Monday, April 30, 2012

Female Beach Volleyball - Renata Ribeiro, Brazilian female beach volleyball player

Renata Ribeiro (born December 7, 1981) is a Brazilian female beach volleyball player.

Ribeiro and team mate Talita Antunes represented Brazil at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

She is married to former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Maurício Rua


 




Female Beach Volleyball - Brooke Hanson, American beach volleyball player

 
Brooke Hanson (née Niles) (born March 11, 1981) is a professional beach volleyball player from the United States Team Captain of 2012 ksm beach ( http://www.ksmsportsmedia.com) who plays on the [[FIVB World Tour] & Top US Pro Tours.] Tour. Hanson played volleyball at the University of California-Santa Barbara.

Hanson & teammate Lauren Fendrick currently sit 3rd in US qualification (Feb. 2012) for the 2012 London Olympics and ranked 10th in the world after their first full season together playing on the FIVB World Tour and the top US Pro tours. In 2011 the team was one of the hottest on the planet winning the U.S. Open, Miami Pro & AVP Championship & NORCECA Cayman Islands. Hanson was a four-year letter winner at UC-Santa Barbara. A third-team All-American in 2002 while ranking third nationally in assists. As an outside hitter, she was named the Big West Freshman of the Year in 1999, and three times was selected to the all-conference team. Hanson graduated from UCSB ranked fifth in career digs, sixth in assists, and eighth in aces.

  

  

 


Friday, April 27, 2012

Female Beach Volleyball - Marta Menegatti, Italian beach volleyball player

 
Marta Menegatti (Ariano in the Po Delta, August 16, 1990) is an Italian beach volleyball player.

In 2009 takes part in the Italian league, beach volleyball, graduating Champion of Italy paired with Greta Cicolari. In 2010, again teaming with Cicolari, takes part in the fourth stage of Cagliari in the Italian league. When she recently turned 19, she graduated from the European Under-20 champion in beach volleyball in pairs with Deborah Allegretti. This success came after the transfer from indoor volleyball to that of the beach: in the sports curriculum of Martha fact also appear in two seasons and three B1 to B2 with Teodora Ravenna, as well as experience in Imola.

Marta Menegatti is part of the sports team from the Air Force in December 2009. And 'airman is selected and enrolled in four fixed stops.


 

 

 


Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Female Beach Volleyball - Nicole Branagh, American female volleyballer

Nicole Branagh (born January 31, 1979 in Orinda, California) is an American volleyball player. She played internationally for the US National team in indoor play and is currently playing beach volleyball professionally.

Branagh played collegiately at the University of Minnesota. She was twice named to the All-America Second Team as an outside hitter. She also was the Big Ten's co-Player of the Year in her senior season. Following graduation, she played for the US National team from 2001 to 2003, finishing her national career after the 2003 Pan American Games, where she won a Bronze Medal and was the Top Scorer.

After spending a season as an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, Branagh joined the AVP tour. She has had relatively good success on the AVP tour: she was named the AVP Rookie of the Year in 2005 and its Most Improved Player in 2006 and 2008. She partnered with Olympian Holly McPeak for much of the 2006 season before partnering with Elaine Youngs, McPeak's partner in the 2004 Summer Olympics, for the remainder of the 2006 season and the 2007 season. She competed with Youngs at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Branagh credits her competitive spirit to an extended family that includes basketball players, race car drivers, down hill snow skiers, bowlers, and show jumpers. An intense rivalry on the basketball court between Branagh and her uncle, whom she could not best, led her to stop playing basketball, and to pursue volleyball.





Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Female Beach Volleyball - Ana Paula Mancino, Brazilian volleyball player

Ana Paula Mancino (born 21 November 1971 in Sao Paolo Brazil) is a Brazilian beach volleyball player. She started playting volleyball at the age 12.





Female Beach Volleyball - Gabrielle Reece, American volleyball player

Gabrielle Allyse Reece (born January 6, 1970) is an American professional volleyball player, sports announcer, fashion model and actress.

