THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 23, 1996 TAG: 9605210143
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 23 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 68 lines
THE DIGS HOOTIE; she prefers Alanis Morissette.
She sculpts exotic ceramics; he creates cartoons.
He's a neatnik; she's an admitted slob.
Her pizza would be topped with mushrooms; his with pepperoni.
Twins Joe and Angela Tumminelli are nothing alike save for one monster-size passion.
The tie that binds: soccer.
She plays for the Granby girls; he plays for the Granby boys. And both have the speed and vision to be labeled playmaker.
``Soccer is my whole life,'' Joe says. ``It's been my whole life. I'm too short to play any other sport, or too small. Soccer's the only sport I can compete in, and it gives me an advantage being kind of short and fast.
``I love soccer,'' Angela says. ``I love the excitement of the ball flying through the air, especially when it goes in the back of the net. Our team, even if we're down, we're losing, we just celebrate with one shot in the back of the net.''
The Tumminellis score often. Angela, a forward, leads the girls with 13 goals this season. Joe, a midfielder and All-Tidewater last season, is second on his team with nine goals.
``He's a quicker thinker,'' Angela says. ``But I'm catching up.''
Whenever they can, they attend each other's games, and if not, play-by-play is provided later at home. Joe has competed with a number of select and advanced teams, so he's less prone to describe each goal to his sister.
``She talks about how lovely hers are, but I've scored so much,'' he says. ``I don't have any favorite goal or any special tricks. I don't bicycle kick; I just put it in the net.''
Adds Angela: ``I try to make mine sound real pretty.''
Joe started playing first as a 6-year-old with a recreational league, and the family soon went soccer crazy. Dad dabbled in coaching, Mom became a team mom and Angela started as a teammate of Joe's.
``Sometimes when we were on the same team,'' she says, ``we'd just pass the ball back and forth.''
If there's any sibling rivalry, it isn't related to the checkered ball. Joe says he's the better student and Angela halfway agrees but notes, ``That's because I'm social.''
Both are fine artists. Joe draws comic strips and paints. One of his works, a depiction of industrial pipes from a boiler room, sits unfinished in the living room. Angela's pottery and ceramics are scattered around the house, and she praises Joe's attention to detail, a patience she lacks.
``But,'' Joe says, ``I couldn't make a pot if I tried.''
Combining soccer and art is an ambition both share. The juniors are hoping for soccer scholarships, and they're already saving money for the future. Both have jobs at the movie theater in Pembroke Mall.
Angela enjoyed ``The Craft.'' Joe thought it was dull. ``The plot has to be there,'' he says.
The Tumminellis say they are like any siblings; she pals around with her buddies, he with his. Although once in a while, they admit to thinking along the same lines.
Or having the same problems.
Before last week's Eastern District championship games, which both involved Granby, Joe ran out of gas and went to find Angela. Instead, he ran into a buddy of hers, who told him Angela was looking for him.
She had run out of gas, too. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MIKE HEFFNER
Joe Tumminelli plays midfield for Granby. His twin, Angela, is a
forward for the girls team. by CNB