Photo by Hana Isihara ‘17

While the majority of the United States suffered through a bitter cold spell, the Lafayette men and women’s swimming and diving team were stationed in sunny Plantation, Fl for their annual winter trip.

Captain Abby Floyd-Jones ‘14 believes that “the winter trip is critical to our training…we get to focus on getting into shape and getting stronger in the pool.” Floyd-Jones explained that the training trip is a way to remove distractions that loom over the team during the academic year.

“It is nice to be away from the stress of school while enjoying the warm weather,” the senior said. “Bonding time with the team is an unparalleled experience, while together focusing on our championship season goals.”

Molly Gondolf, senior captain and long-distance standout, agreed with Floyd-Jones’ remarks about the importance of leaving campus to train over break.

“Leaving campus allows us to leave the stresses of the academic year behind us and concentrate solely on training,” she said.

Freshman swimmer David Perlow ‘16 participated in his first training trip this year, and also emphasized the team-building aspect of the trip.

“Spending so much time together definitely brings the team closer,” he said. “All bonding over the same goals, the same amount of exhaustion, and the experience is a great thing for the team.”

The team hopes that their experiences and hard work in Florida will pay dividends this season, as they have not had a top half of the Patriot League performance since 1993 for the men’s team, and 2008 for the women’s team. The team’s finished 7th and 6th last season respectively.

“Our team wants to remain competitive within the Patriot League,” Floyd-Jones said. “With the addition of Loyola Maryland and Boston University, we strive to continue to improve upon our personal bests from last season and hopefully break a few school records at championships.”

The team springs back into action on Saturday, Feb. 1 with the Navy Invitational in Annapolis followed up with the Patriot League championship starting Wednesday, Feb. 19 to Saturday, Feb. 22.