Moments like this don't come around often, and that's exactly what Jill Wendel knows when her daughter, Illinois Swim and Dive athlete Alexis Wendel, and her identical twin sister, University of Iowa Swim and Dive's Leslie Wendel, will go head-to-head for the first time in their collegiate careers.

But that's not where the competition began.

"They've competed probably since the day they were born," Jill said, who swam for the Illini from 1988-92. "Whatever it is, you know, a toy, an outfit, who gets to take a shower first, to drive first, to get in the car, there's always been small little competitions."

With both of her daughters being swimmers like herself, Jill is more than proud, but she recalls letting Alexis and Leslie choose for themselves what sports they wanted to participate in.

"We live close to Lake Michigan and in the summer, we would always be there," Jill said. "Both my husband and I enjoyed just being in the water with them playing games. It's not like they were like, 'Oh Mom is a swimmer, we're going to be swimmers,' they explored other sports, and I think it was helpful to have my children figure out what they wanted to do."

In whatever sport the twins played, there was always some level of competition, whether it be in swimming, tennis, basketball, or soccer.

When it came to swimming however, Jill wanted Alexis to be successful, but also wanted her to enjoy the sport, first and foremost

"She just kept achieving little milestones here and there and you know they have a time standard, and she just kept saying, 'Oh I got another one, I got another one, oh I got another one.' That's great, that's great," Jill recalled. "But did you practice one good thing? Is there one good take away from each event and did you have fun?"

During Alexis' recruiting process, the University of Illinois campus was shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no recruiting trips, no meeting with the coach, no media photos, so choosing the right school for Alexis was a challenge.

"If she left the state, she had to quarantine. That was the club team rule, and they had a competition coming up," Jill said. "I think it was Martin Luther King weekend, there were no kids on campus. It was 20 degrees, everything was shut. She could see the pool through a window, and she could see the weight room, and it turns out she was impressed."

Alexis also enjoyed the little things about campus. The coffee shops, the layout of the campus, these things all mattered to her, and it helped that Jill had lived on campus.

"She actually got to see it and I think it was eye opening for her," Jill said. "Her only other big school we live close to is Northwestern, but that's a completely different vibe. I think she wanted a bigger school."

Being an Orange and Blue alumnus is something Jill is proud of, and having that experience is something she used when her daughters chose their schools, especially for Alexis.

The time commitment skills, being able to juggle social, athletic, academic and extracurriculars, let alone living by yourself as a young adult is challenging, Jill recalls. She understands that at a Division I institution, the responsibility is even more of a challenge.

"I think being an athlete was something I was proud of during that time and looking back afterwards."

With both Alexis and Leslie now being at a Division I institutions, they might compete head-to-head in the same race on opposing teams for the first time ever.

"They have swum identical times multiple times throughout their lives in the same race, and it's very difficult when you're talking hundredths of a second," Jill said. "They have done it quite frequently and its eerie to actually witness that somebody can go at the same time as you because it rarely happens, let alone your identical twin sister."

With meet day coming closer and closer, Jill's excitement, not only to see Alexis compete for her Alma Mater, but to see her daughters compete at the collegiate level, is starting to boil over.

"At the end of the day, I think we've always taught them, you know, you are family, you are sisters first, one of you will win, and one will not. That's the way life is, you're not going to fly all the same.