Senior Mirabel Levine recently committed to Harvard University as a rower. “I love the amount of teamwork and how challenging crew is,” Levine said. “I also love the relationships you build with people you wouldn’t otherwise meet.”

Levine has been rowing for the Marin Rowing Association (MRA) since her freshman year. According to rowingrelated.com, the MRA varsity women’s team is ranked third in the nation. Levine’s cousin, a coach for the boys’ varsity team at MRA, got her interested in the sport. “I’ve definitely flipped my fair share of boats when getting too competitive and racing someone before being comfortable in the boat,” Levine said. “Over the past four years, I’ve seen myself turn from a person who rows because she has fun doing it to a person who rows because [she] wants to win…and still have fun,” said Levine.

And she definitely does win. Last spring, Levine rowed in a winning eight person boat at regionals. “We were a very young boat and had been struggling all season to really find our speed,” she said. “We ended up beating all the other crews from the southwest region and it was such an amazing moment.” Levine also competed in a pair and four person boat. The win at regionals qualified her boat for the summer Youth National Championships, in which they placed second.

“It can sometimes be challenging to juggle crew and school but it has made me a much more efficient and I don’t procrastinate anymore,” said Levine, who rows seven days a week, and sometimes has practice twice a day. “It is most challenging when I have to miss school for races all over the country.”

Levine began talking to college rowing recruiters during the fall of her junior year and over the course of that year, she began solidifying her top schools. This fall, Levine went on four official visits in which colleges pay for all of a student athlete’s travel expenses to Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth, and Princeton. “I was really able to gauge where I would be happiest [and] I ended up choosing Harvard,” Levine said. “I loved the team and the coaching staff and I ultimately decided that I would succeed best as a student and as an athlete [there].” Harvard is a Divison I school, and athletes compete in the Ivy League conference. Radcliff, Harvard’s women’s rowing team, is ranked 13th in the nation.

As for her rowing plans for after college, Levine says that “only time will tell.”♦