UNC swimmers busted at party, suspended from team

Five members of the swim team at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill are suspended from competition after they were among those cited at a weekend party, the university said Thursday.

Police responded to a noise complaint at 703 N. Columbia St., home of senior team captain Hank Browning. When they realized that the party guests were UNC athletes, they called Student-Athlete Services.

“If it’s a UNC student-athlete, we have agreed to make the athletic department aware of it,” Officer Mitch McKinney told the Daily Tar Heel.

Browning was charged with providing alcohol to a minor. His teammates, senior Alison P. Klemens, 20, and junior Rebecca Kane, 20, were both cited for underage possession of alcohol, according to police.

All three are suspended through Oct. 31. They will miss the first six meets of the season, according to Dave Lohse in the university athletics department.

Swimmer Michelle Mudge, 18, was charged with using a fake ID. She is red-shirting this season and will serve out her suspension next year, Lohse said.

A fifth swimmer, Tyler Dustin Smith, 21, was arrested early Sunday on charges of disorderly conduct, police said. He was suspended from the team indefinitely.