i
y 26,19;
The University of North Carolina at Asheville
www.unca.edu/banner
H
Volume 27 Issue 7
March 5, 1998
93%
4%
3%
; BY ERIN Kll
I'g
edi:
the samep
offense,”
Jerry Ada
;ory said t
ted substai
e from ot
e housing
y looking
'Ut other
1 a compyl
.[
not have
itill be fui
le repair s
financial
1 be partia
million gra
il Assembl
:ial aspects
snc, Jacks
cornputeri
place hum
erson to pi
am afraid
:erned abo
1 of the
nally do
le infusion
erne so, as
Parkei*.
small clas
e in dialog!
is not to I
■ need to
■eate a sysit
nunity
:re is no ci
has discoi
nk
help
:ess!
in
3a.
ts’
nfor-
)yte-
npus
udent
aggie
Band,
SL,
r,
Com-
he
i Klein,
Utt!
Bulldogs excel in tournament
By Chris Brooker
News Editor
The UNCA women’s basketball team
made history at the Big South Tourna
ment last weekend by becoming the
lowest seed to ever reach the champion
ship game.
The Bulldogs, who finished the regu
lar season with a 5-21 record, were
seeded sixth out of the seven teams
playing in the tournament.
“I was happy with the seed we got,”
said UNCA Head Coach Kathleen
Weber. “ I was very happy to be able to
play Coastal Carolina in the first round,
a team we had already beaten once.”
UNCA defeated Coastal Carolina, the
tournament’s third seed, in the
quarterfinal round on Feb. 26, 60-59.
The Bulldogs then upset the
tournament’s second seed, Radford, on
Feb. 27, 81-74.
UNCA lost the championship game
to Liberty, the tournament’s number
one seed, on Feb. 28, 53-65.
“I’m disappointed. My whole team is
disappointed, but we showed ourseleves
this weekend,” said UNCA Sophomore
Guard Emily Hill. “I am proud of my
teammates and our coaches. I think we
did a great job.”
Hill drained two free throws with
seven seconds remaining on the clock
against Coastal Carolina to give the
Bulldogs a one-point victory in the
quarterfinal game.
Against Radford in the semifinal game,
UNCA made 52 percent of their shots.
Radford was not able to come ug_with
an answer to the UNCA offense.
Hill led UISfCA with 29 points against
Radford.
“I am very happy, and very proud of
the players,” said Weber. “The game
against Radford was great.
“I knew we were going to be able to
hang with them. It was just a matter of
keeping it up until the last three min
utes of the game.”
In the championship game. Liberty
ii
Men’s basketball
falls in Big South
championship
By Chris Brooker
News Editor
PHOTO BY CHRIS BROOKER
UNCA forward Elisa Fellers (pictured above) scored a career high 16
points in the Bulldogs’ win over Radford at the Big South Tournament.
pulled ahead of UNCA at the 15:58
mark of the first half, and never looked
back.
“I knew we were going to have our
hands full with Liberty,” Weber said.
“They are definietly one of the best 64
teams in the country.”
With the victory. Liberty earned an
NCAA tournament berth, and remains
undefeated with a record of 29-0.
Hill, who was was named to the all
conference team and the all-tourna-
ment team, was pleased with the over
all effort of her teammmates.
“Everybody laid their hearts out
there today and I do not think you
could ask for anything else,” said
Hill.
See page 6 for detailed coverage of the
entire Big South Tournament. See the
Banner on-line for additional pictures.
The UNCA men’s basketball team was
upset in the championship game of the Big
SouthConferenceTournamenton Feb. 28
by the Radford Highlanders.
The loss left UNCA one victory short of
being the first team in school histor)' to
reach the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
An automatic bid to the NCAA tourna
ment is given to the champion of the Big
South Tournament.
“It is really a tough, tough way to end the
season,” said UNCA Head Coach Eddie
Biedenbach. “Our guys are taking it very
hard, and rightfully so.
