Three of Five Suspended Virginia Swimmers Eligible to Return to Competition This Weekend

Three of the five University of Virginia swimmers who were suspended in October for the entire fall semester are eligible to return to competition this weekend in the team’s two-day dual against the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Kyle Dudzinski, David Ingraham, Jake Pearce, Charlie Rommel, and Luke Papendick were suspended for what the university termed “violations of University of Virginia policy and athletics department rules” surrounding accusations of hazing.

Dudzinski, Pearce, and Rommel are eligible return to competition this weekend, a team spokesperson confirmed, though who races at any given meet is a coach’s decision. Ingraham and Papendick, however, are no longer on the team’s roster.

Both Ingraham and Papendick were individual NCAA qualifiers last year (all five qualified for NCAA’s in some capacity). With those two out, now only two of Virginia’s eight NCAA qualifiers from last season are still on the roster: Dudzinski and junior Yannick Kaeser.

The three swimmers will return in time to face a Virginia Tech program that are the defending ACC Champions.

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You're Right
9 years ago

Well said.

Further Destruction of a Program
9 years ago

I guess this is what happens when you are not subservient to the coaches and administrators, they publicly shame you in announcing your suspension to the world, and more importantly to their opposition. Guess Augie ran out of Dino’s boys to suspend or kick off the team so he had to go after his own recruits. Of course it is buried on the virginiasports.com web site, and will probably be taken down once the meet starts, so here is the text of the press release and the link for all to see.

And when is the head coach going to be held accountable for this ‘apparent’ lack of discipline in the program, much less the personal lack of control… Read more »

The Good 'Ole Days
Reply to  Further Destruction of a Program
9 years ago

Hey folks, Dino has moved on – deal with it. The so-called lack of discipline that those of you pining for the good ‘ole days wish to ascribe to the current program is more than anything else a product of social media publicizing what in the past would never see the light of day. Dino’s regime I know had the same issues, but probably could mete out discipline without everyone and their mother knowing about it instantly. Or he could brush it under the rug, and no one would be the wiser. And you think what goes on at UVa only goes on at UVa? Wake up!

The way it is
9 years ago

UVA is a great school, with great coaches now. The women’s team has improved tremendously in the last 2 years, and the men’s team has motivated and talented 1st, 2nd and 3rd year swimmers/divers, and will be back on top in a year or two. The boys that left UVA just could not adjust, or were stubborn. Those boys were looking to get in trouble and wanted to take the whole men’s team down with them. Their loss.

Who's loss?
Reply to  The way it is
9 years ago

You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. Looking to get into trouble? Huge assumption. Their loss? Papendick was elected team captain, was the only individual scorer for UVA the past two NCAAs, Ingraham and papendick were the 2 top scorers at ACCs, and Ingraham finished with a top 8 time in the ncaa in the 4 im last year. Maybe they left because the situation was handled incredibly poorly by the coaches/administration. Pretty sure this is the team’s loss, not the individual’s

The Way it Was
Reply to  The way it is
9 years ago

Just to be clear, Virginia Swimming & Diving HAD a tremendous coaching staff who toiled effortlessly to develop the best men’s and women’s program in the ACC and among the elite in the country and had recruited student-athletes to take the teams to even greater heights. The current regime is being credited for success that it did not create. Let’s reassess how great the current coaching staff is in a few years when Augie runs out of Dino’s kids to kick off the team. Can he develop and lead the women to the National Championship, which is what he laid out as his vision once he was hired? Only time will tell.

Swammer88
9 years ago

No part of this surprised me. I attended UVa, was part of a freshmen swim class that experienced a number of transfers away to other schools to keep competing (for various reasons, cough hazing- coaching (all gone now) and more…) The program has always hazed- some AD slap on the wrist or a missed training trip won’t change the culture or keep them from parading young swimmers out in the countryside to drink and eat who knows what in a VA mountainside cave.

SwimFan
9 years ago

Worst managed athletic department in the country. Great swim facility.

Joel Lin
9 years ago

And they still suck at football.

9 years ago

Papendick was sent home from YNATs one year if I recall correctly, guess he didn’t learn from that experience. Oh well, boys will be boys….

sammantha
Reply to  Tom Ferrell
9 years ago

mistakes are mistakes. i doubt this incident was his fault.

Gil Grissom
9 years ago

Having lived in Charlottesville for a number of years, the hazing rumors abound every year during pledge week and related activities. Raft races down slippery slides on stairs, environmental tortures (ice baths, high pressure hoses, fire extinguisher attacks,etc.) are just a few examples.

Although there has been controversy about the Rolling Stones rape article, sadly, sexual assaults do emerge from the ever “wild and usually out of control” fraternity parties that occur. And who can forget the annual images of our future leaders at the Foxfield races………………….mud covered and in various stages of intoxication while donning their finest duds.

I am surprised this involves the swim team- usually it involves rugby, football, lacrosse, or basketball players. From defying city… Read more »

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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