Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were hard at work over break, taking a training trip to Sarasota, Florida, to prepare for the championship portion of the season.

The trip, used each year to get away from the distractions of break, spanned from Jan. 3-10.

“Getting down here clears out any other distractions,” head coach Marc Long said in a release. “You can focus on training for performance, and it’s a great environment. When you go to places like this, it’s the culture. There is an aquatics atmosphere, so that helps in bringing them together.”

Most days during the trip were spent with a swim in the morning, followed by a weight session. On harder training days, the Hawkeye swimmers spent two hours in the pool in the morning, followed by an afternoon lift, with another two-hour session in the pool that night.

The training trip is also an opportunity for both the men’s and women’s teams to grow closer as units.

“It’s something we look forward to during the first half of the season and is a good restarting point in the middle of the season,” senior Charles Holliday said in a release. “We’re getting in hard training and are training together. It’s the best time of the year to come together and gear up for the rest of the season.”

Sitting at 1-2 in the Big Ten, the men want to propel themselves from their training trip into a successful championship season. With the Big Ten Championships only five weeks away, the bulk of their training is behind them.

The men will travel to Northwestern on Saturday, followed by a trip to the Shamrock Invitational in South Bend, Indiana, on Jan. 29-30, before they host their home finale against Western Illinois, a tune-up before the Big Tens.

The women’s team started the new year with a bang, coming home from their training trip and earning up a conference win against Illinois on Jan. 16, 174.5-125.5.

Junior Emma Sougstad showed she had not missed a beat over break, picking up two victories in the 50-meter freestyle and 200-meter breaststroke. Sougstad was also part of the winning 200-medley relay team.

Sophomore Meghan Lavelle was also a two-time winner, placing first in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke.

The Hawkeyes will travel to Northwestern this weekend to try to moving their conference record to 3-2.