Monika Czinano sister Maggie Czinano is a collegiate basketball player for Minnesota Golden Gophers. Monika and Maggie played against each other on December 11, 2022.
Monika is currently playing for Iowa Hawkeyes representing the University of Iowa. She is currently a fifth-year student at the university and has been playing college basketball since the 2018–19 season.
Czinano has achieved some impressive milestones playing for the Hawkeyes, she became 5th in the University of Iowa and 38th in Big Ten Conference to surpass 2000 career points. Monika and her teammate Caitlin Clark also became the first pair to surpass 2000 career points in the same year.
She played for Watertown Mayer High School during her high school career. Monika’s younger sibling Maggie also attended Watertown Mayer but decided to pursue her college career with the University of Minnesota instead of joining Monika at Iowa.
Another sibling duo to play basketball in college includes Sabrina Ionescu and her twin brother Eddy Ionescu.
Monika Czinano And Maggie Czinano Have Basketball Sibling Rivalry
Monika Czinano sister Maggie Czinano has a basketball rivalry. Monika plays for Hawkeyes and Maggie for Golden Gophers.
Maggie is an American college basketball player currently representing the University of Minnesota with their basketball program Golden Gophers Women’s Basketball. She joined the institution in the 2021-2022 season and plays in the position of a point guard.
The 20-year-old Maggie celebrates her birthday on January 23 every year. She is three years younger than her elder sibling Monika who celebrates her birthday on January 20 every year. Maggie wished her elder sibling her 21st birthday in 2021 by sharing an Instagram story.
Maggie is found on Instagram with her username @maggieczinano where she has over 2.1k followers. She has shared 26 posts with her followers on the picture-sharing social media account. She is also on Twitter with her username @MaggieCzinano.
She also has impressive career stats playing for Golden Gophers. In her 2022-2023 sophomore season, she played in 28 out of 30 games for the team and started in 13 of them. Maggie averaged 4.9 points and played on average for 17.9 minutes.
They Have A Basketball Rivalry
Maggie plays for Golden Gophers and Monika plays for Hawkeyes and they have a rivalry among their teams.
The siblings played against each other on December 11, 2022. In the game where Maggie scored 4 points and Monika scored 22 points resulting in an 84-67 defeat for Golden Gophers. This was also the first college basketball match when the two siblings faced each other.
Historically, Golden Gophers and Hawkeyes have played against each other 84 times, where Golden Gophers have secured 27 wins and 57 losses, according to Golden Gophers’ website.
However, the siblings were not always rivals as they played together for Watertown Mayer for a brief period of time in the 2017-2018 season.
They Grew Up In A Basketball Household
Monika Czinano parents Gyula and Theresa Czinano are former basketball player and a teacher respectively. Gyula played basketball in Hungary.
According to The Gazette, Gyula, and Theresa are no longer together and he was also not present when Monika signed for Iowa. However, Gyula keeps a close tab on his girls.
Gyula Czinano
Monika Czinano father Gyula Czinano played basketball in Hungary.
Gyula has long left his athletic career and settled for something far less physically challenging job as UI/UX developer in the healthcare industry. He currently works as a UI and UX developer for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
Although he is no longer together with Theresa and the rest of the family, Gyula keeps a very keen interest in his girl’s career and often roots for them on his Twitter handle. He is found on the platform with his username @gczinano.
In a blog post, Gyula wrote for Creative Shine, he shared how being a father of a college basketball player has taught him lessons that can be used in the business world. He credits his daughter Monika for the lessons in the article.
Theresa Czinano
Monika Czinano mother Theresa Czinano raised her alongside her two siblings.
Theresa Czinano is a schoolteacher at Watertown Mayer School, according to her LinkedIn profile. She lives in Watertown Minnesota and gets excited every time Monika visits her.
Speaking with The Gazzett, Theresa recalled Monika’s childhood. She revealed Monika was kind of the boss around the home and somehow got everything she wanted in the home. Monika and Maggie would often fight during their childhood but their relationship has since evolved.
Despite raising three great athletes in the home, Theresa has not shared the spotlight with her children. Much about her personal life remains unknown to the general public.
They Have A Third Sibling In The Family
Monika and Maggie have another youngest sibling Mallory Czinano in the family. Mallory also plays sports but prefers volleyball over basketball.
The youngest of the three Czinano siblings Mallory is 17 years old and celebrates her birthday on February 26 every year. According to The Gazette, Theresa revealed Mallory has the best of both worlds, she is as strong as Monika and as agile as Maggie.
Although Mallory also plays basketball at Watertown High School, she leans more toward Volleyball. Mallory was wished by her school’s women’s basketball page on Twitter for her 15th birthday in 2021. She is the junior captain of the school’s basketball team.
Unlike her elder siblings, Mallory does not have a public social media account. She has an excellent record averaging over 11 points per game, according to Watertown’s Twitter post, but keeps her celebrations and achievements to herself without sharing them on social media.