Nicole McNamara

Nicole Carol McNamara (born August 1, 1997 in Richmond, British Columbia)[1] is a Canadian beach volleyball player. Along with her twin sister, Megan McNamara, Nicole has competed in many beach volleyball events around the world.[2] From the fall of 2015 until the spring of 2019, Megan competed collegiately for the UCLA Bruins, leading the team to its first Pac-12 and NCAA titles in the sport during the 2018 season, and a second NCAA championship in the 2019 season.

Nicole McNamara
Personal information
Full nameNicole Carol McNamara
NationalityCanadian
Born (1997-08-01) August 1, 1997
Richmond, British Columbia
HometownVancouver, British Columbia
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
College(s)UCLA
Beach volleyball information
Current teammate
Years Teammate
2012– Megan McNamara
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Women's beach volleyball
NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour
2018 Punta Cana Beach
Senior Beach Nationals (Canada)
2018 Toronto Beach
WUC Beach Volleyball
2018 Munich Beach
FIVB U21 World Championships
2016 Lucerne Beach
Youth Olympic Games
2014 Nanjing Beach
FIVB U19 World Championships
2014 Porto Beach

Early life and high school career

Nicole attended high school in Greater Vancouver, at South Delta Secondary School. Her first notable achievement in international beach volleyball competition was winning the bronze medal at the 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships.[3] Three weeks later, they won the silver medal at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics after being defeated in a 3-set-final.[4]

Beach volleyball career

College experience

In 2015, Nicole became a member of UCLA Bruins beach volleyball team.[5] She and her sister went 16-12 in dual matches on court one during the 2016 college season, leading the team to a 22-8 overall record and third place finishes in both the inaugural Pac-12[6] and NCAA tournaments,[7] and fourth-place ranking nationally. During the season, she and Megan were named Pac-12 Pair of the Week for the week of April 4,[8] to the All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Freshman First Teams,[9] and to the AVCA Collegiate Beach All-America Team.[10]

During the 2017 season, Nicole and Megan improved to 28-7 in dual matches, leading the Bruins to a 30-6 overall record. The team finished runner-up at the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championships by a single match,[11] but was defeated in the NCAA tournament in its third match after falling to Florida State in the Elimination Bracket.[12] During the season, she and Megan were named Pac-12 Pair of the Week for the weeks of March 14[13] and April 11.[14] As with her freshman year, Nicole earned both All-Pac-12 First Team[15] and AVCA All-American[16] honors. Additionally, Nicole was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team for beach volleyball following the season to honor her performance in the classroom for her sophomore year.[17]

In late July 2017, following completion of her sophomore year, Nicole underwent shoulder surgery at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, Los Angeles.

During the 2018 season, Nicole and Megan went 35-7 in dual matches, leading the UCLA Bruins to a 40-4 overall record and to their first Pac-12 and NCAA championships, beating USC and Florida State, respectively. Once again, the sisters were honored as members of the All-Pac-12 First Team, and as All-Americans in the process.[18][19] Additionally, the McNamara twins were named Pac-12 Pair of the Year, and Nicole named Pac-12 Player of the Year in the week following completion of the championship.[20] Following the season, Nicole was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team to honor her performance in the classroom for her junior year.[21]

During the 2019 season, Nicole and Megan went 32-4 in dual matches, leading the UCLA Bruins to a 35-3 overall record and their second consecutive NCAA championship, beating the USC in the final match.[22] Additionally, they finished runner-up to USC at the Pac-12 championship.[23] One final time in their collegiate careers, both sisters were honored as members of the All-Pac-12 First Team and as AVCA Collegiate All-Americans.[24][25] Additionally, the McNamara twins were named Pac-12 and AVCA/CollegeBeachVB.com Pair of the Week for the week of April 2.[26][27]

International competition

At the 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships, Megan and Nicole won the bronze medal by coming back from one set down (18-21, 23-21, 15-10) against USA’s Sarah Sponcil and Torrey Van Winden in the third place match.[28]

