For all of the Denton ISD swim and dive teams, Thursday was as a day of rest during the 25th week of a long and exhausting season.
The district natatorium was filled with the pungent smell of chlorine, while some elderly visitors and a water polo team occupied various portions of the indoor pool.
After chopping through water for the past 25 weeks, Ryan, Denton and Guyer can use this weekend's regional meets to get closer to berths in the state championships. Ryan and Denton will participate in the Class 4A Region 2 meet at Keller, while Guyer will be in the Class 5A Region 2 meet at Lewisville, both with preliminary rounds starting today. The finals take place Saturday, with the winner of each event guaranteed a spot in the state meet Feb. 24 and 25.
Andy and Kevin Ye, freshman twins swimming for the Denton Broncos, will compete in the 400-yard freestyle relay this weekend. Swimming is just another thing the siblings share.
"As brothers, it's like teamwork," Kevin Ye said. "You can help each other out. You just feel proud that if one of us succeeds, or if both succeed, it's because we continued together and we worked hard."
Born and raised in Texas by Chinese parents, the fraternal twins have been confused by many since their birth. When the two were newborns, mother Lucy Ye distinguished the pair by painting one of their index fingers pink with nail polish.
She said the two were indistinguishable for a few months, especially when they closed their eyes. After a few months, mother knew best and could tell the twins apart, something others still have difficulty with.
Ryan senior Kathryn Ray, who's swimming in the 100-meter butterfly in hopes of making it to her fourth straight state meet, said it's hard to tell the difference between two guys she says are nice to everyone.
"It's so hard to tell to them apart," Ray said. "I'm like, 'Are you Kevin or are you Andy?' They both swim really fast."
In the pool, DISD head coach Chris Cullen can tell the two apart by the half-dollar sized birthmark between Kevin's shoulder blades. He's coached triplets and other sets of twins, but he said the Denton duo is the hardest to distinguish.
Both brothers have short black hair. They take most of the same classes, and grew up playing basketball, soccer, tennis and track. Both play piano and violin and together performed the piano ensemble "Ragtime Alla Turca" last summer.
Even with the similarities, the brothers have their share of differences. Andy prefers the breaststroke and Nikes, while Kevin prefers Pumas and the backstroke. Andy is involved in ROTC, while Kevin is in orchestra.
The brothers tried to figure out who was better at what events in a hallway overlooking the lobby of the natatorium, interjecting with each event as it entered their minds.
While only in their first year of high school, the two Broncos have been swimming for five years. Over the course of the lengthy season, Cullen said, the pair has missed only one or two practices.
"I coached them a little bit during water polo, but never during swimming," Cullen said. "They really surprised me. They work hard, and they're here every day. They're very dependable."
Hard work is something they learned from Lucy Ye and their father, Nick. Their dedication to it reinforces something the 15-year-olds don't want to do this weekend - let their team down. Denton's 400-yard freestyle boys relay is seeded second behind Trophy Club Byron Nelson, the team that beat the Broncos by less than half a second in their last meet.
"We're freshmen," Andy Ye said. "We're not as fast as most people, but we're still a fast team. We just want everyone to keep up with everyone."
Outside the lanes, it may be hard for anybody to keep up with Andy and Kevin. In the water, a trip to the state meet is something the twins are capable of achieving.
BEN BABY can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is bbaby@dentonrc.com .
