On Friday, Jan. 3, the Grand Valley State Swimming & Diving Team continued their successful season with both the men’s and women’s teams earning dominant wins against Lewis University and Rochester Institute of Technology. GVSU Swimming & Diving is now 16-1 on the year under Coach Andy Boyce.

“The meet went really well and we’ve been training pretty hard all year,” Boyce said. “This is our heaviest training time of the year and they were pretty tired going into the meet, but they did well.”

Boyce said he was impressed by both the men and women during the meet.

“I was pretty pleased with how everyone did, especially the divers,” Boyce said. “The women got first, second and third for the boards which was really nice. For the men, I thought Harry Shalamon had a good showing, winning the 100-yard and 55-yard backstroke races.”

This meet was a little bit different, taking place in Fort Pierce Florida. The team got there on Monday, Dec. 30, and Boyce said it’s gone well.

“We were able to get out of the cold climate and not have to worry about school because we’re on break, which really allows us to focus on the training and try our best to get better,” Boyce said. “We do our best to get to know each other well and the long bus ride down here definitely helps with that.”

Even though it has been break for most students, GVSU has been training hard, practicing two times a day as well as lifting weights. However, they still try their best to enjoy the holiday season.

“We didn’t do anything special for New Year’s Eve, but everyone did their own thing,” Boyce said. “On New Year’s Day, we all got together as a team for dinner in West Palm Beach.”

When asked to describe the dynamic of his team, Boyce focused on how competitive the team is this year.

“I think we’re a really close team, a really deep team in all of our events, so we have people on our team that are pushing each other to be better,” Boyce said. “Every meet we go into, people are competing for spots on our team and trying to move up on the roster. I think that’s good, healthy competition.”

As the new semester begins, this trip was the last big moment that the team will have to get a lot of good training in. The GLIAC Championships start in a little over six weeks and the Division II National Championships start two-and-a-half weeks after that.

“With our two biggest meets of the year are coming up in a little over a month-and-a-half, we’ll focus a little more on the speed and technique work,” Boyce said.

Boyce said that he tries make the trip to Florida a memorable one for his players. He still looks back fondly at the training trips he took when he was in college.

“I think the trip is pretty memorable for everyone,” Boyce said. “You’re around some of your best friends and I like to think that a lot of the swimmers and divers on our team are pretty close and consider each other good friends. Also, I think all of them pushing through these tough practices together is really important and goes a long way to help strengthen that bond.”

GVSU Swimming & Diving will look to improve their record in Indianapolis against Lindenwood University  Jan. 11.