While the men's heavyweight crew won't start its spring season until April 10, the lightweights open in Philadelphia for the Mathews Cup with Penn and Cornell on April 3.

According to Harvard lightweight co-captain Thomas Fallows, the crucial time for collegiate crew is approaching quickly, and the Crimson will soon see how it stacks up.

"This is the first time since November that we've faced anybody," Fallows said. "The first race of the year, people come into it with a lot of hopes and expectations. The first race is a reality check."

"Every single team comes into its first race with high hopes, and you come out of it with a real sense of who the big players are going to be this year."

And the reality for the lightweights is that there are four new members in the boat.

"It's going to be a real testing ground for them and for the boat as a whole," Fallows said.

The two Radcliffe crews will also be testing the waters for the first time this season over spring break.

Both the heavyweights and the lightweights will open at home on April 3. The heavyweights will face Northeastern and Brown, and the lightweights will host George Washington, Tufts and Brown.