University of Minnesota Athletics
Gymnastics Feature: Lucy Ennis and Amber Hammerschmidt
2/13/2012 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Feb. 13, 2012
Lucy Ennis and Amber Hammerschmidt grew up as rivals in the gymnastics world striving to beat one another at various competitions, but during their sophomore year of high school, everything changed when Hammerschmidt followed coach Sami Wozney to join the Twin City Twisters. At that moment, Hammerschmidt and Ennis became teammates.
"We have pushed each other over the years to meet one another's standards," said Ennis. "The fun part was that our strengths offset one another, with me doing more on vault and bars and Amber on beam and floor, so we were able to really get behind one another when competing."
Throughout high school, Ennis and Hammerschmidt competed alongside one another, but the decision of college gymnastics lingered as each neared the end of high school. It was the summer of 2008 that the two split with Hammerschmidt heading to Arizona State and Ennis joining head coach Meg Stephenson and the Gophers.
But the separation of the two Twister alums wouldn't last long, as Amber would return home to join the Minnesota squad the following season.
"The family atmosphere was a big part of what drew me back," said Hammerschmidt. "I think just having the gymnastic community of family members and the [Twin City] Twisters come out and support me was a huge reason I came back to Minnesota. It was also good to join a team that had so many familiar faces like Lucy, Jenny, Jim and Meg."
"It was great to have her come back to Minnesota and to be a teammate with her again because we got a long really well in club," Ennis stated. "It has been fun to share all of these experiences over the years together."
Since Hammerschmidt has returned, the two have continued complimenting one another with Ennis specializing in the power events and Hammerschmidt specializing in more finesse events. Currently, Ennis is one of Gophers' top bars competitors while Hammerschmidt has been a consistent scorer on beam and floor thus far in 2012.
"It has been an awesome experience growing not only as a gymnast with Lucy but also as a person," Hammerschmidt said. "We have been through a lot of experiences together and become great friends."
When looking back at what the Twisters did to prepare the two for collegiate gymnastics, each Gopher gymnast praises the Twin City Twisters for helping them develop as a person on top of becoming a skilled gymnast.
"With being a gymnast at Twisters, it has helped me become a team player as well as a leader," said Hammerschmidt. "My confidence was also built up through my time at the club."
"The Twisters' coaches have a perspective of building more than just an athlete. They also want to build character and good principals in a person, which is something that I feel Jim and Meg try to do as well."
With the number of collegiate meets diminishing on a weekly basis, it will only be a few months before the 2012 season is over and their status as teammates will no longer be applicable. With having said that, something stronger will remain, and that is the friendship and camaraderie that they have developed over the years.
Players Mentioned
