Harvard will also need to move several players up the ladder to replace Atwood and Gonzalez at three and four. Quasha and Gordon had such an easy time in the lower ranks that they should be able to meet greater competition. Wiegand, who never reached his full potential last year, may pass them both.

For years Harvard has been the team to beat, and it wasn't beaten. Last year was the year to beat Harvard, and it wasn't beaten. The 1971-72 squad is extremely strong, although not as strong as it could be or has been in the past. In any case, you won't find anyone this side of Philadelphia betting against Harvard for the national title.

WRESTLING--Coming off its finest season ever, Harvard's varsity wrestling team can only expect better results. Ten victories last winter, a record, put the Crimson in second place in the Ivy League, another record.

The team's top wrestler, Richie Starr, advanced to the semifinal round of the NCAA tourney after last year's season, and he will return as a junior to anchor the squad.

The Crimson's lone weak spot last year was in the lower weights. Frequently, Harvard rallied from 10 or 15-point deficits to win. This year, Yardling Dan Blakinger should be a strong candidate for All-Ivy at 118 lbs. With him, Harvard could go all the way to the Ivy title. Top competition will once again come from Princeton, Yale and Penn, but this squad is much more experienced and better balanced than the second-division Crimson squad of years past.

SWIMMING-A new coach and a new outlook could spell the advent of widespread changes in Harvard swimming this year. The new coach, Don Gambril, is accustomed to national prominence and is a nominee for the 1972 Olympic coaching job. He is a demanding coach and a great recruiter. Last spring, he was able to convince 9 of 11 top swimmers admitted to the Class of 1975 that Harvard was the only place to be.

But while Gambril's presence may attract more top swimmers, it could take its toll on Harvard veterans who aren't willing to make the sacrifice Gambril intends to demand. He says he will be "very disappointed if at time Harvard can't rank in the top ten in the nation." In view of Gambril's record, it won't be long before disappointment at Harvard is a thing of the past.

HEAVY CREW--What was once a Harvard challenge match is now a wide open battle. Back in 1968 Harvard was the top American crew and took the eyes of Cambridge to the Olympics. Hundreds of Harvard freshmen watched films of the Crimson crew sweeping the competition. A dynasty appeared in the making.

All that has changed now. For two years Penn and Harvard battled nose-to-nose, and both years Harvard had the last punch by winning at the Easterns. But last spring an upstart Navy crew embarrassed both Ivy teams by crushing the competition. The days of dynasties were over, and the heavies are competitive again. With strong teams such as Brown and Northeastern and Rutgers threatening to upset the old rulers. Harvard will be fighting to win each race this spring.

Gone from the crew are annual names like Hobbs and Tiffany. Probably also gone is the philosophy that Harvard must not only win but win everything by a large margin. Crew is anybody's guess once again.

LIGHT CREW--Did I say gone are the dynasties? Steve Gladstone's light crews, nicknamed the "superboats," won everything in sight last spring. Not only varsity, but JV and freshman boats were far superior to anything on the water.

The lights were so devastating against the opposition that success was judged by how many lengths of victory. When the Easterns came around, the lights were requesting races with heavy crews just to make the challenge interesting. The heavies were too scared to accept the challenge.

Another season of "superboat" is not only unlikely, it may be physically impossible. In any case, Gladstone has built a reputation like Barnaby's squash record and no one will bet against Harvard's light crew until they lose.

BASEBALL--Like several other squads (Harvard had the leading win percentage in the Ivy League last year), Harvard's baseball squad will be faced with a tough act to follow. The Crimson not only won the Greater Boston League title, the Eastern League title, 26 games, and the NCAA District I crown, it played a professional brand of ball that won praise and respect in all aspects of the game. Sound pitching, fielding, hitting, running, and strategy created more than a successful squad. It produced a team that truly deserved to rank with the best in the nation at the Omaha World Series.

Coach Loyal Park will have to do a lot of digging to replace the loss through graduation. Actually Harvard only lost three starters, but the quality of those men will be hard to match.