The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 18, 2002, Image 1
INSIDE:Men’sbasketball A/TnYI c\q\T March 18>2002 ♦ VoL 95<No- 71
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Nothing ‘almost’ about her
Marine science
student described
as ‘outstanding9
dies in car wreck
BYGINNY THORNTON
THE GAMECOCK
Fourth-year student Tract
Heincelman was killed in an early
morning car accident in Orlando,
Fla., on Saturday, March 9.
Heincelman, the car’s driver, was
a 21-year old marine science student
from Derwood, Md.
Also injured in the accident were
three fourth-year marine science
students: Christie A. Robinson, 22,
of Great Falls, Mont.; Doug E. Little,
22, of Union Bridge, Md.; and Frank
C. Helies, 21, of Brielle, N.J.
Robinson and Little remain hos
pitalized at Orlando Regional Medical
Center. Heiles has been released.
Five other USC students were
traveling in a second car, but
weren’t involved in the accident.
Fourth-yt-ar music student Jenne
Pross, a friend of Heincelman’s, said
the students were in Florida on their
way to a cruise in the Bahamas.
Bto Florida because she
loves the ocean and
marine life. She was
so excited about the
trip she and
Heincelman Heincelman took to
Florida during fall
break of their first year at USC.
“This is a tragedy for Carolina,”
USC President John Palms said.
“We are all saddened that we have
lost such an outstanding young
woman and that three others have
had their lives disrupted in such a
terrible way.”
Heincelman was enrolled in a
program that awards a master’s de
gree in biology after five years at
USC. She wanted to become a vet
erinary scientist, according to biol
ogy professor Stephen Stancyk.
Heincelman worked in Stancyk’s lab
during her first two years at USC.
“Besides being absolutely bril
liant, Traci was one of the most pos
itive people I have ever met,”
Stancyk said. “She was involved in
every aspect of campus life here,
and we will all feel her loss.”
♦ HEINCELMAN, SEE PAGE 3
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
Traci Heincelman, far right, who was a marine science and
honors student at USC, poses with Christie Robinson and
Shannon Ring during a fall break trip to Sea World in 1999.
Lady Gamecocks advance
to second round of NCAA
Carolina will
face Cincinnati
in round two at
Coliseum
BY J. KEITH ALLEN
THE GAMECOCK
Teresa Geter stood at the foul
line with 39.6 seconds left in the
game and the Lady Gamecocks
clinging to four-point lead.
Liberty trailed by as many as
15 points earlier in the second
half, but the cushion was all but
whittled away, thanks to a furi
ous 12-1 run by the Lady
Flames. Geter calmly sunk both
free throws, and she added an
other pair after a Liberty
turnover to seal the 69-61 victo
ry for USC in the first round of
the NCAA Tournament, the
Lady Gamecocks’ first trip to
the Big Dance since 1990.
When asked whether Geter’s
previous tournament experi
ence during her two-year stint
with Tennessee was a factor in
her clutch performance, her
teammates Jocelyn Penn and
Petra Ujhelyi answered em
nhaticallv. “Yes!”
USC head coach Susan
Walvius was proud of her
team’s poise in combating the
Lady Flames’ late spark. “We
talked about handling the runs
that other teams are going to
make at us; it’s going to happen
every game,” she said. “We
called a timeout, and we re
grouped mentally.”
Carolina was aggressive from
the opening tip and greeted the
enthusiastic crowd with an 8-0
run to start the game. The team
played a swarming defense that
kept the ball out of the paint and
out of the hands of 6-foot-7-inch
Meribeth Feenstra. Feenstra
had one of her seven first-half
shot attempts blocked by Lady
Gamecocks guard Cristina
Ciocan, who is about nine inch
es shorter.
USC shot a blistering 51.4 per
cent from the field in the first
half and converted 11 Liberty
turnovers into 16 points. The
team led 41-29 at the break.
