When you witness the strength and skill Izzy Hauber displays on the water, you’d think she’d been rowing all her life.

The truth is, the Tampa Catholic senior picked up the sport less than two years ago after transferring to her news school from Land O’ Lakes High School.

“I thought that if I tried out, then maybe I could get a varsity letter,” Hauber said. “So I tried out. And then I did my first 2K and instantly fell in love from there.”

“She’ll be here at 6:30 a.m. rowing before classes, and then she’ll come down for practice in the afternoon,” Tampa Catholic crew head coach Pat Huey said.

Hauber’s path to her current role as the Crusaders’ captain wasn’t exactly a straight shot down the river.

In fact, she made the transition out of a sport you probably wouldn’t think of: Thai boxing.

You may not think it, but both sports have similarities.

“It’s a very intense cardio sport. You’ve got to be able to take a hit, and you’ve got to be able to throw a hit back.”

Hauber has become an elite rower in a short period of time.

She’ll be heading to Nationals in New Jersey for the second straight year after placing second among scholastic competitors at states.

And just last week, she signed on to row at the University of Kansas on a Division One scholarship.

“It was really surreal to me because my dad went to KU,” Hauber said. “And for me to become a Jayhawk, to be a little Jayhawk to a big Jayhawk, it really meant a lot.”

Tampa Catholic head coach Pat Huey thinks Hauber could be a future Olympian.

What’s Izzy’s professional calling?

She wants to go into sports medicine.

No doubt, her Thai boxing friends may need a good doctor to call in the future.