Bishop Battles
Going for two
Tcholakian twin wide receivers have opponents seeing double
For twin Battling Bishop football players Mher and Sasoun Tcholakian ’20, the best things come in pairs. The brothers get plenty of time together on the field and in the classroom — they’re both wide receivers on the team and double (of course) majors in sports management and business marketing.
“Having class with my brother is like having class with any other of my best friends,” Mher says. “You’re comfortable being with them and working with them all the time. He’s always there when I need help.”
Sasoun hopes their work ethic inspires underclassmen on the football team. Because players must maintain a certain grade requirement to be on the team, coursework and fieldwork are closely connected. “Football teaches you hard work and dedication, and that is how I take my academics. The coaches are always on us about getting good grades, and I want to show the young guys that it is important to work hard on and off the field,” Sasoun says.
Head Coach Tom Watts and the entire football staff enjoy the twins’ contagious energy, dedication to make everyone around them better, and athletic talent. They have both started for the team for the past two years.
“They truly change the culture of a team, in a good way, just because of their character,” says Watts. “They are extremely hardworking, dedicated brothers who we always know we will get 100 percent from.
“I personally have twin boys, and I hope one day they grow up to be like them.”
The twins hope to translate their classroom and field experiences to sports broadcasting after graduating and already have a podcast about college football called “Double Time.” They also have a YouTube channel.
“The main goal is to eventually have our own network and talk about college football, because that is what we have expertise in,” Mher says. “We didn’t know what we wanted to do with our lives until this summer when an aunt of ours gave us the great idea to start a podcast.”
The brothers, from Farmington Hills, Michigan, have been playing competitive sports together their entire lives. Mher says he and Sasoun always planned to attend the same university. “We love playing sports together because there’s always a constant battle between us,” Mher says. “We don’t have to be yelling at each other or motivating each other face-to-face; we’ll just look over and see what the other guy is doing and try to one-up him.”
Says Sasoun: “We motivate each other more than anyone, without even trying.”
By Anna L. Davies ’19, with additional reporting by Caitlin Jefferson ’22