For Fernandez twins, the similarities end when they step on the court

People constantly confuse juniors Steven and Stewart Fernandez for one another, but we’ve figured out one way to tell them apart.

Words by TCNJ's editorial staff

by Bill Enkhbayar

People constantly confuse juniors Steven and Stewart Fernandez for one another. Who could blame them? The identical twins do everything together: go to movies, work out—they even hang out with the same group of friends. The similarities between the two are more than just skin deep: their personalities are alike, they possess strong values, and they share the same hobbies.

“We even dress the same,” Stewart notes.

So, how can anyone tell the two apart? It’s actually quite simple. Just observe them on the court with the Lions’ tennis team.

Steven and Stewart have completely different styles of play. Stewart’s game is aggressive: he likes to hit the big serve and wants to dominate the match with his forehand. Steven, on the other hand, likes to play with consistency: his mentality is to always hit one more ball than the opponent.

How can identical twins, so similar off the court, be so different on it?

“We adapted our playing styles against each other,” Steven explains. “When we first started playing tennis, we adjusted our styles to beat each other.” Stewart believed aggressive play was the best way to overmatch Steven’s consistency and vice versa.

So which brother is the better tennis player? When asked, Steven and Stewart looked puzzled for a moment before saying in unison, “Is that a question? I am.”