Nikki was born August 1, 1988 in Dallas, Texas. She played for both the '87 and '88 Dallas Texans under coach Hassan Nazari and captained the '88 team to the 2006 USYSA National Championship. Her team also advanced to the 2004 USYSA National Championship tournament, taking third place. Nikki was named an NSCAA Youth All-American in 2003, 2004 and 2005 as well as a 2005 Parade Magazine All-America selection. She was named the 2003 Dallas Area Freshman of the Year playing for Greenhill, before transferring to Spring Creek for her last two years of highschool. Nikki was ranked among the Top 25 recruits in the country in 2006 according to Soccer Buzz magazine before moving on to play at soccer powerhouse UNC.
Nikki's career at UNC took off right away; she tied an NCAA record by playing in and starting all 28 matches as a freshman during the 2006 season. She named to the Freshman All-America team, as well as the Freshman All-ACC and second-team All-ACC. In her sophomore year she was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2007 ACC Tournament as UNC captured its 18th league tourney crown. In her Junior year at UNC Nikki was named a third-team Soccer Buzz All-American, a First-team All-ACC selection and a member of the All-ACC Tournament Team, as well as a first-team Soccer Buzz All-Southeast Region choice. She started her senior year off strong, but after starting in their first eight games, Nikki suffered a season-ending injury. Overall, she compiled an impressive career at UNC, playing in 80 total games, starting 72, notching 17 goals and 28 assists.
After graduating from UNC Nikki entered the 2010 WPS draft, getting picked 5th overall by the LA Sol. After the league contracted and her LA Sol team was dispersed throughout the league, Nikki ended up playing for the magicJack. In the 2011 season, Nikki played in 17 games, starting 13 of them, and notched 7 assists.
Nikki was a mainstay in the US Youth National teams; she played for the U-16 National Team and U-17 National Team before becoming a member of the U-20 National team which competed at the 2007 Pan American Games. She also started for the 2008 U-20 World Cup gold medal-winning U.S. team. She also made appearances for the U.S. U-23 National Team in 2009.
