2-25-15

The Oracle WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 I VOL. 52 NO. 87

Inside this Issue

E D I T O R

Machineheart prepares for tour finale.

Page 4

Montage

S PORTS Eriksen: Athletes deserve softball’s return to Olympics.

BACK

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

Incoming SG senators accused of harassing voters

By Alex Rosenthal

LI F E STYLE

www.usforacle.com

The Index

News.................................................................1 Lifestyle......................................................4 Opinion.......................................................6

I N

C H I E F

Though campaigning and voting officially ended last week, some candidates may not know if they will be elected to Student Government (SG) until after spring break.

SG’s Supreme Court issued a notice Tuesday morning stating the court will hold a trial to decide whether Saeed Sinan, a newly elected senator from the College of Arts and Sciences, violated campaign rules that prohibit casting more than one vote and using a mobile polling station.

If found guilty of such a violation, Sinan will be disqualified from the election and potentially lose his seat in the SG Senate.

The Supreme Court voted unanimously to take up the

case Monday after three pieces of evidence were submitted to Chief Justice Daniel Shapiro.

This included two statements and a video alleging that Sinan was seen going around the Library to students on their computers, having them pull up the voting website and cast votes in his favor while standing over their shoulder.

On Feb. 19 at 1 a.m., according to a statement submitted to Shapiro by Senate Pro Tempore Abdool Aziz, Sinan was allegedly seen in the Library walking up to students inside and urged them to use their phone or laptop to cast votes for him, as well as the presidential and senatorial candidates he liked.

Aziz’s statement continues to allege that this was not the first time Sinan acted in this way, as he “harassed voters and slandered other Senate

candidates” the Monday prior in front of Cooper Hall.

“In other instances, Mr. Sinan has used his personal phone to make people vote on it if they had no laptop or phone of their own. Mr. Sinan has taken the freedom away from (an) individual to choose who they want to vote for,” Aziz also wrote in his statement.

The video submitted to the court shows what looks like Sinan urging a student in the Library to vote for Sinan on his personal computer.

However, according to statements submitted by Aziz and former SG Director of Communications Maggie Hall, Sinan acted alongside Alaeldean Elmunaier, who was also newly elected to the SG Senate from the College of Arts and Sciences.

On Feb. 16 around noon,

Elmunaier was allegedly seen campaigning outside Cooper Hall, according to Hall’s statement, urging students in an act similar to how Sinan was described above.

Hall’s statement described Elmunaier approaching several students before she confronted one of the students and asked what Elmunaier was doing.

“The student informed me that Mr. Elmunair (sic) asked him to open the ballot and vote for a certain presidential candidate, OUR shirt design, and to vote for himself and some of his friends,” Hall wrote in her statement. “The student informed me that he had no information on which he was voting for; he just did it so Mr. Elumnair (sic) would leave him alone.”

Hall continued to write she

n See SENATORS on PAGE 2

Comfy in any size

SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

n Student donated old jeans to Metropolitan Ministries at one activity station set up for National Eating Disorder Awareness week. Story on PAGE 2

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Pointing a mirror to hazards of poor body image Counselors reach out to help students conquer realities of eating disorders.

n

By Zach Leete S T A F F

W R I T E R

If Barbie were a real, life-sized person, her neck wouldn’t be able to hold her head up and only half of her intestines would fit into her abdomen.

Yet the iconic doll continues to idealize physical realities for young girls.

For National Eating Disorder Awareness week (NEDAW), the USF Counseling Center and USF Health Center for Resources, Engagement, Advancement, Coaching and Health are teaming up to educate students on the topic of eating disorders.

On Tuesday, they promoted self-confidence with a variety

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saw Elmunaier and Sinan on various floors of the Library early Thursday morning urging students to vote for them on their personal phones and laptops.

The trial date is tentatively set for March 11.

At Monday’s Supreme Court meeting, justices also voted in favor of an expedited election for senators from the College of Business.

“We had some mistakes happen with the elections,” said SG Supervisor of Elections John Quiroz. “We had a candidate unable to be placed on the ballot for six hours. Throughout that time period, 71 votes were cast. (Joshua) Smith lost the election by 40 votes. Because of the math and the results of this, my commission asked that we would come to you and ask for an expedited election to make sure the election is fair to all students.”