In May 2018, Nicole and Megan competed in their first FIVB World Tour event, the Bangkok 1 star, winning five matches and advancing to the semifinals[29] before eventually finishing in fourth place.[30][31][32][33] In early June 2018, the Nicole and Megan won the women's competition at the 2018 Volleyball Canada NORCECA Open Beach Trials in Toronto, earning the top ranking for Canada for subsequent competition in the 2018 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour.[34] Later in the month, they competed in their second FIVB World Tour event, the Singapore Open 2 star, advancing through the qualifying rounds to pool play,[35] before barely missing out on the quarterfinal round due to point differentials. Nicole and Megan then competed at the Die Techniker Beach Tour event in Nuremberg, earning a fifth place finish after a three-set loss to the tournament's fourth place finisher.[36] In mid-July 2018, the McNamara twins competed at the 2018 FISU World University Beach Volleyball Championship in Munich,[37], winning the gold medal in the championship with a three set win against Spain.[38][39][40] Later in July, she and Megan also competed at FIVB 3 star tour events in both Haiyang and Tokyo. In mid-August, she and her sister won the Canadian championship at the 2018 Senior Beach Nationals in Toronto, winning seven total matches including a three-set win over the team of Gordon and Bukovec in the final.[41][42][43]

As a result of winning the Canadian NORCECA Open Beach Trials in June, Nicole and Megan qualified to compete in NORCECA beach volleyball tour events later in the year. [44] Competing at the Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) tour stop in late September, they placed second to the American team of Falyn Fonoimoana and Molly Turner.[45]

