Twin Huskies
Twins Calieigh Tiller, left, and Chelsea Tiller, right, have accepted full athletic scholarships from the University of Connecticut. Photo: BILL POTRECZ.
Chelsea and Calieigh Tiller couldn’t imagine going to university without each other.
The 16-year-old, Grade 11 students at Holy Cross are typical twins, seemingly joining at the hip, sharing the same interests and hobbies.
The St. Catharines natives are also standout hockey players and students and recently accepted full athletic scholarships to the University of Connecticut beginning in the fall of 2026.
“We always knew we wanted to go together. Yeah, we do everything together,” Calieigh said.
Chelsea, not surprisingly, agreed with her sister.
“We always planned it,” she said. “We always knew it was family first. We always wanted to go together. We always think together in everything we do, and it was definitely a big dream for us to both go to the same school.”
Chelsea said she can’t imagine taking on such an undertaking without her sister.
“It would be very difficult because you always have somebody with you, you’re never alone,” she said. “So like to go through it, it would probably be a lot more challenging because you only have yourself and you always know you have somebody with you.”
The twins took a trip to the campus which sealed the deal.
“June 15th was our recruiting date and then they reached out to us and we were obviously interested in them. So then we went to go visit the school and loved it and then we committed,” Calieigh said. “The atmosphere, honestly, and the people are amazing. Just going down, seeing the facility, meeting some of the team — they were all super nice and welcoming.”
Chelsea said visiting the campus was an unforgettable experience.
“It was nothing we’ve ever seen before. They take their athletics and they take education very seriously down there,” she said. “We wanted somewhere we would excel on the ice and with education. With the campus and the community that they build there, we thought it would be a perfect fit for us.”
The Huskies are coached by former Niagara Falls Canuck and Niagara University coach Chris Mackenzie while ex-Canuck Nate Handrahan is an assistant coach.
Committing so early was a weight off their shoulders.
“It’s definitely just a big relief to know what we’re doing and to have a better focus on what our future looks like,” Chelsea said.
The one area where the twins differ slightly is on the ice — Calieigh is a centre while Chelsea is a defenceman. The duo are playing this season with the Burlington Barracudas of the Ontario Women’s Hockey League.
The girls began hockey at a young age, following in the footsteps of their older brother.
“My parents put us into hockey right away and we both fell in love with it,” Chelsea said.
Both are still undecided on a major.
“It’s going to be challenging for sure, but I think as long as we prepare, we’ll be alright,” Calieigh said
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