Nina Bjornstad

Kansas State

Sep 18 (Thu)

7 p.m.

Position:
Goalkeeper
Height:
5-5
Class:
Junior
Hometown:
Cupertino, Calif.
High School:
Homestead

1996 Big 12 All-Academic first team
1997 Big 12 All-Academic first team

Junior (1997): Bjornstad made four appearances and three starts as a junior, posting a 3.04 GAA and .744 save percentage. She had 12 saves in a 1-0 loss to Arizona State to open the season on Aug. 29. She also made 10 saves against No. 6 Nebraska on Sept. 5.

Sophomore (1996): Was a force in goal for the inaugural Buffs, registering an impressive 127 saves and a 1.88 goalsagainst average. She was the keeper of record in each of Colorado's 17 games and often a bright spot for the team as the first-year Buffs felt out Division I competition.

High School: Bjornstad is a 1995 graduate of Homestead High School in Cupertino, Calif., where she was coached by Tami Bautista. She was a standout goalkeeper and defender, and her prep career reached an apex when, during her senior year, she was the team's captain and was named Homestead's postseason Most Valuable Player. She earned second-team all-league honors following her senior campaign, a season which saw Homestead reach the finals of the 1995 California State Cup, and was a member of Homestead's state championship team as a freshman. She also participated in track as a hurdler, and was recognized as a scholar athlete at the school in both 1994 and 1995 (an honor which required a 3.5 grade point average or higher). Bjornstad was a member of Homestead's debate team, and she won an oratorical speech contest in 1994.

Personal: Born July 5, 1977, in Mountain View, Calif., Bjornstad is majoring in business at Colorado, and was a first-team academic all-Big 12 selection in 1996. Her parents are Fredrik and Barbara Bjornstad of Cupertino, Calif; her father was a collegiate ski jumper for the University of Utah. Bjornstad choose Colorado because of its "incredible academic and athletic environment."