The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorn Profiles: Kate Knifton
03.09.2023 | Rowing
Knifton has forged her own path in rowing while also adding to the family heritage of Texas Rowing.
By: Emily Schumacher
Kaitlin Knifton was born two miles away from Texas' campus, where her parents and grandparents on both sides graduated. Her father, Matt Knifton, rowed and was a captain for UT Crew throughout his four years of college and hoped his daughter would someday do the same.
Growing up, The University of Texas inundated the younger Knifton's life, but as a teenager, she wanted to forge her own path. Dance, swim and volleyball were her sports of choice, but never rowing. Matt saw the athleticism in his daughter's swim meets and dance competitions. Although Kate did not have an interest in rowing at the time, she did need a job. So, she started working at the Texas Rowing Center – her family's business – during her summer breaks in high school. Summers on the dock consisted of Kate teaching customers how to use rental equipment and manning the cash register, and to Kate and her father's surprise, it gave her a newfound interest in the sport.
"My dad rowed in college and worked with the national team, and it was always his dream for me to row … I always told him I'm not going to row," Knifton said. "Then I got a job at the Rowing Center and got to see what rowing was all about. I decided to start rowing after that."
Two months into rowing, Knifton competed in her first regatta competition. It was a sculling race, which consisted of singular-person boats with two oars, something Knifton had only practiced a couple of times. However, the newcomer placed second out of 30 teens.
From there, Knifton's skills progressed rapidly. She was selected to USRowing's Junior National Team in 2017 and 2018, a team consisting of only 31 female athletes under the age of 19. As competing at the collegiate level became part of the plan, Knifton began visiting athletic programs across the country and fancied the idea of moving away from her hometown. Although she conceded the point of being a rower, she was adamant about diverging from her father's alma mater. But after a handful of tours, colleges with historically successful rowing programs all started bleeding together. A visit to the Forty Acres was last on Knifton's list, but when she arrived everything changed.
At the time, head coach Dave O'Neill and the Longhorns were steadily climbing the ranks nationally. O'Neill's hiring in 2014 showed that The University of Texas was committed to women's rowing in a big way. Knifton felt this immediately when she sat in on a team practice, and could easily imagine herself alongside the athletes, coaches and trainers she was watching. The decision was simple.
"At first, I was cautious about going to Texas for the same reason I was cautious about rowing. I wanted to do something different than my dad," Knifton said. "But the second I went on my first visit I knew this is where I wanted to go and that it was my dream school."
The Kniftons toured the rest of Texas' campus and athletic facilities. Bellmont Hall had a new Olympic weight room and the athletic training had the best therapy treatments. Matt noticed that in the midst of the latest and greatest perks, something was missing. There were zero pictures of rowing championships on the wall. He thought, "what if Kate led her hometown university to a national championship when they had never won one?"
In her first year on campus, O'Neill saw instantly that Knifton and the freshman class would have a lasting impact on the program. He believed that she was determined to make her own legacy in a way that was focused on the team and not just herself.
"Kate is one the most generous and humble people you'll ever meet, but when you put her in a competitive situation, she's ruthless," O'Neill said. "She is super competitive, but when the race is finished, you're not going to meet someone who is kinder than she is."
Inconsequential details motivated Knifton. During land workouts, the fastest eight rowers were placed on the first eight boat and Kate was placed on the second boat. Her competitive spirit pushed her until she had a spot in the first boat and later that season, she bowed the first eight at the 2019 NCAA Championships. The Texas Longhorns finished runner-up behind the Washington, missing the title by less than a second. This gave the team a sense of purpose in their training.
After a grueling offseason, COVID-19 shut down the rest of the season and clipped any championship dreams. Team meetings were held virtually three times a week with rowers phoning in from across the globe. When lockdown ended, the crew regrouped with higher hopes than ever before.
At the end of that season, Kate, a junior, was set to stroke in the first eight at the championship. O'Neill refers to the stroke as the quarterback of the boat because they lead the rest of the crew. Texas finished third in the first two events – the second eight and the four. Thunder crackled in the air, delaying the start time of the third and final event. Knifton and eight of her teammates crowded into the team van without knowing the results of the first two boats. O'Neill decided to keep the results from the team to prevent distraction.
Texts came through Matt's phone from Kate:
"Dad this is so much pressure. I never want to row again after this race."
Matt calculated the math in his head and texted her:
"Kate, you can still win this and there is only one combination possibility. UT has to win; Stanford has to be second and UW needs to be third or lower."
Normally, teammates can't watch other races since the events occur right after one another. The rain delay meant that once racing resumed the whole team and every parent stood on the shoreline sending the final boat out. On the water, the Longhorns edged past Stanford in the final 25 meters to win the national championships, the first ever for Texas Rowing. The women finished excited but no one on the boat knew they have just made school history, except Kate. O'Neill informed the team that they did not only win the race but the entire NCAA Championship. Teammates on the shore jumped into the water. Amid women piling on the boat, there is one parent in the mix. It's Matt swimming with the team to congratulate his daughter.
"My dad was the one parent in the water. It was such a full-circle moment since he had gotten me into rowing," Knifton said. "He's always been a mentor and someone who helped me, so having him in the water and having both my parents there was really special."
As the former Longhorn rower watched his daughter become a national champion, he was filled with pride – both for his family and for the program. In his collegiate days, Texas Crew was held together by a passion for rowing and "car washes, band-aids and duct tape."
Around the same time, the women of Texas Crew petitioned for a varsity program under Title IX. Texas Athletics fulfilled the request and added a rowing program in Fall 1998.
"Eventually our (Texas Crew) legacy would be that we would spawn this amazing journey that became the varsity women's program of today that included Kate," Matt said. "I just can't describe how incredibly proud I am, it's my sport, my university, my kid."
After the 2021 National Championship, Kate and Texas women's rowing continued making waves. In 2022, UT rowing became repeat NCAA champions.
At the World Rowing Championships this past summer, Knifton and three of her Longhorn teammates captured gold in the women's four. Less than a month later, Kate was named a 2022 USRowing Under 23 Athlete of the Year. This honor was voted on by the athlete's teammates and coaches, which was gratifying for Kate as someone who was always drawn to the team aspect of rowing.
"How to be a good teammate is something I'll take into my life because life is a team sport whether it's work, your life, your friends, or your family," Knifton said. "It's important to set the standard for your own actions and learn to put the needs of other people sometimes before your own."
When the Longhorns secured their second consecutive national title, Kate knew to expect her dad to jump in the water with the team. Now three pictures and eight oars hang in honor of the 2021 and 2022 championship crews. Following this season, the Longhorn will shift her focus to the possibility of competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"Here's a kid that was born two miles from The University of Texas. UT rowing recruit's athletes from every corner of the Earth," Matt said. "They have women from Australia, New Zealand and all over Europe. And yet, it was a kid from Austin, Texas that was the stroke of the two-time national team winners."
