April 25, 2005
BERKELEY, CA -
For somebody who once considered herself an awful swimmer, Elsie Windes has sure made a splash in the pool.
Now considered one of the top young women's water polo players in the nation, the Cal sophomore recently helped the United States win a gold medal at the 2005 FINA Junior World Championships in Perth, Australia.
Not bad for someone who was raised in the Pacific Northwest, a place not known as a hotbed of water polo, and for someone who initially preferred the sports of basketball and soccer.
Back in November of 2004, Windes earned one of 13 spots on the U.S. Junior National team that would be competing at the world tournament in Perth. She was part of a Cal contingent that included Golden Bears Bernice Orwig and Kim Everist (assistant women's coaches), who were both members of USA Junior National Team coaching staff.
Three months later, the young Cal star was instrumental in Team USA capturing the gold medal with an 11-9 victory over Russia Jan. 30. She scored a team-leading two goals in USA's 9-8 victory over Hungary in the opening day of competition and again tallied two goals when the United States dominated China, 19-1.
The victory marked Windes' second gold medal in international competition in less than a year, as she was part of the winning U.S. team at the 2004 Junior Pan American Games in San Salvador, El Savador, last July.
"After winning the PanAm Games during the summer, we were excited to take on Europe," Windes said of the Junior Worlds. "We knew they would all be tough teams. A highlight for us was playing in the semifinal match against Australia. There were a ton of fans cheering for the home team. It was played at night, and we were really pumped up and were able to pull out the win. It was very satisfying."
Junior National team head coach Kyle Utsumi praised Windes for her play on both ends of the pool.
"Elsie really produced for us," Utsumi said. "She was a great two-meter defender and a great center on offense. Elsie also used her speed to help us on the counterattack. Her two goals against Hungary were clutch and kept us in a position to win. She was one of our most improved players. Elsie has got a great work ethic and is a great kid."
It took exceptional dedication for Windes just to be a member of the Junior National squad. Every other weekend during the fall and winter, she would travel from Berkeley to Los Alamitos for practice at the U.S. Water Polo Training Facility. Often, she would take the plane trip with Orwig, a starting goalie on the first U.S. Olympic women's water polo team that won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Games.
The dream of playing water polo in the Olympics did not immediately formulate in Windes' mind when she was first exposed to the sport in the sixth grade. She had played basketball and soccer growing up, but had an older sister, Lucy, who played water polo and got Elsie interested. Despite not enjoying the swimming at first, she began mastering the skills needed for water polo and fell in love with the sport.
Soon, Windes started attending water polo clinics to improve her skills. It was at a P.A.C.E (Programs for Athletes and Coaches Education) clinic in 2001 in Corvallis, Ore., when she first met Guy Baker, the U.S. Olympic women's water polo coach. Baker noticed Windes' talents and invited her to try out for National Youth team.
"I would love to play in the Olympics some day," said Windes. "Making the junior national team was a big goal of mine. The next step is to make the national team and I am definitely going to go for it. Bernice has told me stories about the Olympics and how amazing an experience it is."
There has always been a strong relationship between Cal women's water polo program and the USA Olympic Team, and that bond helped make Berkeley an attractive place for Windes. Even though women's water polo has only been a varsity sport since 1996, three players with ties to Cal were on the first Olympic team in 2000; Courtney Johnson, Heather Petri and Ericka Lorenz.
Now with the addition of Orwig to the Bears' coaching staff in 2003, Cal continues its close association with the national team program. Plus, current head coach Amber Drury-Pinto was a national team player from 1984-94 and was the junior national team coach from 2001-02.
"We make sure our athletes know we are a 100 percent behind any national team program they are involved with," said Drury-Pinto. "We make sure they can compete at that level and for us. We have a similar philosophy as the national team and utilize the same counterattack. We have had three Olympians play for our program, which is something I think the recruits respect and respond to."
Cal's Olympic history was a key selling point for Windes in her decision to come to Cal. She was Oregon's most dominant player as a senior, leading Beaverton High School to the 2003 state title while being named state MVP.
"Basically, I had to come to California in order to continue playing water polo in college," said Windes. "I knew Cal had a good balance between academics and sports, and when I visited, I really enjoyed the girls on the team and I looked forward to contributing to the program."
Windes did not take long in proving her value to the Golden Bears. She was named honorable mention All-American as a freshman in 2004 - Cal's first true freshman to ever to earn such status.
This season, Windes has continued her stellar play, starting the year off by recording a team-high four goals in an 8-2 victory over UC Davis in the season opener. She ranks first in the Bears' scoring column with 46 goals and is looking to lead Cal back to the NCAA Tournament. The Bears will have a legitimate shot at making the NCAA eight-team tournament as Cal hosts the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament at Spieker Aquatics Complex April 28-May 1.
"We return the majority of our starters from last year, so I am excited for the season," said Windes. "We are shooting to make it to the NCAAs, and to do that we have to finish in the top four at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament. It will definitely help having the MPSF Tournament here. It is a great home pool and it will be nice to have a lot of fans cheering us on."
