The LSU Swimming and Diving teams returned to practice at the LSU Natatorium on Monday.The teams practiced at the University Student Recreational Complex last week because of the damage to the facility from Hurricane Gustav.A portion of the Natatorium’s roof was ripped off, which allowed debris from the storm to blow into the building. A few windows broke, and glass got into the pool, which required special attention.    “We had some guys scuba dive and vacuum it out,” said LSU coach Adam Schmitt. Schmitt said he was out of town recruiting when the storm hit and was unable to return to Baton Rouge in the days after the hurricane. The team also could not return to practice in the immediate aftermath of Gustav.”We didn’t know how fast we were going to be able to get back into the pool,” said senior Christoph Lubenau. “We were fortunate it was only four or five days we couldn’t practice.” Some of the swimmers were getting restless that week and volunteered at the PMAC to keep themselves occupied, Schmitt said. “This week we’re getting back to normal,” he said. “I think we’ll be OK.”Senior Katherine Noland said being out of the pool just one day can disrupt a swimmer’s routine.”Being out of the water those extra days does affect you,” Noland said.  Lubenau said he and other swimmers also ran and did weight sessions in place of swimming. While the UREC gave them a chance to stay as fresh as possible, Noland and Lubenau agreed swimming at the UREC was an “interesting” experience. The team’s 52 members all had to practice in a pool half the size of the Natatorium’s pool.”We split up the teams,” Lubenau said. “Guys swam for an hour, and girls did dryland then we switched.”Noland said it was nice to return to the Natatorium.”You get into the routine,” she said. “Being back in our pool it makes it a lot easier.” The diving teams were unable to use the UREC but still only missed a few days of practice. “Once the facility got cleaned up, we were able to do dryland,” said diving coach Doug Schaffer.Schaffer said his team was able to do conditioning exercises and use a dryland diving board and trampolines to continue practicing.Schmitt said the team was lucky the hurricane didn’t set them back too much as they were still early into their schedule.LSU associate athletic director Herb Vincent said the cost of the damage to the Natatorium has not been fully assessed.–—Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]