Reece was born in La Jolla, California and raised in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. She returned to the U.S. mainland for the eleventh grade, when she took up sports. She accepted a volleyball scholarship from the Florida State University, where she majored in communications, and in volleyball she led the league in kills four times and blocks once. In 1989, she moved to New York City to pursue more rigorously a parallel career as a sports fashion model and also continue in her pro volleyball career. In 1997, she was selected for induction into the Florida State University Athletic Hall of Fame. Reece set two school volleyball records in solo blocks (240) and total blocks (747), both of which still stand. FSU inducted Reece into the Florida State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. Her father, who was Afro-Trinidadian "a native of Trinidad and Tobago", was killed in a plane crash when Gabrielle was five.






Female Beach Volleyball - Sanne Keizer, Dutch beach volleyball Player

Sanne Keizer (born February 6, 1985) is a Dutch professional beach volleyball and indoor volleyball player born in Doetinchem.

In indoor volleyball Keizer started her career in 1996 at Orion Doetinchem. Other teams she played for were Longa Lichtenvoorde and Martinus Amstelveen. From 1997 until 2002 she was part of the Dutch national youth teams in her age-range.

She started her international beach volleyball career already in 2002 at the age of 17. She teamed up with Arjanne Stevens with whom she became World Champion under 18. At the European under 18 Championships they reached the final as well, but this one was lost, resulting in a silver medal. That year they also won the under 18 tournament in Xylokastro. The talented team didn't last long and in the following year Keizer had a new partner called Merel Mooren. In no-time they were among the best teams in The Netherlands. They even became Dutch champions by breaking the run set by Rebekka Kadijk who was teaming up with Marrit Leenstra at that time. In 2004 they finished second behind this team, but they won the FIVB Satellite tournament in Lausanne. After the 2004 Summer Olympics Kadijk/Leenstra decided to split up. Mooren was Kadijk's next partner, while Keizer continued with Marrit Leenstra, with whom she did not reach any notable results with, except a 4th place at a tournament in Montreal.






Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Female Beach Volleyball - Francesca Piccinini, Italian volleyball player

Francesca Piccinini (born January 10, 1979 in Massa) is a female volleyball player who has represented Italy three times (2000, 2004, and 2008) at the Summer Olympics. She was a member of the Women's National Team that won the gold medal at the 2002 World Championship in Germany. She made her debut for Italy on 1995-06-10 against the United States. She was inspired to become a professional volleyball player by the classic anime Attack No. 1 which in Italy was shown on TV in the 1980s under the title 'Mimi e la nazionale della pallavolo'.

In 2004 she appeared naked in a calendar published by the Italian magazine Men's Health.

Playing professionally with the Italian club Volley Bergamo, she won the Most Valuable Player" award when her team won the 2009–10 CEV Indesit Champions League title.



 




Female Beach Volleyball - Logan Tom, American beach volleyball player

 
Logan Maile Lei Tom (born May 25, 1981) is an American indoor volleyball and beach volleyball player. At age 19, Tom made her Olympic debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She also competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics. In Beijing, Tom helped Team USA win a silver medal and was named Best Scorer.

Logan Tom was born in Napa, California, to Kristine and Melvyn Tom. Her father was a former NFL football player. Though she grew up with her mom and brother in Salt Lake City, Utah, she spent her summers with her dad in Hawaii learning how to surf. In 2000, she became the youngest woman to ever be selected for the USA Olympic volleyball team at 19. Tom attended Highland High School, where she set the Utah state records for career kills (later broken when Utah moved to five game matches, still second all-time). Tom also competed in basketball and track and was an All-state selection in basketball. She placed third in the state in the javelin as a senior and graduated with a 4.00 GPA and ranked first in her class. Over the summer of 2003 she was selected as one of eight finalists for the Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year Award in the team category. In 2004, Tom posed in a bikini for an FHM magazine article on female Olympic athletes. She was ranked #91 on the FHM 100 Sexiest Women of 2005. She is of Chinese Hawaiian descent.