“We put so much into this season, on a
weekly and daily basis, and we played well
enough to go on to the NCAA,” Biedenbach
said.
The Bulldogs were the regular-season Big
South champion, which earned them the
number one seeding in the Big South Tour
nament.
UNCA was given a bye during the
quarterfinal round, and defeated the fourth-
seed Liberty Flames in the semi-final round
on Feb. 27, 46-42.
Guard Josh Pittman scored a game-high
21 points in the Liberty game, and center
Dirk Lommerse pulled down 12 rebounds.
“There was a good defensive effort from
all of our guys, and we got on the boards
pretty well,” said Biedenbach. “That is
what won the game for us.”
In the championship game, which was
televised nationally on ESPN, UNCA
jumped out to a 17-point lead early in the
first half, but let the lead slip to seven by
halftime.
The Bulldogs then watched second-seed
Radford build an eight-point lead at the
2:16 mark of the second half
The Bulldogs staged a comeback in the
final two minutes of the game, led by the
shooting of Forward Kevin Martin, who
scored a game-high 22 points in the con
test. A three-pointer by Martin with 15
seconds left in the game tied the score at
61-6L
“Kevin Martin is a tough, tough basket
ball player who enjoys this kind of compe
tition,” said Biedenbach. “He stepped up
and made some key baskets. He is totigli,
and he makes those kind ol plays.”
Radford Forward Kevin Robin.son broke
the tie on the last possession of the game by
sinkinga I 2-foot buzzer-beatingshotwhich
gave the Highlanders a 6.3-61 win, and the
automatic bid to the NCAA rournament.
“We played as tough as we could,” said
Biedenbach. “Great games go like that.
They are great for the fans, great for the
conference, but not very good for UNC-
Asheville.
“It is particularly tough on our seniors,
who have given us so much, ” Biedenbach
said.
The Big South Championship was more
than likely the last collegiate game played
byseniorsjosh Pittman, Robert Stevenson,
Dirk Lommerse, and Vincent Krieger, as it
is highly improbable that UNCA will re
ceive an invitation to either the NCAA
Tournament or the National Invitation
Tournament (NIT).
Pittman and Martin were named to the
all-tournament team at the conclusion of
the championship game.
UNCA finised the season with an overall
record of 19-9, with an 12-2 mark in
conference play.
See page 6for detailed coverage of the entire
Big South Tournament.
Gregory named director of Public Safety
By Nicole Miller
staff Writer
After a 17-nionth vacancy in the
Director of Public Safety position,
UNCA has appointed interim di
rector Dennis Gregory to fill the
opening.
Gregory’s new position became
effective Tuesday, said Eric
lovacchini, vice chancellor for stu
dent affairs.
Gregory has served as the interim
director since the departure of
former director Jeff Van Slyke in
September 1996.
During that time, Gregory main
tained his role as an investigative
officer in the public safety depart
ment.
“I have been in the position tor a
year and a half, so it’s al
most jusf another day,”
said Gregory of his new
appointment Tuesday. I
feel pretty good about it. I
think 1 have a chance to
make the department
more accessible to the stu
dents.”
UNCA initially offered
the position to an em
ployee of UNC-Greens
boro after the initial search last
spring.
The candidate accepted the
UNCA post, but then declined
shortly thereafter because he ac
cepted a promotion and salary in
crease at UNC-Greensboro.
Last year’s search was open to
UNCA employees, but
none applied at that
time.
According to
lovacchini, UNCApub-
lic safety employees be
gan to show more inter
est in the director posi
tion after the first search
was unsuccessful, and
thus the recent search
wasopenonly to UNCA
employees.
Although serving as the interim
director during the previous search,
Gregory did,not wish to apply for
the position at that time. He said
Dennis Gregory
that he thought “a younger, more
career-oriented administrator”
might have been better for the job.
