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Sean Michael Rooney (born November 13, 1982) is an American indoor volleyball player, who plays as an outside hitter for the U.S. National Team. He made his Olympic debut at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

Early life

Rooney was born in Wheaton, Illinois. He attended Wheaton Warrenville South High School and was named the 2001 Illinois State Player of the Year and led the team to the state championship. In addition to volleyball, he also played golf and basketball.

College

Rooney attended Pepperdine in Malibu, California, where he graduated in 2005 with a degree in business administration.

During his NCAA career, he was a four time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American. By the end of his career, he ranked second nationally among NCAA Division I-II players in points per game, as he had 6.35 in 2005. He was named the 2005 Division I-II National Player of the Year.

In 2005, he led Pepperdine to the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship, as they defeated UCLA on the Bruins' home floor in five sets. It was the first time in 35 years UCLA lost at home during the NCAA tournament. Rooney was named the Most Valuable Player of the Final Four.

Professional

During the winters of 2006 and 2007, Rooney played for the Hyundai Capital Skywalkers in the South Korean League, where he garnered Most Valuable Player awards after leading the team to two consecutive Korean League titles.

In the 2007-2008 season, he played for Dinamo-Yantar in Kaliningrad, Russia.

For the 2008-09 season, Rooney is playing with Fakel Novy volleyball club based in Russia.

AVP

Rooney briefly joined the AVP beach volleyball tour, where he played in 2005 and 2006. His highest placing was fifth, which he achieved three times.

National team

International

In 2008, Rooney was named “Best Spiker” of the NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifying tournament on Jan. 6-11 in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Sean finished the tournament with 46 points on 43 kills and three blocks. The U.S. Men won the tournament and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games.

In 2007, Sean was named the Most Valuable Player of the U.S. Men’s match against Egypt at the FIVB World Cup. Sean scored 18 points on 15 kills, two blocks and one ace as the United States won in straight sets.

Olympics

Sean made his Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer Olympics, helping Team USA to a gold medal.

References

External links

U.S. National Team bio

Bio at NBC Olympics

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:American volleyball players Category:American beach volleyball players Category:Olympic volleyball players of the United States Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States Category:Volleyball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Category:Volleyball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:People from Wheaton, Illinois

Name	Beverly Eckert
Caption	Beverly Eckert shaking hands with President of the United States Barack Obama less than a week before her death.
Birth date	May 29, 1951
Birth place	Buffalo, New York, United States
Death date	February 12, 2009
Death place	Clarence Center, New York, United States
Death cause	Plane crash
Resting place coordinates
Nationality	American
Known for	Member of 9/11 Family Steering CommitteeDied on Colgan Air Flight 3407
Education	Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart
Alma mater	State University of New York at Buffalo
Spouse	Sean Rooney (died in September 11 attacks)

Beverly Eckert (May 29, 1951 – February 12, 2009) was an activist and advocate for the creation of the 9/11 Commission. She was one of the members of the 9/11 Family Steering Committee for the 9/11 Commission. Eckert's husband, Sean Rooney, died aged 50 in the attacks of September 11, 2001. She pushed for a commission to investigate 9/11 and to establish a memorial.

Eckert died at age 57 in a commuter aircraft accident on February 12, 2009. She was travelling from Newark Liberty International Airport to Buffalo Niagara International Airport aboard Colgan Air Flight 3407. The aircraft crashed in Clarence Center, New York. She had met with President Barack Obama just a few days before her death in her role as an advocate for those affected by 9/11.

Before September 11 attack

Eckert was born in 1951 in Buffalo, New York, and met her future husband, Sean P. Rooney, at a dance at Canisius High School, a Jesuit-run academy in that city, when both were 16 years old. Eckert attended the Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart, an all girls high school in Eggertsville, NY. She received a degree in fine arts in 1975 from Buffalo State College, where in 2005 she gave the Baccalaureate Commencement Address. Rooney lived in Buffalo until 1978, working as a manager of restaurants, until he began working in the financial services industry and moving to Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut. When he died he was a vice president for risk management services at the Aon Corporation. He worked on the 98th floor of the World Trade Center's south tower, one of 32 employees in Aon's offices there.

The couple, who had no children and lived in the Glenbrook section of Stamford, Connecticut, had been married 21 years when Rooney died. Before Rooney's death, they had celebrated their 50th birthdays with vacations to Vermont, to mark his, and Morocco, to mark hers.

After Eckert learned about the attacks, she went home and stayed on the phone with her husband until she heard the tower collapse.

After September 11

, where her husband had once waited during his commute to work. The image depicts her husband's favorite golf course.]] Eckert became a leading activist among 9/11 victims' families, joining with others in lobbying for creation of the 9/11 Commission, improvements to national security, and for creation of a memorial at the World Trade Center site. In pressing federal elected officials to do a better job in protecting Americans from terrorism, she was among a number of 9/11 victims' family members active in pressing for sweeping reforms of U.S. intelligence. She also spoke in opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Eckert was the co-chairperson of the group "Voices of September 11th".

Locally, Eckert worked with Stamford city officials on various memorial projects. She left her job at General Re and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and, beginning in September 2008, as a tutor at the Julia A. Stark Elementary School. She was also a member of the Glenbrook Neighborhood Association. In honor of her husband and other victims, Eckert planted birch trees near a trail in Cove Island Park where she and Rooney learned to in-line skate. At the Glenbrook train station, where her husband commuted to work, she commissioned a mural and planted a sycamore tree as a memorial. Shortly before her death, she joined a neighborhood association committee to improve the station. She was traveling to Buffalo for a gathering with her family to mark what would have been Rooney's 58th birthday on February 15. A ceremony had also been scheduled at Canisius High School in which she was to award a student with a memorial scholarship in Rooney's honor.

A week before her death, Eckert met with U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss detainees at Guantanamo and other matters. In a press conference after her death, Obama described her as a "tireless advocate for the families, those whose lives were forever changed on that September day."

References

Category:Accidental deaths in New York Category:American activists Category:Crime victim advocates Category:People associated with the September 11 attacks Category:People from Stamford, Connecticut Category:University at Buffalo alumni Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Category:1951 births Category:2009 deaths