Welcome to Saturday Spotlight! Here, we dive deep into the lives of Ohio State student-athletes and learn more about their journeys to Columbus, their love of the Buckeye traditions and who they are as competitors and students.
Jessica and Jincy Dunne are members of The Ohio State University women's hockey team — but more importantly, they are sisters. Jincy, a redshirt freshman defenseman, and Jessica, a junior defenseman, are natives of O'Fallon, Missouri, and have been key players in the team's current three-game winning streak.
We caught up with the two Midwesterners to ask them about their lives off the ice, what it's like as a student athlete and more.
WHEN DID YOU REALIZE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO PLAY COLLEGE HOCKEY?
Jincy Dunne: I think I decided that I was going to college hockey. When I was really little, I first thought I wanted to be an Olympian. So then, I just tried to work as hard in everything I did, and eventually the closer and closer I got to college, I had some looks. So I think that’s when it became a reality to me.
Jessica Dunne: Mine was a little bit different. I didn’t necessarily dream of playing college hockey, I just came upon it later in life. I had schools contact me, so I was very fortunate, and I loved Ohio State.
WHAT DREW YOU TO OHIO STATE OUTSIDE OF HOCKEY?
Jincy: My grandpa lives pretty close around here, and my grandma passed away a few years back, but I knew that if she were here, she’d be at every game. Also, the Buckeye pride. Everyone talks about it, but you don’t really understand it until you’re on campus and can feel it, then you become apart of it. There are so many resources being The Ohio State, an incredible education, so much academic help for athletes. So just being apart of this university, and everything they say you are.
Jessica: I just think there’s a lot of pride at this school, it’s close to home, it’s Big Ten, my grandpa lives here, I already have friends at school, and it was just an easy decision.
WHAT IS THE BEST PART OF BEING AN ATHLETE?
Jincy: We get some pretty nice perks. As far as academics go, we get all the help we could possibly need. But I think being an athlete, you have your team, you have the people that you’re with, you have opportunities to meet other students around campus, but you have your family as soon as you show up here.
Jessica: We’re from Missouri, but it’s our family in Columbus. We can be with them in classes, at the rink, and with being a student-athlete, we get so many perks. So we’re very lucky.
WHAT IS IT LIKE PLAYING ON THE SAME TEAM AS YOUR SISTER?
Jincy: We’ve always played together growing up, so it’s nothing that we’re not used to. I feel like we got treated as twins growing up, but not many people get to play a Division One sport, and not many people get to do that with their sibling. So I see it as very fortunate to have her.
Jessica: It’s a ton of fun, and it’s nice to have someone on your team that you can take personal things to, who understands it, who you’ve grown up with. I’ve gone through 15 years of it at this point, so it’s nice to have her around still.
WHAT'S BEEN YOUR BEST HOCKEY MOMENT?
Jincy: Probably winning U-18 Worlds, it was just awesome. My parents got to be there, and my brother was there. We had a great team staff, so it was an amazing trip in general, but then the fact that after two years we won gold, that was super exciting.
Jessica: I don’t think I have a favorite hockey moment. I’ve had more embarrassing moments then favorite ones in hockey, but I’d say just that I remember specific teams and individuals. Like, the team we have this year is a great team, and probably one the best ones we’ve had since I’ve been here, and I’m just fortunate to be apart of it.
DO YOU OR THE TEAM HAVE ANY SUPERSTITIONS? WHAT ABOUT YOUR NUMBER – DOES IT REPRESENT ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT?
Jincy: I always have to have a pre-game nap, that’s a necessity. As far as numbers, I was always No. 3 when I was younger, but I joined a team and three wasn’t available, and my mom said “Oh, just be 33, you’ll be twice as good.” And me being 8-years-old I believed it, and then 33 has been my number since.
Jessica: As far as superstitions, I always put the right side of my equipment on first before my left. I chose No. 13 when I started playing roller hockey, and then I had to switch back to another number, then when I came here it was an option, so it was a sign that I needed to be 13 again.
WHAT ARE YOU STUDYING?
Jincy: I’m a chemistry major as of now, but I still don’t know what I want to do yet. So I’m just kind of keeping my options open right now.
Jessica: I’m a psychology major, who’s a double minor in history, but I still have to choose the other minor.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CLASS AT OHIO STATE AND WHY?
Jincy: Oddly enough, I took and intro psychology course my very first semester that I thought was really interesting, some of the stuff they brought up. But I really like biology, too.
Jessica: Two that really stand out to me are abnormal psychology. I love ‘Criminal Minds’ and all shows like that, so it was cool seeing why people are the way they are when they’re a little messed up and medications that can counteract those. Another one was social psychology, just how we as people interact with our world, and how our thoughts, feelings and behaviors affect us and everyone around us.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF CAMPUS?
