Maria Smith loves to support her teammates, though it was her turn to be shown the love after a recent honor.
 
A starter on the Cal women's tennis team, Smith – when her own matches are done and sometimes in between points of her matches – is one of the team's loudest cheerleaders. Along with fellow senior co-captain Olivia Hauger, Smith is always looking for ways to contribute to the program and to the younger Bears.
 
"Maria has a big heart, and it doesn't matter if she's having a good day or a bad day," Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. "She's always excited to see her teammates and to come out to practice and matches. She brings that every day."
 
"Her energy in team matches, whether we're winning or losing, is something that can't be replicated," Hauger added. "She can really fire up the rest of the team."
 
The Bears had the chance to be elated for the ebullient Smith earlier this season when she earned a specific individual accolade that she'd sought after for years – a national singles ranking.
 
"One her strengths is her ability to be genuinely excited for other people," Hauger said. "She was so happy about her ranking, it's impossible to not be excited and inspired by her work ethic as well."
 
To be sure, collecting individual accolades isn't the most important thing for the team-first player. She has done her part to try to bring more national titles – to add to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship the Bears captured her freshman season – to the Cal squad.
 
Smith, who joined the Bears in the spring of 2016, has improved each year in Berkeley. She posted a 6-1 singles record and a 14-6 doubles record that first semester, as she helped the Bears reach the NCAA semifinals. In her first full season as a Bear in 2016-17, Smith posted a 29-14 singles record and an 11-13 doubles mark. Last year, she was 31-12 in singles and 19-16 in doubles.
 
The Houston native is 19-7 in singles and 11-4 in doubles and has clinched two matches so far this season, as the Bears have posted a 6-3 record ahead of Friday's match against Arizona at the Hellman Tennis Complex. In the fall, she reached the doubles round of 16 in the ITA Northwest Regional Championships and won singles and doubles titles in the Cal Fall Invitational.
 
"She's had to work a lot on her serve and a lot on her footwork, and both those things have improved dramatically," Augustus said. "I've always appreciated Maria's willingness to improve and be open to coaching. That's something we want to see out of every player that comes out of Cal."
 
As Smith continued to produce good seasons for a talented Cal program, she watched as several former teammates – such as Zsofi Susanyi, Lynn Chi, Maegan Manasse and others – earned rankings in singles, doubles or both. That honor eluded Smith for most of her college career, until Feb. 6.
 
Smith was ranked 112th nationally and was one of four Bears included in that Oracle ITA singles poll, including Hauger at No. 28, No. 41 Julia Rosenqvist and No. 92 Anna Bright.
 
"For a long time, I didn't know if I was ever going to get a singles ranking," Smith said. "Fast forward to a couple days ago, and I receive a text from Zack (Warren, Cal's assistant coach) in the morning saying I'm ranked in singles. My heart was just so full because it means so much more than just a ranking or just a number. It stands for all the hard work, all the times I wanted to quit but didn't and how I've stayed on track. It just solidifies that I can't stop believing in myself because you never know when that opportunity is going to present itself. You never know when that breakthrough is going to happen. It was really a special moment for me."
 
Smith has been inspired in athletics and in life by the example of her late mother, Vernetta Rolle-Smith, who passed away when Maria was 8. Rolle-Smith starred in track at the University of Houston and for the Bahamas, and it was her determination to fulfill her own goal – breaking her national 800-meter record – that has encouraged Smith through the years.
 
Rolle-Smith finally broke that record in 1998, when she ran an 800-time of 2:04.82, which still stands as a Bahamian record. That was a big year for Rolle-Smith, who also won 800-meter titles as Houston captured Conference USA indoor and outdoor championships.
 
As a child, Smith followed in her mom's footsteps, winning Junior Olympic 100- and 200-meter titles in the 8 and 10 and under age groups. And she still likes to run, though now she does it to train for tennis.
 
Smith's father, Paul, who starred at Houston as a wide receiver, sent her a newspaper article from the Bahamas that detailed her mom's pursuit of the 800 record.
 
"It's really inspiring because she said, basically, 'I know I can do anything I put my mind to. I want to beat that record, and I know I can do it,'" Smith said. "It really touched me because this was before she did exactly what she wanted to do. I'm really inspired by that because I know she was an amazing athlete and an amazing person. She really believed in herself, and she believed in me, and I know she would be proud of what I'm doing."
 
"Her mother's impact on her has been huge," Hauger said. "To also have the support she has from her dad and her brother, who work hard to support her to be a successful athlete, has been inspirational. To know you can reach for big goals and achieve them both athletically and academically has been amazing."
 
A legal studies major, Smith says she may pursue criminal or sports law after Cal – and likely after she gives professional tennis a shot.
 
"The ways in which she's grown in her time here at Cal, on and off the court, is something her family and the team are really proud of," Augustus said. "I'm really excited to see what her next 10 years look like after she graduates from Cal. She's won a national championship here, she's become a nationally ranked player, and she's not done yet. She's been a very special part of our program and contributed a lot. You won't find a more caring or passionate person for our program, our coaches and her teammates than Maria."