However, Gregory said that the
department started working on
many projects after Van Slyke left,
and as director he felt that he would
be able to ensure that the projects
get finished.
“We have a lot of goals that we
would like to be successful in,”
Gregory said. “I am so involved in
them now that I would like to see
the completion of them.
“Some of those goals are doing
more programs and working much
closer with the students, and get
ting back to communit) policing,
where the officer is known by most
people and is a problem solver as
opposed to a law enforcement of
ficer,” Gregory said.
Gregory also plans to continue
working on two grant applications
for the department and implement
more programs to reach both resi
dent and commuter students.
These programs include drug and
alcohol awareness, personal safety
classes, and a forum in which stu
dents can discuss personal experi
ences and concerns with public
safety officers, and then address ways
to handle them.
Gregory was chosen by a search
committee consisting of lovacchini.
Director of the Counseling Center
Margaret Weshner, and Nina East,
director of student development,
lovacchini said that the committee
chose Gregory becau.se “he had the
most experience, the most creative
ideas, and he certainly had an idea
of what we need as a liberal arts
institution.”
“1 think he brings with him a
broad base of trust and respect
throughout campus,” said
lovacchini.
According to lovacchini, the com
mittee wanted to hiresomeone who
understands the campus, under
stands liberal arts institutions, and
relates well to the community.
lovacchini also said that the new
public safety director needed to be
comfortable in public relations,
providing information, guidance.
See DIRECTOR on page 8
Eleven vehicles broken into last Wednesday
By Gene Zaleski
staff Writer
P.
Eleven vehicles parked on the UNCA
campus were broken into and burglarized
in the early morning hours of Feb. 25.
According to Public Safety Officer Jerry
Adams, six burglaries occurred in the resi
dential parking lot on Division Street, two
happened near the gate to the soccer field,
two occurred in the resident lot directly
across from Zageir Hall, and one happened
in the old tennis court lots above Justice
Gym.
Adams said that vehicles containing ex
pensive stereo equipment were the primary
targets.
“My car was cleaned out pretry good,”
said freshman Jason Davis, whose car was
broken into during the crime wave. “I had
a CD player, an amp, a 12 inch woofer in
a box, and two five-by-seven speakers sto
len.’”
Sophomore industrial engineering and
accounting major Jason Boyles also had
items stolen from his car.
“I found my car system was gone, along
with my stereo, big box with speakers, and
amps,” said Boyles.
“They even had the nerve to steal my tool
boxes in the back of my car,” Boyles said.
Adams said that all of the property stolen
from cars parked in the Division Street lot,
except for one radar detector, was recov
ered by the UNCA Public Safety Office
and returned to its rightful owners.
“It was all piled up on the bank just above
the parking lot,” said Adams. “All of the
equipment was recovered, brought up to
Public Safety, identified by the owner, and
released.”
Equipment stolen from vehicles parked
in other lots has not yet been recovered,
Adams said.
Director of Public Safety Dennis Gre
gory said his office is in the process of
investigating a number of possible sus
pects.
“The night after the break-ins we stopped
a vehicle on University Heights that con
tained two very undesirable people who
had no purpose for being here,” said Gre
gory. “Both had lengthy criminal records
that we want to match fingerprints with.
We are actively working on this case right
now.”
Freshman Josh Venning, whose car was
one of the 11 burglarized, questioned the
protection provided by the Public Safety
Office.
“I am upset,” said Venning. “Two days
before this incident I parked in the faculty/
staff parking lot and of course got ticketed
for that. I then parked where 1 was sup
posed to park and got my car busted into.
“The Public Safety Office is really good
about giving tickets, but you would think
we could get better protection for the money
we pay,” said Venning.
Davis also said that cars should be given
more protection by Pubic Safety.
“I think Public Safety has to step up what
they are doing,” said White. “They should
put somebody down at the [Drvision Street]
lot at all times.”
Gregory said that it is difficult for Public
See CRIME on page 8