Friday, September 2, 2011
Six Brown Players Rescue Swimmers
Six Brown players showed the ultimate level of teamwork Tuesday in Rhode Island, working together to rescue three swimmers who were caught in a rip current in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene.
Mike Wolff, Jeff Ryan, Dennis Robertson (pictured, right), Mike Borge, Bobby Farnham and David Brownschidle were enjoying a sunny day at South Shore Beach in Little Compton, R.I., before they had to spring into action.
The six players spoke to Mark Divver of the Providence Journal on Thursday, who writes:
Wolff and teammate Jeff Ryan swam quickly to the girls and, battling the rip current, got them to shore.
“It was a hard swim to move even five yards,” against the rip current, which was pushing him away from shore, Wolff said.
Once they made it back to the beach, the girls “were in a panic,” said Wolff.
” ‘Can you help my boyfriend? My boyfriend is hurt,’ ” one of the girls said. “(Jeff) Ryan and I were like, ‘Where is your boyfriend?’
“He was floating on his back, past where the waves were breaking. He was going under the waves, kind of getting tossed around,” said Wolff.
“When I first spotted the kid, I thought it was a dead body floating,” he said.
Divver’s full account of the events can be read here.
Brownschidle graduated in the spring and will play professionally this year; the other five are returning to the Bears’ roster this fall. Brown’s season begins Oct. 23 with an exhibition game against Waterloo before the Ivy Shootout the following weekend at Dartmouth.