The Simpson Storm softball team was lucky enough to get to enjoy Florida’s sun and play softball over Spring Break. The team played in the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla. The team went 11-3 while in Florida.

The tournament was a good chance for the Storm to get to play teams in the region and teams from outside of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athlete Conference.

The Storm played teams from Arkansas, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Wisconsin, Ohio and South Carolina.

Senior Halie Stalzer thought the tournament was a great experience for the team.

“We were able to play a lot of games and put a lot of different teams together,” Stalzer said. “It was a good chance for us to put different lineups together and see who plays the best together.”

Freshman Kelsey Castenson also said the trip was beneficial to the team.

“I really enjoyed the trip,” Castenson said. “It was a chance for our team to get a lot of bonding in. We got to be a lot tighter.”

Coach Henry Christowski thought the tournament was great for the Storm and the competition was invaluable.

“I was very pleased with the schedule,” Christowski said. “We got to meet some rated teams. I thought that the tournament was very beneficial to us.”

The underclassmen are also doing a great job of contributing to the team.

“We are getting a lot of good leadership from our four seniors,” Christowski said. “It would be hard for an outsider to tell the difference because they have been received so well by the older players.”

Stalzer agreed.

“We have a really good, dedicated group of freshman,” Stalzer said. “They do very well and have been doing a great job of playing well in pressure situations.”

So far this season, the Storm has an overall record of 17-3. The women have high expectations for the season.

“We have two goals coming into every season,” Christowski said. “We want to win the conference and get in a good position in postseason play.”

Stalzer said that the team likes to take things one day at a time.

“Our first goal is to win a conference championship,” Stalzer said. “We would like to make regionals and move on from there. We like to look at everything one game at a time.”

The conference is a tough one this year, as Iowa has one of the most competitive softball conferences in the nation.

Christowski knows that every game is important.

“We’ve got five teams that have the potential of winning the conference,” Christowski said. “It’s all going to depend on who beats who in the playoffs, it is going to be tough.”