INDIAN HILL, Ohio — There isn't a sports season without a Zimmerman triplet competing at Cincinnati Country Day School.
"They're just incredible student-athletes," said Greg Ross, Cincinnati Country Day's associate athletic director and boys basketball coach. "I tell people all the time - they're some of the best, fiercest competitors I've seen."
Basketball is the sport this winter for sisters Megan and Elizabeth Zimmerman and their brother, Andrew. The 17-year-old siblings are stars on the court and in the classroom while supporting one another along the way.
"I think the best part is you always have someone," Elizabeth Zimmerman said. "We're all in the same classes. We all do our homework together sometimes. So it's just fun having built-in best friends that you grow up with and stuff."
Each student-athlete has earned well above a 4.0 grade-point average while being three-sport athletes.
Andrew Zimmerman averages 20.5 points and 12.6 rebounds. A co-president of the senior class, Andrew was a Division VI first-team all-state kicker this past fall. He also plays baseball.
"I would say the thing about Andrew in basketball is consistency," Ross said. "Every time I go back and do the stats off the film - he's always between 18 and 24 points, somewhere between 11 and 15 rebounds every game. As a coach if you know you're going to get that and you get that every night it's huge."
Megan Zimmerman averages 21.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.9 steals for the Nighthawks' girls basketball team. Elizabeth Zimmerman averages 12.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 steals.
"Just seeing them grow up has been amazing since their freshman year,” Cincinnati Country Day girls basketball coach John Snell said. “Just every year they get 100% better every year. The drive they have to be better, compete and just enjoy playing. It's fun to watch them."
It’s been fun to watch the sisters earned a good deal of notoriety through soccer. Megan and Elizabeth - captains in soccer and basketball - helped to lead the Nighthawks to back-to-back Division III girls soccer state championships.
Megan scored the game-winning goal this past season in the state final with an assist from Elizabeth. In the 2022 state final, Elizabeth scored the game's only goal. They are grateful for the memorable opportunities.
"I think the friends I've gained, the people I knew and have gotten to know like my coaches have just been real role models for me,” Megan Zimmerman said. “My teammates, getting to play with Elizabeth, just people that I will always remember. And a season, and a school and a team that I will always remember, too."
Cincinnati Country Day girls soccer coach Theresa Hirschauer said Megan and Elizabeth had a second sense of knowing where the other was on the field. Hirschauer believes their best soccer is ahead of them.
“It was an incredible honor to coach Elizabeth and Megan Zimmerman,” Hirschauer said. “The awards and records only tell part of the story: A record of 75-9-5 with two state championships and a state runner-up to go along with four district titles. They are two of the hardest working players in my career but also two of the best teammates.”
The sisters learned to be good teammates by playing sports all their lives. The triplets’ parents, James and Mary, are former student-athletes at Cincinnati Country Day. Mary, an athletics hall of famer, played basketball at Cornell.
Head of School Rob Zimmerman, a 1998 graduate, is the triplets’ uncle. Sarah Zimmerman, the siblings’ older sister, plays soccer at Washington and Lee University. That’s where Megan (soccer and basketball) and Elizabeth (soccer) will compete in college.
"I think their whole family is just amazing,” Snell said. “It’s been a blessing having them around.”
Andrew is considering his college options at the moment with his sisters supporting him at all times.
"Every time after a sporting event they're always telling me good job,” Andrew said. “They'll text me sometimes like, 'I'm proud of you for this or that.' The support they give me means so much. If you have a rough day they're always there at home to hang out with sometimes. They're always there for me."
It’s why the triplets are cherishing every moment this second half of their senior years.
“This is kind of our last year really living together and seeing each other at school every day,” Elizabeth said. “So it is sad. But, it's also special seeing how far we've come and how close we've even gotten."