After the results were

of activity stations during the ropes course is a team effort.

Eating Disorder Awareness It’s designed to get people to Fair at the Marshall Student do things they wouldn’t normally do.”

Center (MSC) atrium.

Weaver demonstrated a “There’s nothing perfect about Barbie,” said Michelle handful of team-building exerGarcia, the treasurer of the cises. One exercise had pairs USF Omega Phi Beta chapter. of students use pressure to “You’re good enough as you are.”

“There’s nothing perfect about Garcia displayed a lifeYou’re good enough as you size Barbie at the fair. She Michelle Garcia explained that Treasurer of USF Omega Phi Beta despite the glamour of an idealized woman like Barbie, the health keep a bridge of blocks from issues facing someone with falling while they navigated a her actual physical dimensions circuit. Another tasked them with navigating a marble to a would cripple them.

USF Campus Recreation set small cone using pipes cut in up at station at the fair as well. halves as a track.

“The exercises help build Adam Weaver, a junior majoring in chemical engineering, communication and teaminvited students to sign up for work,” Weaver said. “You then a free ropes course experience use those lessons on the ropes course, like a reward.” at USF Riverfront Park.

He said students were less “We emphasize teamwork and acceptance, strength over likely to suffer from poor body weakness,” Weaver said. “The image if they socialized with announced, Quiroz told The Oracle that Smith was not on the ballot because of an input error resulting from Smith double majoring in both the College of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences.

On his application for Senate, Smith applied for a seat in the College of Business, which had fewer people running.

For the College of Business, nine candidates ran for 18 seats in the Senate.

By the end of voting, Smith received 185 votes, while winning candidates received between 221 and 352 votes.

“Someone’s rights are being violated by not having their name on the ballot,” said Justice Lindsay Betros. “(The election results) could have been affected by it, so that’s what we have to look at.”

Though the court was supportive of a new election, one member of the gallery at Monday’s meeting was not.

Nicholas Russo, who won a senate seat from the College of Business with 274 votes, said a new election for the college would be unjust.

“What I believe is going to happen is that the presidential election isn’t happening anymore, so the whole dynamic of the election is changed now,” Russo said. “Way less people are going to vote. People don’t want to hear ‘vote vote vote’ anymore.”

While Russo felt Smith was slighted in the election, he said it should be the College of Arts and Sciences that should have another election.

Though the court did not entertain a discussion of an expedited election for the College of Arts and Sciences as it was not an agenda item at that meeting, Shapiro said the difference in votes caused by the confusion of Smith’s count was a “huge disparity” and was a “ripple effect” that may affect both colleges.

It is expected that the topic of an expedited election for the College of Arts of Sciences, in addition to the College of Business, will likely be discussed when the court reconvenes the Monday after spring break.

others in teams in challenging outdoor settings.

One of the focal points of the fair was a visual social awareness campaign that gathered donated jeans and spread them across the grassy hill in front of the MSC to show that everyone is unique. The Love Your Barbie. Genes campaign will evenare.” tually donate the jeans to Metropolitan Ministries.

The USF Counseling Center also gave out plastic slinky toys with the message “be flexible” printed on them.

“We wanted a way to promote being stress-free,” said Heidi Petracco, the assistant director of USF Counseling Center’s outreach and consultation. “Be flexible to cope with stress.”

Petracco and fellow Counseling Center employees educated participants on ways to alleviate the stress that

causes eating disorders.

One way to lower stress levels while on campus, they said, is to visit the Wellness Center. The Wellness Center offers students free health screenings, fruit, massages and other services.

Petracco said eating disorders don’t pick and choose their targets, and they can affect anyone.

“We serve lots of people with symptoms of eating disorders or body image concerns,” she said. “Both men and women visit us.”

NEDAW is an experience composed of social media campaigns and live events.

Life-size Barbie will return to MSC during Bull Market today from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students can provide their own positive statements on post-it notes to inspire students to shun unrealistic expectations of body image.

The fair was the third event of eating disorder awareness week, which continues through Friday.

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USF develops device to catch fraudulent fish

By Zach Lowie S T A F F

W R I T E R

Tourists and natives alike shell out top dollar for Florida seafood, whether it’s fish, shrimp or mussels. Visitors can rest easy knowing the delicious local cuisine they’re eating is authentic — right?

