Year 12 Rowing Captain Ella Welsh is following in the wake of many St Margaret’s Old Girls, jetting off next year to undertake an athletic scholarship at a university in the USA.
Ella has been recruited as a student-athlete at The University of Texas at Austin where she will row for the college’s Longhorns team while studying a Science degree. Her decision to pursue the chance to study and play sport at a US college was inspired by the many St Margaret’s Old Girls who went before her. The University of Texas has a highly successful women's rowing program, having won the NCAA championships in 2021, 2022 and 2024.
“I wanted to go to the US as it is such an amazing pathway to train and learn alongside likeminded individuals from around the world. On my recruiting visit, the team culture, facilities and coaching staff definitely stood out, and it was somewhere I could really see myself living,” Ella said.
At the time of writing, we are aware of the following St Margaret’s Old Girls who are studying and rowing in the USA:
- Ava Mulholland (’24) – University of Tennessee
- Grace Turnbull (’24) – University of Massachusetts
- Georgia Montague (’23) – Syracuse University
- Rosie Turnbull (’21) – originally at the University of Massachusetts and now at Syracuse University and part of their Women’s Rowing team
- Primrose Carrigan (’21)
- Amelia Simpson (’20) – Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee graduate and incoming MS Business Analytics student and student-athlete at the University of Miami
- Lily Devereaux (’19) – Michigan State University
- Genevieve Whitehead (’18) – University of Wisconsin
Ella found her passion for rowing as part of St Margaret’s well recognised rowing program. The well-rounded athlete has also been a member of the St Margaret’s swimming, netball athletics and cross-country teams and was a member of The University of Queensland Boat Club over the summer.
A Prefect and Rowing Captain, Ella balances her sporting commitments with her leadership roles and studies, achieving exceptional academic results.