos girls got into the sport.
"My parents actually immigrated to the states when they were around 18, like in their teens," Sylwia said. "They had never played tennis prior to coming. I think we signed up for recreational swim lessons, and there was a tennis court across the street, and my mom was like, 'Ok, we'll have them play. We'll have them start tennis.' And then we all kind of got into it."
Oliwia said, "I think all of us just have a drive. So with that, we were able to be successful on our own even though our parents did not know anything about tennis."
As for the idea that Oliwia may already be better than her older sister, that's apparently just fine with Sylwia.
"I think that's great," Sylwia said. "She's just better than me. I think that we build off each other and that's why we get along so well. When I see her doing well, off court and on the court, I feel like I'm doing well as an older sister, because I'm helping her in some sense. She's also just so strong. She's so resilient. She's going to continue to do so well, not only next year and throughout NCAAs, but hopefully when I'm gone, she continues to kick [expletive]."
And the Maroons hope the sisters can continue to take care of business against their opponents as they resume NCAA Tournament play on Monday.
The University of Chicago will face Johns Hopkins in the national quarterfinals on Monday in St. Louis. The men's team is also in the NCAA Tournament and will face Denison.