Natalie and Alexis Martirosian

'Prince' staff writer Anuj Basil recently sat down with sophomores Alexis and Natalie Martirosian from the women's field hockey team.

'Prince': Why did you choose Princeton?

Natalie: Field hockey was by all means a factor. We had five recruiting trips and they were all mainly Ivy League schools. All had high academic reputations and so we really searched for the school where we best fit in, and that included field hockey.

Alexis: We looked at things like overall college life as a deciding factor.

P: What kind of expectations did you have coming into Princeton?

AM: Well, Princeton field hockey has a reputation of being a great team with a great coach and a winning tradition. We definitely expected to work really hard for the team and that field hockey would play a big role in our life at Princeton.

P: Did you always want to come to the same school?

AM: We definitely early on in the process made the distinction that we didn't want to rely on each other to make our decisions. Ultimately we both wanted to stay together which is probably for the better.

P: Let's talk about growing up. What has been the biggest blessing about being twins?

AM: Constantly having a companion.

NM: Everything that goes with having someone there all the time.

P: Any negatives?

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AM: Our school and our parents did a really good job of forcing us to have separate identities.

NM: Until high school, we weren't allowed to be in the same class. Looking back, I think that was really helpful with the whole identity issue. We never had any problems, and we even had similar friends. I always said that Alexis was my best friend. We never fought over friends or things of that sort.

P: Did you guys fight with each other a lot?

NM: No.

AM: Nothing serious. I mean, petty things, of course.

P: Being very active in sports, were you both very competitive with each other growing up?

NM: People always ask us that.

AM: I feel bad saying no.

NM: I feel like it was always an open competition. We were so busy and did a lot of things together that we never had a chance to nag each other.

P: There has got to be something unique about the two of you.

NM: We dress in black.

P: All the time?

NM: For some reason we have a lot of black clothes. The sophomores will sometimes dress with a theme and now it is funny to dress in all black.

P: How was your first impression of Princeton field hockey, most especially your teammates?

NM: Playing the preseason before school started was really helpful because it allows you to really get to know a lot of your teammates.

AM: We had actually known a lot of them before through national team activities. We never had to deal with the problem of first getting to know people when the season starts.

P: What are some of the unique jokes and games that you and your teammates play?

AM: One thing that Kelly Darling likes to do to me is that sometimes when we are sitting on those long bus rides, I am trying to sit back and relax, but my cell phone keeps on ringing. And I answer it and sometimes the person just hangs up and sometimes it's just Kelly Darling with her voice disguised, acting like my mom, or...

NM: She does that all the time, from the row behind her. Really funny.

AM: I always get so excited when the phone rings, and then it is Kelly. I actually just checked a message from her just now from the bus ride [from North Carolina].

P: What's the best clean prank that the team has pulled this year?

NM: There was this farting machine that someone got somehow that had a remote control to it. During warm-ups one time when we were stretching when someone put the machine near Ilvy, I think. We all heard this real loud fart, and everyone was silent, and [senior captain and attack] Rachael [Becker] says "Don't even try to deny that wasn't you." Ilvy tried to defend herself, but it was no use.

P: Do you guys have nicknames on the team?

AM: Yea. I'm Sexy Lexi.

NM: Everyone calls me Natty, or occasionally Nattice.

P: I heard your nickname was Nitty?

NM: Oh yes, Shah [sophomore midfielder Shahrzad Joharifard], when she has too much candy and not enough sleep, jokes about how it would be so cute if there was a mini, puppet version of me.

NM: She likes to call me Nitty and does the same with Lizzie [sophomore defense Lizzie Black].

A: Lizzy is Betsy. Nitty and Betsy! We all have little nicknames. We come up with new ones all the time.

P: What has been your best experience so far at Princeton, either on the field or off?

AM: Mine has definitely been living in the biggest suite on campus with 10 other girls.

NM: Mine would have to be just spending time on the road with the team. Since we spend so much time with the team, it's hard for that experience not to come from field hockey.

P: Who would you say is the team's biggest rival?

AM: Harvard.

NM: Always Harvard. Even though we always beat them, going into the game they put more pressure on us than any other Ivy League team. Plus, you have to throw in the tradition that Princeton-Harvard has.

P: What do the Martirosian sisters do for fun?

AM: As clichéd as this sounds, we like to play other sports, and do most of things that everyone likes doing. We both really enjoy traveling.