NIU’s swimming and diving team spent 10 days training during winter break in Canect, France.

Each day, members worked out from 8 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., focusing on long course meters, said men and women’s head coach Anne Marie Stricklin.

“I think we were very successful,” Stricklin said. “We accomplished what we set out to do.”

Stricklin said the team worked extremely hard. Team member Tim Griffin agreed.

“It was a no-holds barred train-as-hard-as-you-can-until-you-break practice,” said the senior.

Freshman team member Shanna Rankin said the practice went well.

“It was nice to get away from DeKalb to train,” she said.

Chris Camp said it was tough to adjust to the seven-hour time difference.

“We had practice within a half hour after we got there,” Camp said.

Team members agreed they bonded during the winter training, and each used the time to perfect their skills.

“Being a distance swimmer, I tried to get a lot of good distance sets in,” said Katie Carlson. “This time in the season I try to mentally picture what I think my races will feel like and how I am going to swim my races.”

Griffin said he used the time to work on his heart rate and do quality yards. Camp worked on his stroke technique, as did Rankin.

“I concentrated on finishing every set to my best potential,” Rankin said.

Though the NIU women’s swim team lost its dual meet against Iowa 227-71 and ISU 222-77, it sees the loss as a learning experience. Stricklin said the women’s team swam well at the meet and had the majority of season-best times.

“We did as best we could,” Carlson said. “We kept motivating each other as a team, and we did a good job of competing.”

Rankin said the dual meet made her want to work harder in the pool on her goals as a swimmer. The team has another dual meet at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Anderson Hall pool. Both women and men will compete against Mid-American Conference opponents Eastern Michigan and Ohio. Griffin said the focus is not just about winning but having individual times come as close as possible to Eastern Michigan’s times.

“We’re going to chase them down and see what we can give them,” Griffin said.

Carlson said it has been five to six weeks since the team has competed, and she will have to get her mind back on competing. Rankin is excited to compete again and said the competition will be a good way to show the team how far they can go. Eastern Michigan won its last men and women’s meet, and Ohio won its last two meets.