According to Dr. Timothy Pychyl of Ottawa’s Carleton University, procrastination is closely related to “avoidant coping styles.” This is psychology lingo for a tendency to neglect problems that cause anxiety rather than confront them.

Apparently, as most college students already know, procrastination has deeper roots than just poor time-management skills. Pychyl explained, “Telling someone who procrastinates to buy a weekly planner is like telling someone with chronic depression to just cheer up.” He pointed out that procrastinators showed little difference in their perception of time, but were more optimistic about the amount of time remaining.

We – because let’s face it, this is being written under a deadline – also tend to actively look for distractions. Anyone who has logged six weeks on FirstClass can attest to the thought process of “I’ll start this . right after I check my e-mail for the 406th time today.”

As it turns out, slackers actually tend to lie to themselves. Lies like “I’ll feel more like studying tomorrow,” or “I do my best work under pressure,” only work against the chronic procrastinator. In fact, these statements are just rationalizations for the last-minute warriors to allow them to put work off guilt-free.

Interestingly, Dr. Steven Scher of Eastern Illinois University probed the common belief that procrastinators suffer from a “fear of failure.” Scher challenged that belief and found that procrastinators seem to care less than their peers about how others perceive their success or failure.

They also tend to drink more, according to Dr. Joseph Ferrari of De Paul University in Chicago. This appears to be related to a manifestation of generalized problems in self-regulation. They don’t mean to; they simply misjudge the amount of alcohol they’ve taken in, according to Ferrari.

Instead, procrastinators find anxiety in social interactions, according to Scher.

There also seems to be a clear correlation between lower GPA and procrastinators. A study out of Columbus, Ohio shows students who plan ahead consistently achieve higher marks than their slacking counterparts. In fact, the study, conducted by Bruce Tuckman from Ohio State University, showed that the most severe procrastinators garnered about 0.7 GPA points lower than those who planed ahead. As it turns out, studying eight hours before a final exam is not the most efficient manner to study. Who could have imagined?

So a word of advice to all the kin of the procrastination family: don’t put off what could easily be done today. Who hasn’t heard that at least 87 times in the past four years? The difference is, we – those who wait until the last minute – also tend to have more health issues than others. So for your health, spread your studying out over the next week, and, while we’re at it, why not next semester? Make a New Year’s resolution to be more on top of things in 2008. After all, it can’t be as short lived as last year’s resolution to lose five pounds.

Temptations come from every direction: in your hometown, seeing people you know you won’t be seeing again for months. There are holidays – New Year’s, especially – in which parties, drinking and mistletoe hook-ups are the norm. According to a www.vault.com survey, almost one in six people cheat on their spouses at holiday office parties alone. Your partner’s in another state, in the same cheating-friendly environment – and what you have is a variation on the prisoner’s dilemma.

For simplicity’s sake, let’s call it the cheater’s dilemma: If you cheat but they don’t, you get the hook-up and they lose. If you don’t cheat, but your partner cheats on you, they get the hook-up and you lose. If you both cheat, it’s a wash. If neither of you cheat – well, you can both come back to school holding hands through your mittens while frolicking in the snow.

So how do you navigate this treacherous slope of holiday infidelity? As usual, it’s a matter of communication. In the prisoner’s dilemma, people are abandoned less often when they work out a rational strategy ahead of time. The same applies here: discuss your strategies. If there’s a chance you’re going to cheat, get it out in advance of the cheating. Talk to your partner about how they’d feel and listen to them.

The other option: break up. If the prisoner’s dilemma is all-too-apt a description of your relationship, the holidays are the time to get out of jail, free. However, do the right thing – play that card before you go home, when you can still do it in person, and give them the freedom to get some mistletoe action without you – otherwise, you’re just asking for coal in your stockings.

Once it’s discussed, there’s the little matter of simply not cheating. Secret number one in the “don’t cheat” category: don’t drink. Drinking exponentially increases your willingness to engage in risky sexual behavior – from cheating to having unprotected sex. Spiked eggnog may be tasty, but spending your first hours of 2008 searching for a morning-after pill while trying to figure out how to break the news to your soon-to-be-ex is a sad, sad ending to Auld Lang Sine.

Here’s the part where your moralist sexpert kicks in with the scary statistics, Reefer Madness style: by the time student’s graduate, 81 percent have had sex while drunk. 60 percent of students who have sex while drunk will get a sexually transmitted stocking stuffer. Finally, you’re simply more likely to have sex with people you don’t know as well – and more likely to cheat on the people you do know.

