Another former Red and Blue couple to marry

For the second time in as many years, wedding plans are in the works for a pair of Penn basketball players.

Just this past summer, 2001 graduate Geoff Owens and 2002 graduate Diana Caramanico got married. This time, it will be current Penn coaching assistant and 2000 graduate Matt Langel and 2003 graduate Tara Twomey.

"We've dated for a number of years, and now we're engaged to get married," Langel said. "She's a great girl, and I love her a lot."

The relationship between Langel and Twomey has much in common with that of Owens and Caramanico because both were forged while the husbands-to-be were playing professionally in Europe.

Owens' travels took him to Poland, Turkey and France while Langel played in Switzerland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and had an unsuccessful tryout in Italy.

Much of Langel's time in Europe took place while Twomey was still at Penn. She met Langel her freshman year, although the relationship didn't truly blossom until the summer of 2002, between her junior and senior years.

That fall, Langel headed to the Netherlands, where he joined the Matrix Magixx in the town of Nijmegen. Langel and Twomey stayed in touch and talked on the phone often.

"It was a good year for us, just getting to know each other over the phone," Twomey said.

Langel said that the distance wasn't much of a problem, adding that "it didn't matter whether I was going to be in Kansas -- once it's long distance, it's long distance."

Twomey was able to visit Langel a few times in the Netherlands, and Langel repaid the favor with a surprise trip to Twomey's first game of her senior season. Langel returned to Philadelphia again in May 2003 and Twomey decided to join Langel in Nijmegen for his next season.

"It was awesome for me because Matt and I got to spend so much time together," she said.

It didn't hurt that Twomey got to travel around Europe during that time as well.

They returned to the United States in late spring of 2004 and soon thereafter Langel joined the Penn men's basketball team's coaching staff.

Reflecting on how he and Twomey reached this point in their lives, Langel said that it might not be too surprising after all that he and his former teammate Owens have found spouses from the locker room next door over at the Palestra.

"Both the men's and women's basketball programs are very dedicated to achieving success, and you have to put a lot of time into it," Langel said. "You share common things, and you share common experiences, and I think that then provides for an opportunity to get to know somebody a little bit better."

Twomey remains involved in basketball, running her own business that gives clinics and private lessons.

While she admitted that she doesn't get to as many Penn games as she would prefer, she has kept in touch with her teammates, including fellow 2003 graduate Jenn Jones, who will be one of the bridesmaids at her wedding.

"What I really miss is just being part of a team, the competitive aspect of the game," Twomey said. "There's nothing I will do the rest of my life that will compare to college basketball."

The wedding will take place in September and will be held in Twomey's hometown of Harrisburg, Pa.

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