Ling Sisters Feature: A Spartan Family

BY LAUREN GEWIRTZ
For MSU ATHLETICS

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Sisters Jessica and Amanda Ling started participating in sports when they were young. At that time, however, their parents did not know that they would end up being Division I athletes.

"We never put them in their respective sports to compete at the collegiate level," said their mother, Kathie Ling, via e-mail. "We did it because they loved the sport and competitive athletics have many positive personal influences like dedication, teamwork, leadership and work ethic."

Kathie said that they knew after Jessica's freshman year of high school that she could compete at the Division I level in gymnastics. Two years later, when Amanda was a freshman in high school and began diving, they saw the same path for her.

The sisters are now together at Michigan State, with older sister Jessica on the gymnastics team, and younger sister Amanda on the diving team. Jessica, a senior Kinesiology major, began gymnastics when she was just three.

"My parents had just signed me up for, I think it was originally a mom-and-me-type class, because I would always climb over everything," Jessica said. "I love the monkey bars on the playground. I think at one point, I had climbed up a shelf in my dad's office or something, and so they're like, 'Oh, let's sign her up for classes' and then it just kind of stuck."

Amanda, a sophomore studying education and English, went away from gymnastics and chose to use her acrobatic skills in the pool. She opted for something different, and it worked out in her favor.

"I was a gymnast up until eighth grade, and then I quit gymnastics – just knew it wasn't for me – and a lot of people tried diving after, so I did," Amanda said. "I also did track and cross country, and then once I started diving, I was like, 'OK, this is for me,' so I kept going with it."

But while Jessica always knew where she might be headed, Amanda had no idea what her destiny was until she began taking diving more seriously.

"When I was a gymnast, I had no desire to do college sports," said Amanda. "Then, the summer after eighth grade, I did the dive camp here and the coach, Eric (Best) he was like, 'If you keep going with this, then you could dive in college', and that's what sort of started me thinking that I could do it and then it became a goal."

Jessica also participated in youth camps for gymnastics, including the one featuring Michigan State's gymnastics coaches. She kept in touch with them, and once she did a tour of the campus and met the team, she knew she wanted to be a Spartan.

When it came time for Amanda to make her college decision, Jessica never wanted to pressure her younger sister into choosing MSU. But having a familiar face, and "a little piece of home", on campus made the difference for Amanda.

"We were always really close growing up – we still are really close," said Jessica. "It's just nice to have a piece of home here. Also, too, it's cool – like our team will go and cheer her and the rest of the divers and swimmers on at meets and they'll come to our meets. It's just really cool to have her here with me and experiencing my last two years of college with her."

Amanda said that growing up, their parents stressed the importance of family to all of their daughters, including youngest sister Jenna, who is still in high school. Amanda said her relationship with Jessica gave her comfort when she came to MSU.

Kathie, and their father, Dan, are proud of their daughters for what they have been able to accomplish as athletes and students. Jessica is a two-time all-Big Ten academic honoree, and is a specialist on the bars. Amanda was an all-state diver for Walled Lake Central high school, and finished 12th on the 1-meter and 15th in the 3-meter at the USA Diving National Championships her freshman year.

"Jessica was able to overcome three separate knee injuries and become a leader on the team and finish her senior year competing bars," said their father, Dan Ling. "Amanda was able to quickly transition from gymnastics to diving late in her career and become a solid contributor for MSU."

The Ling sisters are blazing their own trails separately - and together - at MSU.

"Their determination, work ethic, leadership and perseverance both in their sport and in the classroom continue to amaze us," said Dan. "They continue to maintain excellent GPA's while balancing school, athletics, friends, family, and life."

Players Mentioned

Amanda Ling

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