With the end of a long season in sight, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have not relented in their quest to achieve outstanding performances at nationals.

With three weeks remaining until the UAA Championship meet, the Bears are looking to build on recent success and hard training to carry them through the rest of the season. The NCAA championship meet will occur four weeks after the UAA meet.

As a part of their increased training, the teams spent winter break in Bradenton, Fla. But the trip was hardly a vacation. During the ten days spent in the sunshine state, the swimmers practiced twice a day, making the training the most difficult of the season.

“The trip was just grueling training,” said senior co-captain Sam Haywood. “I think it puts us in a really good place to get back and finish the rest of the season.”

Despite training hard for most of the day, the swimmers managed to find some time for fun. “We got a couple hours each day to lay on the beach,” said junior co-captain Meredith Nordbrock. “[The trip] is really good for team bonding as well. You’re in close quarters with the team all week and you really get to know each other well.”

Upon returning to St. Louis, the success of the trip was measured immediately, as both squads faced Lindenwood University last Friday in a dual meet. The men’s and women’s teams both pulled out wins, with the men winning 137-93 and the women coasting to a 148-74 victory.

“I think everyone was just really pumped up for [the meet],” said Nordbrock. “We’re in the best shape of the entire season because of the training trip.”

The meet was highlighted by a pair of outstanding performances in the 1000-yard freestyle. Freshman Marin Hawk won the event and set a new school record with a time of 10:29.16. Sophomore Kelly Kono’s second place finish of 10:34.23 also broke the previous record.

“Everyone swam very well, so it was a good pick-me-up,” said Nordbrock, who improved her NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 200-yard individual medley to 2:08.94 on Friday. “It’s really nice to see that our hard work in Florida paid off.”

The Bears now shift their attention to preparing for the UAA Championships in February and the NCAA Championships in March. After the intense training over break, yardage swam during practice will be gradually decreased leading up to the championship meets, to allow swimmers to rest before their final swims.

“Everyone’s been working so hard, and so it’s just a matter of doing what our coach gives us and having a little bit of trust,” said Nordbrock.

The Bears are back in action this weekend for the Wash. U. Invitational, their last home meet of the season. Friday’s session begins at 6 p.m. and Saturday’s starts at 11 a.m., both at Millstone pool.

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