Friends of Alan Ebersole '07 crowded into the Chancellor Green rotunda last night to remember an accomplished swimmer and beloved classmate whose life came to a sudden end Friday night when he drowned off the coast of Florida.
Ebersole, 20, was spending Fall Break in Deerfield Beach training with the men's and women's swimming and diving teams.
The native of Vicksburg, Miss., drowned after suffering a broken neck due to blunt neck trauma, according to the Broward Medical Examiner's Office.
The exact conditions that led to his drowning remain unclear. A full autopsy report will not be available for weeks, but authorities said there was no evidence of foul play, drugs or alcohol.
In an email to athletes Saturday afternoon, Director of Athletics Gary Walters '67 wrote, "He dove in and apparently broke his neck. It is unclear now whether this caused his death or whether he was pulled out into the water, where he drowned."
Ebersole was found at 1 a.m. Saturday after an hour-long search-and-rescue effort by his teammates, local officers and a helicopter, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.
At 10:30 p.m., he and two teammates left the hotel where the teams were staying for a late-night swim in the ocean. When his teammates noticed he was missing, they assumed he had gone back to the hotel, but saw his clothing nearby.
The police were called just past 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.
A funeral will be held in Vicksburg on Wednesday, and a University memorial is being planned for a later date.
Ebersole is survived by his parents, Bruce and Story Ebersole, and younger brothers, John Bernard "Bern" and James Stamm "Jase" Ebersole.
His family received the news at a statewide high school swim meet. Bruce is the coach of the St. Aloysius high school team, for which Bern, a senior, and Jase, a sophomore, were competing.
While the rest of the family left immediately, Bern stayed to lead the team as captain. He swam to victory in the 200-meter breaststroke — the same title Alan had won two years ago.
"He knew his brother would have wanted him to stay and swim," his mother said in a phone interview Sunday.
Ebersole, the oldest son of two swimmers, competed in his first meet at age six. He made a second home in the water, coached by his father since childhood and swimming with his brothers and later the Princeton teammates he thought of as family.
"You don't have to worry about me; I got 15 brothers there looking out for me," he told his mother last year. "I love them all."
On Saturday, the University swim teams laid flowers on the beach in Florida. Students also received grief counseling.
"The team is devastated," said Director of Communications Lauren Robinson-Brown '85. "The team is close-knit, as most are, and Alan was well-known and well-liked."
Meanwhile, on campus, counselors and religious life deans attended an informal gathering Saturday evening in Wu Lounge of Butler College, where Ebersole roomed with two teammates.
"It's certainly a tragic loss for the whole Princeton community," said Butler College Master Sanjeev Kulkarni.
Friends remembered "Big Al," as he was nicknamed, as a Southern gentleman with a huge heart and an ever-present smile.
"He was always cheerful, always," said Brian Biskeborn '07, who lived in Ebersole's building last year. "I've never seen anybody who wasn't unhappy sometimes, but Big Al — he could always brighten your day."
Ebersole was interested in Latin America and planned to apply to the Wilson School. He hoped to pursue a career in public service or politics.
"Everything came easy for Alan," his mother said. "He was the poster child for everything that you want in a son."
In high school, he especially loved the challenge of learning Spanish. Upon completion of the two years offered at his high school, he studied two more years one-on-one with a teacher.
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."
Ebersole spent last summer running a local congressional campaign in Mississippi and had already mailed in his ballot.
At Princeton, Ebersole excelled on the swim team, competing in the 200- and 100-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter individual medley. As a freshman, he took 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.
"People would ask me how he was doing at school, and I'd say, 'He thinks he's died and gone to heaven,' " his mother said.
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."
On Sunday, his father said, "Please thank the students for us. That was the most joyful time of his life up there."
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.
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