Kaess Smit Season 2011-12

The Smit File
• Mechanical Engineering major
• Worked at Corning following junior year doing impact testing on glass and coming up with an experimental plan
• Summer after sophomore year he worked at Comcast Silicon Valley with the app development team doing mockups and designs
• Following his freshman season he interned at the Summer Olympics in London as a runner and news researcher at the swimming and diving venue
• Built a drift trike from scratch for an engineering class
• Done work with Amazon doing impact testing with some of the glass used for Kindle Fires
• Enjoys working on his Volkswagon GTI and kiteboarding in his free time

2014-15 (Senior)
• Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year
• All-Pac-12
• Pac-12 All-Academic first team
• IRA All-Academic Team
• Member of the varsity eight
• Won four races on the season
• Finished sixth in the IRA Championships C Final for 18th overall
• Earned a bronze medal at the Pac-12 Championships
• Posted two wins over No. 17 Oregon State and No. 11 Wisconsin at the Pac-12 Challenge
• Claimed victories over Santa Clara and UC San Diego at the Stanford Invitational
• Took second with the varsity eight in a dual against No. 8 Boston University
• Lost to No. 1 Cal in the Big Row, his final collegiate race at Redwood Shores
• Recorded a third place finish with the varsity eight at the San Diego Crew Classic
• Competed at the 50th Head of the Charles, placing ninth overall and sixth among colleges

2013-14 (Junior)
• All-Pac-12 team selection 
• IRA All-Academic team
• Member of the varsity eight lineup 
• Won two races, including the C Final to place 13th at the IRA National Championships 
• Earned a bronze medal at the Pac-12 Championships 
• Went undefeated in three races at the Stanford Invitational, picking up wins over No. 12 Wisconsin, UCSD and USD 
• Notched two wins at the Davis Invitational, coming in first for the varsity eight and varsity four
• Claimed third place in the Grand Final of the San Diego Crew Classic after winning the prelims heat 
• Lost to No. 2 Cal in the Big Row 
• Defeated No. 18 Oregon State in head-to-head action
• Lost in a dual race against No. 3 Washington 
• Sat in the bow seat of Stanford’s third place finish in the Men’s Championship Four at the 49th Head of the Charles regatta

2012-13 (Sophomore)
• All-Pac-12 team selection 
• Pac-12 All-Academic first team choice
• IRA All-Academic team 
• Competed with the Varsity I Eight for all the races 
• Eighth place at the IRA National Championships
• Earned silver at the Pac-12 Championships 
• Captured the Schwabacher Cup for the first time since 2008 by defeating Cal at The Big Row 
• Downed Wisconsin, Oregon State and Orange Coast College in head-to-head action at the Stanford Invitational 
• Won the UC Davis Invite, finishing ahead of Santa Clara and Sonoma State
• Finished second in the race for the Copley Cup at the San Diego Crew Classic
• Third place at the Newport Autumn Rowing Festival 
• Member of the men’s four that captured the Championship Four class at the Head of the Charles regatta

2011-12 (Freshman)
• Rowed with the Frosh Eight that placed 14th overall and second in the third final of the IRA National Championships 
• Member of the Frosh Eight that placed fourth at the Pac-12 Championships 
• Novice eight won the Head of the Lagoon, defeating varsity eights from Sacramento State, UC Davis and Santa Clara in the Open 8 division

National Team
• Silver medal with the USA men's eight at the 2015 U-23 World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria
• Chosen to compete at the 2015 U.S. National Team Selection Camp fo rthe U-23 squad
• Earned a bronze medal with the Team USA eight at the 2014 U-23 World Championships in Varese, Italy
• Helped the U.S. Four to the bronze medal at the 2013 World U-23 Rowing Championships in Linz, Austria

High School
• Rowed three years varsity at Saint Louis Rowing Club, one year varsity at Haverford 
• Won Best Novice and Best Varsity Rower awards 
• Fourth place in 4+ at Junior Nationals
• Fourth place in 2- at Junior Nationals 
• 12th place in U.S. 4- at 2011 Junior World Championships

Personal
• Parents are Neil and Barbara
• Has one brother, Willem

Smit on Stanford
"Stanford is my home. You are always excited to come back here when you are away. There wasn’t any other school that came close in terms of opportunities you have across the board. To be able to be on a high caliber rowing team and at the same time study engineering at one of the best schools in the country, there is no alternative. There is a great student culture and it is a lot of fun. It is rare to get it all in one place."