Beatriz "Gigi" Fernández is a Puerto Rican former professional tennis player. Fernández won 17 major doubles titles and two Olympic gold medals representing the United States, and reached the world No. 1 ranking in doubles. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 17 in 1991. Since retiring from the professional tour in 1997 at the age of 33, Fernández has been a tennis coach and entrepreneur. She now shares her knowledge of doubles with tennis enthusiasts throughout the US by conducting Master Doubles with Gigi Clinics and Doubles Boot Camps. Fernández is the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Sports in Puerto Rico can be traced from the ceremonial competitions amongst the pre-Columbian Native Americans of the Arawak (Taíno) tribes who inhabited the island to the modern era in which sports activities consist of an organized physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose for competition. One of the sports which the Taíno's played was a ball game called "Batey". The "Batey" was played in U-shaped fields two teams; however, unlike the ball games of the modern era, the winners were treated like heroes and the losers were sacrificed.
Raúl Papaleo Pérez, more commonly known as Raúl Papaleo, is a former beach volleyball player from Puerto Rico. He won the bronze medal in the men's beach team competition at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, partnering with Ramón Hernández.
Jesús David "Jesse" Vassallo Anadón is a former competition swimmer and world record-holder in the 200 and 400 individual medley, who participated in the 1984 Summer Olympics for the United States. In 1997, he became the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He was somewhat unique in the scale of his achievements as a swimmer, and in a tribute to his World Records in 1978 was voted Swimming World Magazine's "Male Swimmer of the Year". From 2004 to 2009, he served as the president of the Puerto Rican National Swimming Federation.
Robert Jan "Bob" Ctvrtlik is a retired American volleyball player who is a three-time Olympian, Olympic gold medalist, and a former member of the International Olympic Committee. He is a 1985 graduate of Pepperdine University.
Lisa Maria Fernandez is an American former softball player and current associate head coach at UCLA. She played college softball at UCLA as a pitcher and third baseman, and is a three-time medal winning Olympian with Team USA.
Christopher St. John "Sinjin" Smith is an American former professional beach volleyball player. He was the first player to win 100 career tournaments, and won numerous Manhattan Open titles with Karch Kiraly and Randy Stoklos as partners.
The Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. Its member institutions are located in the Northeast United States.
Jeff Wayne Nygaard is an American volleyball coach and former volleyball player. He was a member of the United States national indoor team in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He was a middle blocker. He also played beach volleyball at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens with partner Dain Blanton.
Teófilo "Teo" Cruz Downs was a Puerto Rican professional basketball player. After playing college basketball, Cruz played in Puerto Rico's top-level league, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) with Cangrejeros de Santurce, Indios de Canóvanas, Mets de Guaynabo, Cardenales de Río Piedras, and Taínos de Mayagüez. Cruz also played in Spain with Picadero Damm, and in Belgium with Racing Club Mechelen.
Steve Dennis Timmons is an American former volleyball player who represented the United States at three consecutive Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in 1984 and 1988, and a bronze medal in 1992. He was named the MVP of the 1984 Olympics by the International Volleyball Federation. He was a pioneer of back row hitting.
Brett Winslow is an American former volleyball player who was a member of the United States men's national volleyball team that finished in ninth place at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Danielle Racquel Scott-Arruda is an American former volleyball player. She played at the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, and the 2012 Summer Olympics, breaking a U.S. female volleyball athlete record for Olympic appearances.
Caren Marie Alexius Kemner is an American former volleyball player and three-time Olympian.
Tara Cross-Battle is a retired volleyball player from the United States who competed in four Summer Olympics overall, starting in 1992. Cross-Battle won the bronze medal with the United States women's national team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Her last Olympic appearance was at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Áurea Esther "Aury" Cruz Dalmau is an indoor and beach volleyball player from Puerto Rico who currently plays for the Orlando Valkyries of the Pro Volleyball Federation. She is best known for competing for the Puerto Rico national team at the 2008 Olympic Qualification Tournament in Japan, where she was named Best Server at the event.
Brent William Hilliard is an American volleyball coach and former player who is the head coach of the San Diego State Aztecs women's volleyball team at San Diego State University (SDSU). He competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and won a bronze medal.
Robert Lewis Samuelson is an American former volleyball player. Samuelson won a bronze medal with the United States national team in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
The Penn State Nittany Lions men's volleyball program has had a long tradition at Penn State University. Founded by Tom Tait, Tait coached the team from 1976 to 1989, and was named a USA Volleyball All-Time great coach in 2007.
Brian Negron is a Puerto Rican male volleyball player. He was part of the Puerto Rico men's national volleyball team. He is a setter.
