When Angie Bianchi was born 15 years ago, living arrangements changed for her brothers.
The five Bianchi boys -- Sam, Paul, Tom, Joey and Matty -- moved upstairs into the finished attic of their Two Rivers, Wisc., home. With seven years between the oldest and the youngest brothers, they split into two rooms -- Sam and Matty in one, the remaining three in the other.
All five were on the verge of their teenage years, and chaos often ensued.
Especially after their dad Joe got the boys hooked on the "Rocky" movies.
"Nap time wasn't really like nap time," Matty Bianchi said. "We started just having boxing matches upstairs against each other, and we'd use the Beanie Babies to hit each other with, and then my mom got mad at us.
"So, then our dad came back with boxing gloves."
Those attic boxing matches instilled a fighting spirit in the Bianchi boys, setting the stage for respective wrestling careers which have since brought three to the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. Paul set an example for not just Joey, 21, and Matty, 19 --both of whom are a part of this year's team -- but the entire Trojan program, becoming UALR's first and only NCAA championship qualifier two years ago and the most decorated wrestler in the program's brief history.
Now, it's on the two youngest Bianchi boys to forge their own legacies while remaining at one another's side, just as they have nearly all their lives.
"[In high school], he would fight until death to not give up a takedown because I was his little brother, and I would fight until death to get that takedown because I wanted to say I took down my older brother," Matty said of wrestling together. "It brought this kind of fight out of each other that is hard to make when you just put two normal partners together."
Bringing brothers together
Paul was already an established Division I wrestler by the time UALR launched its debut 2019-20 season. The three-time Wisconsin state champion qualified for the 2018 NCAA championships as a redshirt freshman at North Dakota State, but a badly sprained ankle during the 2018-19 season sapped his love for wrestling.
Needing a fresh start, he entered the transfer portal and Trojans Coach Neil Erisman was the first to call.
There was a reason Erisman believed he could lure someone of Paul's caliber to Little Rock, even with no track record as a program: Younger brother Joey was one of UALR's earliest commitments.
Erisman figured if he could sign Joey, it would give him the inside track at Matty a couple of years down the line. But Paul? That would be a coup.
"He set standards that we didn't have," Erisman said of Paul. "When it comes to being pivotal [for UALR wrestling], it was really beyond words. ... He showed these young guys what it is to compete at the next level -- not just win, but to compete -- and he really changed the intensity in our program."
Joey and Matty had always spent an inordinate amount of time together. Not only did they wrestle together for Two Rivers, but they regularly drove an hour each way to club practice.
"The car would break down," Joey said, "and we'd have to figure it out."
Matty didn't initially want to follow in his brother's footsteps. There was something about doing things on his own that had him planning to look anywhere but UALR when it came time to make a college decision.
It was in his nature, as the youngest of the five boys, to take a lone-wolf approach most of the time.
"He always wanted to be a big kid with one of us, trying to keep up with us," Paul said of Matty. "I think that's what made him tougher."
Last season was the only year all three Bianchis spent together with the Trojans. Paul, having exhausted his eligibility, stayed on as a graduate assistant. Joey, a redshirt sophomore, competed regularly at 149 pounds, and Matty redshirted his true freshman season.
While Paul had set the tenor for UALR's early years, Erisman never looked at either Joey or Matty as "Paul's little brothers."
"You're getting Matty, the kid who has a half-million followers on TikTok. You're getting Joey, [who's] just a fun-loving dude," Erisman said. "They are their own people."
'A family more than a team'
Joey would always wrestle after Matty, given that his younger brother was in a lower weight class throughout high school.
Things are reversed this season during duals. Joey competes first at 149 pounds, then Matty has the next match at 157 pounds.
While doing his warm-up routine in the tunnel, Matty can't help but sneak a glance at his older brother.
"I love watching because ... if he wins, I'm really hyped like, 'I'm gonna go out there and win,'" Matty explained. "And if unfortunately, he loses, then it's like, 'OK, I'm upset. Now I'm gonna go out there and win.'"
Erisman sees Joey and Matty take different approaches on the mat.
Joey is more analytical, needing to come to terms with things on his own. Matty is more like Paul, bringing tenaciousness and intensity.
"Paul and Matty are just going to line up and [if] you tell them to run to the wall, they're going to run to the wall," Erisman explained. "Joey's going to be like, 'OK, I'll do this, but why is it beneficial?'"
The are on the fringe of earning bids to the NCAA championships, as Paul did twice before. Though neither is currently ranked in their respective weight class -- 33 individuals per class will qualify -- Erisman believes Joey and Matty each have a legitimate shot.
Today's dual against Stanford, the Trojans' final home meet of the season, marks the start of the homestretch for UALR.
Joey and Matty will be key to whatever success the Trojans hope to achieve, competing in six duals over the next three weekends -- four of them against Pac-12 competition.
"There's a lot of camaraderie that comes with this team," Joey said. "And we are a family more than a team."
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NoneUALR vs. Stanford
WHERE Jack Stephens Center, Little Rock
WHEN 2 p.m.
RECORDS UALR 3-6, 0-1 Pac-12 Conference; Stanford 3-4, 0-1
INTERNET LRTrojans.com
TICKETS General admission, $7
Brothers Joey Bianchi (above) and Matty are are on the fringe of earning bids to the NCAA Championships, continuing the excellence older sibling Paul brought to the UALR wrestling program. (UALR Athletics/Ben Krain)