Finally, there’s another thing to think about: you’re at a party, and you meet someone. The two of you aren’t drunk, and you’re hitting it off. Butterflies are coming out of hibernation in your stomach. You can’t brush your teeth without thinking about how they brush their teeth: you get a crush.

Don’t panic. Spending your entire collegiate experience with just one person has its perks, but your time here can be well spent by meeting, flirting, crushing on and dating other people. Breaking up is a regrettable fact of life. Just be honest with everyone involved: don’t fake monogamy or lead anyone on, and you’re in the clear.

While she only published seven poems during her lifetime, Emily Dickinson, the reclusive, mysterious resident of Amherst, Massachusetts, posthumously became one of the most influential poets of the 19th century. With over 1,700 poems now unearthed, Dickinson’s terse, epigrammatic poems with her unconventional capitalization, extensive dashes and lack of meter, have sparked much intrigue from readers. This intrigue led many to the University Bookstore on Dec. 10 for Emily’s 177th Birthday Celebration.

Amanda Hallett, a sophomore English major, opened the event with the Dickinson poem “Hope is a thing with feathers,” followed by Michaud who began with Dickinson’s “I never felt at Home-Below.”

“She talks about God so much,” Michaud observed after her reading, yet she further commented that Dickinson expressed so much doubt and ambivalence in her poetry. Drawing from this, Michaud read from her recent work, “The Waking Hours,” a collection of French translations with a variety of religious undertones.

As an interlude to the main presenters, Mark Haggerty and David Gross, two Honors professors, read, respectively, Dickinson’s “Exultation is the going” and “There’s a certain Slant of Light.”

“She was really funny and ironic,” Ellis noted as she began her presentation following Haggerty and Gross. “I like her coy voice,” she continued, reading one of Dickinson’s more whimsical poems: “‘Faith’ is a fine invention / When Gentlemen can see- / But Microscopes are prudent / In an Emergency.” On a more serious note, Ellis commented on the elusive quality of Dickinson’s poetry, stating, “So many of her poems are hesitant.” In her newest book about her dying mother, “Vanishing Act,” Ellis captures this spirit of Dickinson as she meditates over the odd feelings of confronting her mother’s death.

As she began her Dickinson reading, Sharon Tisher, an Honors and environmental law professor, quipped, “Leaving your room is vastly overrated.” To elaborate, Tisher read Dickinson’s “The Brain-is wider than the Sky-,” a token to the limitless possibilities of the mind. Following, Francois Amar, another Honors professor, read Dickinson’s “My Triumph lasted till the Drums,” talking after about the extensive discussion Dickinson’s poetry sparks in his classes.

Concluding the event, Stover, a poet and instructor at the College of the Atlantic, read from her latest book “Poems from the Pond,” a collection of poems ruminating on Somes Pond where she’s lived for the past 17 years. Before then, however, Stover reflected on the Dickinson quote, “To live is so startling, it leaves little time for anything else.” For Stover, people often fail to appreciate the mystifying amazement that is life for which she attempted to capture in her poetry.

Jay Grant, a first-year political science major, laughed about going just for extra credit, admitting that he was fascinated with Dickinson’s poetry. “She locked herself in her house,” he plainly stated, intrigued by her eccentric lifestyle.

Another student, Emily Desjardins, a first-year business major, agreed, “I’m interested in Emily Dickinson,” adding, “It’s different than modern poetry.”

The poetry event ended with a book signing by the three authors who, with vastly different works, all found a correspondence to Dickinson.

Walking through the library Tuesday night, one was greeted by dozens of furrowed brows, busily buried in uninviting textbooks and hastily scribbled notes.

Why is it that students, time and time again, wait until the last possible moments to begin their study sessions? Do college students have some sort of masochistic desire to stress as much as possible in the period directly preceding finals?

Speaking to a self-professed procrastinator, Caitlin Meyer, a senior elementary education major, rationalized why she staved off her work. “It’s how I’ve done every project,” Meyer admitted. “I’m just a last-minute kind of person.” Meyer was taking time away from compiling a semester’s worth of work to relate why she waited until now to buckle down and tackle the assignment. “I’ll definitely be up all night,” Meyer regretfully conceded while searching for five sections she appeared to be lacking.

