Whiz Kid: Joanna Sampson

Joanna Sampson knew she would have to step up her gymnastic performances during her freshman year at Michigan. The graduate wasted little time settling in to her new surroundings.

Sampson recently completed her freshman season with the Wolverines in impressive fashion for a Michigan team that is a consistent contender in the Big 10.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Sampson. “It was a little bit different, but it was a lot more fun, especially having my whole team behind me and knowing I was competing more for the team and not just individually.

Sampson did her part to help the Wolverines capture their fifth straight Big 10 championship. 

She placed second in the floor event at the championship event and helped Michigan finished ahead of Penn State for the top spot. It topped off an impressive freshman season for Sampson, who seemed destined to perform on the college level ever since she began competing in Upper Moreland. 

However, Sampson first had to overcome an injury in high school after suffering a stress fracture.

“I have been doing gymnastics for pretty much my whole life,” Sampson said. “My goal was always to do collegiate gymnastics. I was injured in high school, and I thought that might have kept me from doing it, but I was able to come back really strong and do really well.”

Sampson knew Michigan had an outstanding gymnastics program. The combination of the team, academics and campus life provided the perfect package for Sampson at Michigan.

“Michigan has a team with a great tradition,” said Sampson. “The team has always done very well. They have a good gymnastics program, and the girls there were very accepting. The university itself is challenging, and I loved the campus.”

Sampson gained valuable experience with the Junior Olympic National Team. She realized the importance of performing on the national level and set her sites on making the national squad shortly after arriving at Upper Moreland High School.

“I made it to nationals my sophomore year,” Sampson said. “I won the national bar championship and placed second in the all-around. I was back during my senior year and didn’t win any individual event titles, but I won the all-around. At the high school level, that was always my biggest goal.”

Gymnastics became a passion for Sampson at an early age. She discovered the many benefits of gymnastics as she quickly became hooked on the sport.

“I started competing when I was 10,” said Sampson. “As I got older, I continued to enjoy it. It was always a lot of fun for me being around my teammates. There were a lot of health benefits, too. It gave me a lot of structure in my life.”

Sampson competed on the Ricochets Gymnastics Club.  She believes the intense training during her high school years prepared her for the rigors of college competition.

“There was a lot of training involved,” Sampson said. “We were in the gym five days a week for about 20 hours.  That kind of set me up to make sure I was ready and that I had all the techniques down that I needed.”

The Wolverines will lose a host of key contributors to graduation, so the younger gymnasts are expected to play an even bigger role next season. Sampson is looking forward to what lies ahead at Michigan and knows the best may be yet to come.

“There are always those struggles,” said Sampson. “But this first year has been really great. Now I have the basic expectations for what’s going to happen the next few years. I expect it to be really exciting, and I’m looking forward to the coming years.”