The Big Green traveled to Eastchester Bay, N.Y., to compete in the Jesuit Open hosted by Fordham University. Dartmouth finished second out of 16 teams, behind only Hobart and William Smith Colleges' sailors in the A and B-divisions.
Kelsey Wheeler '14 and Lizzie Guynn '16 sailed A-division for the Big Green, while Evan Read '16 and Abby Rohman '16 competed in the B-division. Both boats took second in their respective divisions, the A-division boat of Wheeler and Guynn bouncing back from a disappointing 10th-place finish in the fourth race.
Conditions on the first day were a bit difficult, with light and variable winds coming from all directions. On the second day, conditions improved, as did Dartmouth's fortunes. The Big Green A-division notched two first-place and two second-place finishes on the second day of sailing to jump Tufts University for second place.
The Big Green took third out of 20 squads on the Thames River in the Danmark Trophy hosted by the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.
Matt Wefer '14 and Avery Plough '14 sailed A-division, with Scott Houck '15 and Julia McKown '17 as their counterparts in the B-division. The B-division team notched third in their division while the A-division team tied for fifth.
"Winds were light and shifty," Wefer said. "With an offshore breeze coming in this narrow of a river, you don't have much time to prepare for it. It becomes more reactionary sailing and the big thing is just trying to stay consistent."
The A-division fell close to the bottom in only one of 10 races. The B-division perhaps did even better, only falling out of the top six in two races.
"The B-division was quite consistent," Wefer said. "They started quite well, which gave them opportunities to stay there instead of fighting their way back through the fleet. They're very fast and have been sailing well this year."
The Big Green also competed at home this weekend, hosting the Hewitt Trophy home on Lake Mascoma, and placing second out of 16.
Victor Hollenberg '14 and Hunter Johnstone '16 sailed A-division while Charles Lalumiere '17 and Mia Steck '17 sailed in B-division. The B-division squad won their division by six points over eventual regatta winner Connecticut College. The A squad had more difficulty, placing seventh in their division. Connecticut College dominated the regatta, beating the runner-up Big Green by 33 points.
Conditions on the first day prevented any sailing from going off as the few zephyrs that came through were not enough to launch quality races. The second day had much more amenable conditions and 10 races went off without a hitch.
The Big Green also competed in the Bowdoin Women's Invite over the weekend in Maine, placing fifth out of seven. The race was a combined division style competition, meaning both A- and B-division teams sailed together in the same race instead of being divided into their own races.
Sarah Peck '14 and Sarah Williams '16 sailed A-division for the Big Green, accompanied by Emily Petno '16 and Caroline Gray '16 in B-division. Dartmouth completed 15 races for the regatta.
"The conditions were definitely frustrating over the course of the weekend," Petno said. "On the other hand, that allowed us the chance to work on playing shifts downwind."
The A-division and B-division sailors all struggled, though A-division had slightly more success. The A squad placed eighth out of 14 teams in the regatta with 106 points, while the B squad finished in 11th with 131 points.
"Despite the light winds, we focused on fleet management," Gray said. "We also focused on our starting, and I think we improved throughout the race."
The final regatta the Big Green attended was the Central Series Four at Tufts University. The team came in fifth out of seven teams here as well.
Thomas Gallagher '16 and John Lewis '17 sailed A-division for the Big Green while Nathaniel Greason '17 and Caitlin Martin '15 were in B-division. The team's fifth-place finish came only behind four teams from host Tufts, with Dartmouth beating Northeastern University and Salve Regina University. The regatta was only four races long, increasing the importance of each individual race to the final results.
Dartmouth takes to the waters again this weekend, competing in four regattas beginning Oct. 12.
