Sophomore swimmer drowns in Florida

A sophomore drowned late Friday night in Florida, where he was spending Fall Break training with the men's and women's swimming and diving teams.

Alan Ebersole, 20, a Butler College resident from Vicksburg, Miss., drowned off the coast of Deerfield Beach, Fl., according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office. He was found at 1 a.m. today after an hour-long search-and-rescue effort by his teammates, local officers and a helicopter.

The Broward Medical Examiner Office said Ebersole also suffered a broken neck, but the exact conditions that led to his drowning remain unclear. Authorities said there was no evidence of foul play, drugs and alcohol.

Ebersole left his hotel with two teammates around 10:30 p.m. for a late-night swim in the ocean, according to the sheriff's office. When his teammates noticed he was missing, they assumed he had gone back to the hotel, but noticed his clothing nearby.

The police were called just after midnight after a search by the coach and teammates turned up nothing. Ebersole's body was ultimately found by a police officer about three-quarters of a mile down the shoreline.

Ebersole is survived by his parents, Bruce Alan and Story Stamm Ebersole, and younger brothers, John Bernard and James Stamm Ebersole.

His parents traveled today to Florida, where the teams are being counseled.

"The team is devastated. It's a great loss for them and for our community," said Director of Communications Lauren Robinson-Brown '85. "The team is close-knit, as most are, and Alan was well-known and well-liked."

The University is also organizing support for students on campus.

Counselors and religious life deans will be available tonight at 8 p.m. at an informal gathering in Wu Lounge of Butler College, where Ebersole roomed with two teammates.

"All students are welcome to come, and we plan to continue that over the next several days," said Butler College Master Sanjeev Kulkarni. "We're trying to respond as well as we can, and it's certainly a tragic loss for the whole Princeton community."

A University-wide vigil will be held Sunday at 9:30 p.m. in Chancellor Green.

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Ebersole – known to his friends as "Big Al" – was interested in Latin America and planned to apply to the Wilson School.

He graduated as salutatorian at St. Aloysius High School. At commencement, he told his classmates, "Follow up on the knowledge and lessons we have learned and always work towards your goal."

The oldest son of two swimmers, Ebersole began playing the sport at an early age. His father coached St. Aloysius' swim team, for which his younger brothers currently swim.

Ebersole won the Mississippi high school state championship in the 100-meter breaststroke as a senior. He led his team to top-three finishes in the state for three consecutive years.

At Princeton, he swam the 200- and 100-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter individual medley. He has shaved two seconds off his 100-meter time and 10 seconds off his 200-meter time, placing first in the 200-meter in a February meet against Navy.

This fall, Ebersole became the editor of the swim team's alumni newsletter.

In an Oct. 13 email, he introduced himself and wrote, "I loved the experience of swimming on this team, and look forward to three more awesome years."

This is the second death in the sophomore class this year.

Less than two months ago, Melissa Huang '07 was found dead in her room in Wilson College.

Medical officials later said the cause of death was ingesting cyanide, but the manner of her death is still unknown.