However, Meyer seemed to take it all in stride. Even faced with the daunting fact that she would be up all night and student teaching in the morning, she had a rather laissez-faire attitude; she understood that it was no one’s fault but her own for the situation she found herself in. When asked why she waited so long to take on such a significant project, she simply stated, “I just keep finding bigger and better things to do.”

Conversely, sitting across the same large table in the reading room of the library was another senior elementary education major, Theresa McDonnell. McDonnell chose a different path with her semester-long project. She chipped away at it all semester, adding small pieces throughout, keeping up with the work and not waiting to get her work done. “I get stressed out when I have things to do,” McDonnell said of her tendency to stay caught up with work. “I always have … I guess I’m just motivated.”

This motivated individual had a significantly reduced burden on her for the evening; her only remaining work was a reflection over the semester’s accomplishments, far less than the daunting load awaiting Meyer. However, McDonnell sat in stoic support of her friend, a guiding light for Meyer’s wayward voyage into temporary insomnia, generously offering assistance when asked.

As conversations progressed from table to table and new people were met with new deadlines, it became clear that a whole spectrum of procrastination was in place. Not every story heard was as drastic as Meyer’s, and in fact, most had only been putting off studying for a few weeks. Although, to be fair, most spoken to had had a previous test in the last few weeks.

Susan Goniprow, an undecided first-year, had staked out a table with senior accounting major, Loralie Moody, to go over a statistics assignment, due the next day. Both Goniprow and Moody said they generally keep up with their studies, however they found that difficult to do with their statistics class. It seemed quite clear they had little interest in the exciting world of statistics and this translated into being unmotivated to stay abreast of the material.

From the procrastinators questioned, there was a fair amount of rationalization as to why studying was put off in the first place. The most cited reason was that the given person works better under pressure. Perhaps this was true; however, it was clear that those who were studying for next week’s final exams were visually less apprehensive about the future.

On two occasions, students refused to comment for fear their professors might discover their students’ lackadaisical approach to studying up until the night before the big test. Although, interestingly, the students who were more pressed for time seemed more willing to talk for longer periods of time.

As difficult and as daunting as a task may seem, Mary Beth Willett, the interim tutor director, suggests breaking large projects into smaller, more accessible pieces. Willett also hinted at creating rewards for when tasks are completed. They could be as small or as large as one chooses, from taking a coffee break with friends, or buying that new expensive toy from Amazon.com.

Since students were introduced to homework, they have been taught to think ahead, to prioritize, to manage their time appropriately, but it remains unclear why college students prefer to take the stressful approach and put off the work until there is no time to spare. However, a minority of students seem to have taken those grade-school lessons to heart and have come out on top. That being said, other students appear to be living by the mantra that it is never too late to start studying . until it is too late.

Anyone who spent their Monday night watching a weak NFL match-up missed a true battle of the intramural titans. Pike and SigEp have had a strong hold on top of the all-points standings all semester, with Pike having the upper hand recently due to two floor hockey championships last week.

As the game kicked off, SigEp looked to set the tempo right away, but Pike matched them for an evenly-played first half. Few players could drive the lanes without getting roughed up and the tough style of play led to many free-throw opportunities. The low-scoring half ended with Pike holding a slim 16-14 lead.

Early on in the second half, each team made adjustments. SigEp showed they were ready to pick up the intensity, as they locked down on defense and continued to crash the Pike big guys down low. Pike adjusted to this and began to swing the ball around more, opening up shots and driving the paint.

The real turning point came with about seven minutes remaining in the game. Pike had yet to bust open their lead, in front by just three, when sophomore Matt Andreasen took a kick-out pass from a driving Josh McNutt and nailed a contested three. Something had clicked for Andreasen, and on the next two possessions, he buried consecutive three-pointers. “I’m not usually the top scorer, but I try to pick my moments and step it up when it really counts,” Andreasen said. McCarthy recalled that from last season, explaining, “He had some huge shots against us last year too. He just caught fire.”

Down by eight with just three minutes remaining, SigEp enacted a full-court press to catch Pike off-guard. Their aggressive strategy was rewarded with a few steals and buckets, closing the gap to four. After that Pike was finally able to get into the free-throw bonus. One final three-pointer by Andreasen put the lead back up to seven, securing the victory.

“Both teams had a lot of guys show up, and it’s so huge to have your boys behind you and cheering for the whole game,” Andreasen said.

