The University of Mississippi Athletics
SPOTLIGHT: Rebel Soccer Fans Seeing Double
9/23/2009 | Soccer
By Morgan Adams
Athletics Media Relations
Kelsey Breathitt quickly races down the soccer field toward the goal. Anticipation builds among the crowd as she draws closer to the net. Suddenly, Kelsey passes the ball to a teammate. Soon as the recipient gets the ball, she shoots and scores! As the scorer turns around to face the cheering crowd they are shocked to see that it is Kelsey, or so they think. Contrary to the crowd's belief the goal-scorer is not Kelsey, but the resemblance is uncanny.
The mysterious teammate who has the crowd baffled is Katie Breathitt, Kelsey's twin sister. Rebel soccer fans may not remember Katie from last year, because she was redshirted and did not get any field time as a freshman. That has all changed this season though, and the Breathitt twins are prepared to offer a bit of double trouble for Ole Miss' opponents.
The daughters of Tom and Linda Breathitt helped the Rebels to a 6-2 non-conference record on the pitch. Kelsey entered SEC play as the team leader with 25 shots and posted four goals and two assists to her credit. Katie contributed as a defender in four shutout victories.
Being double the trouble for their opponents is something Katie and Kelsey are accustomed to. "We can sort of predict each other's moves," they said, in tandem. "It is not a crazy twin thing; we have just played together so long we know what each other is going to do."
The twins began playing soccer together in their hometown of Lexington, Ky., at age four. "It is good having Katie on the team this year", Kelsey admitted. "It is fun for our parents and fun for us. It was different not having her play last year. I did not get to play with her my senior year either (because of Katie's knee injury), so it is good having her back."
When asked if they enjoyed being twins, both girls responded, "It is great. You always have someone there. Since we share everything, we have double the wardrobe as everyone else!"
The girls have even shared the same feelings before. "When Katie tore her ACL everyone asked me if I knew she got hurt. I said yeah, I think she hurt her left knee. I felt a twitch in my left knee at the same time Katie hurt her knee", Kelsey said.
"No one ever believes us when we tell that story, but it did happen," she added with a smile.
Though the Breathitts are the first set of twins to play soccer at Ole Miss, they join a growing trend in Rebel athletics. Matt and Mike Snyder of the baseball team and Chris and Marcel Thiemann of the tennis team are also sets of twins helping the Rebels to championships in their sports.
While Katie and Kelsey hope to lead Ole Miss to soccer championships, they not only make great team members, but also great members of the classroom and community. Both were named to the Southeastern Conference Freshman Academic Honor Roll last year, and both are active volunteers and supporters of Ronald McDonald house, Habitat for Humanity and Special Olympics.
Double the trouble or double the help, Katie and Kelsey Breathitt are champions both on the field and off.
