The Big Green displayed its impressive depth by also taking first place in the Dave Perry Trophy, a smaller, conference-level co-ed event in New Haven, Conn., on Saturday.
Matt Wefer '14 led Dartmouth at the Schell, winning five races and finishing in the top five in 15 of the regatta's 18 races. He won the B Division, which included 18 teams, by a margin of 11 points.
Wefer credited his teammates for his success this weekend, calling this season a "stepping stone process that has allowed the team to get to where we are."
"When one person starts doing well, it motivates everyone else to try that much harder to keep up," he said.
Head coach Justin Assad echoed Wefer, adding that one of the season's highlights has been "the spirit of teamwork at regattas."
"It makes you love coaching," Assad said.
Kelsey Wheeler '14 also raced exceptionally, taking second place in the Urn's A Division. Finishing in the top five in 10 of the regatta's 12 races, Wheeler and her crew which alternated between Sarah Peck '14 and co-captain Molly Wilson '13 helped the Big Green women secure the overall victory in an 18-team field.
The Big Green's scope has propelled it to incredible success this fall. Dartmouth has won eight regattas, and has placed in the top five in 18 of the 31 regattas it has sailed in this season.
"We knew we had the ability to be really good this season," co-captain Sam Williams '12 said. "It's nice to finally see it all come together."
While Assad said that one of the team's primary goals this season was to focus on its learning process and not necessarily on results, he called the weekend's victories "phenomenal."
"These were our first big wins in several years on the national stage," he said. "And the thing that was most impressive was that [winning] wasn't our goal going in."
He added that whether or not Dartmouth wins, the team endeavors to learn from each race.
"Even though we did really well this weekend, everything is a chance for improvement," Wheeler said. "The team did awesome, but we still have things to work on."
The team's success this season has stemmed in part from its team-oriented attitude, team members said.
"It can either get super competitive fighting for spots, or there can be a genuine sense of teamwork, with everyone trying to work hard to put the two best players out on the water," Assad said. "Luckily, we have the latter."
Wefer said team members feed off each other's energy and determination.
"When one person starts doing well, it motivates everyone else to try that much harder to keep up," he said. "It's not just the top guys at whatever regattas that deserve the credit everyone who is pushing them deserves credit."
A renewed emphasis on fitness has also contributed to the team's success.
"The workout routine got more strict in the past year," Williams said, adding that mandatory workouts in the Floren Varsity Field House paid off when facing the difficult conditions this weekend.
Wilson said it is important for the team to keep pressing forward as it enters the final stretch of the season.
"[It's] really easy to have a good event and then stop focusing on the fact that every event is a new event," Wilson said, "For the next two weeks, and going into spring, we are going to stay focused as much as possible on little details and keep having fun."
Dartmouth sails at the ACC Championships on Nov. 12.
