"It's hard enough to build up a reputation for yourself, but it's a lot harder to keep it." So says Bert Haines, who consistently turns out championship 150-pound crows for the Crimson and who tomorrow starts shooting for his third straight undefeated season when his charges hit the River Charles against M.I.T.

"But I never underrate opponents," the genial lightweight coach declares. Even though his varsity eight last year trimmed every other 150-pound boat in the world to rank as unofficial champion and match the Varsity heavies' title, Haines is making no predictions for the coming campaign. "We'll have some tough races this spring and how they'll come out nobody knows."

Veterans Back

Whether or not the opponents prove to be tough, Haines will have one big factor in his favor. Half of the past two seasons' winning eight is still intact, and yet another of last year's boatmen will be back, thus leaving only three new oarsmen in the first shell. Main question mark is at stroke, where Jack Smith will be making his debut tomorrow. Though he worked for the yearling crew last spring, Smith is new to the stern slide. If he looks at home in his new position tomorrow, most of Haines' worries will be over.

Behind Smith from bow up are Henry Erhard, Art Hall, George Hall, Julian Roosevelt, Dave Clark, Bill Evarts, and Bill Dowd with Clark, Dowd, and the Hall twins the two-year veterans. The Halls' older brother, Howland, is the man Smith must replace. Taking over the tiller ropes this year is Charles Kregar.

Quickly following up tomorrow's contest, the 150's face their letter meet next Saturday when they take to the oars against Yale and Princeton in hopes of maintaining a hold on the Bowditch Cup. But the big regatta is on deck for the following weekend at Princeton in the Wright Cup competition where Cornell, Columbia, Penn, and M.I.T. as Well as the Elis and the Tigers, will be vying to wrest the trophy from Cambridge.

The same schedule holds for Haines' Freshmen 150's who also open with the Techmen tomorrow. Reading from bow to stroke, the Yardling shell lists Sam Allen, Bob Menslage, John Bordman, Dick Grosvenor, Tom Day, Sutton Potter, Ted Barrett, and John Wells. Coxing will be Chuch Osborne. Four of these men--Allen, Menslage, Day, and Barrett--had never rowed in a shell before September--a fact which says plenty for the Crimson's fall-winter Freshman training program which yearling coach Harvey Love carries on each year.