For the fifth straight week, Maryland softball is spending its Thursday traveling to a tournament, having yet to play a game in College Park.

The Terps have been to Alabama, Texas, California and North Carolina in four weekends, and their final stop before an 11-game homestand is the Stetson Invitational in DeLand, Florida.

Though traveling on a weekly basis has obvious downsides, it has built a team chemistry that Maryland hopes will serve as a strong foundation for the rest of the season, particularly when Big Ten play begins.

“The positive is that you spend a lot of great quality time together,” coach Julie Wright said. “You learn a lot about each other.”

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With nine new players this season, the Terps (10-8) started working on developing a bond before the season’s start. That bond, Wright said, has grown exponentially since and will help the team in the future against tough Big Ten opponents.

After facing Fairfield, Stetson, UT-Martin and Bethune-Cookman in Florida, the Terps will return home to host the Maryland Invitational, a preamble to conference play that begins with a home series against Minnesota on March 22.

Infielder Sammie Stefan believes that all of the moving around will pay off once Maryland starts playing its Big Ten foes.

“It benefits us more than it hurts us,” Stefan said. “We’re able to travel the country and play against all different kinds of pitchers, all different kinds of defenses and hitters.”

For Wright, having players who trust one another can be the difference between an inspired team and one in disarray, something the constant traveling has helped with.

“If that other person is having a tough day, you’ve got their back, and vice versa,” Wright said. “Those types of teams go really far in a season because they have those intangible qualities.”

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While Stefan agrees that each weekend has helped the team grow closer, she admits the trips can weigh on players physically and academically.

Having to adjust back and forth between cold and warm weather each weekend takes a toll on players’ bodies, and the team’s travel schedule often forces players to miss Thursday classes.

“Over the weekend, we have study hall hours, so our coaches do a good job [of remembering] that we’re student-athletes first,” Stefan said. “Even though we’re missing classes, we’re given plenty of time to catch up and make sure that we have our assignments done before the weekend is over.”

Monday is the only day that players have a break from softball, but it’s usually spent recovering with the training staff from the previous weekend or catching up on personal lives.

“It wears us out,” Wright said. “I’ve always said and will continue to say that softball is the hardest sport to play in college because of the travel, especially if you’re in a cold weather state.”

After the Stetson Invitational, the Terps won’t have to worry about leaving College Park until April 5, when they will be on the road to face Michigan State.

And when the team’s next away series does arrive, Stefan believes the positives will always outweigh the negatives.

“Having that time on the road and spending so much time together really strengthens that bond,” Stefan said. “I wouldn’t trade my friendship with this team for the world.”