The win helped Pike build on their lead in the standings, but with SigEp close behind and several other fraternities eyeing the top, no one can get too comfortable.

The odyssey to Gillette Stadium, experiences there and near death experience on the way home were just as memorable as the game itself. Here is our story.

My roommate – a very sad Steelers fan – and I woke up early Sunday morning, pulled directions off MapQuest and bundled ourselves in three or four layers of thermal clothes. I had to break several promises to friends that I would go in blue, red and white body paint – I mean come on, finals are next week; I can’t afford to get hypothermia. Then we hopped in her GMC pickup rather than my 1992 maroon Chevy Lumina – because, well, it’s a 1992 Chevy Lumina that I’m a little afraid to take on a “road trip” to Bangor in its current state – and started our trek to Massachusetts.

The trip down was uneventful until MapQuest turned on us. MapQuest’s directions from Orono to Foxboro read as follows: Take I-95 all the way down to Massachusetts, then “Merge onto US-1 S via Exit 9 toward Foxboro / Wrentham.” It turns out that there is no I-95; it turns randomly into I-93 or I-90-something-or-other around Exit 17. Needless to say, we got horribly lost and ended up in a nice little community by the name of Milton. In order to get found again, we had to dig through the truck for a Massachusetts map, which got us back on track just as quickly as the wondrous online versions messed us up. Screw you, MapQuest.

After getting back on track, we had another 45-minute drive to get to Foxboro in bumper-to-bumper traffic. We had planned on tailgating for an hour or so before the game, but had to rush just to make it to the gates by the 4:15 p.m. game time thanks to the brilliant minds at MapQuest.

As we finally approached the gate, we realized that the men and women had to split up in order to get through – What? If someone can send me an e-mail explaining this I’d appreciate it, because it’s beyond me. After waiting in the men’s line for 15 minutes and a weapons and contraband search administered by some kid who was probably still in high school, I finally got to see the glory that is Gillette Stadium. Vendors everywhere, fireworks going off in all directions, drunken 300-pound men beating the crap out of one another before the game even started – it was wonderful.

I won’t go in to much about the game, because there’s not a lot to tell. The Steelers got their hopes and rookie “guarantees” handed back to them on a silver platter, care of the Tom Brady Gang. I expected Brady to Moss to be a common occurrence all night long. I was surprised when I saw Brady to Moss to Brady to Gaffney – that threw me off a little and threw Gillette into a frenzy.

The game ended in a lopsided 34-13 Patriots victory, and with the chant “Guar-an-tee” reverberating through Gillette Stadium, rubbing the win in the faces of safety Anthony Smith and his Steelers teammates.

As the thousands of jubilant New England fans filtered out of Gillette, they gave every Pittsburg fan they saw a hard time. That included my roommate, who I almost felt sorry for – almost.

The ride home was a quiet one. After watching her favorite team lose badly, two hours of sitting in the parking lot we had paid $40 to use, worrying about the freezing rain and sleet that was falling steadily throughout the Boston area and our 3 a.m. expected arrival time back in Orono, she was in no mood to have the loss rubbed into her already deep wounds.

As we drove along I-95 – we did not rely on MapQuest again – I began to doze off. I was jolted awake a couple of hours later when the truck swerved to one side. I looked out my window and saw the flash of a deer about two feet away. Confused and in a daze, I looked over to my roommate, who seemed expressionless. So I went back to bed. Come to find out, we had almost died. A deer jumped in front of the truck, the roads were thick with ice and we had tractor trailers behind and beside us. Apparently, we’re lucky to be alive. I was just glad to go back to sleep with a well-deserved feeling of confidence and pride in our still-undefeated New England Patriots. Plus, I got to see huge, drunk guys beat the crap out of each other over a game – that’s always cool.

Some may say, “Alright, but it’s still the NHL.” This may be true, but the Bruins have gone about their business a different way than the other three mega-teams in Massachusetts. Instead of acquiring big-name players and dominating their league, the B’s have instead played scrappy hockey to rise to the top.

Just two years removed from trading MVP Joe Thornton, the Bruins have used young players and a slew of under-rated veterans to remain competitive. Despite seeing their best young player, Patrice Bergeron, sidelined indefinitely after a vicious hit in November, the Bruins have continued to chug along.

