Alan Ebersole practices the breaststroke at City Pool on Thursday. The St. Aloysius standout, who won the state title in the 100-meter breaststroke this year, will swim collegiately at Princeton in the fall. (Chad ApplebaumThe Vicksburg Post)

[5/24/03]Alan Ebersole wanted three things when he was selecting a college a challenge, a change of scenery, and a chance to swim on the collegiate level.

He found all three in one place, and the St. Aloysius swimming star will soon trade in the kudzu-choked hills of Vicksburg for the ivy-covered walls of Princeton.

Ebersole, who won a state championship in the 100-meter breaststroke and was the salutatorian of his graduating class, will swim for the Ivy League school next winter.

“I guess because I won’t be the number one swimmer like I have been around here, and I definitely won’t be the smartest guy around, it’ll be different,” Ebersole said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to, is getting away from what’s been normal.”

Ivy League schools don’t give out athletic scholarships, and don’t do a lot of recruiting. Despite those limitations, Princeton has a large roster and one of the top programs in the country.

The Tigers won the Ivy League title last year and finished 19th at the 2003 NCAA Championships.

“Some of the schools I was looking at didn’t have as high a quality program as Princeton,” Ebersole said. “Swimming at St. Al has gotten me used to being near the top of the rankings, so that’s good knowing I’ll have a chance to be a part of something.”

Ebersole helped St. Al to a third-place finish at the state meet last fall, earning the breaststroke title and a second-place finish in the 200-meter individual medley along the way.

He was accepted at a number of colleges, but his swimming skills sparked a recruiting battle between Ivy League rivals Columbia and Princeton.

Ultimately, though, the quality of the Princeton program and the atmosphere of the New Jersey campus won Ebersole over. He also has family in the area, a factor that played into the decision.

“At the beginning it kind of looked like a hard choice, but after everything Princeton seemed like the clear-cut choice,” Ebersole said.

Ebersole was also interested in Georgetown, and could have stepped in immediately as one of that school’s top swimmers. Instead, he’ll start at the bottom at Princeton, which has 51 swimmers on the team from 23 different states.

“Pretty much anyone that gets through door number one, being admissions, has an opportunity to participate,” Princeton coach Rob Orr said. “He’ll definitely be taxed in his given events, but that’s why I like having a large team. People get competitive in their given events and have an opportunity to climb the ladder.”

Ebersole admitted he is starting on the bottom rung of Orr’s ladder. There are several upperclassmen ahead of him on the depth chart, and Ebersole said it would likely take a year of training before he’s ready to compete at that level.

“Here in Vicksburg I’ve never done the really hard two-a-days and lifted weights as much as I will there,” Ebersole said. “It might be kind of hard the first year. They’ve got a lot of juniors and seniors that do breaststroke. But I’ll get bigger and stronger, and in two or three years, who knows?”

Juggling an increased workload in the pool with the heavy academic demands of an Ivy League school will also be difficult, but Ebersole is used to it.

He played two sports at St. Al, swimming and basketball, and still managed to keep his grade point average around 4.4. He had no doubts he’d be able to continue mixing academic and athletic success at the next level.

“It’ll be a challenge to keep my grades up and swim with the best people,” said Ebersole, who was a captain of St. Al’s basketball and swim teams last season. “I’ve done well here, so hopefully it’ll carry over.”