The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Swimmers head for Southern ‘vacation’

Swimmers+get+ready+to+jump+off+of+the+blocks+during+the+womens+400+free+relay+at+the+Campus+Recreation+and+Wellness+Center+on+Sunday%2C+Dec.+6%2C+2015.+Iowa+won+the+Hawkeye+invitational+for+the+second+year+in+a+row.+%28The+Daily+Iowan%2FBrooklynn+Kascel%29
Swimmers get ready to jump off of the blocks during the women’s 400 free relay at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015. Iowa won the Hawkeye invitational for the second year in a row. (The Daily Iowan/Brooklynn Kascel)

The Hawkeye women’s swimming and diving team will begin a tough training period in Florida.

By Jake Mosbach

[email protected]

After the Hawkeye women’s swimming and diving team clobbered archrival Iowa State on Dec. 11, the calendar said they had more than a monthlong break until their next competition.

But a “break” is the furthest thing from the swimmers’ minds.

While many UI students will be at home relaxing after the stresses of finals, head coach Marc Long’s team will be in the midst of its most intense training session of the year.

The Hawks will travel to St. Petersburg, Florida, on Jan. 3, undergoing strenuous physical and mental training during a weeklong excursion to make a final push before resuming the season.

Long said the Hawks will have time to relax at home, but that will be brief.

“They get to go home for about nine days,” he said. “But when they come back, it really starts our final training push. We’ll head down South with them … there are no classes, no homework. So it’ll be a time for them to focus solely on training.”

But physical and mental training can only go so far in college athletics. The St. Petersburg trip will also provide the group with a team-building experience that the coaching staff believes is essential if the Hawks are to succeed in the second half of the season.

Associate head coach Frannie Malone believes the chemistry in the team right now is good, and the training session will improve upon that.

“It’s such an important time for us, and we’ll need to come together as a team more than we already have this year,” she said. “We as a staff know that will happen.”

The Hawks are coming off impressive performances at the Hawkeye Invitational in early December and a dunking of the Cyclones in Ames. But the beginning of the season could have gone a little better for Long’s squad.

They opened the season with three-straight victories against Illinois-Chicago, Michigan State, and Northern Iowa. However the next two Big Ten opponents, Minnesota and Purdue, dominated the Hawks.

With their 1-2 Big Ten record, the team will go to Florida aiming to return to conference meets with more grit and fire.

“It’s one of those things in which it’s almost like we can never do enough,” Long said. “The Hawkeye Invitational was fantastic. But these Big Ten dual meets, they can use some work. We expect to do better, for sure.”

Last week, senior Olivia Kabacinski agreed with her coaches, saying the period after the Hawkeye Invitational, including the Iowa State meet, would be crucial in forming a team strong enough to put up a fight in the Big Ten.

She enters the training period after putting up a pool record-breaking solo time in the 100 free against Iowa State. She was also a part of the record-breaking group in the 200-medley relay.

“Right now is certainly a time when we can see how far we’ve come as a team,” Kabacinski said. “But it’s also a time when we can find out how far we have to go.”

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