The venerable walls of Newell Boathouse are covered with oars, newspaper headlines, banners, and photographs--all tangible reminders of the 126 years that young men have pulled sleek shells through the water at Harvard, and of the winning tradition that those young men have created.

But for the varsity heavyweight crew members that will take to the water Saturday in Providence to open Harvard's 127th rowing season, they need not look back through the illustrious history of rowing at Harvard for inspiration.

Last year's Eight--which has already been enshrined with two large photographs on the back wall of the boathouse--will do just fine.

1985 was a year that saw Harvard rebound from two early-season losses against Brown and Navy to outrace every other crew that it faced. The Crimson claimed the Eastern Sprints title, the Harvard-Yale Regatta for the first time in five years, the official National Championship in Cincinnati, and the most prestigious of all rowing races, the Henley Grand.

Harvard Coach Harry Parker knows that in a sport where split seconds determine races and a myriad of unpredictable factors can determine split seconds, last year's victories don't necessarily count for much.

"The issue is not to compare this season to last year," Parker says. "The issue is how good the squad is this year and how good the competition is."

But with six members of last year's championship crew--including coxswain Devin Mahoney, Neil Oleson in bow, Dan Grout at two, Rich Kennelly at five, Curt Pieckenhagen at six, and Andrew Hawley at seven--all returning to the varsity, the comparison is not without some interest.

"The experience we had racing at Nationals and Henley is really going to help us," Mahoney says. "We're more sophisticated racers this year, at the beginning of the season, than one might normally hope."

New to the boat are Claude Sirlin at three, who was a member of the varsity for the Brown race last year, and moving up from last year's strong freshman contingent are Mark Shoeffel at four and Steve Wayne, who displaced veteran George Hunnewell and will stroke on the varsity squad as a sophomore.

Though only two members of the '85 varsity were lost to graduation, one of them was Andrew Sudduth. When not occupying the six and stroke seats for the Crimson, Sudduth was earning a silver medal in the 1984 Olympics with the U.S. Eight and a silver medal at last summer's World Championships in sculling.

Surely one of the big questions this year's team is going to face is how great an effect the loss of Sudduth to graduation is going to have.

"He's a very, very powerful oarsman, and contributes a great deal to any crew he's with," Parker says. "And last year, since it was a relatively young crew, he also provided some very valuable leadership.

"The hope this year is that the squad will have the depth so that the kind of leadership Andy provided won't be necessary," Parker adds.

Last year, after the opening loss to Brown, Parker replaced two oarsmen and a coxswain and reshuffled the remaining seats. But with a more experienced boat this year, a more successful start for the Crimson is imminent. "I think everyone learned his lesson [against Brown and Navy last year]," says Mahoney, "and they're certainly willing to prove it."

The Crimson will be put to the test immediately, as it faces a Brown team Saturday which it hasn't defeated in dual competition for the past two years."

On April 19, Harvard will journey to Princeton to face the Tigers, which despite four losses to Harvard--including in the Henley finals--was considered second-best in the country last year.

The Heavies can get their revenge against Navy on April 26, when they host the Midshipmen and Penn on the Charles. With a sound defeat of Princeton two weeks ago, Navy appears to be the strongest early challenger aiming to dethrone Harvard.

Yale, Penn, Cornell, Brown, and Wisconsin all figure to give the Crimson a serious challenge in a season that promises unusually even competition.

After a dual meet with Northeastern on May 3, the oarsmen will take two weeks to prepare for the Eastern Sprints at Worcester. The Harvard-Yale Regatta--which was the first intercollegiate athletic contest in 1852 and has been an annual occurrence ever since--will be held on June 7 at New London, Conn.

The winner of that race traditionally has been invited to the national championship race in Cincinnati.