It was what Head Coach Frank Pizzo called a "picket fence Sunday" for the sailing team at the New England Dinghy Tournament (NEDT) this past weekend.
Sailing in Larks on home waters at Bethel Point, the Polar Bears placed first out of a fleet of 11 boats.
The team won all races sailed on Sunday, putting up a series of first place finishes that equated to, in Pizzo's words, a "picket fence" on the scoreboard.
Alex Takata '12 and Laura Heyl '10 sailed the majority of A-division races on Saturday, with Billy Rohman '11 and Caitlin Beach '10 competing on Sunday.
The team of co-captain Charlotte Williams '10 and Ben Berg '12 sailed both days for the B-division fleet.
"Winning the NEDT this weekend was exciting and satisfying. We had the advantage of sailing in our own boats at our site, but we also found out that our hard work this season has paid off in terms of boat speed and tactical decision making," said Williams.
"This past weekend was an important stepping stone heading into the next few weeks," added Pizzo.
The regatta served as a championship qualifier, with the top two teams earning berths to the upcoming New England Dinghy Championships.
The University of Connecticut, finishing in second place, earned the additional berth.
An additional coed team sailed at the Longfellow Bridge Invitational, hosted by Harvard. Competing in FJs on the Charles River, the consortium of sailors notched a midfleet finish, placing ninth out of 16 teams.
During both days of competition, the team sailed in tough, breezy conditions that yielded a handful of capsizes on the shifty river.
Skippers Jeff Goodrich '12 and Tom Charpentier '10 placed eighth in A-division, while Jimmy Rohman '13 and Zac Fox '13 finished ninth in B.
"The conditions at Harvard were wild, with survival conditions in the first two races that died down into some really nice sailing by the end of the day," said Goodrich.
On the women's side, the team of Katie Doble '13, Coco Sprague '11, Sarah Fiske '13, and Isabel Low '13 traveled to Boston University to compete at the President's Trophy Intersectional.
Despite winds upwards of 25 knots, Doble and Sprague excelled on Saturday, crossing the finish line in fourth place out of the 10-boat fleet.
The women struggled on Sunday, falling to a ninth-place finish overall for the regatta.
"We had some young skippers at the women's event this past weekend. They are talented, but not battle tested, so weekend events are very important for developing experience," said Pizzo.
The women's team looks to rebound from this setback this weekend at the two-day Wick-Shrew regatta hosted by the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Competing several miles down the Thames River, the coed team will sail at the New England Dinghy Championships/68th Coast Guard Alumni Bowl.
The regatta, hosted by Connecticut College, serves as a national qualifying event for the ICSA Dinghy Semifinals held in early May in Seattle and Charleston.
Topping off a busy weekend schedule, Bowdoin will send sailors to the Oberg Trophy, a three-division fleet race hosted by MIT, as well as the Sail Maine Invitational held at the University of Southern Maine.