Four Years Not Enough For Some Athletes

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the euphoric feeling of victory, the bittersweet heartbreak of loss. It was the sense of camaraderie, the injuries, the morning lifts, the grueling hours of practice, the games, the fans, the atmosphere.

It was collegiate athletics. And as many seniors’ seasons come to a close, these moments that defined their four years at college start getting pushed into the realm of the past—that is, if they’re ready to let them.

For some Harvard athletes four years is simply not enough. Due to injuries and other obstacles, certain Crimson men and women find themselves with a year left of eligibility, and in a trend that is becoming increasingly visible on the Harvard scene, they decide to stay in Cambridge for an additional year and continue on in their collegiate athletic career.

The appearance of fifth-year athletes is especially noticeable on the Crimson football team, which has averaged about 2.5 super-seniors each year over the course of Head Coach Tim Murphy’s 15-year tenure.

This number greatly overshadows that of most other Harvard sports, such as women’s basketball, which has only had one fifth-year athlete in 26 years, or baseball, which can also claim only a single extra-year athlete over the course of 13 years.

Many coaches have no recollection of their sports ever welcoming back a fifth-year senior—women’s volleyball, sailing, and men’s tennis, for example, have had no athletes return to use up their eligibility during the current coaches’ tenures.

Whether or not it is commonplace for a team to have super-seniors, athletes who have a year left in their eligibility and see graduation looming on the horizon have a tough decision to make. For fifth-year football wide receiver, Corey Mazza, his decision to return to the Crimson this past year was made after his, and his team’s, less than perfect finish during the 2006-2007 season.

“I just wasn’t really happy with the way I played my original senior season, and I wasn’t happy with the way the team finished,” Mazza said. “I didn’t want to go out with a sour taste in my mouth.”

The choice to stay was apparently a good one for Mazza, who led the 2007-2008 team in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Perhaps more importantly he helped the Crimson claim the Ivy League title after a crushing defeat of Yale in his last collegiate game.

Senior-season disappointment is not the only factor in the decision to play for an extra year. If it were, then the Harvard football team might not be returning any fifth-year seniors next fall. Instead, the Crimson roster will have four extra-year athletes in August.

Among that group is senior quarterback Chris Pizzotti, who along with winning an Ivy League title, also received numerous individual awards last season, including being named All-Ivy League First Team, College Sporting News’ Offensive Player of the Week, and Harvard football’s own MVP.

“I think in the end it was a really easy decision for me,” Pizzotti said. “Right before the Brown game, I kind of realized that I wanted to play another season—I just wanted to play one more year.”

Football is not the only Harvard sports team that will be welcoming back bonus-year athletes next season. The women’s crew team looks forward to the return of senior Esther Lofgren in the fall.

Lofgren’s case, however, is vastly different from that of Mazza or Pizzotti. Lofgren has not spent the past season on the sideline with an injury but instead is on leave competing for a spot on the U.S Olympic team.

“It’s definitely been a growth experience for me,” said Lofgren, who has had the remarkable opportunity to train alongside the best rowers in the country.

“I’m looking forward to being able to share what I learned and being part of a team again,” Lofgren said.

The decision to use up eligibility in an extra year may appear to be a win-win situation—Pizzotti will have the opportunity to lead his team to another Ivy League title, Mazza’s super-senior season landed him a job in the Italian Football League with the Parma Panthers, and Lofgren will undoubtedly give her team an edge over the competition after being part of such a rigorous training regimen.

However, the Harvard these athletes return to is a different place from the one where they spent their previous four years, with most of their blockmates, friends, and four-year teammates walking across the graduation stage in the spring.

“You kind of feel like an old guy who’s been at a party too long and hasn’t left,” Mazza said.

Lofgren will also face this feeling upon her return—however, it may be exaggerated due to the fact that she had already taken a year off in 2005-2006.

“It will be strange coming back,” Lofgren said. “I’m definitely going to be older and doing other things.”

For a small group of athletes putting off the “real world” another year, missing graduating with their class, and being “the old guy at the party” is worth having the privilege to don their Crimson jerseys for one final season.

—Staff writer Alex J. Mihalek can be reached at amihlaek@fas.harvard.edu.