The Harvard varsity heavyweight crew team does not have one strong, committed captain this year.

Instead, it has two.

With members returning from the American and Canadian Olympic teams, this year's squad has unusual strength not only in its individual members but also in its leadership.

Under senior Co-Captains Arthur Hollingsworth and Chris McDougall, a national championship season like that of two years ago could very well be in the making.

Two is not always better than one, but the performance of these two individuals so far seems to disprove the theory that less is more.

"It's still early in the year so it's hard to assess them," says Head Coach Harry Parker, adding. "I can say that they've shown a lot of enthusiasm and seem intent on providing the squad with positive leadership."

The Harvard varsity letter holders elect captains in early June, following the Yale race. "More often than not," Parker says, a single captain is elected, "but in the case where two individuals are held in equal regard, the team will elect co-captains."

The result is what McDougall calls "sort of a Punch and Judy combination." Of his co-captain, he says, "Arthur has had experience with the military so he's got a lot of discipline. He's serious and dedicated and it rubs off on the rest of the team."

Regarding McDougall, Hollingsworth comments, "Chris adds a lot of color to the team. He's got a mischievious attitude that's great at easing the tension...for example, earlier this year he lead a mass jump in into the Charles in a semi-naked condition.

"Together we can do a lot more for the team than we could alone," Hollingsworth adds. "We can each focus on different areas to help people out."

The result is a relaxed but hard-working attitude at Newell Boat House. In addition to the occasional tailgate and Friday afternoon races followed by a few cases of beer, the spirit and cohesion of the team is evident in its participation in events such as the Head of the Connecticut.

The captains organized Harvard's first trip to this early-October race, where the Crimson captured first place over Penn, Brown and other Eastern conference schools.

Senior coxswain Dave Corey sums up their leadership. "They're perfect Right now the atmosphere is very relaxed but their personalities will be most important in the spring when there's a lot of pressure."

He adds, "In order to win, you have to have people working together. The only thing that can keep us from a national championship is personality conflicts. It'll be up to Chris and Arthur to deal with that and I think they can do it."

And while the Hollingsworth-McDougall combination is noteworthy, both can stand alone on their achievements as oarsmen.