Robert Ulrich, a recent Ph.D. microbiologist at USF, and a team of USF researchers have developed a handheld tool that tells whether a $15 plate of grouper is the real catch or a fishy imposter.

Grouper is the third-most economically valuable seafood product in Florida, Ulrich said, behind only shrimp and stone crab. Mislabeled seafood is estimated to cost the industry and its consumers an estimated $25 billion annually, according to a study by the nonprofit organization Oceana.

“The reason it has taken so much time to get to this stage in development is that we want to solidify our tests as much as possible,” Ulrich said.

“This project started out as strictly academic several years ago and has turned into something potentially much more impactful.”

The group recently created a USF technology spin-off company, PureMolecular, to distribute the device, which analyzes the genetic structure of the fish to determine if it is grouper.

Currently the product, nicknamed “GrouperChek,” costs $1,999, but could lower in price if talks with wholesale manufacturers succeed.

“The ones that are selling grouper honestly are getting undercut by those down the street selling mislabeled products for cheaper prices,” Ulrich said.

With commercial fishing rates dropping at a local

level and the demand for fish like grouper continuing to be on the rise, the international seafood trade is quite strong.

Many restaurant chains buy wholesale fish shipped from countries like Japan.

In 2007, the St. Petersburg Times reported that six out of the 11 grouper meals they sampled were actually cheap substitutes. Ulrich said the FDA identifies 64 different fish that can carry the name “grouper” into supermarkets. Currently less than one percent of fish sold in the U.S. receives inspection before shipping, with only 0.2 percent being reviewed for genetic identification.

Ulrich’s team hopes its technology will help oust the grouper knockoffs and give consumers what they really want.

PureMolecular’s current sensor identifies fish associated with a majority of the species that are FDA approved in an attempt to meet appropriate regulations.

“We wanted to parallel what FDA regulations are for seafood labeling,” Ulrich said. “There’s a lot of parody between what the FDA calls grouper and what evolution calls grouper.”

Earlier tests took extended periods of time, some even several days, to identify real grouper. In 2011, the FDA started developing an operating procedure for DNA barcoding to identify species.

“It’s kind of like CSI,” Ulrich said. “You take a piece of fish, get the genetic sequence and compare it against a library of known species to match the correct breed.”

GrouperChek can do so in less than an hour even if the fish is cooked and covered by breading or sauce.

Several restaurants have experienced product reviews revealing the fish they said was grouper was in fact kingfish, known for the high concentrations of mercury found in their flesh. At-risk individu-

USF microbiologists developed device highlights genetic markers exclusive to grouper. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE als, such as women who are expecting, put themselves and their unborn children in danger of exposure to this toxin if consumed during pregnancy.

In recent years importers have been caught illegally buying large pallets of Asian catfish as grouper to avoid antidumping laws and tariffs that would require them to shell out millions of dollars to the U.S. Asian catfish, colloquially known as tra or basa, are primarily farm-raised in the Mekong River delta. This body of water is next to mining operations, which pollutes the water and puts those consuming the fish in potential danger of consuming hazardous chemicals.

Local seafood chains undergo numerous state inspections,

but the fish they sell is rarely reviewed by government authorities, leaving room for a lot of counterfeit catch to reach dinner tables.

Kerra Poll, assistant manager at the Shells seafood restaurant on East Fowler Avenue, said the seafood they currently purchase already meets FDA regulations and classifications.

“Shells buys their seafood from trusted suppliers like U.S. Foods,” Poll said. “We don’t just buy from Joe Schmo down the street.”

Poll said even though the technology may not be readily available now, there is a lot of potential for good in the coming years once the device is subsidized.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Poll said. “Since news of the grouper device broke we’ve

had several patrons ask if we carried it for validity purposes.

Even though we trust the fish from our suppliers, the device could help improve customer’s beliefs in what we’re selling and make business better in the long-run.”

Ulrich is hoping to develop other tests for seafood like shrimp, which face a similar problem to grouper in their mislabeling of farm-raised seafood versus fish caught in the wild.

“This could prove to be a very valuable tool for restaurants, seafood suppliers and consumers,” Ulrich said. “We think there’s an extremely large potential market down the line which could ultimately help cut down on illegal fishing activities around the world.”