This is due in large part to center Marc Savard. He leads the league in assists and is tied with Thornton at 35 points. Savard, signed as a free-agent before the 2006-07 season, has been nothing short of spectacular in his year-plus with the Bruins. He has arguably kept Glen Murray in the league. Murray was struggling so badly at the beginning of the year that there was talk of trading him to Dallas. Murray scored five goals in the next five games, and Savard assisted on all five.

Another surprise on offense has been Chuck Kobasew. Kobasew played just 50 games last year, scoring only five goals between Calgary and Boston. He seems to be flourishing alongside 20-year-old Phil Kessel and Peter Schaefer, who was acquired from Ottawa during the off-season. Kobasew leads the B’s in goals scored and looks rejuvenated playing with two energetic forwards in Kessel and Schaefer. It is important to note that he is a plus-9 after being a minus-6 in just 10 games with the Bruins last season.

Not all the success can be attributed to Savard, Murray and the offense, which has struggled at times. Solid defense and goaltending have been major factors to the Bruins success. Leading the way has been surprise goaltender Tim Thomas. Thomas, who won 30 games for the B’s last year, has gotten off to an even hotter start this year. Before being injured last week, he had tallied 10 wins and a 2.14 goals against average to go with a league-leading .936 save percentage. He will likely be out for another 10 to 14 days, but new acquisition Alex Auld has been up to the challenge in his first two games, allowing only two goals.

Defensively, the Bruins have been anchored by Captain Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman. Chara is a plus-8 so far this year after being a minus-21 last year. Wideman already has half his goal total from 2006-07 season and is a plus-6. With contributions from young Andrew Alberts and Mark Stuart, the Bruins defense continues to play well despite injuries to Thomas and defenseman Andrew Ference.

Although the Bruins may not be doing things the “Boston” way, they are finding a way to win. New coach Claude Julien has certainly had a hand in the Bruins early success. He came in this off-season and has instilled a disciplinary, tough brand of hockey that his players have been bought into. Within the ever-changing NHL, it may be a matter of time before the Bruins are no more. For now, Boston should enjoy a team that is youthful, exciting and most of all competitive.

The University of Maine Black Bears, who played the UMass Minutewomen for the first time since the 1998-99 season, had several positive notes as three UMaine players finished in double figures, including freshman Tanna Ross, freshman guard Emily Rousseau and Center Sandra Vaitkute. In their last meeting, the Minutewomen won 64-56, but this contest was not nearly as close, as UMass dominated both in the paint and in rebounding.

UMaine did have an offensive spark from Ross, who came off the bench and scored a career-high 20 points. This is the third time this season that Ross has scored in double figures. In addition, Rousseau contributed 13 points and Vaitkute, who dominated around the glass and led the team in blocked shots, adding 12 points along with seven rebounds. It was Vaikute who scored UMaine’s initial six points in the first half, but after that the lead see-sawed back and forth. The Black Bears held a few one-point leads in the first half but were unable to take advantage.

Near the end of the first period, Rousseau made a jumper with 3:33 left, which pulled UMaine to 27-26, but UMass scored nine unanswered points and took a 36-26 lead into intermission.

UMass held a lead throughout the rest of the game and then took a double-digit lead to round out the final 10 minutes of the game, shooting 50 percent – 14-of-28 – from the floor.

In the end, the UMass offense was too much for the Black Bears, as they only shot 40 percent – 22-of-55 – from the floor.

The Minutewomen had a strong game, with senior guard Pam Rosanio scoring 19 points going 8-of-11 from the floor and Kate Mills chipping in 16 points to lead the Minutewomen to a second straight victory. The UMaine women’s basketball team now falls to 1-7 on the season, while the University of Massachusettes improves to 4-5 on the season, with a perfect 4-0 home record.

The Black Bears, currently in the middle of an eight-game road trip, the longest road game stretch since the 1985-86 season, will travel to New York next week to take on St. John’s University on Friday and then St. Francis University on Sunday.

“We know we can play better defense, rebound the ball better and make better decisions,” UMaine guard Junior Bernal said. “After playing in a game like that, we realize we need to bring the intensity and take care of the ball better every single game.”

Bernal said that the team understands every opponent is going to bring a different style of playing to the game, and it is up to the Black Bears to adjust better defensively to keep themselves in a position to win.

UMaine hosts Mount St. Mary’s this Saturday at 2 p.m. and Bernal says that the team is working hard on things they did not do efficiently against FSU.

