Francis Marion University athletic director Gerald Griffin has
announced that two Florence natives, a former three-sport Lady
Patriot athlete and a former Patriot baseball player, will be
inducted into the FMU Athletic Hall of Fame this January
1994. The two honorees will be former women's basketball,
tennis, and volleyball player Maria Costas and
former baseball player Mike Wilson.
Costas earned 12 letters in her three sports
from 1973 to 1977. She later returned to Francis Marion and
coached the women's tennis team for three seasons (1981-1983),
recording a 20-14 mark. In 1977, she was named to Who's Who
Among Students in American Universities and Colleges and twice
received the Patriots Brigade Academic Award (1976 and 1977) as the
Francis Marion athlete with the highest grade point average.
She earned the most valuable player award for tennis in 1974 and
1975 and the volleyball M.V.P. award in 1976. She earned
South Carolina AIAW All-State volleyball honors as a senior.
During her four years, the Lady Patriot tennis team was 37-17,
while the volleyball squad was 60-52.
On the basketball court, she appeared in 102 games, scored 719
points and grabbed 198 rebounds. She was a member of the very
first Lady Patriot basketball team in 1973, and during her four
years the squad compiled a 71-35 record and advanced to the AIAW
Small College National Tournament in 1976 and 1977.
Costas graduated in 1977 with a B.A. degree in sociology.
She is a social worker/case manager with HealthSouth Rehabilitation
Hospital. Prior to her current position, she worked for 14
years as a social worker with the Department of Social Services and
for a short time with Human Services Associates. She is a
licensed baccalaureate social worker. Since 1980, she has
been a member of the United States Tennis Association, playing
singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. In 1985, she was ranked
first in the state in women's (age 30) singles, women's (age 30)
doubles, and women's (open division) doubles, and the same year was
ranked first in the Southeast in women's (age 30) singles and
second in women's (age 30) doubles. In 1990, Costas was
ranked third in the state in mixed doubles (age 35) and 11th in
women's (age 35) doubles.
