Thalia Ormsby

When reviewing the athletic achievements of Thalia Ormsby in water polo, what jumps off the page most is the consistency of her excellence.  For the better part of a decade, her biography is littered with All-American selections, First Team season and championship tournament honors, scoring streaks, and victories with Team USA on the international stage.  Beyond her individual achievements, even more impressive perhaps are her continued efforts to build the sport as a volunteer youth water polo coach and club coach in Southern California.

Thalia attended Santa Barbara High School where she lettered four years in water polo and three in swimming under coach Mark Walsh.  She earned an incredible number of MVP honors for Channel League, CIF Division II, Southern California Championships, and with the National Youth Team.  A four time All-American and two-time Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Athlete of the Year, Ormsby’s trophy case was overflowing even before she matriculated to UCLA for her university career.

To nobody’s surprise, Thalia’s list of accolades only continued to grow with the Bruins.  She contributed early as a freshman, scoring goals at the MPSF Championships and the NCAA semifinals.  As a sophomore she almost doubled her goal count from the previous year and led the team with 23 assists.  Taking off 2003 as a redshirt to train with the US National Team, she helped the Americans win first place at the Holiday Cup, Pan American Games, and FINA World Championships.  2004 was another redshirt year at UCLA, but this time the challenge was representing the US on the biggest stage. Thalia scored against Italy at the Athens Olympic games and cites the team’s comeback to win the bronze medal after a heartbreaking loss in the semi-finals as both her proudest achievement and toughest moment in her athletic career.

Thalia returned to UCLA and packed the last few empty corners of her trophy case in 2005, racking up First Team AWPCA All-American and First Team All-NCAA and All-MPSF Tournament honors.  She led the team in field saves with 19, was second in steals with 69, and second in goals with 53 for the season. She now works as a 6^th grade teacher in Del Mar, CA, and surfs, swims, and competes in triathlons.  She brings the same passion and excellence witnessed throughout her career to raising her family with her spouse, Brett Ormsby, and to her work as an educator.