ST. PAUL, Minn.- Coach Tim Grosz and Coach Aaron Kahl (UNW Men's and Women's Basketball Head Coaches) both pride themselves on creating a family culture within their basketball programs. Both coaches want their players and coaching staffs to feel a strong connection of togetherness and genuine care for each other that mirrors a family. But what happens when you look across the sideline and see an actual family member wearing your opponents' jersey? That is exactly what happens, not once, but twice when the UNW Basketball teams host the University of Minnesota-Morris and Crown College.

The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) uses a Friday-Saturday schedule for Men's and Women's Basketball conference contests. To make this type of schedule possible, the UMAC uses a "travel partner" system. UNW's travel partner is North Central University. Minnesota-Morris and Crown are travel partners, which means this upcoming weekend the Eagles will play the Morris Cougars on Friday and the Crown Polars on Saturday. The two teams will flip and play the North Central Rams on the corresponding dates.

Why is it significant that the Cougars and Polars play the Eagles on the same weekend? It is significant because Jadyn Sondrol is a senior for the Morris Women's Basketball Team and Carter Behne is a senior for the Crown Men's Basketball Team. Jadyn is the sister of UNW Women's Basketball forward Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) and Carter's brother is Parker Behne (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) of UNW Men's Basketball.

Whenever the Eagles host the Cougars and Polars, there are fans who are either cheering for the Eagles or the opponent. Usually, there is not a lot of gray area there. However, for the Sondrols and the Behnes, it is a little more complicated than that.

Rick and Lori Sondrol (the parents of Jasmine and Jadyn) and Ryan and Kellie Behne truly have their feet in both camps. As parents, they want to see the teams of their children do well, but what do you do when your children's teams are playing against each other in a high stakes game with postseason implications? Both sets of parents were able to offer impactful insight on what it's like to see their children competing against each other.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

"To be honest, I have a hard time watching my boys play against each other," Kellie Behne said. "But the bigger picture is that I'm so thankful they both have an opportunity to play for two good schools that have a Christ centered focus (Northwestern and Crown) with Christian coaches to help them grow in their faith. While playing against each other, I know neither will back down and they will go hard against each other. But after the final buzzer, they go back to being just brothers that have always been very supportive of one another."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Mrs. Behne may not look forward to the head-to-head matchups between her sons, but the Eagles' sophomore guard can't wait to see his brother on the court each and every year. "The games against Crown are the ones I look forward to most every year," Parker Behne (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) commented. "We're both super competitive and it's such a fun battle to go out there against Carter. When we guard each other, we know it's going to get physical but that's why we love it. After the game, we like to relive some moments from the game and take pictures with all of our friends and family who came to watch the Behnes play against each other."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

The Behne brothers haven't always been on opposing sides. At Elk River High School, the two brothers shared the court and helped lead the Elks as brothers and teammates. Those moments in high school where he got to share the court with his brother will always be special to Parker. "My favorite basketball memory is the first game Carter and I ever got to start together at Elk River," Parker said. "The game was on the road against Moorhead and I remember it clear as day. Being able to share the court was a blessing and I'll remember those days forever."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Jasmine Sondrol (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) also has fond memories of playing high school basketball with her sister. "My favorite memory of playing with Jadyn was the first time I got subbed into the varsity game my sophomore year," the Eagle junior said. "I remember checking into the game and seeing Jadyn smile at me as we were about to play in a game together for the first time. I remember her passing me the ball and I shot and made a three and we pointed at each other as the announcer said 'Sondrol to Sondrol for three!'"

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

The Sondrols are similar to the Behnes. There are fond memories from the past when they played together as teammates and off the court there is a strong bond of friendship and support. However, once they step onto the court as UMAC counterparts, the competitiveness takes over. "As much as we are friends off the court, we are competitive on the court," Jasmine added. "It is weird hearing the scouting report about your own sister, but I am always proud when the coaches say she is a good shooter! I laugh to myself in games when she boxes me out or guards me since we have been playing basketball against each other ever since we were young."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Rick Sondrol, Jasmine and Jadyn's dad, has a healthy perspective on watching his two daughters go head-to-head on the basketball court. "We are extremely proud of both girls and hope that each of them performs well," he said. "However, it's very hard to cheer for one team over the other because both Jasmine and Jadyn have terrific teammates and outstanding coaches. The reality is that one team is going to win and the other is going to lose which makes it tough for us as parents." Mr. Sondrol, a former high school basketball coach himself, added one more piece of advice to his daughters before they square off inside the Ericksen Center on Friday night: "After the game, one of my daughters will need to be humble in victory while the other is gracious in defeat."

There are challenges when two siblings play against each other in a college basketball game, especially one that means so much for the postseason futures of all four teams involved (UNW Men and Women, UMM Women, and Crown Men). The family and friends of the student athletes know that there will be one family member who is ecstatic because their team came out victorious and one who is disappointed because their team did not. However, both the Sondrols and Behnes have a clear understanding of how special it is to have two members of the same family competing at a high level in college basketball.

While it is clear that these families have an abundance of Eagle, Cougar, and Polar pride; the abundance of love and respect that these families, specifically the student-athletes, have for each other is even stronger. Both Jadyn Sondrol and Carter Behne are seniors for Minnesota-Morris and Crown College respectively which means that this is the last time in the regular season this pair of siblings will see their teams matchup…

But the UMAC Postseason Tournament is right around the corner and all four of these teams are still in postseason contention with Northwestern and Minnesota-Morris' Women's Basketball Teams having already clinched a spot in the tournament. If the Eagles and Cougars on the women's side or the Eagles and Polars on the men's side meetup one more time in the postseason, we know exactly where the Sondrol and Behne parents will be:

Sitting directly on the fence. Cheering for both sides.