I'm not sure why he would advise her against a triple...especially with the terrain around here! But that said, I agree with X about getting her on TE. I'm new to the area, but I'm astounded at the cycling resources here (even though I knew this before we moved here).

When I was in NC, I took a friend to my LBS and had them measure her. Then she test rode some bikes in that shop to get a feel for how a road bike would ride. They also gave her the little sheet they filled out on her measurements. We then took that sheet and compared it to the geometry of many popular brands (online) to pick out sizes in her range so that she had options to try. Of course, she went with a mountain bike (against my recommendation) and now it's 'art' in her living room. Anyway, I'm sure that your friend could do something similiar so that she had an idea of where to start in terms of frame size.

Coincidentally, my DH and I may have some bikes to sell very shortly as well.