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Burgeoning indie band headlines Bulls Nite Out

By Allison Buckner C O R R E S P O N D E N T

Tonight’s Bulls Nite Out will feature a concert by Los Angeles alternative pop band, machineheart.

The five-piece act is wrapping up the Trendsetter Tour, a university tour that has taken them all across the U.S. USF is only one of two stops in Florida, and band members Stevie and Blake spoke to The Oracle about the tour before tonight’s performance in the MSC Ballroom at 7:30 p.m.

Q: Based on your social media accounts, the band appears to be pretty new. When and how did machineheart form?

A: We’ve been a band since about two and a half years ago.

We all met through mutual friends, started jamming with each other and liked the direction that our music was taking.

We just recorded our first song last April though, and don’t have a studio album just yet, but that will be out soon.

Q: The band has been tour-

ing different college campuses across the U.S. recently. What has the touring experience been like?

A: It’s been awesome! But very, very cold. We’re west coasters, so we’re babies when it comes to this crazy winter weather. We’re so happy to be in Florida, I (Stevie) literally have a tank top on today, it’s so nice.

The best part is how fun it is to meet so many people while out on tour each night. It’s been a perfect time; all of the students have been really inviting and welcoming.

Q: Sounds like it’s been really fun. What was the hardest part about touring?

A: Hardest part? Definitely the cold. Luckily, we’re all easygoing people. When we were in the Northeast, some days it was negative 10, negative 5 degrees.

And unfortunately, the heat only works in the front of the van.

But people have been helpful, good food — we were definitely taken care of, all of the students are so nice.

Q: Is USF one of the last stops on the tour?

A: Yes, including USF, we have two more shows. We go up to Wisconsin, back to the cold. Then we’re heading back to LA, then to Austin for SXSW in March.

Q: Describe your sound/Who influences your music?

A: Having all of these different members in the band with different influences has been the cool part, writing together and combining all of our different tastes has worked in creating our alternative/pop sound. We also credit Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac, Lykke Li, Nirvana, Muse, The Killers, Radiohead, etc. It’s been cool to combine those to find our own alternative pop sound.

Q: What are your hopes for machineheart in 2015?

A: We have a bunch of festivals lined up, mostly in the summer. We will also be finishing up recording our album, and more touring. We’re super excited.

Los Angeles indie outfit, machineheart, is excited to bask in Florida’s warmth and perform at tonight’s Bulls Nite Out event in the Marshall Student Center Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. after touring the country as part of the Trendsetter Tour. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

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OLYMPICS

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for the girls that have never been involved,” Eriksen said. “To be on that stage with 14,000 other athletes at the Olympic Village and on the worldwide stage with the Michael Phelps, the ’Dream Team,’ Jesse Owens and all these things that went on, it’s hard to describe.”

Eriksen sees nothing but upside for the sport if it can get back into the Olympic Games.

“For me, it’s just an opportunity to get the sport back on the biggest stage in the world and that’s to be involved in the five rings,” Eriksen said. “Any time you have the five rings involved in your sport, the money comes into player growth and comes into player development.”

If softball does in fact make it to Tokyo, Eriksen is a front-runner for the head coaching spot, giving him the opportunity to coach players that have strong ties to USF such as Gibson and former USF pitcher

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Sara Nevins.

Nevins said she didn’t believe she would ever stick around with softball too long as a kid. But now, years later, she recognizes the importance of the chance to play for one’s country.

“It would mean a lot and be a great honor,” Nevins said. “A lot of kids dream about playing (in the Olympics) or the Team USA team in general one day. We get to represent our country and wear USA across our chest chasing a gold medal.”

Eriksen takes what he learned from his time spent with Team USA back to his own program at USF. “It’s serious business,” Eriksen said. “You walk on to the ball field and don’t let any moment go by that you can’t take advantage of, and if you do, you’re wasting time and wasting opportunities that were given to you.“ Gibson, who spent time with Eriksen on Team USA, has only spent a short time with the Bulls,

but can see the difference that experience makes.

“He watches a lot of the girls’ swings (at Team USA) and he brings bits and pieces back to USF and that helps the girls,” Gibson said. “Playing for your country is the next step and bringing that experience back to the college level helps the girls a lot in their future.”

Eriksen hopes to make it back to the Olympics one day, but even if that dream doesn’t come to fruition, he enjoys watching the progression of the sport as a whole and the effect it has on its players.

