The bathing caps are the only way Anthony DeBonis can tell the difference between two of the better athletes on his Nottingham boys’ swimming team.
“It’s nearly impossible,” he said of identifying twin brothers Paul and Adrian Morante. “It’s ridiculous. They look exactly the same. They wear different color caps, or if not, I am just guessing who is who. It’s January, I still say Adrian to Paul and Paul to Adrian. They respond to either one and tell me if I’m wrong.”
By now, the Morante brothers are used to it. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not.
“Being a twin is a blessing and a curse,” Adrian said. “It is mostly frustrating when someone doesn’t know that we are twins and refuses to believe we are. Someone would call me Paul and when I would try to correct them they would explain to me why I was lying and was in fact Paul.
He doesn’t miss those days.
Then there are times when the two like to play mind games, although they are losing their ability to fool in the pool.
“The times we were actually trying to confuse people was better,” Adrian said. “We would pull pranks and try to fool the teachers. Most of the swim team has gotten the hang of it or are trying to tell the difference, which hinders most of our tricks. But we look even more alike when swimming in the pool, which doesn’t help.”
For Paul, it depends upon what day it is and how he is feeling.
“Sometimes I like to keep people guessing,” he said. “It’s kind of entertaining watching them be sure that I’m Adrian, and their reaction when I tell them they’re wrong. Other times, like in class when a teacher calls on me to answer a question by the wrong name, it’s something that I’ll sigh about, but nothing that will make me frustrated.”
Paul noted that one of their favorite pranks is to switch instruments in band practice and see how long it takes for the teacher to notice.
But while they enjoy their fun and games, both are serious when it comes to swimming. That may come from their dad, Fred, who once held the backstroke record for his club team in San Diego.
He and his wife Leni always wanted the boys to swim. Although Paul does not fully remember it, their first experience in a pool came at age 3.
“I asked my mom to throw me in, and I took to the water right away, coming up and swimming back to do it again,” Adrian said. “We went for a while and, if I remember right, were pretty good.”
They signed up for swim lessons and back then, they were inseparable.
“I don’t think it would have been the same by myself, but I guess nothing really would,” Adrian said. “My sister (Alex) had taken the class before us and we watched her, so we got some ideas on how to do it right,” Paul said. “I do remember even then, I loved being in the water more than anything.”
Despite their enjoyment, neither twin wanted to join a club and, even when they got to high school, decided to sit out as ninth-graders. But during that freshman year, they watched Alex (a 2012 graduate) swim for the Northstars.
Paul was taken by the camaraderie of swimming and the way teammates pulled for each other. He also wanted to stay in shape. Adrian felt the same way and added “my sister swam, which also pushed me to try and outdo her.”
After acclimating to high school for a year, they signed up during a lunch hour to be part of the team as sophomores. The waters were choppy at the outset.
“The first few years were tough,” Paul admitted. “I only ever swam at a friend’s house or at the Y for the fun of it and never participated in a swim workout. I remember I could barely do a fifty for the first few weeks and doing a flip turn was beyond me.”
He got used to it, though he was disqualified in his first-ever event. He didn’t let that bother him.
“I definitely enjoyed swimming right away,” Paul said. “That first year it was more about having fun than winning races for me.”
Adrian agreed with his brother—starting competitive swimming so late made things rough. The speed of some club swimmers was surprising at first, but it gave Adrian something to aspire to.
“It was frustrating and inspiring at the same time, which really made me want to push myself,” he said. “After the first year it became a challenge for me to try and tail anyone who would be faster than me.”
After a few years of growing pains, the brothers have become quality swimmers as seniors. While they will not be the star attractions at the Mercer County meet, they have both come up with big wins in their events to help Nottingham to several dual meet victories.
Adrian is a backstroker and has swum all the freestyles except for the 400. Paul is strictly a freestyler and has swum all five distances—50, 100, 200, 400 and 500.
“I like having the variety of distance, it gives me a feel for judging how hard I should push myself in certain instances,” Paul said. “My favorite is the 400, hands down. Last year, I grew an attachment to it when it became my main event and I developed a knack for pushing myself for those 16 laps.”
DeBonis, in his first year as head coach, pushes the boys’ team much harder than in previous years. He also told the Morantes what he expected up front.
“I think they’re being challenged more and they were told they have to carry this team as much as possible since they are seniors and captains,” DeBonis said. “They have to set an example. Last year they didn’t have that pressure on them, and they both seem to handle the pressure well this year.”
It helps that they have each other to lean on.
“I think they feed off each other,” the coach said. “If one does really well, the other one wants to meet the challenge.”
Ah, yes, the sibling rivalry. This is one of the good ones.
Adrian said their competition has “flared up” this season. The two tally their top times to “brag about who has a better time at something.”
“We usually try and beat each other in everything, like our grades or even who is taller,” he said. “In the pool, we are not only trying to beat the guy next to us but also beat each other’s best times. It always puts a smile on my face when I look up at the times and see that I got him by a second or two.”
The two are constantly reminding each other who has more varsity points. Paul referred to a “subconscious push” to be competitive, though it’s not a “twin thing.”
“I don’t get it when other people make a big deal about people having a twin,” he said. “But our rivalry definitely gives us and edge in the pool for the events that we both swim in together, which isn’t many.”
And that edge, as Adrian pointed out, allows the two to prove themselves in their senior season.
In looking back on their favorite moments, the situations differ. Adrian has two that he holds equal. The first was when he took third place in his first varsity event swimming against two other Northstar seniors. He noted that he was not even doing a flip turn at the time. His second was winning the 100 free against powerful Notre Dame this year.
“My dad recorded a video,” he said. “For the last 25, I pulled ahead and beat them both by half a second. Looking at the video just gives me goosebumps.”
Paul’s “favorite” is a little less tangible.
“I’m most proud of just being part of this team and having this great group of people as friends,” he said. “I’ve gained a lot of experience in the past three years and I feel qualified enough to give tips to anybody who asks.”
Adrian feels the same way, noting that even though neither of them swam club, the Morantes made themselves into solid swimmers.
The two may part ways next year. Adrian is headed for Mercer County Community College as he tries to decide what best suits him. Paul has not decided yet but wants to attend a four-year school and go into an engineering field.
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