VIDALIA — It appears that both making straight A’s and playing ball are in the genes of three Vidalia Junior High School Students.

Seventh-graders Faith, Hope and Joy Gutter are triplets at Vidalia Junior High and have a bit in common.

“I’m 13, I play two sports and I’m a straight A student,” Hope said, echoed by her two sisters.

All three girls are star athletes on the Vidalia Junior High basketball and softball teams and made the Superintendent’s List this school year with perfect grades across the board.

The Gutters said playing basketball has always been their favorite pass time since they were old enough to throw and dribble.

“Our parents (Sanita and Mitchell Gutter) push us to be smarter in school and good at sports,” Faith said. “It’s hard work and can be frustrating at first — but once you figure it out it’s fun, and you keep going.”

Each of the girls said they have their own unique qualities that make them different from their siblings.

Hope and Faith, who are identical twins, said they both enjoy math while their fraternal twin sister Joy likes reading and writing stories.

“I like a lot of random books, like ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid,’” Joy said. “They are just interesting to me.”

When she grows up, Joy said she’d like to either become a pediatrician or write children’s books.

Faith said she is interested in becoming an orthodontist while Hope would like to become a labor and delivery nurse or a counselor.

“I like to give my friends advice and I’m interested in helping other people solve their problems,” Hope said.