By Kylee Meter (WSU Athletic Communications)
The Washington State University Women's Swimming team traveled to Delray Beach, Fla. to train for 12 days during winter break.
“We get down and go to a training camp like that, it was a great time for us to really fine tune our skills,” head coach Tom Jager said.
The team spent five hours a day in the pool training, highlighting kick endurance and underwater skills. The athletes were also able to focus on the challenges ahead without distractions. Traveling is part of the sport; going to Florida gave the team a break from cold weather and mentally prepared them for being on the road.
It's easier to wake up in the morning if you know you're in Florida and you don't have to walk outside in the snow, it helps us stay focused, junior swimmer Elise Locke said.
The Cougars also enjoyed a conditioning ocean swim, sunset cruise and attending the musical 42nd Street which Jager said helped the team relate creative discipline and training to swimming.
Conditioning between the Dec. 5 win at Seattle University and the upcoming Jan. 22 meet against Oregon State University was important to keeping the team in shape over their break.
“What I see in our team is that they're ready to compete,” Jager added. “They have been training and training and now they want to race, so we couldn't be in a better situation heading into the Oregon State meet.”
After OSU, the Cougars will look for their second conference road win of season when they head to Utah for a Feb. 13 meet. Earlier this season, Washington State beat Arizona State University 115-90 in Tempe.
“We're definitely ready and we're just going to keep preparing,” senior Presley Wetterstrom said.
Coach Jager believes the teams' self-motivation has produced a good year so far, and that they're in a good spot heading into future meets, including the Pac-12 Swimming Championships set for Feb. 24-27 in Federal Way, Wash.