Ogonna Nnamani
Ogonna Nnamani | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Ogonna Nneka Nnamani | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Bloomington, Illinois, U.S. | July 29, 1983|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College / University | Stanford | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Volleyball information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Outside hitter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current club | USA Women's National Volleyball Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Ogonna Nneka Nnamani
Nnamani has played at two
High school and personal life
Nnamani was born in
Nnamani was considered the top high school recruit for her class, as she was recruited by major universities in 49 of the 50 U.S. States
She is the oldest child of Uzo and Chika Nnamani. Her parents emigrated to the United States from Nigeria in pursuit of better educational opportunities. They are alumni of Illinois State University. Her father, Chika Nnamani, is an adjunct professor in Politics and Government and also the former Assistant Vice President and Director of Housing at Illinois State University[8] and her mother, Uzo, is an artist and a teacher.
Her last name translates to one who knows the land in the Igbo language.[9]
In 2009 Nnamani signed a contract to play with VK Prostějov for her 2010 professional season. In the same year, she signed a contract extension with Nike.[10]
On August 25, 2012 she married former Stanford football player, Mike Silva.[11] Silva graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Economics. Silva also completed a master's degree in Engineering at Stanford and a master's in business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is currently a venture capitalist. Nnamani received her Doctorate in Medicine from University of California San Francisco School of Medicine in 2020 where she was named a Regent Scholar and graduated with Alpha Omega Alpha honors. Mike and Ogonna have a daughter, Anya, and resided in San Francisco, California for 10 years. They moved to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and she is currently a resident in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Harvard Medical School. She is known to be a talented orator and is a motivational speaker for organizations such as Nike, Gatorade, the Women’s Sports Foundation, Honda, and the National Football Foundation.[12] She was a guest lecturer with Alex Rodriguez and Jeffrey K. Lee for several courses taught by Allison Kluger at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Stanford University
2001 (freshman)
As a freshman at Stanford, she won an
2002 (sophomore)
As a sophomore, she was named an AVCA second team all-American en route to helping Stanford to an NCAA runner-up finish, losing to Pac-10 rival
2003 (junior)
Nnamani was named a First Team All-American as well as a Honda Sports Award nominee for volleyball. She set a Stanford single-season kills record with 627.[16] She had 27 kills while hitting .415 in NCAA Second Round win over Pacific She was named the tournament MVP at University Park Holiday Inn Classic.[17]
2004 (senior)
As a senior, Nnamani won an NCAA championship, was named the AVCA National co-Player of the Year,
She graduated from Stanford with a degree in human biology.[22]
International and Olympic career
Nnamani is a 6' 1" (186 cm) outside hitter. She joined the U.S. national team in 2002 and went to the 2004 and the 2008 Olympics.[23] She was the youngest player on the 2004 Olympic Team and the second youngest player on the 2008 Olympic Team.
In 2005, Nnamani garnered media attention for an interview with USA Today where she remarked, "I know you can run a 100-yard dash by yourself or throw a really good pitch on your own. But in volleyball you rely on your team for every skill you perform."[24] The quote was widely reproduced in newspapers when she was in contention for the Honda-Broderick Cup and later in September 2006 when the Italian media reported that she was being sought after by the A-1 teams.[citation needed]
Nnamani made her international professional debut under the Puerto Rican LVSF league for the Pinkin club of Corozal.[25] Under Nnamani's leadership, the Pinkin team reached the finals of the national league for the first time since 1996, finishing second to the Carolina Gigantes.[26]
After an abbreviated season in the Italian A-1 League, Nnamani signed on to
After contesting the World Cup in Japan, where the United States took a bronze medal and qualified for the
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Nnamani played in both outside positions (outside hitter and opposite). Her play included a 17-point performance in a win that eliminated Poland on August 17, 2008.[31] The United States finished with a silver medal after losing to World No. 1 Brazil, the first time it had made the gold medal match since 1984.
