“Shelley and I are rooming together, Jess and Scout room together, and Andrea basically lives in our room,” Maginnis says with a laugh. “We’ll get together for breakfast and dinner, and we’ll celebrate a girl’s birthday together. We have a lot of fun with each other.”

But that doesn’t mean the group avoids competition. With only a limited number of seats in the top boats and plenty of talented rowers, the sophomores understand they must battle each other for the chance to row.

“When we’re on the water, everyone is competitive against each other, but it’s because we all want the team to go faster,” Pearson says. “We don’t let that affect us when we’re off the water. You just have to separate the two.”

“We practice the way we want to race,” Rickey says. “When we’re on the water, we have to be competitors, and we have to take it seriously, as if the boat next to us is Princeton or Stanford.”

With such strong camaraderie, a competitive edge, and a desire to win, the sophomore rowers of the Radcliffe heavyweights are undoubtedly ready to make a collective impact on the team.

“As the coxswain, I get to sit back and see on the water what everyone brings to the table,” Rickey says. “Each individual of our class has something incredible to offer. We’re definitely a well-rounded class that really embodies what Radcliffe crew is known for and aspires to be. Our class will work hard to make a great contribution to the team, but we’ll also have fun and enjoy each other’s company.”

—Staff writer Kevin T. Chen can be reached at ktchen@fas.harvard.edu.