“Give it 100 percent and always live in the moment the whole time and I think once you look back after college, you can always say I gave it my all and I think that’s what I’m trying to instill in these gals,” Eriksen said. “You know, Arizona’s coach Mike Candrea, John Rittman from Stanford, myself; I think we’re all just messengers for the future, instilling some really great values in people.”

BULLS

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Bulls forced Cincinnati to commit 18 turnovers, with the majority coming in the second half, helping USF get better shot attempts as the minutes wound down.

USF outsized and outplayed the Bearcats and is now turn-

ERROR

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the eighth inning when the Eagles scored on an RBI single and a passed ball, putting them in the lead for good.

FGCU capped its scoring with designated hitter Nick Rivera’s homer to left-center in the ninth.

Eagles pitcher Sterling Koerner (2-0) earned the win after pitching five scoreless

ing its sights toward the last regular season road game against UCF (9-18, 5-11) before returning home for a rematch with AAC rival, and current conference leader, UConn (271, 16-0).

The Bulls’ next game is Saturday against in-state foe UCF at CFE Arena in Orlando at 4 p.m innings of relief for starter Nick Deckert.

“They kept us off-balance, got ahead of our hitters,” Kingston said. “We didn’t do enough offensively, we didn’t have enough guys on base, and when we did, we were able to steal some bases and get some things going. We just didn’t have enough guys on base.”

USF plays High Point in a weekend series at the USF Baseball Stadium, beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Opinion

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Yes, Beyonce is human like us

Isabelle Cavazos COLU M N I ST

While Beyonce seems like a goddess from another planet, she too is a living, breathing human who sports pores and wrinkles in reality.

Alas, Beyonce is not as flawless as fans think.

This is a fact that some can’t bear to accept. Last week, after unedited photos of the singer from a 2013 L’Oreal advertisement appeared on the fan site Beyonce World, complaints from upset fans eventually led to the removal of the photos, according to a CNN article.

The photos, which looked more like images of what Beyonce would look like in person rather than in an edited magazine photo, even sparked fan wars.

Aside from the irony of fans reacting negatively to close-ups of

the Oracle

a woman who preaches self-love and acceptance, what’s absurd is that sometimes the Photoshopped version of reality is more acceptable than the reality itself.

Regardless of one’s views on Photoshop in the media, it goes without saying that retouched images always have a “before” that shows the wrinkles, the makeup application and the uneven skin of human faces.

Knowing this, it should be obvious that celebrities’ default appearance is not the one with edits for lighting, blemishes and weight, and cringing with disappointment at seeing a star’s face or body without these edits throws the human element out the window.

Understandably, many celebrities do take their image very seriously. For instance, last month, Justin Bieber threatened to sue a website that posted a GIF of his Calvin Klein ad that included a photo suggesting the ad was retouched to heavily enlarge his arms, torso and crotch.

It doesn’t matter whether the photo was actually retouched.

The fact it upset Bieber shows he cares about how he appears to the masses.

The public, though, shouldn’t become alarmed when faced with unretouched photos. It shouldn’t

T H E O R AC L E

What you said Assistant multimedia editor Sebastian Contento asked students their thoughts on Photoshop being used to perfect celebrity images.

“I know some makeup commercials show an unreachable goal in looks, therefore people buy the product. Other than that, I don’t see a need for Photoshop with celebrities.”

— Angela Moran, a junior majoring in theater performance

“I think there should be a small disclaimer with these images because they falsify reality for people that think it’s capable of looking like that without Photoshop.”

— Steve Ferlita, a junior majoring in biomedical sciences

“This is not OK, people just do this out of their own insecurities. Instead, people should love each other for who they are.”

Isabelle Cavazos is a junior majoring in Spanish and English.

the University of South Florida’s student newspaper since 1966

Editor in Chief: Alex Rosenthal .............................. oracleeditor@gmail.com News Editor: Wesley Higgins .......................... oraclenewsteam@gmail.com Sports Editor: Vinnie Portell ........................ oraclesportseditor@gmail.com Lifestyle Editor: Ariana Matos ................. oraclelifestyleeditor@gmail.com Opinion Editor: Isabelle Cavazos ....................... oracleopinion@gmail.com Copy Editors: Safeena Kassoo, Caitlin Lochner Multimedia Editor: Adam Mathieu Assistant Editors: Sebastian Contento, Jacob Hoag,

take a bad Photoshop error — such as when Target released a swimsuit ad that gave a girl a wide thigh gap while cropping out the bathing suit bottom — to see the disconnect between retouching and how someone actually looks.

