Midshipman from Chesco found dead at Naval Academy

Kristen Dickmann was to begin her first Navy assignment tomorrow.

A freshman at the U.S. Naval Academy, the 19-year-old Chester County native joked with her mother recently about her first year at Annapolis.

"She said the plebe year wasn't something you're supposed to like, but there was no where else she wanted to be," her mother, Carrie, said this morning.

Dickmann, a 2007 graduate of Unionville High School, was to have taken her last exam today at 4:30. After turning in the test she would no longer be a plebe.

The star athlete was found by her Academy roommates unconscious and not breathing Monday morning in her bed. She was rushed to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

"Why?" asked her mother.

"They still don't have any answers."

The cause of the stand-out athlete's death remains a mystery. An autopsy performed yesterday was inconclusive, Carrie Dickmann said.

"They had no explanation of why a healthy 19-year-old could have died," she said.

Kristen was in "outstanding physical shape," said her father, Douglas Dickmann.

One of only two freshmen on Navy's 2007 volleyball roster, Kristen Dickmann was a stand-out at Unionville, where she was All-State player her senior year, her mother said.

"She was a constant athlete," she said. "Always training, wanting to get bigger stronger faster. During her plebe summer, she played touch football with the guys. She would often have to be tackled because she would always stand her ground."

The head coach of the Navy volleyball team said Dickmann was upbeat about both the sport and the academy.

"I never saw a day when Kristen was not smiling," Mike Schwob said. "Even with all the difficulties of plebe year at the Naval Academy, she always found something to smile about. That says a lot about her personality."

Teammates described her as encouraging, happy and confident.

"She was so positive and so smart," said classmate Jenny Rudewicz. "She loved life and lived every day to it's fullest."

U.S. Rep. Joseph Pitts (R., Pa.) nominated Dickmann to the academy.

"She was an ideal candidate because she had demonstrated leadership and achievement in many areas," Pitts said. "Most importantly, she attended the Naval Academy because she was determined to serve our country in the armed forces."

At Annapolis, the popular midshipman majored in physics and engineering, and set her eye on becoming a pilot.

"She wanted to fly cargo airplanes," her mother said. "She said she wanted to be the Navy's mailman."

Carrie Dickmann last spoke with her daughter Sunday night.

"She was fine, joking around. We were planning to make a switch and get her civilian clothes to her," she said. "She was instant messaging her sister Monday morning. They talked about their plans for the summer. There was no indication she was feeling ill."

A memorial service at Unionville High School is being planned, her mother said. She will be buried next week on the Naval Academy's grounds.