“When I think of the team, [I think of the time] before practice every day we just sit around and kind of shoot the breeze as we’re stretching and getting warmed up,’ she says. “It’s just hysterical. If I had to choose one place at Harvard where I feel most at home, [it would be] sitting there.”

That comfort translates into a family environment that was instrumental in winning the national title.

“At sprints and nationals...that trust and camaraderie was rewarded in those big moments,” says junior Heather Schofield. “Lis was a huge part of building that trust.”

Lambert’s competitive spirit has played no small role in her team’s ever-increasing addiction to speed.

“Sometimes Lis would turn around with this huge grin before a piece, and I’d just know that she wanted to go after the other boat,” Schofield says.

“When a boat gets a good rhythm and there is a unity to the motion, you just fly,” Lambert adds.

“That’s the best part of rowing: going so fast and knowing that it’s because you’re completely tuned in to what everyone else is doing.”

Last spring, the entire team seemed tuned in. At May’s Eastern Sprints regatta, the Black and White heavies were primed for success.

Not only did the Radcliffe varsity boat win its race by almost five seconds, but the crew bested Brown by one point for the Willing Trophy, marking the first such team victory since 1989 and securing the team a berth in the NCAAs.

In June, the boat clinched the NCAA team title by winning the varsity race, just Harvard’s third NCAA team title. Critical to that success was Lambert, simply doing what she loves and doing it at the highest-level.

“Lis often says that the feeling she loves most about rowing is when the engine room gets on it together and makes the boat fly,” says senior Caroline Fisher.

“Lis was a key piece of the engine…and she certainly makes us fly.”

Lambert, however, remains modest almost to a fault. Regarding last November’s CRASH-Bs, she insists with a laugh that, “a lot of people who could have beaten me weren’t there.”

In addition to discovering the athlete within, Lambert has also found a mentor in her coach. Lambert bubbles over with anecdotes and praise for O’Leary.

“Liz is amazing. She is so warm, but at the same time so demanding,” she says.