Eight rowers, including six returning oarsmen—co-captain Alex Binkley, Mercaldi and senior Jake Sattelmair along with juniors Pat Haas, Mike Kummer and Rogers—rowed every stroke of every regatta together last year.

“Last year was really a special year,” Mercaldi said. “Out of the two years I’ve been in the varsity at Harvard it was the one time we really enjoyed being together. We were together the whole year.”

Practicing with one another daily, friendships blossomed despite disparate personalities and unique eccentricities as the eight melded into one.

“Usually everyone gets to practice about half an hour before we start,” Rogers said. “That’s where everyone shoots the shit. There’s definitely a kind of fun team aspect there.”

Only Nick Blannin ’03 and senior Dave Stephens, who is taking a year off to train with the Canadian national team, have left holes to be filled as the team prepares to defend its title, which is easier said than done.

The 2001 national championship winning crew returned to Cambridge to defend its title the following year under similar circumstances, but fell victim to injury along the way, missing the Grand Final at IRAs and settling for a disappointing seventh.

“The final boat in 2002 didn’t really happen until sprints,” Rogers said. “If the boat hasn’t been together for very long it’s not going to be very fast.”

With its core group assembled since the start of last year, that shouldn’t be a problem for the 2003-2004 squad.

“I would say [our chances are] pretty good,” Rogers said. “But it’s been said that it’s harder to defend a national championship than to win it.”

But with the dedication the rowers have to the crew and each other, this group seems primed to rise to the challenge.

Strongly bound together, the returning six have shown twice in just one season their capability for overcoming strife to attain their objective.

“All the wins, all the losses were together as a crew,” Mercaldi said. “Bouncing back and winning H-Y-Ps by open water was huge. We were young and everyone was out to prove stuff and had fun.”

Though they are older now, there is still plenty left to prove. Despite winning a national title, none of the veteran six is guaranteed come springtime.

“The boats for the spring are anyone’s seats,” Rogers said. “Winter training can change a lot of results. Last year’s head of the Charles first boat was not last spring’s first boat.”

Not even the lineup for Head of the Charles was firmly set less than a week prior to its first race, so the rowers are paying little attention to events six months ahead.