Jeff Nygaard

Jeff Wayne Nygaard (born August 3, 1972 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American beach volleyball player who participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics with partner Dain Blanton in Athens, Greece. In 1996 and 2000 he was a member of the Men's Olympic National Indoor Team.

Jeff Nygaard attended Robert M. La Follette high school in Madison, Wisconsin where he played volleyball under coach Randy Ramig. Nicknamed "Little Ny" because his older, and then larger, brother Brad also played on the volleyball team, Jeff Nygaard improved quickly to become a key and then a star player. The La Follette high school volleyball team won state championships in 1987 and 1989 and came in second in 1988.

In 1989 and 1990, he played for the Wisconsin Select volleyball club.

Nygaard returned for senior year at UCLA after helping Team USA claim the bronze medal at the '94 World Championship in Athens, Greece. He had four aces in the World Championship bronze medal game against Cuba (10-8-94) and 19 kills, two stuffs and three aces in semifinal loss to Netherlands (10-7-94). He rejoined USA team in June 1994 after his junior campaign at UCLA and made return debut on the so called Banana Boat outdoor tour vs. Canada.

References

* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/olympics/longterm/vball/men/nygaard.htm Profile]