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Chrissie Zartman
Pro Beach Volleyball Champion

For Chrissie Zartman, volleyball is a family affair.  She learned the game in her native Hermosa Beach, California from her mother, Sharkie, an indoor and beach star, and father, Pat, a world-renowned coach and clinician.  Her sister, Teri, was a standout in the junior volleyball world before making her way to the University of California, Irvine where she excelled both on and off the court.

Chrissie enjoyed a stellar junior volleyball career that included many national championships at the Volleyball Festival in Sacramento, Calif., and several beach volleyball accomplishments.  Chrissie played collegiately for legendary coach, Andy Banachowski, at the University of California, Los Angeles where she was a scholar athlete and starting libero for the Bruins.  She helped elevate the UCLA women's volleyball program back into national prominence as part of a rebuilding process.  In her final season at UCLA she led the Bruins to an NCAA tournament berth in 2004.  She was only the 10th player in the history of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to reach over 2,000 career digs.  She ended her career at UCLA with 2,064 digs (4.64 per game), ranking her 4th among the NCAA's national ranking.  During her career, she became the most honored purely defensive player in Pacific-10 Conference history, becoming the first libero position player to earn Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Week honors.  Chrissie's mother, known by her nickname "Sharkie," was also a collegiate standout at UCLA in the 70's, leading the Bruins to their first-ever national championship title and was named to the Bruins' top 25 players of all time.  Sharkie was inducted into the California Beach Volleyball Assoc.  Hall of Fame in 1993 and to the California Commission on Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997.

Before enrolling at UCLA, Chrissie enjoyed a successful career on the beach.  She and long-time partner, AVP Pro Tracy Lindquist, became the youngest players to earn their "AAA/Open" rating in 1997, when Chrissie was 13 and Tracy 16.  That same year, the duo won an historic five AAU Junior Olympic events in a row, including the 1997 AAU Junior Olympic National Championship, en route to their historic "AAA/Open" rating.   They began their beach careers together when Chrissie was 7 years old.  Chrissie's junior career ended with 6 USA Junior Olympic gold medals (a record still holding today), 2 silver medals, and five gold medals in AAU Junior Beach National Championships.  She remains the most highly decorated junior beach player in U.S. history.

She and Lindquist claimed the Gold Medal at the 2002 FISU World University Games beach volleyball competition, representing the United States.  She teamed with Keao Burdine to win a silver medal at the 2002 FIVB U-21 Beach Volleyball World Championships. With her international experience, Chrissie is one of a handful of players competing on the FIVB World Tour, the official Olympic Qualification tour for the sport of beach volleyball.  She made her domestic professional debut on the AVP Tour in May 2005. 

Chrissie earned her bachelor's degree in sociology from UCLA in the Spring of 2005.  Chrissie resides in Hermosa Beach, Calif. near her family, and trains on the legendary beaches of Southern California.

Chrissie Zartman is represented by Creative Sports Strategies.  For more information, please contact Lori Okimura at lori@creativesportsstrategies.com.

Accomplishments:
2002 World University Games Gold Medalist (Tracy Lindquist); Silver Medalist, 2002 FIVB U-21 Beach Volleyball World Championships (Keao Burdine); Silver Medalist, 2000 Sydney International Beach Volleyball Invitational (Lindquist); 6-time Gold Medalist, USA Junior Olympic Beach Volleyball Championships (1995-2000); 3-time Champion at The Volleyball Festival with the Spoilers Volleyball Club of Hermosa Beach, Calif.; finished 4th at the 2004 World University Games in Songkha, Thailand (Lindquist); 9th at the 2003 FIVB U-21 Beach Volleyball World Championships with Jamie Grass; Finished 9th at the 2001 FIVB U-21 Beach Volleyball World Championships with Kristin Ursillo; Career leader in digs for the Pac-10 conference (2004); AVCA All-American (2004); USA Volleyball All-American (2004 Adult Open division); First-team All-Pac 10 conference (2004); Most Valuable Player, UCLA women's volleyball (2004); Pac-10 Player of the Week (2004); 2-time Volleyball Magazine All-American (2003, 2004); Academic All-Pac 10 honorable mention (2003); First-team NCAA All-Pacific Region (2002); First team NCAA All-West Region (2003); Volleyball Magazine "Fab 50" selection as one of the nation's top collegiate volleyball recruits; 4-time California Interscholastic Federation all-league selection; CIF Player of the Year (2000); Won the CIF Southern Section Championship at Bishop Montgomery HS (1998, 1999); Student Sports HS All-American (2000); Volleyball Magazine HS All-American (2000); Won 5 Amateur Athletic Union beach volleyball tournaments in a row in 1997 with Lindquist; Youngest player to earn her "AAA/Open" U.S. beach volleyball rating (1997) at age 13.