There’s something mathematical about the Harvard varsity lightweights this season, something yet more quantifiable than the racing times measured out to hundredths of a second that deny some crews gold medals and give others first place.

The Crimson, which fell to Cornell by 0.08 seconds in the 2006 IRA final, knows all too well the minute quantitative differences that separate first, second, and even third place in lightweight varsity racing.

This year’s statistic relates not to seconds shaved or seats won, but to personnel.

The number? Three.

That’s the number of Harvard seniors on this year’s lightweight varsity, with just one—Matt Young—bringing varsity boat experience to the Crimson. Lightweight captain Pat Mulcahy sat seven-seat in the second varsity eight last year, while fellow senior Matthew Fasman, who is also a chair of the Crimson’s information technology board, rowed in the third varsity in 2007.

Young’s fellow varsity oarsman, Moritz Hafner, is spending what would be his senior year in Switzerland training for the 2008 Olympics.

“Over half the varsity team at the moment seems to be sophomores,” says junior Phillip Parham, who rowed in the bow seat of the second varsity last year. “We’re outnumbered about two to one there as upperclassmen, period.”

The senior contingent finds itself in the severe minority in Newell Boathouse, where the lightweight varsity program has 21 sophomores and 11 juniors on this year’s team.

There are seven times more sophomores than seniors on this lightweight squad, a statistic both telling and wildly different from the senior-laden crews that have called Newell home in the last few years.

“At the beginning of the season, it’s kind of tough—having so many friends and guys that I’ve rowed with for the last two years in the varsity graduating,” Young says. “That’s definitely left a big emptiness that kind of felt like there were huge shoes to fill.”

Young rowed in the varsity eight for each of the last two seasons. They were seasons marked by extensive senior leadership: in 2006, Harvard had 10 seniors, and there were 11 seniors on the 2007 team. The large senior class has been a trend since Young, Mulcahy, and Fasman were freshmen, with seven seniors on the varsity in 2005 as well.

And this year’s small group of seniors stands out in another way: none of them has won a national title at Harvard.

A small group without an IRA gold medal—it’s a rare thing in Newell Boathouse, but the varsity lightweights see great promise in the leadership and potential of this year’s crews.

“Last year, we had a really good season, and we had a boat that was performing at a really high level,” junior Jeff Overington says. “We have had guys that have rowed at that level, and sometimes it just adds some motivation to not have a national title. Sometimes teams that win can get complacent and sort of just fall back.”

What the lightweights might lack in hardware and seniors they make up for in motivation. Harvard has twice finished second to Cornell at IRAs, with the photo finish in 2006 followed up by a 1.12-second Big Red win in 2007. After sweeping the first and second varsity races at the 2005 Eastern Sprints, the Crimson has not brought home a Sprints medal since.

This year’s youthful group, like every rising sophomore class, has been steeped in Harvard’s history. The Crimson lightweights have won seven national championships, 25 varsity Sprints titles, and five Henley crowns. Two consecutive silver-medal finishes at IRAs have this whole group—not just Young, the only varsity lightweight who remains from those two crews—ready to make a splash come springtime.

“We have all this strength on our team,” Parham says. “I feel like once the sophomores work with [lightweight varsity head coach] Charley [Butt] for a few months here and really get the rhythm down and things like that, we are going to start moving together, and these boats are going to fly.”

The lightweights do indeed have the talent, even if it is still a bit raw. The deep sophomore class is as talented as its predecessors, and the lack of veterans gives this year’s sophomore crop more of a chance to crack into the top two varsity boats come spring.

“It’s not like it’s going to be a 1V [first varsity] and a 2V [second varsity] of all seniors,” says sophomore Ben Tuyp, who stroked the first freshman eight in 2007. “Sophomores are getting a ton of work in with Charley, and it’s going to give a lot of guys the opportunity to really get a lot of coaching over the next few years and open up a lot of opportunities for them in their junior and seniors years as far as making the varsity.”

Just four sophomores rowed in the first two varsity eights in 2005. There were only three sophomores in the top two boats in 2006, a number that increased to six in 2007. There will likely be many more this season—a blessing for a young Harvard team that will look to reassert its EARC dominance after two topsy-turvy dual seasons, Sprints disappointments, and second-place finishes at IRAs.

“It was a frustrating year for the 1F [first freshman eight] last year,” Tuyp says. “And the varsity wants to go out there and do well, too. Between their motivation and the new sophomores’ motivation, there’s a huge drive and it’s exciting.

“We are such a huge part of the team this year, so I think everybody can feel very responsible for the outcomes and results of all the varsity boats.”

—Staff writer Aidan E. Tait can be reached at atait@fas.harvard.edu.