“We need to be focused from the start, and when we practice we need to come out and challenge each other.”

Maine is a tall, athletic team and Bernal said that limiting turnovers and out-rebounding the opposition will be key to winning Saturday.

Everyone says to take things one game at a time, but the 4-5 Black Bears know it would be nice to win Saturday and go to UConn on the Dec. 22 with a .500 record.

“We would definitely have more confidence going into such a big game with a 5-5 record,” Bernal said. “No matter who we play though, we need to just do what we do, and that means play defense, rebound and attack.”

Maine will look to do just that against Mount St. Mary’s.

A big factor looking ahead to the game against UConn will be if Maine’s No. 2 and 3 scorers can find their rhythm offensively and put their team in a position to be successful. Bernal and guard Mark Socoby were both quiet on the offensive end, in both blow out losses to Providence and Florida State. Bernal knows that teams are going to focus on him and Socoby, so they need be able to adjust better to the defense.

“We just need to keep working hard and play well with our teammates,” Bernal said. The Black Bears bench has begun to step up and put some big points on the board. Bernal knows trust is a key factor for the team.

The loss to FSU adds to the team chemistry because all the players have now experienced the intensity of a big time school that will help them prepare for UConn. “It was a good experience because it was a big atmosphere with higher competition, and when we go to UConn, it will be similar with the high competition and the big arena,” Bernal said. “The new guys on our team, who aren’t used to the intense atmosphere, know what to expect when we go to Uconn now because of the FSU game.”

A pleasant thought for the Black Bears is that they are in third place in America East and only half a game behind Albany.

“We knew we had a lot of good players even though we’re young, and we knew if we did things well like rebound and score in the paint we would be in a good position to be successful,” Bernal said. “We just need to keep working hard and be consistent.”

Despite the loss, UMaine’s Courtney Healey won both backstroke events for the second consecutive week and was named America East Women’s Swimming Performer of the Week. Healey went 1:00.57 in the 100 and 2:08.75 in the 200 events against BU.

“We knew going into it that it was going to be a tough meet,” Healey said. “Over the past few years, BU’s program has just become so strong that they have just become this powerhouse team.”

Megan McLean also took first in an event; swimming 1:08.31 in the 100 breaststroke.

The women finished 2-3-4 in the 200 freestyle as Kari Boffa (2:01.08) placed second, followed by Nissa Marione (2:01.82) and Sara Knight (2:03.67).

UMaine’s butterfly swimmers earned points as Mackenzie Grobmyer finished third in the 200 (2:11.94), and Adi Levy finished third in the 100 (1:01.03).

Samantha Graham led the divers finishing third in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives.

Caitlin Shelley, Mimi Chovanec, Colleen Miller and Boffa wrapped up the meet by placing second in the 400 freestyle relay (3:44.78).

“BU had some fast swims, but Maine was not far behind in each event,” McLean said.

Co-captain Mike Goede led the men’s team by taking top spots in freestyle events; coming first in the 50 (23.10) and third in the 100 (49.81). Goede was also part of the 400 free relay with John Quinn, Jamie Young and Cully Wakelin that placed second to BU (3:18.12).

“It’s not that we swam badly,” Goede said. “We swam well. They just swam better.”

Wakelin also helped the men’s team by placing first in the 100 freestyle (48.60) and second in the 100 breast (1:02.40).

Young finished third in the 200 yard backstroke (2:04.15) and fourth in the 1,000 yard freestyle (10:39.67).

Two third place finishes went to Nick Ruckman; he took the third spot in both the 50 freestyle (23.30) and 100 butterfly (55.32).

“BU has always had really good swimmers and a lot of depth in their roster. We swam very well for the last meet before break, but BU just had more swimmers to put in events,” Tyler Isherwood, who placed fourth in the 100 backstroke with a time of 58.90 said.

On the boards, Keith Burgie placed second in the 1-meter competition and third in the 3-meter. Isaac Forbes placed fourth in both competitions.

The men and women will not be competing again until Jan. 19 when they face Providence College in Rhode Island, but Jan. 3 they travel to Florida for their annual training trip.

“It is definitely a tough trip, both physically and mentally, but we all have a good time bonding,” captain Kiki O’Donnell said.

“Our days consist of an early outdoor practice, breakfast and a nap on the beach, another afternoon practice, and finally dinner and bed,” Grobmyer said. “Literally, we eat, sleep and swim.”