While many rowers’ journeys start from middle school, Senior Olivia Knight’s rowing career started only four years ago. Despite her limited time on the team, Knight has managed to secure a spot at Clemson, one of the sport’s top 100 universities in the country, by extreme means of dedication, discipline and skill.

Knight started rowing during her freshman year when she joined Dallas United Crew, one of the larger clubs in the Dallas area.

“It was a great first experience and the team culture at DUC creates great relationships,” Knight said. “I’ve met some of my closest friends there.”

In addition to Clemson, Knight has received many offers from other colleges including UC San Diego and Indiana Bloomington, but Knight said she felt a calling to Clemson in particular. After touring the campus and meeting the coaching staff, Knight finalized her commitment to Clemson University.

“It’s kind of everything I want in a college,” Knight said. “I’m super excited about the new coaches at Clemson, they were super nice and I’m excited to work with them.”

Even though Girls head coach Dylan Chan has been at the DUC for eight weeks, he has seen firsthand how Knight is determined to row on the collegiate level.

“She had a goal in mind to go row in college and she committed to it,” Chan said “You can tell she does most of the work and you can tell that she gets it done.”

Chan has been a strong believer in her work ethic and discipline in practice during the short time he has been there to coach.

“She is a pretty good example of when you work hard at what you can achieve,” Chan said, “She’s been at DUC for a while and she’s faced a lot of adversity.”

Even though Knight is already at the collegiate level she still believes that there is always something new to learn everyday.

“It’s such an interesting sport and it’s something that keeps you going everyday,” Knight said.

Practice is one of the most important parts of any athlete’s day. It provides the means for improvement and. To Chan, Knight’s activity can be told in one word.

“Determined,” Chan said.

That determination has pushed Knight to success, such as last year when her crew competed in state and regional championships.

“My boat got first at our state championship and our regional championship,” Knight said. “We got two silver medals and one gold medal.”

Determined is not the only virtue Knight possesses, Junior Diana Farnworth said how Knight is a compassionate and caring teammate to the crew.

“She is probably one of the kindest people I know, she’s really motivational and she’s always willing to help and support you in anything,” Farnworth said “If you have any problems, you can definitely always go and talk to her.”

As one of the team captains this year, Knight has been able to better help and assist teammates with advice on technical skills, whether they have general or specific questions.

“She also is one of the team captains this year, so it really helps to have her to communicate with the coach,” Farnworth said, “People on the team can talk to her and then she’ll bring that up to the coach.”

As the finale of Knight’s high school rowing career begins, her prospects in collegiate rowing appear on the horizon.

“I’m super excited about Clemson,” Knight said.