♦ BASKETBALL, SEE PAGE 3
■ if you’re going... I
n ♦The Athletics fll
Department has bought S
19 500 tickets to Monday’s S
jj|9 NCAA women’s 11
||1 second-round regional 9
« game against Cincinnati. 9
fl ♦Thefirst500 USC 9
9 students through the 9
W Carolina Coliseum’s box
■ office gates Monday will j
.. | be admitted free. i
. ;| ♦ Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. '^jj
| atthe Coliseum, and the ‘ |
H box office gates open at 6 I J
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PHOTO BY KOSfcHI UHUtN i
Petra Ujhelyi out-rebounded both Feenstra sisters, who stand at 6 feet 7 Inches and 6 feet 8 inches
tall. The Lady Gamecocks will face Cincinnati on Monday evening in a second-round showdown.
USC journalism
student wins
MisS Columbia
Track-and-field
athlete will next
try to win Miss
South Carolina
BY LOGAN BARLOW
THE GAMECOCK
First-year electronic journal
ism student Erin Colgan has
been named this year’s Miss
Columbia.
The pageant was held Sunday
night in the Columbia High
School Auditorium.
Colgan will go on to compete in
the Miss South Carolina pageant
in Spartanburg on July 15.
“I’ve never been much the
pageant type,” Colgan said, “but
I really actually enjoyed it a
whole lot.” -
Cnlean a native of
Hendersonville, N.C., was the
fourth runner-up in the Miss
Hendersonville pageant last year.
There, she met Valerie Aiken,
pageant judge and the Miss
Columbia pageant’s executive di
rector. Aiken urged Colgan to
compete in the Columbia pageant
when she came to USC. “I
thought it would be a good thing
for her to do,” Aiken said.
To prepare for the pageant,
Colgan met with her voice in
structor to rehearse her talent
piece, the song “Think of Me”
from “Phantom of the Opera,”
which she plans to sing again at
the state pageant. She also
brushed up on her current
events for the competition’s in
terview portion.
Colgan’s school activities
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
First-year electronic
journalism student Erin
Colgan was crowned Sunday.
helped her to gain an edge in the
pageant. Colgan said some of
her interviewing skill “comes
naturally” because of her ma
jor. Her involvement with
USC’s track and field team
helped to keep her in shape for
the competition.
Besides being a pole vaulter
for the USC track team, Colgan
is involved with several student
organizations, including
Campus Crusade for Christ and
Athletes in Action. She hopes to
also get involved with CTV, but
she said she is still working on
“getting her foot in door.”
♦ MISS COLUMBIA, SEE PAGE 2
Tuberculosis hits 2 at
College of Charleston;
DHEC to test others
CHARLESTON (AP) - Acase
of pulmonarytuberculosis has
been confirmed at the College
of Charleston, and state health
officials want those who had
contact with the person to get
tested.
The patient is off campus
and is expected to make a full
recovery.
The Department of
Health and Environmental
Control plans to be on cam
pus in April to test people
who have had casual con
tact with the victim.
Health officials won’t say
whether the patient was a stu
dent or a faculty or staff mem
ber. One person who is close
to the patient has tested posi
tive, DHEC spokeswoman
Linda Pranger said.
Tuberculosis is caused by
bacteria that usually infect
the lungs. It is spread through
the air, usually when some
one who has TB coughs,
to the Centers for Disease
Control.
People who have close con
tact with a tuberculosis vic
tim have a 30 percent chance
of getting infected, said Dr.
Kathryn Arden, medical di
rector for DHEC’s Trident
Public Health District.
Those who are infected are
not contagious until they
come down with the disease.
Only 10 percent of infected
people ever develop pul
monary tuberculosis in their
lifetimes, Arden said.
Two people at the
College of Charleston
have tested positive for
tuberculosis.
Some of the most
common symptoms of
active tuberculosis are
♦Coughing up blood
♦Chest pains
♦Night sweats
♦Breathlessness
♦Weight loss
♦Signs of pneumonia
Medical conditions that
increase the risk of
progression of
tuberculosis include
♦HIV infection
♦Illicit drug and alcohol
use
♦Recent Infection
♦Diabetes mellitus
♦Prolonged use of
corticosteroids
♦Immunosuppressive
therapy
♦Malnutrition
SOURCE: CENTERS FOR
j DISEASE CONTROL
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