Big Green Earn Three Major Awards, Have Eight Named to All-NEISA Teams

Photo by: Lexi Pline | US Sailing

Big Green Earn Three Major Awards, Have Eight Named to All-NEISA Teams

5/1/2026 3:20:00 PM | Sailing - Open & Women's

By: Rebecca Osowski

HANOVER, N.H. – On Thursday, the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA) announced its major award winners and All-NEISA teams. Dartmouth earned three major awards and had eight named to All-NEISA teams.

Lilly Baker '27, Bella Casaretto '26 and Interim Head Coach Rebecca McElvain took home major awards for the Big Green while Casaretto, Baker, Olivia Drulard, Chase Decker, Ryan Satterberg, Phoebe Lee, Madeline Koelbel and Sudi Zhao were named to All-NEISA teams.

Baker took home Babineau Crew of the Year, given to the best crew across both open and women's sailing. It is Dartmouth's first time receiving the award since 2007.

She was also named All-NEISA Second Team Open Crew and All-NEISA First Team Women's Crew. At the New England conference championships, Baker led the Big Green to a third place finish at the Fowle Trophy, the open championship and a fifth place finish at the Legler Trophy, the women's championship.

Casaretto was named the Women's Skipper of the Year, the first time the Big Green have won the award since 2022. Additionally, she was named an All-NEISA First Team Women's Skipper.

The Big Green's final major award went to McElvain '19. In her sixth season with the program and first at the helm, McElvain took home the NEISA's Coach of the Year Award. She's led the team to 24 top-five finishes and 14 podium finishes through both the fall and spring season. The Big Green also won two regattas, the first round of the Women's Atlantic Coast Championship and the Harvard Women's Team Race. Her team also finished fourth at the Open Team Race National Championship, its first top-four finish since 2019.

In addition to Casaretto, Olivia Drulard also earned All-NEISA women's skipper recognition, being named to the second team. She competed in 12 regattas this season, helping the Big Green to top-ten finishes in all twelve. Eight of those 12 were top-five finishes.

Both Chase Decker and Ryan Satterberg were named All-NEISA First Team Open Skippers, leading the Big Green to third overall at the NEISA Open Team Race Championship in the spring and fifth at the Open Atlantic Coast Championship in the fall.

Phoebe Lee and Madeline Koelbel earned All-NEISA First Team Open Crew recognition. The pair also sailed in the NEISA Open Team Race Championship along Decker and Satterberg, achieving the podium finishes at big races for the Big Green.

Finally, Sudi Zhao, alongside Baker, was named All-NEISA First Team Women's Crew. Zhao has helped the Big Green to five podium finishes, including wins at the Regis Trophy and in the first round of the Women's Atlantic Coast Championship in the fall.

The Big Green will conclude their 2026-27 season in two weeks with the Intercollegiate Sailing Association's Fleet Race National Championships. The women's race will be first, running from Friday, May 15 through Monday, May 18 before the open race concludes the season from Tuesday, May 19 through Friday, May 22.

Both championships will be held at the University of South Florida. More information on how to follow the championships will be available on DartmouthSports.com.