Accolades
  • Champion, 2018 Senior Beach Nationals (Canada)
  • Champion, 2018 WUC Beach Volleyball (representing Canada)
  • 2x NCAA Champion, Beach Volleyball (2018 & 2019, representing UCLA)
  • 4x AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball All-American (2016-2019)
  • 2018 VolleyMob All-American, Beach Volleyball
  • 2018 Pac-12 Player of the Year, Beach Volleyball
  • 2018 Pac-12 Pair of the Year (with Megan McNamara)
  • 4x First-team All-Pac-12 (2016-2019)
  • 2018 First-team Pac-12 All-Academic
  • 2017 Second-team Pac-12 All-Academic
  • 2016 Pac-12 All-Freshman First Team
  • 5x Pac-12 Pair of the Week (with Megan McNamara, 2016-2019)
  • Bronze Medalist, Beach Volleyball, 2016 FIVB U21 World Championships
  • Silver Medalist, Beach Volleyball, 2014 Summer Youth Olympics
  • Bronze Medalist, Beach Volleyball, 2014 FIVB U19 World Championships
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References
  1. "2018 Beach Volleyball Roster: Nicole McNamara Profile". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  2. "Nicole McNamara: Career". BVBinfo.com. Beach Volleyball Database. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  3. "FIVB Beach Volleyball 2014 U19 World Championships - Press Release: Back-to-back gold for Brazil's Eduarda at the U19 in Porto/Canadian twins win bronze medal". FIVB.org. FIVB. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  4. "2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games - Press Release: Brazilian women net Beach Volleyball Nanjing 2014 Olympic Games gold medal". FIVB.org. FIVB. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  5. Yeo, Aubrey (22 June 2015). "Pac-12 adds sand volleyball, UCLA coach transitions to focused role". DailyBruin.com. Daily Bruin. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  6. "No. 4 UCLA Falls to No. 6 Arizona, 3-2". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  7. "No. 4 UCLA Falls to No. 1 FSU, 3-1". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  8. "McNamara Twins Honored by Pac-12". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  9. "Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Record Book" (PDF). Pac-12.com. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  10. "McNamaras Named AVCA All-Americans". UCLABruins.com. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  11. "Bruins Battle but Fall in Pac-12 Finals". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  12. "No. 2 UCLA Eliminated from NCAAs by No. 4 FSU, 3-1". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  13. "McNamara Twins Named Pac-12 Pair of the Week". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  14. "McNamara Twins Named Pac-12 Pair of the Week". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  15. "Bruins Pick Up Seven Pac-12 Honors". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  16. "McNamara Twins Earn All-American Honors". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  17. "Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Record Book" (PDF). Pac-12.com. Pac-12 Conference. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  18. Mayer, Wendy (21 May 2018). "UCLA, Pepperdine, Hawaii Lead VolleyMob Beach All-America Honorees". VolleyMob.com. VolleyMob. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  19. "Collegiate Beach All-America Team: 2018 AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball All-Americans". AVCA.org. AVCA. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  20. "Bruins Pick Up Nine Pac-12 Honors". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  21. "Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Record Book" (PDF). Pac-12.com. Pac-12 Conference. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  22. "Champions: UCLA Takes Down USC to Win Second-Straight NCAA Title". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  23. "No. 1 UCLA Falls in Pac-12 Championship Dual". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  24. McGillen, John (2 May 2019). "Pac-12 announces beach volleyball awards". Pac-12.com. Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  25. "Bruins Land Program-Best Four First Team All-Americans". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  26. "Beach Volleyball Pairs of the Week". Pac-12.com. Pac-12 Conference. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  27. "AVCA/CollegeBeachvb.com Pair of the Week". AVCA.org. American Volleyball Coaches Association. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  28. "Brazil's Duda & Ana Patricia crowned U21 queens in Lucerne". FIVB.org. FIVB. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  29. "Soria/Carro, McNamara twins progress to Bangkok semifinals". worldtour.2018.fivb.com. FIVB. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  30. "Post-Match - Soria/Carro-M.McNamara/N.McNamara - Bangkok". worldtour.2018.fivb.com. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  31. "Post-Match - M.McNamara/N.McNamara-Kusano/Take - Bangkok". worldtour.2018.fivb.com. FIVB. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  32. Hong, Joy (16 May 2018). "McNamara twins compete in first professional beach volleyball tournament". DailyBruin.com. Daily Bruin. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  33. "Bangkok - 2018 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour - Women Bronze Medal Match". www.YouTube.com. FIVB. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  34. "Volleyball Canada - News: NORCECA Open Beach Trials". volleyball.ca. Volleyball Canada. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  35. "Canadian and Japanese pairs lead Singapore qualifying". worldtour.2018.fivb.com. FIVB. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  36. "Ergebnisse Nürnberg - Die Techniker Beach Tour: Hauptrunde der Frauen". www.die-techniker-beach-tour.de. Die Techniker Beach Tour. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  37. "WUC Beach Volleyball 2018: Participating teams". www.wucbeachvolley2018.com. WUC. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  38. "WUC Beach Volleyball 2018: Results Women". www.wucbeachvolley2018.com. WUC. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  39. "World University Beach Volleyball Championship in Munich officially concluded". www.wucbeachvolley2018.com. WUC. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  40. "2018 FISU World University Beach Volleyball Championship Highlights - Day 5 - Finals". www.YouTube.com. FISUTV. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  41. "Volleyball Canada 2018 Youth and Senior Beach Nationals - Results". volleyball.ca. Volleyball Canada. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  42. "ISET Sports - 2018 VC Youth and Senior Beach Nationals". www.iset.net. ISET Sports. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  43. "Women's Gold - 2018 Senior Beach Nationals". www.YouTube.com. Volleyball Canada. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  44. "NORCECA 2018 Beach Volleyball Calendar". NORCECA.net. NORCECA. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  45. "Fonoimoana and Turner claim women's gold in Punta Cana". NORCECA.info. NORCECA. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
 Sarah Hughes & Kelly Claes (USA)		 WUC Beach Volleyball Champion
2018 (with Megan McNamara)		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by
Kelly Claes		 Pac-12 Player of the Year
2018		 Succeeded by
Tina Graudina
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