Early in their careers, long before they gained a reputation as two of the strongest swimmers in Section V, Kate and Sarah Mosca presented Dansville head coach Jim Welch with a problem.
Officials would claim that the Mustangs were violating the rules. They’d see the same face winning event after event, and suspect something was amiss.
That girl already won the 200 freestyle and the 200 individual medley, what’s she doing in the 100 butterfly and the 500 freestyle?
No, Welch would say. That’s Kate, and that over there is Sarah — although it took a while for him to be sure he was placing the right name with the right face.
Just another typical day for the Moscas, identical twins who also possess remarkably similar swimming resumes.
“Throughout the years they have been subject to any identical twin stories or jokes,” Welch said. “It took me two years to be able to tell them apart. Officials would accuse us of putting the same girl in four individual events.”
The Moscas might have to put up with a little more confusion on the part of officials next season, when they join the Division I swimming program at Marist College. Kate and Sarah recently signed their Letters of Intent to attend the Poughkeepsie school, located about 50 miles north of New York City.
Given their strong work ethics, it probably won’t be long before the sister act becomes as prominent in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) as it is in Section V swimming circles.
“Kate and Sarah are swimming machines,” said Welch. “Morning and evening practices are part of their lives. They also both swim with a USA program, Mercury Swimming, that has a highly respected coaching staff.”
Kate and Sarah helped guide Dansville to three Section V team titles. Their individual tally is nearly identical, as Sarah finished her career with 16 individual sectional titles, and Kate earned 15.
Similarly, Sarah holds six school records, while Kate has five. Sarah is the Dansville record-holder in the 200 freestyle, the 100 butterfly and the 100 breaststroke. Kate maintains the top spot in the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle. They share records on the 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay teams.
Combined, the duo own eight pool records. About the only thing that could keep the Moscas in check were school regulations, which prevented them from joining the varsity program as seventh graders.
“Even though they were varsity caliber, they swam modified and cleared the record board,” Welch said.
Early in their careers, long before they gained a reputation as two of the strongest swimmers in Section V, Kate and Sarah Mosca presented Dansville head coach Jim Welch with a problem.
Officials would claim that the Mustangs were violating the rules. They’d see the same face winning event after event, and suspect something was amiss.
That girl already won the 200 freestyle and the 200 individual medley, what’s she doing in the 100 butterfly and the 500 freestyle?
No, Welch would say. That’s Kate, and that over there is Sarah — although it took a while for him to be sure he was placing the right name with the right face.
Just another typical day for the Moscas, identical twins who also possess remarkably similar swimming resumes.
“Throughout the years they have been subject to any identical twin stories or jokes,” Welch said. “It took me two years to be able to tell them apart. Officials would accuse us of putting the same girl in four individual events.”
The Moscas might have to put up with a little more confusion on the part of officials next season, when they join the Division I swimming program at Marist College. Kate and Sarah recently signed their Letters of Intent to attend the Poughkeepsie school, located about 50 miles north of New York City.
Given their strong work ethics, it probably won’t be long before the sister act becomes as prominent in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) as it is in Section V swimming circles.
“Kate and Sarah are swimming machines,” said Welch. “Morning and evening practices are part of their lives. They also both swim with a USA program, Mercury Swimming, that has a highly respected coaching staff.”
Kate and Sarah helped guide Dansville to three Section V team titles. Their individual tally is nearly identical, as Sarah finished her career with 16 individual sectional titles, and Kate earned 15.
Similarly, Sarah holds six school records, while Kate has five. Sarah is the Dansville record-holder in the 200 freestyle, the 100 butterfly and the 100 breaststroke. Kate maintains the top spot in the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle. They share records on the 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay teams.
Combined, the duo own eight pool records. About the only thing that could keep the Moscas in check were school regulations, which prevented them from joining the varsity program as seventh graders.
“Even though they were varsity caliber, they swam modified and cleared the record board,” Welch said.
The Moscas will join Danyel Johnson as Dansville alumni currently swimming in the Division I ranks. Johnson is coming off a strong freshman campaign at St. Francis University in Loretto, Pa.
Over the past 12 years, 26 former Mustangs have continued their swimming careers at the collegiate level, with Johnson and the Mosca sisters leading the pack in Division I.
“They were recruited by other Division I schools,” Welch said. “After campus tours and meeting the team, they came back from Marist convinced that it was the school for them.”
The Moscas will be joining a strong Marist program that just won its 14th MAAC Championship last month in Buffalo. With their dueling records of success, they should fit in just fine.
