First-year sisters ‘twin’ in their Brown and White

Mila and Emma Jovanovic have always had strong, competitive spirits.

As first-years at Lehigh, the twin sisters have used their competitive attitudes toward their respective sports. 

Mila Jovanovic is a member of the Lehigh women’s track and field team as a sprint, middle distance runner and hurdler, while her twin sister Emma Jovanovic is a member of the Lehigh women’s rowing team. 

The pair grew up outside of Philadelphia in North Wales, Pennsylvania, where they shared the same love for athletics.  

Mila Jovanovic started running track in elementary school. What began as a hobby in the soccer off-season quickly became a passion as she grew to love the sport.

As Mila Jovanovic continued to run in middle school, she was joined by her sister. 

Emma Jovanovic said joining the sport later than most was scary, but she was able to adapt well because of Mila Jovanovic’s presence on the team.

“Throughout competing together I always knew Mila would be there to help me and she would support me along the way,” Emma Jovanovic said.

While Mila Jovanovic committed to Lehigh in her senior year of high school to continue her track career, Emma Jovanovic shied away from the sport, but found a passion for rowing. 

“While it was really nice having Emma with me in track all these years, it’s really inspiring to see Emma be on the rowing team, just because she’s never thought about doing a sport in college, especially one sport that we’ve never done before,” Mila Jovanovic said.

Emma Jovanovic said she had no intention of playing a sport in college and her commitment to Lehigh alongside Mila Jovanovic was not a concerted decision.

It wasn’t until she heard that the women’s rowing team was accepting walk-ons that she decided to explore the option.

Despite this being Emma Jovanovic’s first season as a rower, coach Peter Costas said she has adjusted well and demonstrated determination to improve throughout the season.

“Emma has done a great job of both engaging in the challenge of learning a new sport herself and encouraging others around her to engage positively,” Costas said. “Emma is a blueprint of what we are looking for on the rowing team, which is people coming in with the patience and enthusiasm to try something new.”

First-year sprinter and middle distance runner Carly Griffin said Mila Jovanovic’s bright and bubbly spirit uplifts the rest of the team. 

“Mila is always someone you can count on for being positive and bringing everyone’s spirit up,” Griffin said. “No matter how she is feeling, you can always count on her to make you smile.” 

Although the twins play different sports, they have similar practice schedules, which includes practice six days a week and lifts twice a week. Despite their busy training schedules, they still make time to train together. 

“Even though we are both doing completely different sports, it’s still nice to have Mila on campus alongside me,” Emma Jovanovic said. “Despite how busy it gets, we always try and have weekly workouts and dinners together to catch up on each other’s lives.” 

While competition has always been a big part of their lives, supporting each other has been even more important. The two often play at similar times on weekends, as a result, they often check in on each other and try to come to each other’s meets. 

As the twins embark on their respective spring seasons, Emma Jovanovic said they feel grateful that despite playing different sports, they are taking on the challenges of being student athletes together, just as they always have.