It would be a cliché to say they are inseparable.
Unfortunately, it also happens to be true.
It's difficult not to speak in clichés, though, when talking about the Schmidt sisters. They're best friends, confidants and rivals — in other words, typical sisters.
The younger sister has been trying to one-up the older sister forever, while the elder has sometimes struggled to keep the younger in line. Despite the two-year age gap, Hillary and Paige Schmidt have done everything together. When Hillary was allowed to see an R-rated movie, so was Paige; when Hillary made the decision to go to Princeton, so did Paige.
Most importantly, perhaps, when Hillary decided to play field hockey, so did Paige.
And it is as this point that they cease to be just your average sisters. Unless, of course, Venus and Serena would also be considered average.
In high school, Hillary was twice first-team all-state and was also named to two U.S. National Under-19 field hockey teams. Paige, on the other hand, was twice Delaware Player of the Year and was named Ivy League Rookie of the week two times last year.
Hillary recalls being introduced to field hockey in a middle school gym class. She took her stick home, and Paige, being Paige, wanted to play as well. They started hitting the ball around in the yard.
"I wanted someone to play against," Hillary said. "and she wanted to do what I was doing."
It worked out for both of them. Paige became just as involved with the sport as Hillary, sometimes spending hours hitting the ball outside to catch up to her older sister.
"I remember us playing all the time," Paige said. "I know in middle school and high school we would play one on one against each other, and those would get pretty competitive."
They played field hockey for two years together at field hockey power house Tower Hill in Westtown, Penn., where they led their team to a state championship Hillary's senior year.
Hillary graduated and came to Princeton, scoring two goals in her first season. Paige, meanwhile, was helping Tower Hill win another state championship. The next year, Hillary became a full-time starter for the Tigers, while Paige once again helped Tower Hill to the state championship. One sister had become an established collegiate athlete, the other a top recruit.
Needless to say, there were a few schools looking to have Paige.
"Paige had always indicated that she was interested in Princeton," head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn said. "But when it came down to it Paige was looking at Harvard and Stanford, and she really did like both of those schools."
Think Paige would have gone anywhere else? Not without Hillary.
Now they have found each other again, this time as Tigers. Paige, a sophomore, plays midfielder, with Hillary, a senior, just to her left.
It turned out to be a good decision for many reasons. The "fit in" factor was definitely one of those. Like when Paige found herself hopelessly lost one day early her freshman year.
"I called [Hillary] all the time," Paige said. "I remember one time I was standing in the middle of campus trying to find Frist for freshman orientation. I said 'Hillary I have no idea where I am.' "
The elder Schmidt duly found her lost sister and walked her to her destination.
But Holmes-Winn will give you another reason Paige made the right decision: They play very, very well together. In fact, they have such an intuitive feel for each other that the coaching staff has noticed the ball is being sent up the left side a lot on offense. They often have to remind Paige that she can also feed the right side a little more.
"We're trying to get her to balance it out," Holmes-Winn said.
"If any two sisters can [play together], Hillary and Paige could. They challenge each other in a positive way" Holmes-Winn said. "They're really great to each other. I can only think of one time they were in a fight."
Apparently, early in Paige's freshman year, Paige wanted to borrow Hillary's car. Hillary, watching out for her sister, wouldn't let her.
"So they proceeded to have a little wrestling match outside of Paige's room," Holmes-Winn said. "At the time it wasn't so funny."
Hillary prevailed, and Paige's trip to Route 1 was postponed.
Other than that scrap, though, the two get along just fine.
So we're left with one big question: Who's better?
"[Paige] is actually better than I am," Hillary was quick to respond with typical first-child humility and matter-of-factness.
Paige initially seems less sure.
"She obviously has her strengths. If you put us against each other one on one right now we'd be fifty-fifty," Paige said.
Sounds like a diplomatic way of saying "I am."
"Yep!" she finally admitted.
Hillary, hide the car keys.
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