From the Philly suburbs to Bulgaria and now on to Berkeley, Ava Smith’s rowing journey races on
Rowing runs in Smith's blood. Her father competed for the U.S. at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, her older brother rows at Stanford and made the Under-19 national team, and her sister rows at Texas.
On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Ava Smith crossed the finish line in Bulgaria as a proud member of an elite eight-person boat representing the U.S. Under-19 national women’s rowing team.
“Crossing the finish line, it was a feeling of accomplishment,” said Smith, who took up the sport only four years earlier at Mount St. Joseph Academy in Flourtown, Montgomery County. “A sort of relief, in a way, just knowing it’s done. We put it all out there.”
Smith picked up an oar for the first time as a freshman at Mount St. Joseph, but rowing runs in her blood. Her father, Don Smith, competed for the U.S. at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics; her older brother, Luke Smith, rows at Stanford and made the Under-19 national team; and her sister, Addy Smith, now rows at Texas. Even the youngest Smith, Arden, plans to row as she starts her freshman year at Mount St. Joseph.
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This summer, that legacy came full circle. After years of sibling-fueled rivalry, Ava earned a spot in the women’s eight as the seven seat and traveled to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, to compete at the World Rowing Under-19 Championships, a spot secured after a whirlwind six weeks that took her from a selection camp in California to the start line across the world. And all of it just days before she leaves for her own next chapter: Rowing at the University of California, Berkeley.
“It was surreal, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, is this even happening?’” Smith said of being selected. “Honestly, before this year, I didn’t think I was ever going to get invited to even try out.”
Humility aside, Smith had an impressive high school career, which included helping Mount St. Joseph women’s varsity eight reach the “A” final twice at the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships in Sarasota, Fla. She said that solidified her confidence heading into tryouts and college. But for Smith, the journey has always been about the team that helped her, especially in the beginning.
“All the other girls that join the team, they don’t know anything about it either, and you’re all learning together,” she said. “I really enjoyed that, and I feel like me being good at rowing also gave me motivation to see how far I can go, and how much I can improve.”
Though Don Smith never pushed any of his children into rowing, the sport has become a shared family love.
“It’s really nice to all do the same thing, get to talk about it,” Ava Smith said. “And with my dad too, he can give me a lot of advice, especially because he really got to such a high level.”
Don Smith cheered on his daughter in Bulgaria with a few other parents, joking that he still remembers the nerves of a big race. He said he feels them again watching his kids compete.
“At the big ones, I’ll tend to go and I’ll start feeling like I’m out there, and I have to go watch by myself,” Don Smith said with a laugh, before sharing the advice he gives his kids in those moments. “Everybody else is feeling the same thing. … You’ve done all the work. Take this as an opportunity, not something that’s scary, or that you’re afraid of.”
Ava said she’s proud of the work she and her team, a collection of women from around the country, put in.
“Everyone was very nervous, including myself, but we were excited to see what we could do.” she said. “ We really trusted one another in the boat, and I think we left with no regrets.”
Now Smith is headed to Berkeley, shopping for dorm essentials and preparing to meet her roommate in person for the first time as she gets ready to move across the country just days after returning from Bulgaria.
“It’s going to be a little different for me to be toward the bottom,” Ava said. “But getting to compete and try on my way toward the top will be really fun, and I think definitely challenging. But I’m excited for that.”