Melissa Culver and Drew Robertson have a lot in common.
Culver, the starting point guard for the Northwestern women’s basketball team, and Robertson, the NU volleyball team’s starting setter, are both freshmen playing major leadership roles on Big Ten teams. They’re both a little on the loud side. And they both wear No. 12 jerseys.
Oh, and one other thing they have in common – a room in 600 Lincoln.
While many of the similarities are coincidental, their pairing as roommates was not. Culver and Robertson’s housing situation was predetermined by their older teammates, sophomore volleyball player Lindsay Pavlick and sophomore basketball player Michelle Zylstra, also roommates.
Robertson played volleyball against Pavlick throughout high school in Southern California. So when Robertson came to NU on a recruiting trip last year, she stayed with her old rival. Culver, known to her friends as “Mo,” also stayed with Zylstra and Pavlick on a recruiting trip last year. She knew Zylstra from years of AAU basketball.
So when both of the younger players decided to come to NU, Zylstra and Pavlick suggested they room together.
“I was kinda nervous,” Robertson said. “We talked once over the summer and I was like, ‘What if she’s a weirdo?'”
As it turns out, Zylstra and Pavlick played matchmaker pretty well.
If Culver’s crazy, so is Robertson.
“We’re very good friends,” Culver said. “We have the same outgoing personality. I don’t want to say loud, but we’re definitely not shy girls.”
That extroverted personality is what makes them both good players – although Robertson shows more emotion in games than Culver.
“I think I’m more vocal on the court,” Robertson said. “Mo likes to lead more by example, but we’re both really intense players. And we both get really into games.”
They’ve both struggled to lead teams with losing records – the volleyball team finished 10-17 overall (6-14 Big Ten), while the basketball team remains winless in the Big Ten heading into today’s 7 p.m. game at Penn State.
“Our team is just trying to get some wins, and (the volleyball team) went through the same thing,” Culver said. “It makes it easier to talk to someone who knows what you’re going through.”
Because basketball and volleyball are played in different seasons, Culver and Robertson are able to support each other from the stands.
Culver calls herself the volleyball team’s “No. 1 fan,” and Robertson is a regular spectator at the women’s basketball games, although she admits to not knowing much about the sport.
As for all the away games, the pair agrees that it’s nice to have a single every once in a while.
“It’s good because we aren’t really together enough to get on each other’s nerves,” Robertson said.
Culver is neat and organized, but Robertson said her side of the room “is a big pile of clothes on the floor.”
But the good times clearly outweigh the bad for Culver and Robertson, both on the court and at 600 Lincoln.
“There are (more) good stories,” Culver said. “But I dunno if they’re for the Daily.”
