Cedar Creek quadruplets: Stefanski girls say bond remains strong even as they attend different colleges

By GIUSEPPE UNGARO Managing Editor Before the Librizzis hit the local sports scene, it was the Stefanskis who grabbed the headlines. Mercina, Mikila, Monique and Morgan made their mark in elementary school gymnasiums before eventually taking the Cedar Creek girls basketball team to a state championship game. The Stefanskis, who graduated last June, are now in college. Mikila and Morgan suit up for Goldey-Beacom College in Delaware. Mercina and Monique are enrolled in Caldwell University, where they chose not to continue playing. Anthony, Billy, Curtis and Danny Librizzi are another set of quadruplets at Cedar Creek. They currently are seniors who recently led the boys swimming team to a Cape-Atlantic League United Conference championship. The Stefanski duo at Goldey-Beacom are adjusting to being college athletes, and all four sisters are adjusting to college and being away from two sisters for the first time in their lives. “That’s the hardest adjustment I face, just being away from family,” Mercina said. “It feels like a piece of me is missing. The Librizzis are the only people who can understand that. The four of us talk about it. But it feels like a piece of me is not there. It feels like something is off.” “I miss them so much,” Mikila said. “We do what we can. They had a whole month off (for winter break), and myself and Morgan only had about a week. It was really nice to be home. I didn’t want to leave. We can do FaceTime or text, but it’s not the same.” The Librizzis are now facing the same future as the Stefanskis. After being together for 18 years, competing together on athletic fields and in pools, and being in the same classrooms, the brothers face the prospect of heading to college without at least one brother and maybe all three. The Stefanski quadruplets, from left, Mikila, Morgan, Mercina and Monique, graduated from Cedar Creek last spring after helping the girls basketball team reach the state title game. They attend two different colleges now, but say being apart hasn’t affected their bond at all. (Submitted photo) The Stefanskis had to make tough choices, but knew they were the right choices for them. “The advice I would give them is that a lot of people may say it’s time to branch off and go and be your own person,” Monique said. “But I didn’t want to go to college by myself. I wanted to go with a sibling. Go right ahead and grow along with them.” “It’s so tough,” Morgan said. “I just got off FaceTime with them. It’s the first time we have been apart, but we are dealing with it. I’m lucky to have Mikila with me and the other two have each other.” Mikila and Morgan are both coming off the bench for Goldey-Beacom, which in itself is a challenge after starring on the hardwood for so long. “It’s very different from high school because here everyone is a champion and everyone is a 1,000-point scorer (in high school). It’s a different environment.” She added: “That’s probably the most difficult part for me. It’s the pressure every day to work hard. It’s like a tryout every day to get playing time. When you get on the court you want to make plays and get teammates involved.” They are both playing as freshman and expect to see their playing time increase as their college years progress. Mercina walked on to the Caldwell team, but left the team a month into the season to focus on academics. If she stayed on the team, she could have played against her sisters, as the two programs met on Feb. 14 in Delaware. The sisters at Caldwell made the trip to cheer for their siblings. “I’ll be there,” said Mercina. “That’s going to be a tough one because I go (to Caldwell), but I want my sisters to win no matter what. No matter who they play, I want a Stefanski to win.” Caldwell College ended up scoring a 96-92 win over Goldey-Beacom in overtime in that game. Mikila came off the bench to score three points for Goldey-Beacom. Distance and different schools are not going to break their sibling bond. Contact Giuseppe Ungaro: gungaro@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDgisepu [adsense]