Nicola Evans (born 17 January 1990), also referred to as Nikki Evans, is an Ireland women's field hockey international. She was a member of the Ireland team that played in the

2018 Women's Hockey World Cup The 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup was the 14th edition of the Women's Hockey World Cup, a field hockey tournament. It was held from 21 July to 5 August 2018 at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London, England. Defending champions t ...

final. Evans has also won Women's Irish Hockey League titles with

Railway Union The Railway Union ( fi, Rautatiealan Unioni, RAU) is a trade union representing drivers, traffic controllers and office staff on the railways in Finland. The union was founded on 16 November 2018, when the Union of Locomotive Drivers merged with ...

, UCD and Hermes-Monkstown. In the 2013–14 Evans was a member the UCD team that completed a national double, winning both the league and the Irish Senior Cup.

Early years, family and education

Evans is originally from

Clonskeagh Clonskeagh or Clonskea (, meaning "meadow of the Whitethorn"; pronounced ), is a small southern suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district straddles the River Dodder. Location and access Clonskeagh is a townland in the civil parish of Donnybro ...

, Dublin where she grew up as the eldest of three. She was educated at Sandford Parish NS and

Alexandra College Alexandra College ( ir, Coláiste Alexandra) is a fee-charging boarding and day school for girls located in Milltown, Dublin, Ireland. The school operates under a Church of Ireland ethos. History The school was founded in 1866 and takes its ...

. Between 2009 and 2013 she attended University College Dublin. She graduated from UCD with a Bachelor of Business and Law. Between 2014 and 2017 she studied at the

Law Society of Ireland The Law Society of Ireland ( ga, Dlí-Chumann na hÉireann) is a professional body established on 24 June 1830 and is the educational, representative and regulatory body of the solicitors' profession in Ireland. As of 2020, the Law Society had ...

and gained a Diploma in Sports Law.

Domestic teams

Alexandra College

Evans played for

in three Leinster Schoolgirls' Senior Cup finals, regularly playing against teams that included future Ireland teammates. In the 2005 final she scored the opening goal in a 4–2 win over a High School, Dublin team that included Nicola Daly. In the 2007 final she scored again in a 5–0 win against a St. Andrew's College team that included

Gillian Pinder Gillian Pinder (born 5 May 1992) is an Ireland women's field hockey international. She was a member of the Ireland team that played in the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup final. Pinder has also won Irish Senior Cup and Women's Irish Hockey Leag ...

and Chloe Watkins. In the 2008 final she finished on the losing as Alexandra lost to Loreto Beaufort.

Hermes

In 2008, while still a schoolgirl at

, Evans, together with fellow schoolgirls, Anna O'Flanagan and Chloe Watkins, was a member of the

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orator ...

team that won the All-Ireland Ladies' Club Championships. In 2008–09 Evans was also a member of the Hermes team that finished as runners up in the inaugural Women's Irish Hockey League season. Other members of the team included Anna O'Flanagan, Chloe Watkins and

Railway Union

In 2009–10, together with Cecelia and

Isobel Joyce Isobel Mary Helen Cecilia Joyce (born 25 July 1983) is an Irish former cricketer. She played as a right-handed batter and left-arm medium pace bowler. She appeared in one Test match, 79 One Day Internationals and 55 Twenty20 Internationals f ...

, Emer Lucey and Kate McKenna, Evans was a member of the

team that won the Women's Irish Hockey League title. Evans scored as they defeated

Cork Harlequins Cork Harlequins Hockey and Cricket Club is a multi-sports club based in the Douglas area of Cork in Ireland. The club was founded in 1925. Although Harlequins is best known for its field hockey and cricket teams, during its history the club has a ...

4–1 in the final. Evans also played for Railway Union in the 2010 Irish Senior Cup final as they lost to Loreto after a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. Evans was a Railway Union player when she made her senior debut for Ireland.

UCD

In 2013 together with Chloe Watkins, Anna O'Flanagan,

Emily Beatty Emily Beatty (born 18 August 1993) is an Ireland women's field hockey international. She was a member of the Ireland team that played in the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup final. Beatty has also won Irish Senior Cup and Women's Irish Hockey L ...

, and

Katie Mullan Kathryn "Katie" Mullan (born 7 April 1994) is an Ireland women's field hockey international player from Coleraine, Northern Ireland. She was captain of the Ireland team that played in the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup final. Mullan has also won ...

, Evans was a member of the UCD team that lost 3–2 to

in the Irish Senior Cup final. In the 2013–14 season UCD completed a national double when they won both the Irish Senior Cup and their first Women's Irish Hockey League title. In the cup final Evans scored as UCD defeated Pembroke Wanderers 2–0. Other members of the double winning squad included Katie Mullan, Emily Beatty, Anna O'Flanagan,

and Deirdre Duke. Evans also played for UCD in the 2015 EuroHockey Club Champions Cup.

