PHOENIX - Attorneys are scheduled to wrap up their defense Friday in a $7 million civil suit brought by a former UA student and her mother against the state of Arizona, the Arizona Board of Regents and the UA.

Stacy Spiegler and her mother are accusing the defendants of failure to adequately train and supervise the employees of the Student Recreation Center.

The case is being heard by Judge John R. Sticht in Maricopa County Superior Court.

A 10-person jury will determine if Rec Center employees were negligent in assessing the condition of Spiegler, then 22.

Spiegler, who was a psychology senior, suffered cardiac arrest Sept. 15, 1990, while riding a stationary bicycle in the Rec Center's weight room.

She had been diagnosed in 1989 with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a congenital condition in which the patient has a thickening of the heart muscle.

Spiegler's attorneys contend she stopped breathing while under the care of Rec Center employees and they were negligent in not performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

However, defense attorney Jack Redhair said eight employees observed Spiegler had a pulse and was breathing, therefore eliminating the need for CPR. Redhair said Spiegler was closely monitored by employees trained in CPR until paramedics arrived.

In court records, the defense contends Spiegler's pulse and breathing stopped "concurrently" with the arrival of the paramedics, who, according to a UA police report, arrived three minutes after they were summoned.

Spiegler's attorney, Howard Snyder, said it took paramedics closer to eight minutes to administer CPR to Spiegler because once they arrived they had to enter the building, make their way to Spiegler and assess the situation.

When Spiegler did not respond to CPR, paramedics used defibrillation. Spiegler resumed breathing and was taken to University Medical Center where she remained until October.

Co-counsel Jeffrey Kaufman, along with Snyder, said in an interview Tuesday that Spiegler went at least four minutes without oxygen. She sustained brain damage, Kaufman said, which has caused her to have severe short-term memory problems and shakiness.

He said she is physically slow and the prognosis is that she will not improve, nor will she be able to work, he said.

Kaufman said it will cost more than $1 million for Spiegler's rehabilitation. He said this figure did not include lost wages.

Redhair said Tuesday that the family is requesting $6.9 million in damages.

Dr. Thomas F. Ross, a cardiologist, testified on behalf of the state Tuesday about possible explanations for Spiegler's reaction to the cardiac arrest Sept. 15.

Spiegler's father died at an early age of what is suspected to be the same heart condition.

The defense also contends Spiegler had been told to avoid rigorous exercise, and no one, including her friend who accompanied her to the recreation center, or the student health center, knew of her heart condition, according to court documents.

Spiegler's attorneys state in court records that center employees did not utilize a public announcement system to request medical assistance. It stated a neurologist was in an adjoining aerobics room at the time of Spiegler's cardiac arrest.

Grant Smith, who has been the director of campus recreation since the center opened in August 1990, has attended the trial daily. He said in an interview Tuesday that the family's attorneys are trying to prove he coerced his employees to write similar statements regarding Spiegler's condition, "which is a lie," he said.

Smith said the employees wrote the reports independently. He said the prosecution is also trying to prove employees were not trained in CPR. Besides asking the employees in depositions, Smith said there is no way to verify their training because the center did not keep copies of the employees' CPR certification filed at that time.

Smith said Rec Center staff believed the employees when they were asked if they were CPR certified. Because of this case, however, employees are now required to furnish a copy of their CPR certification for their file. He said this has been the only change in policy since the 1990 incident.

Spiegler and her mother, Heidi, have regularly attended the three-week trial.

Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday.