Leverenz was born in Tucson, Arizona. She attended Sahuaro High School in Tucson and was a member of the Sahauro Cougars High School swim team. She was one of the top college swimming recruits in the nation as a high school senior. She also trained with and swam for the El Dorado Aquatics Club in Tucson.
College career
Leverenz received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of California, Berkeley, where she swam for coach Teri McKeever's California Golden Bears swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association competition. At the NCAA national championships in 2011, she swam the breaststroke legs for the Golden Bears' winning relay teams in the 4x50-yard and 4x100-yard medley relay events; the Bears set a new American and NCAA record time of 1:35.03 in the 4x50 medley. At the 2012 NCAA national championships, she again was a member of the Bears' winning 4x50-yard and 4x100-yard medley relay teams, as well as winning individual national championships in the 200-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke events. She was a key contributor to the Golden Bears winning two NCAA national team championships in three years. She was the recipient of the Honda Sports Award for Swimming and Diving, recognizing her as the outstanding college female swimmer of 2011–12.
At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Leverenz made the U.S. Olympic team by finishing first in the 200-meter individual medley and second in the 400-meter individual medley. She also competed in the 200-meter breaststroke, but finished in eighth place in the final. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she won her first Olympic medal, a bronze, in the finals of the 200-meter individual medley. She also competed in the 400-meter individual medley, where she tied for sixth in the finals. After the 2012 Olympic Games Leverenz went on to represent the United States in many international competitions. At the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships she won a bronze medal in the 200-m individual medley. Leverenz went on to earn two gold medals at the 2015 Pan American Games in the 200-meter inidivual medley and 400-meter individual medley. Leverenz was also elected by her peers to be team captain of the 2015 Pan American Games Team. Leverenz was the top female American finisher the Arena Pro Swim Series, winning her a BMW lease, for the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons. In her final career competition, Leverenz missed qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in the 200-m individual medley by.05 seconds. Leverenz retired from professional swimming in March of 2017.
