Questions & Answers: Pairs who play

Field hockey's freshmen Alexis and Natalie Martirosian, women's soccer's juniors Lynn and Krista Ariss, and freshmen Rochelle and Janine Willis - identical twins all, recently sat down with 'Prince' staff writers Blaire and Chandra Russell to discuss life as twins on and off the field.

'Prince': When you first started out playing the sport, did you find you had different skills, leading to your having different roles on the field?

AM: Although our styles are similar, Natalie is somewhat more attack-minded.

KA: Right when we started playing at age five, Lynn was definitely the more defensive player and I was more aggressive.

JW: Well, at the beginning it was hard to tell. We've both played our share of different positions. Rochelle has played goalie, defense and midfield. I started out at defense, moved up to midfield, then forward, back to defense, and am still wandering around to this day. For both of us, our positions are basically dictated by the coach and wherever he or she sees it fit for us to play. We both enjoy the challenge each position sets for us and are equally capable of adjusting to each position.

P: Do you practice with each other?

NM: Being on the same school and club team, we've always practiced with each other. But outside scheduled practices, we train and hit around with each other all the time, whether it's in our front yard or on a nearby turf.

LA: We've always practiced with each other, any time that we could.

KA: Sometimes, but we were extremely competitive and would always end up in fights.

RW: Until this past year, when Janine was called up to the Canadian National Team, we had always played on the same teams, so practicing together wasn't exactly something we could avoid.

P: The two of us are very competitive with each other, but more so we feel competitive as a pair, feeling the most pride when we both excel together. Do you feel the same way? If not, how would you describe your competitiveness?

JW: In game and team competition, this is definitely true. We both take great pride in seeing each other succeed in every play and feel equally upset if one of us misses a tackle, or a shot, or anything like that. When it comes to practice, though, a lot of our success can be attributed to our ability to push each other. Part of this means that we are extremely competitive while training together. I would even go as far as saying that I am harder on my sister than I am on anyone else on the field at practice. If this means going into a tackle a little harder or giving her that little extra elbow in the ribs, I do it, because I know she can take it, and because I know she will be looking to do it to me on the next play.

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P: Describe the recruitment process. Were you recruited as a package or individually? Was coming to Princeton together a must?

AM: Our coach was very clear in recruiting us separately. In general, all the coaches were very accepting of our situation and did not treat us as a package deal. So Nat and I would have been very comfortable picking separate schools. However, we both loved Princeton and ultimately couldn't be separated.

LA: We were recruited more as a package. Coming together wasn't a must, but I don't know how one could have come without the other.

KA: It wasn't exactly a must for us both to get in. Both of us ending up at the same school was actually a last minute decision.

RW: For the most part we were recruited together. However, there were some cases where a school would be looking for a specific talent and one of us would have it while the other didn't. This was mostly in the case of my being predominantly left-footed while Rochelle is right-footed. In the final decision, we both made it on our own. It just so happened that we both chose Princeton as our number one choice.

P: Has the nature of your competitiveness changed since you got to college?

NM: Our competitiveness in hockey hasn't changed, but our competitiveness in other areas, like academics, has pretty much disappeared because we have no classes together, unlike in high school, where we were in many of the same classes.

RW: Not really, I'd say it has stayed pretty much the same.

JW: No. We still knock each other around and look to push each other to our limits.

P: Does one of you play more than the other? For the person who does not play as much, does that lead to jealousy? For the person who plays more, do you feel guilty?

AM: I believe I have become used to Nat playing more and have accepted it. As long as I have confidence in myself and enjoy simply playing, jealously should never become a problem.

NM: This year at Princeton, I played more than Alexis did, and I don't feel guilty because I have worked very hard to be in a position where I could play here. But, I do think Alexis was just as capable to play and wish she had had more opportunities to do so.

LA: Krista plays more than I do. I don't feel jealous at all, I'm always so happy for her and proud of her. Sometimes I feel I'm even more excited about her achievements than she is.

KA: This year our playing time has become more similar but I have played more than Lynn through the years. I guess there is some guilt but mostly it was sadness and anger because I knew Lynn had the potential to play just as much or more than I did.

RW: We both get a lot of playing time and any discrepancies are usually due to the fact that there are more players playing one position than the other and therefore more options.

P: Do you find that your twin's performance in a game or practice affects how you play?

AM: Yes, I usually try to rise above in those situations and focus on my own play. But, I do find myself constantly worrying about Natalie and figuring out ways to slip her messages during the game.

NM: I don't think our performances are directly related. But, of course, if I'm playing right mid and Alexis is playing center mid and she is playing really well, I would play better simply because she is giving and receiving good passes, defending well, or whatever.

P: Do you feel more comfortable when the other is on the field?

AM: Absolutely.

NM: I used to feel a lot more comfortable when Alexis was playing on the same team. In the past few years though we've played on separate teams so I've gotten used to not always having her on my team. I definitely do not feel comfortable playing against either of my sisters.

LA: Yes, totally. But even if she isn't, I can always hear her cheering for me, which gives me that something extra too.

KA: Of course. My confidence is so much higher. And it's just fun. Like when you were kids and just playing with your sister.

RW: Personally, yeah, probably because there's been only rare occasions when that hasn't been the case.

P: Do you look for each other, consciously or subconsciously, on the field? Do you feel that you have some kind of special connection?

AM: Yes. Because Nat and I play so much, I can almost predict every decision she will make on the field.

LA: I think so, more so before coming to college, when we would always play together and for some reason I would always find Krista wherever she was on the field.

KA: We definitely have a special connection. I love it. I always know where she's going to be or where she'll be sending the ball. Actually this year in the game against Harvard Lynn and I scored at the exactly same time. It was crazy how we were just at the right place and the right time.

P: There are many myths about twins being able to "feel each other's pain." Have you noticed this kind of psychic connection with your twin?

AM: (laugh) I always get asked that question. I once learned that identical twins have the closest emotional bond possible for humans. Because I am so attached to Natalie from a life constantly by her side, I naturally understand and feel her emotions easily. As for psychic connections, I have only heard results proving that, because of similar or same genes and a joined development during childhood, twins acquire a great understanding of each other.

NM: Well, I do not have psychic capabilities with Alexis, despite sometimes telling people that we do - just for fun. However, I do remember a particular camp experience. Years ago at a summer camp, Alexis and I lived in different cabins. One night I got this feeling that Alexis was crying and so I went over to her cabin, and guess what - she was really crying. Do you think that's a psychic connection?

LA: I think we can. Once when we were young, Krista had fallen and had received a concussion. I wasn't nearby, but I had felt really weird and that something was wrong. I feel because you are so close to this other person, when she feels pain, it's just like the pain is being inflicted on you also.

KA: I guess you feel the pain in your heart because you have so much love for each other that you would never want to see the other in pain. But I don't really consider that "psychic." But we did have similar knee injures. One year to the day after I had surgery for my torn ACL she tore hers. It was the opposite knee. Mirror image.

RW: I don't feel any psychic connection - although I think it would be great if we did.

P: Do you spend time together besides on the field?

AM: We could be inseparable but we try to branch out. Actually, it is not so dramatic. We are best friends and I find it difficult to be away from her for more than a day. Although we spend much time together, we do, I must admit, get on each others' nerves and must separate; but only for a while.

KA: (laugh) This year Lynn and I are living together and this semester have every single class together. I love it. She's my best friend.

RW: We rarely spend time apart off the field, except for during classes.

JW: Of course we do. Although it doesn't help that I got stuck with her being my roommate, I couldn't get away from her even if I wanted to. But we are best friends, so we would be spending that time together regardless.