Fun in the Fla. sun for M. Swimming

Many Penn students would love to have an excuse to spend their winter break in a warm, sunny environment, passing their days alongside the pool. The Penn men's swimming team has this excuse, as they head to Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla. for their winter training trip.

The Quakers will not just be sunbathing, however. Besides enjoying the Florida sun, they will put in over five hours of practice each day.

"It gets you in great shape for the rest of the year," Penn coach Mike Schnur said.

The swimmers will spend a great majority of their week-long trip in the pool. Their regular routine will consist of two hours of practice in the morning and two more hours of practice in the afternoon, to be supplemented by an hour of dry-land training, weights and running.

"It's hard basic aerobic based training," Schnur said. "And it's great because nobody has anything else to do but to train."

Due to a shortened winter break, the length of the training trip has been cut down from the normal week and a half.

"We have to be more intense," Schnur said. "They have to pack in a lot of training."

Aside from training in the Sunshine State, the Quakers will compete in an invitational organized by Florida Atlantic. The swimmers are unsure about whom they will compete against in this tournament, but in the past, they have faced some of the country's top teams -- including Nebraska, Purdue, and Virginia Tech.

The meet, as in years past, will be a one-day invitational and will include 12-14 events.

Beyond the grueling practice sessions and highly competitive invitational, Schnur sees the trip as a chance for the team to come together.

"This is when the freshmen really bond with the rest of the team," he said.

The Penn freshmen, however, don't seem to have their minds set on the "bonding experience." While excited about the trip, the Quakers first-year members are perhaps more nervous about the intensity of the practices.

"I'm pretty excited because it will be nice to get away from here for a while," Penn freshman Tom Hayden said. " It should be pretty rough down there, though."

While in Florida, the team will be joined by two-time Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League (EISL) finalist, Penn junior Spencer Driscoll. Driscoll has been studying abroad this semester, but will be competing for the remainder of the season with the team.

"He's a great team leader," Schnur said. "He won't be back to his normal swimming self for a while, but it will be nice to have him back."

The Quakers will need all of the help they can get going into the second half of their season, as a rash of injuries has racked the Penn roster. Sophomores Adam Smith, out with an injured left elbow, and Lowell Lamb, sidelined by a broken right wrist, have been forced to the bench due to their injuries. This leaves a giant hole in the Quakers roster, as both swimmers were having very strong seasons.

"This presents some challenges to our training trip," Schnur said. "With the injury problems the other boys will really have to step up."

After returning from Florida on Jan. 5, the Quakers compete in their first meet of the new year on Jan. 12 when Army comes to Sheer Pool.

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