MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The late nights, now that they are done, bring more smiles and laughs from Lee and Zani Barnard than they likely did when they happened. After all, working late on a college project is a pressure-filled exercise in the moment, but usually a decent story years later.
But for the South African twins that have balanced leading the Blue Raiders on the tennis court with earning a degree in Mechatronics, one of the most academically intensive degrees offered at Middle Tennessee State, the sighs of relief when they talk about those late nights in the lab after practice, staying up sometimes so late that the they went straight to weight lifting from their academic work, still stick with them.