Coach Parker Designates Strong Varsity First Boat

Crimson crew coach Harry Parker is habitually understated about virtually everything. He answers questions, from oarsmen and reporters alike, with short, undramatic and to-the-point sentences.

So his way of announcing this year's varsity boat came as no surprise to those who know him. Parker simply directed a certain group of oarsmen to show up at Newell Boathouse on Tuesday afternoon.

When they got there Parker spoke briefly before they went out to practice. "Well, in case you fellows haven't figured it out, you are the varsity boat," he said.

The nine people named, selected out of the 35 or so who came out for crew seven months ago, include four veterans of last year's boat.

Senior co-captains Gene LeBarre and Bill Mahoney return to the port side this year while junior Dave Fellows is back on the starboard side, and Dave Weinberg will steer for the second time.

Juniors Rick Smith and Steve Rowe are up from the starboard side of last year's J.V. crew, and there are three sophomores, Al Shealy, Dick Cashin and Ed Woodhouse, to round out the crew.

Parker is still unsure, at this point, of the seating and rigging arrangements for the heavyweight boat. "We still have to do some juggling before the optimum combination is worked out," he said yesterday.

Regardless of the final arrangement of oarsmen, this crew is going to be very strong and very fast, and the J.V. crew will probably also be unbelievably quick.

Harvard had a tremendous load of talent in its freshman crew last season and the sophomores ended up winning a total of six seats in the varsity and J.V. boats. That influx of talent, plus the experienced core of varsity returnees, makes the Crimson a powerful contender for the Sprint victory which has eluded it for the past two years.

First, however. Harvard has to get by some tough opposition, starting with Brown this Saturday on the Charles. The Bruins have six oarsmen back from their second-place Sprint crew of last Spring and Parker says Brown thinks it has its best boat in some years.

But Brown won't be rowing against the same crew it downed last year at the Sprints--Harvard is better and hungry.