Twenty-one-year-old Wharton senior Kyle Ambrogi, a member of the Penn football team, committed suicide Monday night in his Havertown, Pa. home.
Ambrogi's death has rattled the Penn campus, especially the athletic community. No one associated with the football team was available for comment. Few details of the incident have been released, and the Haverford Township Police Department said only that an investigation is ongoing.
Reports last night said that Ambrogi had been battling depression.
Ambrogi, a running back on the football team, was highly regarded in the program.
"Kyle was a remarkable young man," Head Coach Al Bagnoli said in a written statement yesterday. Bagnoli described Ambrogi as "a true scholar-athlete, an ambassador for Penn, a tremendous teammate and leader on and off the field. ... His loss will be felt for a long time."
Ambrogi tasted success on the football field as recently as this weekend, when he scored two rushing touchdowns in Penn's win over Bucknell.
His brother Gregory, a Wharton sophomore, also scored a touchdown on an interception return earlier in the game.
The Daily Pennsylvanian did not immediately contact the Ambrogi home for comment.
His death came as a shock to those who knew him, including Raymond Perfetti, a senior at the Stevens Institute of Technology, who graduated with Ambrogi from St. Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia.
"It was pretty shocking when I first heard it," Perfetti said. "Everyone in my class was really heart-struck when we heard."
"Everyone really liked Kyle," he added. "I can't tell you anyone who spoke bad about him at all."
The football team canceled practice yesterday afternoon and held a meeting to begin what will likely be a long healing process for many.
The University's Counseling and Psychological Services will be meeting with the football team, as well as with other groups affected by Ambrogi's death.
Although Ilene Rosenstein, director of CAPS, cited privacy reasons in declining to comment on how exactly CAPS will work with the team, she said that her staff is "there for them in any way that they need it."
Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum said that the University's "most immediate response is to reach out and offer whatever comfort we can to the family and friends."
McCoullum said that she believes it will be a "very difficult time for our campus" as the community grapples with Ambrogi's death.
Though VPUL officials were reluctant to directly address the issue of suicide, they did call for the Penn community to come together.
"At this time, with this sudden loss, we want to ask all members of the Penn family to redouble their already-strong efforts to care for each other," McCoullum said. "Now is the time for vigilance."
Rosenstein said that this is especially important in light of the many recent national and international tragedies.
"When you read that 30,000 people died in Pakistan and the number is rising, on some level that has to hit you," she said. "I think there's a loss and there's trauma that's there, and it builds."
McCoullum added that her office and other Penn agencies offer many resources to community members struggling to cope with Ambrogi's death.
Plans for a memorial service are being formed. It is not clear whether any service will occur on campus.
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