Finally.

Finally the UNCW swimming and diving team is free from injuries and sickness.

Finally the squad is in shape.

Finally the Seahawks enter the final, urgent end to the season.

And finally the women’s team won its first meet of the season, sweeping Navy and the College of Charleston, on Jan. 17. Freshman Sarah Beth Schooley paced the Seahawks with wins in the 50-meter freestyle, 200-meter backstroke and swam a leg in the 400-meter relay.

The men’s squad also captured a victory, topping the College of Charleston as the sophomore diver Dean Berman set a UNCW Natatorium record in the 1-meter men’s dive.

The meet began the final four meets of the season, which comes in a quick five-week stretch that includes the home finale against archrival East Carolina Feb. 7. The season ends with the CAA Championship Meet on Feb. 18-21.

“At this point of the season, you’re really working to gain some momentum. You got a championship coming up in a little over a month, month-and-a-half,” said coach Dave Allen. “Through these next several weeks that we have and work on getting faster and faster as you go, so you’re going into the championship with some momentum, that’s what we’re exactly focusing on.”

The squads feel their most confidence of the season. After battling a slow start and a rash of sick athletes that slowed the conditioning, the Seahawks feel ready for a strong finish.

“Now we’re complete; everyone’s here,” said senior Pat Bradford, a member of the defending CAA champion men’s squad. “Our goal is to win the conference. And we hope to do it. … We want to win. That’s the goal. If we don’t, that’s a shame, because we’ve got the talent.

“It’s not just everyone’s back. Everyone’s 100 percent.”

Where the squads have improved over the winter break, where they trained in Jacksonville, Fla., is in their overall performance. Everyone, from the swimmers expected to compete for championships, to those whose job it is to pick up points by finishing further down in the standings, have boosted their times.

“This team has come a long way, as far as training and times,” said women’s squad senior Jamie Hamill. “We can make a lot of impressions in the next few weeks that a lot of people aren’t expecting.”

The Seahawks’ next chance to impress opponents comes Jan. 23 at the Davidson Invitational.