Melissa Kern '07 believes that "the winter trip is essential to our training...we get to concentrate on getting into shape and getting stronger in the pool." Kern explained that rapid progress over the training trip is a result of eliminating distractions that may exist for the swimmers in Hanover.
"It is nice not having classes to stress about while we are away, allowing us to really concentrate on our swimming. Also, we get to swim outside, which makes practice a little more fun," she said.
Andrew Berry '08, a standout diver who broke the school record for the one-meter dive and could garner an invitation to the NCAA championships in March, agreed with Kern's remarks about the importance of leaving campus to train over break.
"Getting away from campus allows us to instantly leave stress, routine and habits behind and concentrate solely on training. I think that if we stayed in Hanover, we would end up going out every night instead of getting to bed," he said.
Freshman diver Kelly O'Callaghan '10 participated in her first training trip this year, and emphasized the team-building aspects of the trip.
"Spending so much time together definitely brought the team closer," she said "We were all dealing with the same things, being tired and scared of some dives, and I think everyone did a great job of trying to support each other, which will hopefully carry over for the rest of the season."
O'Callaghan's insight was echoed by co-captain Lizzy Rippe '07. "This year's trip was the first time the men and women traveled and trained together and it gave us a great opportunity to spend some time outside of the pool deck with each other. Between practices, we had a chance to hang out on the beach, scuba dive, kayak and explore the islands. I think training trip really brought the team together in the spirit of family unity."
Junior freestyler Joe Braunreuther '08, who missed this year's trip due to a foreign study program in London, weighed the importance of the trip's ability to unite the Big Green squad beyond the actual training.
"I was definitely upset. During training trip, everyone gets to know each other well and the freshmen get integrated as part of the team," he said. "I missed out on that. Missing the training part isn't that big of a deal, I did it at home."
Porter Diehl '09 has missed much of the early season competition and training due to a broken bone in his left hand, but was able to partake in winter training with the aid of a waterproof Gore-tex cast.
"It was pretty rough having half of my season ended with breaking my hand, but having a waterproof cast has been good. I've been able to get back in and train, though it is awkward swimming with your wrist immobilized. I should be all set come Eastern's (the championship meet) at the end of next month and hopefully the team can put up some good swims," he said.
The teams hope that their experiences and hard work in the islands will pay dividends this season, as they have set lofty personal goals for this year.
"Our team wants to move up in the league this year," Kern said. "We were seventh last year at championships, but have the talent to improve that standing this year. Individually, each swimmer hopes to post personal best times in their respective events and the divers aim to post life-time best scores."
Berry commented on the impact this season could have for the future of Dartmouth's swim and dive program, in light of its struggles in recent years.
"The team has been working on maintaining a focused and determined attitude despite being hurt by injuries, difficulty retaining swimmers each year and trouble convincing admissions that we need a little more support for our top recruits than they have been giving us," he said.
The women's team springs back into action on Wednesday, Jan. 10 with a home meet against the University of Vermont, and both teams will travel to Boston on Saturday, Jan. 13 to take on Boston University. "It will be our first chance to see if all our work from training trip pays off," said men's co-captain Brent Butler '07.
