VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds women's rowing program is excited to welcome seven athletes to the blue and gold in the storied program's 100th anniversary. In a year that celebrates a century of success from countless UBC rowers, Natasha Witts, Diana Davis, Angelina Stevenson, Ellen Marion, Jackie Blunt, Gabriella Diaz, and Leah Ross join the defending Western Canadian Champion and Canadian University Rowing Champion T-Birds in 2022. 

"Our women's team rowers are very happy to welcome the 2022 recruits to the team," said UBC head coach Craig Pond. "We are very excited to bring them aboard, and confident they will all play a role in our continued team success."



Natasha Witts is a 5-foot-11 Magee Secondary School graduate who previously rowed for the Thunder Rowing Crew. The Vancouver native plans to study Kinesiology at UBC and said she chose UBC "not only for the great academics, but because it has the best rowing team in Canada."

Calgary, Alberta's Diana Davis graduated from Webber Academy and was a member of the Calgary Rowing Club, where she captured 1st at the Elk Lake Summer Regatta in the U19 Women's Coxed Four and 3rd in the U19 Women's Alberta Indoor Rowing Championships. Davis was named Female Athlete of the Year in Grade 12 and now hopes to study Biomedical Engineering at UBC. "UBC is the perfect combination of a highly competitive rowing team and one of the best biomedical engineering programs in the country," said Davis. "It allowed me to truly have it all with academics and athletics.

Angelina Stevenson is from Burnaby, B.C. and most recently rowed with SFU after graduating from Burnaby Central. Stevenson became a provincial development athlete with Rowing BC and hopes to study physics and sciences at UBC.

Regina, Saskatchewan's Ellen Marion is a 5-foot-10 Miller Comprehensive Catholic High School graduate who won bronze at the 2022 Canada Summer games in the women's 8 rowing event. Marion hopes to study Physics at UBC and values the school's positive, inclusive culture.



Jackie Blunt joins the Thunderbirds after previously rowing with the Western Mustangs. The six-foot tall Toronto, Ontario native won Female Heavyweight Rowing MVP in 2021 and plans to study in UBC's Faculty of Medicine. 

University Hill Secondary School graduate Gabriella (Ella) Diaz is a five-foot-four Coxswain from Vancouver, B.C. Diaz recently rowed with the Thunder Rowing Crew – capturing third place at the Royal Canadian Henley – and plans to study International Economics with a minor in French.

Leah Ross is a five-foot-eleven Winnipeg, Manitoba native who hopes to study business at UBC. Ross graduated from Westwood Collegiate and former Winnipeg Rowing Club member who finished 5th at the Canada Summer Games in the four and 1st at NWIRA in the double and quad. "The Sauder school of business was a big draw as the level of education there and at UBC overall is high," said Ross. "The rowing team was also a big draw as they are national champions and there is awesome team dynamic."

After winning the Western Canadian Championships earlier this month, the Thunderbirds will take a trip to Vancouver Island for the Head/Tail of the Gorge and Boston, Massachusetts for the Head of the Charles Regatta on October 22nd and 23rd.