Jincy: I love the 11th floor of the library. I go there quite often in between classes and just sit up there and study, maybe watch Netflix. It depends on what needs done.
Jessica: I do like the 11th floor, but I don’t really go up there. I spent a lot of my time in SASSO (Student Athlete Support Services Office) my freshman year, and I still love going back there now and again. I live off-campus, so it’s a little harder to get there, but I’d probably say SASSO.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE OHIO STATE TRADITION?
Jincy: I think it’s pretty cool when you say “O-H” and people just know to say “I-O”. As far as specific traditions go, I love that they ‘dot the I’ in the marching band. Football games, I love how all of Columbus comes to town and everyone’s a Buckeye. Also, I love how they cross out every “M” during Michigan week. That’s awesome, I love that. Some people I know say ‘Oh, that’s a little unnecessary,’ and I just say “You have no idea.”
Jessica: I think “O-H” is my favorite. Not just in Columbus, anywhere you go in Ohio, or even if someone out of state is wearing an Ohio State sweatshirt or something, you say “O-H,” you’re going to get a response.
WHAT'S BEEN YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT AT OHIO STATE?
Jincy: Well, when you’re on defense and you’re the last guy back and you just fall on the ice, that can be pretty embarrassing. I think I’ve showed up to lift with my shirt on inside-out, my shorts on backwards; it’s early, it happens.
Jessica: I try to block them out because they come and go quite often; mine are constant. I had one fall this year against Bemidji that was just brutal. But my specialty is going back for the puck when there’s no one around me, and I’m the only one in our zone and the puck is behind the net, and I just go face first into the wall. It happens so often.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT IN TOWN?
Jincy: I like the Short North, they have a lot of good restaurants down there; I’ve been there a couple times. They have this pizza place called Forno, it’s really good, and then I’ve been to Easton a lot. I have a little bit of a shopping addiction, so I’ve been there quite a bit, and NorthStar Café is really good; we don’t really have that anywhere else.
Jessica: There’s a couple restaurants in the Short North that I really like, but I spend a lot of time at Easton or Polaris, so just anything that’s around there; and my grandpa’s cooking, of course.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT COLUMBUS?
Jincy: I don’t think I’ve really met a mean person here yet. I just think it’s a nice city. Nice people, nice restaurants, nice places to go. There’s a lot to do, and I just really love it all.
Jessica: Columbus reminds me a lot of home, and it’s very similar, so I like having that aspect. Also, I like seeing Ohio State stuff everywhere, not just on campus. Knowing that I go to that school, that pride is something that’s been instilled in me and all these people that don’t even go to this school, and I just think that’s awesome to see.
GIVE US SOMETHING THAT NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT YOU.
Jincy: I don’t think people know that I have a crazy online shopping addiction. Also, I don’t think people expect me to eat as much food as I’m able to, and I don’t think people realize I’m not as confident as I may give off.
Jessica: I have the same birthday as my mom, March 1, and all of my siblings, all six of us, our names start with “J” and we’re all named after somebody. As far me, I binge watch TV shows, and I love “Game of Thrones,” and movies like “Harry Potter” and “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings” and stuff I don’t think people would expect me to like.
WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU'D SAY TO AN INCOMING STUDENT OR AN INCOMING STUDENT-ATHLETE LOOKING TO CONTINUE THEIR CAREER AT OHIO STATE?
Jincy: “Enjoy it.” You only get four years here, you just have to enjoy it. Coming in as a student-athlete, you have every resource you could possibly want. You’re doing something people would kill for, and really, just be enjoy that and be grateful for it. For a regular student, you’re getting an education. Not many people can really say that anymore, and not only are you getting an education, you’re getting it at The Ohio State, and I think that get’s so over looked, that people get to be a part of something special.
Jessica: I’d also say “enjoy it”. I have three semesters left of college and it’s crazy how fast it went by. I remember being a freshman and thinking I had all the time in the world, and it’s almost gone. It’s so fleeting, so definitely be grateful. Today I had to go get my books at SASSO, and they we’re already packaged for me, and I was talking to my boyfriend earlier and he was saying how his are individually separate and all, and mine are already put together and that’s just a perk athletes get. We get so many things, so just say ‘yes’ to different opportunities you get. You only get four years, so make the most of it.
Congratulations to Jincy Dunne on being named WCHA Rookie of the Week!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/4vyirihsLz
— Ohio State W Hockey (@OhioState_WHKY) January 10, 2017
JINCY, HOW DID IT FEEL TO WIN WCHA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK?
Jincy: It’s an honor I’m excited to have. Any points I have I didn’t do on my own, there’s four other people on the ice with me, and plus a bunch more people. So I’m grateful to have them, first off, and overall, I’m just excited. Those things don’t come around often, so take them, and move on and get better.