For the 2008–09 professional season, Nnamani played with
Collegiate awards
- Four time AVCAAll-American (2001, 2002: 2nd team; 2003, 2004: 1st team)
- Four time First Team All-Pac-10 (2001–04)
- Four time NCAA Pacific Region Team (2001–04)
- Three time NCAA final four all-tournament team (2001, 2002, 2004)
- 2004 – Honda-Broderick Cup winner[34]
- 2004 – Honda Sports Award volleyball winner [35]
- 2004 – NCAA Top Eight Award
- 2004 – NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship Most Outstanding Player
- 2004 – AVCA National co-Player of the Year
- 2003 – Third-team CoSIDA Academic All-American
- 2003 – Honda Sports Award volleyball nominee
- 2003 – Second-team Pac-10 All-Academic
- 2003 – CoSIDA First-team District VIII All-Academic selection
- 2003 – Pac-10 Player of the Week (11/10)
- 2003 – University Park Holiday Inn Classic MVP
- 2002 – Third-team Verizon Academic All-American honors
- 2002 – NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team
- 2001 – NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team
- 2001 – ASICS/Volleyball Magazine National Freshman of the Year
- 2001 – Pac-10 Freshman of the Year
- 2001 – AVCA Pacific Region Freshman of the Year
- 2001 – Pac-10 First team All-Freshman
References
- ^ "STANFORD Magazine: July/August 2008 > Features > Stanford Olympians > Ogonna Nnamani". Stanford Alumni Magazine. August 16, 2008. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- ^ "Normal doesn't describe Stanford's Ogonna Nnamani (July 01, 2005)". www.paloaltoonline.com. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ "Player Bio: Nji Nnamani – Stanford University's Official Athletic Site". Stanford University Athletics. August 7, 2010. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- ^ "Player Bio: Nnaemeka Nnamani – Illinois State University Official Athletic Site". Illinois State University Athletics. September 19, 2005. Archived from the original on August 3, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- ^ "Chat Wrap: Ogonna Nnamani". Stanford University Women's Volleyball. December 5, 2001. Archived from the original on March 24, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
- ^ "Ogonna chooses Stanford". The Pantagraph. October 25, 2000. Retrieved July 28, 2008.
- ^ "Past volleyball national winners". Gatorade. Retrieved July 28, 2008. [dead link]
- ^ "Chika Nnamani". Illinois State University. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ Kaufman, Laura (July 6, 2008). "Ogonna Nnamani". Stanford Magazine. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved July 28, 2008.
- ^ Searcey, Rod (October 6, 2009). "Ogonna Nnamani posílí prostějovské volejbalistky". IHSA. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
- ^ Roethel, Kathryn (September 10, 2012). "Stanford athletes marry after 7 years". SFgate.com. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- ^ Ogonna Nnamani Silva, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved July 15, 2021
- ^ AP (December 15, 2001). "Stanford knocks off undefeated Long Beach State" ESPN. Retrieved on July 22, 2008.
- ^ "2001 AVCA Division I All-Region Teams". American Volleyball Coaches Association. December 4, 2001. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved July 28, 2008.
- ^ 2002 Stanford cumulative season statistics Stanford Athletic Department
- ^ Nnamani named Honda Award nominee Archived December 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Fourth ranked Stanford hosts Stanford invitational Archived May 11, 2006, at the Wayback Machine Stanford Athletic Department.
- ^ Gordon and Nnamani co-National Players of the Year Archived May 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine American Volleyball Coaches Association
- ^ Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Archived July 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Honda Award
- NCAA.
- ^ 2004 NCAA Tournament Bracket[permanent dead link]
- ^ Shen, John (July 7, 2005). "Stanford wins Director's Cup". The Stanford Daily. Archived from the original on October 24, 2006. Retrieved July 28, 2008.
- ^ 2008 Olympic National Team Roster USA Volleyball.
- ^ Kushlis, Jennifer (June 10, 2005). "Stanford's Nnamani has plenty of drive for spikes". USA Today. Retrieved August 18, 2008. [dead link]
- ^ "In Corozal: Ogonna Nnamani". Pinkin Club. November 20, 2005. Archived from the original on February 21, 2006. Retrieved August 18, 2008. (Spanish)
- ^ Athletes: Ogonna Nnamani Archived June 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Sharer, Randy (August 23, 2007). "Stanford's Nnamani earns sponsorship". The Pantagraph. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ Sharer, Randy (June 18, 2008). "U-High grad eyes second Olympic berth". The Pantagraph. Archived from the original on January 5, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ Indesit European Championships Statistics 2006–2007[permanent dead link]
- ^ All-Star game members[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Nnamani powers out 17 points for USA". The Pantagraph. August 17, 2008. Archived from the original on January 5, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2008.
- ^ "USA National Team member Nnamani is in Istanbul". Galatasaray. October 16, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2008.
- ^ "Women's Volleyball First League The Statistics Of The Turkish Teams And The Player İnformations". Archived from the original on February 24, 2012.
- ^ "Past Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Winners (Honda Cup)". CWSA. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ "Ogonna Nnamani Named Volleyball Honda Award Winner". Pac-12. January 13, 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
External links
- Ogonna Nnamani at Team USA (archive July 11, 2022)
- Ogonna Nnamani at Olympics.com
- Ogonna Nnamani at Olympedia
- Interview with Spor Stüdyosu at the Wayback Machine (archived May 31, 2009)
- Profile at galatasaray.org at the Wayback Machine (archived December 3, 2008) (in Turkish)