BIRTH: Jan. 31, 1979

HOMETOWN: Orinda, Calif.

RESIDES: Torrance, Calif.

HEIGHT: 6-1

COLLEGE: Minnesota

THE SKINNY: Nicole Branagh placed 13th in her first main draw (Belmar in 2004), and has been seeded directly in the main draw ever since. In 2005, Branagh earned AVP Rookie of the Year honors after chalking up four wins over teams seeded eighth or better, while losing just once to a team seeded below her. Her 78 aces in 2005 were the sixth most on the AVP Tour.

Branagh was selected as the 2006 AVP Most Improved Player after advancing to nine semifinals, the first in her career, while playing alongside both of the 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalists, Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs. She ended the 2006 season ranked in the top 10 of several statistical categories, including kills (first, 8.40 per game), aces (sixth, .76 per game), hitting percentage (fifth, .445) and kill percentage (sixth, .566). Prior to the 2006 season, Branagh played in two tournaments on the Australian Tour with Angie Akers, finishing fifth and second.

While in college at Minnesota, she was a two-time second-team All-American and was the co-Player of the Year in the Big Ten Conference in 2000. She was selected first-team all-conference three years after getting honorable mention her freshman season. When Branagh finished her collegiate career, she had tallied the most kills ever in Big Ten history (2,379), and ranked third in career digs in school history. Her career kill total was sixth in NCAA Division I history, yet she had played in fewer games than any of the top five players in that category.

Branagh was a member of the U.S. National Team from 2001-2003, and played for the bronze-medal team in the Pan-Am Games in 2003. She has played professionally in Japan and Italy. She was also named MVP of the USPV Championship Tournament after helping the Minnesota Chill to the 2002 title.