"For everyone on the team to put in so much work and to see that hard work validated by winning a national championship was truly unbelievable," co-captain Chris Downer '11 said. "I've never been so happy in my entire life."
Played on a smaller field with seven players per team compared to the Premier Division's 15, sevens is a faster game that sees more ball movement and running, head coach Alexander Magleby said in a previous interview with the Dartmouth.
In the final against Army which included two 10-minute halves rather than seven-minute halves like in the rest of the tournament Dartmouth dominated throughout the match and took advantage of numerous Black Knights mistakes. Tournament co-MVP Downer opened the scoring with a try on the left side to put the Big Green up 5-0. Army quickly evened the score at five when the Black Knights caused a breakdown in the Dartmouth defensive line, but after the equalizer, Army was undermined by a slew of unforced mistakes.
Dartmouth took advantage of a Black Knight penalty on the five-meter line when Nate Brakeley '12 tallied his first try of the tournament to give the Big Green a 10-5 lead. On the drive, Dartmouth rapidly moved the ball down the line and Brakeley worked his way through two defenders for the score.
Captain Paul Jarvis '12 then turned a knock-on in almost the same position on the field into another try to make the score 17-5 after the conversion.
Dartmouth added to its lead at the end of the first half when Downer took a pass from Will Lehmann '12 and scored his tournament-leading eighth try to put the Big Green up 22-5 at halftime.
Ball control was the key to Dartmouth's success in the game, as the Big Green forced the Black Knights to play defense for the vast majority of the match and starved them of the ball, according to Downer. When Army did get the ball, Dartmouth had a very organized defense and did not give the Black Knights much space to work their attack.
Army tried to mount a comeback early in the second half, but Muhammed Abdul-Shakoor '10 put the match out of reach as he dodged several defenders and somersaulted into the zone for another Dartmouth try.
The victory avenged a 32-23 loss suffered by Dartmouth at the hands of Army just over two months before the rematch. Dartmouth had not beaten Army in the previous four years.
"We were peaking at the right time," Jarvis said. "In the tournament, other teams might have had better individual players, but I believe we had the best package of players, the most complete squad."
Downer shared the tournament MVP award with his brother Nick Downer '11, who was a playmaker on offense and anchored the defense for the Dartmouth squad.
The road to the championship final was not easy for the Big Green. In its first game in pool play, Dartmouth competed against the University of Utah, the defending national champions. After being down 12-0 in the first half, the Big Green stormed back in the second half and eventually went on to win, 17-12.
In the other two matches in group play, Dartmouth defeated Notre Dame University by a score of 24-19 and shut out Boston College, 36-0.
On the next day, the Big Green eliminated its Premier Division rival Penn State University in the quarterfinals with a 12-7 victory.
From there, Dartmouth held on for a 24-12 win in its semifinal match over Central Washington University.
"This is the first national championship in history for Dartmouth rugby," Jarvis said. "It's incredibly rewarding as a small school to beat teams like Army, Penn State and Utah."
Jarvis added that the team owes a great deal of its success to the administration and the Dartmouth students who watched the games and took the time to support the squad.
With the sevens season now over, Dartmouth rugby will have the summer off before reconvening in late August to begin preparations for the fall 15s season.
