DE PERE (NBC 26) — At De Pere High School, some of Ana and Tudor Cristescu’s earliest memories involve competing against each other on a tennis court — even if their matches rarely made it to the finish.
“I think we went like five years where we couldn’t play a set against each other because we just stopped halfway through,” Tudor said. “Someone was cheating, someone got mad, somebody was doing something unfair. So it was always competitive.”
That competition never really disappeared. Instead, it evolved into the driving force behind two of the most accomplished high school careers De Pere has seen — both athletically and academically.
The twins graduate this spring as co-valedictorians while also leaving behind school tennis records in separate programs. Ana finishes her career as De Pere’s all-time wins leader with 117 victories and four state podium finishes in doubles. Tudor currently holds the boys program record with 101 career wins — and counting.
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Their journey into tennis started early.
“We were never really pushed toward tennis,” Ana said. “We just tried a bunch of sports when we were little, and tennis was the one that came the most naturally.”
The twins were introduced to the sport through a preschool program connected with the Green Bay Tennis Center and quickly realized they enjoyed both the sport and competing against each other.
“I always wanted to be better than him, and he always wanted to be better than me,” Ana said. “It just got us to the same level.”
The siblings also swam growing up before eventually focusing entirely on tennis in high school. Because Ana played in the fall and Tudor competed in the spring, they spent much of the school year supporting each other from the sidelines.
When Ana dominated during her freshman season, Tudor said it motivated him even more ahead of his own debut.
“She was winning every single match,” Tudor said. “I was like, ‘When is it going to be my turn to play? I want to show them too that I can compete like this.’”
Watching each other compete can still be more stressful than playing themselves.
“I think it’s harder to watch almost than to play,” Ana said. “Especially because he always has such tight matches.”
Tudor said he can almost feel every emotion his sister experiences during a match.
“It’s more nerve-wracking than watching other people’s tennis matches,” he said.
Their bond carried over into the classroom as well.
The twins took many of the same classes throughout high school and constantly compared grades, test scores, and assignments while balancing demanding tennis schedules. Both said that having someone who had gone through the same experiences made the workload easier.
“We always knew we were right there with each other,” Ana said. “I never felt like it was super competitive academically because he was always in my classes. I always viewed it as a positive.”
The accomplishment carried additional meaning for the family. Ana and Tudor are first-generation high school graduates in the United States, having moved from Romania.
“We kind of had to figure out a lot of things by ourselves,” Tudor said. “And also them. They were kind of figuring out stuff with us too.”
Their parents emphasized education from an early age, and both twins said they inherited that same motivation academically.
“My parents are really proud of us,” Ana said. “They were both outstanding students in Romania as well, so I feel like we kind of had that same feeling in high school, too.”
De Pere coach Scott Harpt said what stands out most is not just the twins’ success, but the way they support each other.
“They definitely push each other to be better,” Harpt said. “But they certainly are also wishing for success for their twin. I think even more they want success for their sibling, and that really stands out to me.”
Harpt said the siblings’ kindness and work ethic separated them from many other talented athletes he has coached.
“To be honest, the tennis is a whole lot of work,” Harpt said. “But they don’t come by valedictorian just by being naturally smart. They work their tail off to get those grades.”
Next year will mark the first time the twins take separate paths. Ana plans to attend Washington University in St. Louis to study neuroscience on a pre-med track, while Tudor will attend New York University's business school.
The schools are nearly 1,000 miles apart, but neither expects the relationship to change much.
“We’ve done pretty much all aspects of our life together,” Ana said.
“A lot of sharing,” Tudor added. “Sharing memories, sharing everything.”
Even as they head in different directions, both twins say the competition — and support system — that shaped them growing up is not going anywhere.