Hermes-Monkstown

In 2015–16, Evans was a member of the

team that won the Women's Irish Hockey League title and the EY Champions Trophy. Other members of the team included Anna O'Flanagan, Chloe Watkins and Naomi Carroll. In 2016 Hermes merged with Monkstown and they subsequently played as Hermes-Monkstown. Evans played for Hermes-Monkstown in the 2017 EuroHockey Club Champions Cup.

Uhlenhorster HC

In 2017–18 Evans was a member of the Uhlenhorster HC that finished as runners up in both the Women's Bundesliga and the 2018 EuroHockey Club Champions Cup.

Ireland international

Evans made her senior debut for Ireland in June 2010 against Australia in a Four Nations Tournament in Germany. In March 2015 Evans was a member of the Ireland team that won a

2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 The 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 was held from February to March 2015. A total of 24 teams competing in 3 events took part in this round of the tournament playing for 7 berths in the Semifinals, to be played in June and July ...

tournament hosted in Dublin. Evans scored in the final against Canada, which finished 1–1, before Ireland eventually won the tournament following a

. On 10 June 2015 at the

2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals The 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals took place in June and July 2015. A total of 20 teams competed in 2 events in this round of the tournament playing for 7 berths in the Final, played between 21–29 November 2015 in Rosario, ...

, Evans scored a hat-trick against South Africa in the opening pool game. In a second game against the same opponents in the same tournament, Evans sustained a nasty facial injury in the dying minutes of the game. In January 2017 Evans was a member of the Ireland team that won a

2016–17 Women's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 The 2016–17 Women's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 was held from January to April 2017. A total of 24 teams competing in 3 events took part in this round of the tournament playing for 8 berths in the Semifinals, to be played in June and July 2017 ...

tournament in Kuala Lumpur, defeating Malaysia 3–0 in the final. Evans represented Ireland at the

and was a prominent member of the team that won the silver medal. She featured in all of Ireland's games throughout the tournament, including the pool games against the United States, India, and England, the quarter-final against India, the semi-final against Spain and the final against the Netherlands.

Occupation

Together with Lizzie Colvin,

, Anna O'Flanagan and Deirdre Duke, Evans was one of five lawyers in the Ireland squad at the

. Between 2014 and 2017 she was a trainee solicitor with Mason, Hayes & Curran. While based in Hamburg, Evans has worked for CMS Legal Services.

Honours

; Ireland *

Women's Hockey World Cup The Women's FIH Hockey World Cup is the field hockey World Cup competition for women, whose format for qualification and the final tournament is similar to the men's. It has been held since 1974. The tournament has been organized by the Internat ...

**''Runners Up'':

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Women's FIH Hockey World League The Women's FIH Hockey World League was an international women's field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation. The league also served as a qualifier for the 2014 and 2018 Women's Hockey World Cups and the 2016 Oly ...

**''Winners'': 2015 Dublin, 2017 Kuala Lumpur * Women's Hockey Champions Challenge I **''Runners Up'': 2014 *Women's Four Nations Cup **''Runners Up'':

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a se ...

*Women's Field Hockey Olympic Qualifier **''Runners Up'':

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gath ...

; UCD * Women's Irish Hockey League **''Winners'': 2013–14 * Irish Senior Cup **''Winners'': 2013–14 **''Runners Up'': 2012–13 ;

* Women's Irish Hockey League **''Winners'': 2009–10 * Irish Senior Cup **''Runners Up'': 2009–10 ;

/ Hermes-Monkstown * Women's Irish Hockey League **''Winners'': 2015–16 **''Runners Up'': 2008–09 * EY Champions Trophy **''Winners'': 2015-16 **''Runners Up'': 2016–17 *All-Ireland Ladies' Club Championships **''Winners'': 2008 ;

* Leinster Schoolgirls' Senior Cup **''Winners'': 2004–05, 2006–07 **''Runners Up'': 2007–08

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Nicola 1990 births Living people Irish female field hockey players Place of birth missing (living people) Expatriate field hockey players Irish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Female field hockey forwards Ireland international women's field hockey players Railway Union field hockey players UCD Ladies' Hockey Club players Monkstown Hockey Club players Uhlenhorster HC players Women's Irish Hockey League players Field hockey players from County Dublin Feldhockey Bundesliga (Women's field hockey) players People educated at Alexandra College Alumni of University College Dublin Irish women lawyers 21st-century Irish lawyers Sportspeople from Dublin (city) 21st-century women lawyers