Elsie Ann Windes (born June 17, 1985) is an American

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

player. After playing for the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

, she joined the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

in 2006. She helped the U.S. win a silver medal at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

and a gold medal at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Career

High school

Windes played on the water polo team at

Beaverton High School Beaverton High School (often referred to as The Beaverton High School) is a public high school located in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. The original schoolhouse, called Beaverton Public School, opened in 1875 on land between Canyon Road and Br ...

. She was the 2003 Oregon State MVP and led her team to the 2003 state championship. She also earned all-league honors three times."Elsie Windes"
calbears.com. Retrieved August 13, 2012.

College

Windes started her college career at the University of California in 2004. As a freshman, she scored 33 goals to rank second on the team. She led the Bears in scoring the following year, with 51 goals, and was a third team All-American. In 2006, Windes led the team again, with 40 goals. She was named to the All-American second team. She scored 23 goals as a senior in 2007. She has the eighth-most goals in school history.

International

Windes joined the U.S. senior national team in 2006. In 2007, she scored five goals in the FINA World League Super Final and four goals in the Pan American Games, helping the U.S. to first-place finishes in both tournaments. In 2008, Windes had five goals in the FINA World League Super Final, as the U.S. finished second. She won a silver medal with the U.S. at the 2008 Summer Olympics, scoring one goal."Elsie Windes"
usawaterpolo.org. Retrieved August 13, 2012. At the 2009 FINA World Championships, Windes had six goals to help win the gold medal. She then scored five goals apiece during gold medal runs at the 2010 FINA World League Super Final and 2010 FINA World Cup. In 2011, Windes scored three goals in the FINA World League Super Final and four goals in the Pan American Games to help the U.S. earn a berth in the 2012 Summer Olympics. At the Olympics, she won a gold medal with the U.S.

Awards

In 2020, Windes was inducted into the

USA Water Polo Hall of Fame The USA Water Polo Hall of Fame, located in Irvine, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring players, coaches and officials who have contributed greatly to the game of water polo in the United States of America. It was established in 1976 ...

Personal

Windes was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. She resides in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...

. She is tall. Her father and sister both played water polo.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Windes, Elsie 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Portland, Oregon American female water polo players Water polo centre backs Water polo players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in water polo Olympic silver medalists for the United States in water polo World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo Water polo players at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in water polo Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States California Golden Bears women's water polo players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Beaverton High School alumni