“Sydney is a very dynamic player,” junior goalkeeper Cynthia Tassopoulos said. “She can basically go in anywhere and come up with some type of result.”

Sydney has started in four out of the team's nine games so far and was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Sept. 5.

The increased competitiveness of college field hockey has been a welcome change for Sydney who is used to playing with less experienced teammates.

“I just love having teammates who play at a high level, because it makes me better and makes me play better,” Sydney said. “Everyone plays for each other. We do not have an individual player on the team.”

While Sydney is at the height of her freshman campaign, Mariel is preparing for her upcoming lacrosse season, in which she too will be making a debut, after sitting out last season due to a knee injury.

Mariel had a long recovery period and is just now starting to feel stronger and participate in her pre-season drills.

“I want to build off what I did freshman year,” Mariel said. “Act like there wasn’t a gap and continue getting better and try not too much to think that I had an injury and was out last season.”

For the Jenkins sisters, athletics runs in their genes.

Their father played football at Duke, and their younger sister, Andrea, is a junior field hockey and lacrosse player in high school.

“Its always been the three of us,” Sydney said. “Sometimes the little one and the older one gang up on me. When we would play house, I would always be the older brother or the dog, the things that no one wants to be.”

Since they are a little too old for playing house nowadays, Sydney and Mariel have found other ways to spend time with each other.

They often study in the library together, and always take a funny picture of themselves looking extra studious to send to their parents.

“I am really happy because we are just as close here as we are at home,” Mariel said. “It’s really great so far.”