Many people who have taken a yearbook photo have received a complementary retouching. While the resulting photo may appear nice on the page, it is generally accepted that retouching is an alteration to one’s natural appearance.

It’s the same thing as enhancing the contrast on Instagram posts to smoothen one’s complexion — something most millennials are guilty of.

If anything, seeing images of celebrities that haven’t been retouched should be a reminder that celebrities are still people with imperfections. Remembering this is especially encouraging when it makes celebrities such as Beyonce more relatable.

Despite the urges from the public and celebrities themselves to have unflattering photos erased from public memory, there isn’t much worth complaining about anyway when it’s a photo of Beyonce.

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Graphic Arts Manager: Luke Blankenship Advertising Sales Manager: Ashley Pollio

— Thanh Luong, a sophomore majoring in business

The Oracle is published Monday through Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, and twice weekly, Monday and Thursday, during the summer.

The Oracle allocates one free issue to each student.

Additional copies are $.50 each and available at the Oracle office (SVC 0002).

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Softball

Women’s Basketball

Eriksen hopeful of return to Olympics Bulls own Bearcats on road

By Jacob Hoag A S S T .

S P O R T S

E D I T O R

In 2004, the U.S. Olympic softball team had one of the greatest runs in the nation’s history on its journey to chase a gold medal.

On the sidelines for all seven of Team USA’s wins was USF coach Ken Eriksen.

Eriksen served as an assistant on the 2004 Olympic team when Team USA took home its third consecutive gold medal. Although he didn’t get a moment to enjoy it then, it still remains one of his fondest memories in the sport.

“It means more to me now than it did back then,” Eriksen said. “We were really locked in at the task at hand trying to be perfect and the coaching staff spent numerous hours in preparation. It’s not until after that you get to realize what you accomplished and enjoy it.”

In 2008, Eriksen read the headline ‘Softball dropped from 2012 games.’ His chance at another gold medal was taken away and the sport took a downward turn.

“The only thing that really bugs me about it is the opportunity for more players across the world to get into the Olympics,” Eriksen said. “I’ve been there already and it was a great experience and I don’t

think you can do any better than winning a gold medal.”

Lauren Gibson, a former standout at Tennessee and now a graduate assistant under Eriksen, saw her dreams and hopes of Olympic gold vanish.

“It was really disappointing. As young kids, that’s what we always worked for; we wanted to play on Team USA and we wanted to play in the Olympics,” Gibson said.

“As a kid obviously I was way too young to try out for the team, but right when it was getting around time for me to be in college and about the time for me to begin to play for Team USA, (the Olympics) were taken away.”

For Eriksen, the Olympics were more than just the game, the medals and the recognition — it was about the team itself and the bond they created.

“We went through four and a half years as a unit and experienced the highs and lows of life, death of family members, births of children, you name it,” Eriksen said. “It was an emotional ride and when I look back on it, it still brings goose bumps and smiles, but it was one of the best times I’ve ever had.”

The softball community has

By Zach Lowie S T A F F

USF coach Ken Eriksen won a gold medal with Team USA as an assistant coach in 2004 and hopes the sport can return to the Olympics. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/FASTPITCH.EU been clawing its way back, trying voted to abolish the 28-game cap to get the International Olympic on Olympic sports, opening a slim Committee (IOC) to reconsider and chance that softball could creep reinstate the sport for the 2020 its way back in to the games — a Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan — chance that Eriksen has waited six the home country of the last team years for, not for himself, but for the athletes. to win a softball gold medal.

“It’s a phenomenal opportunity In December — just months after the 10-year anniversary of the n See OLYMPICS on PAGE 5 2004 gold medal run — the IOC

Baseball

Eagles hold off error-prone Bulls

Levi Borders was the only Bull with two hits as USF only scored twice against FGCU. ORACLE PHOTO/SEBASTIAN CONTENTO

By Tiana Aument C O R R E S P O N D E N T

The Bulls’ defensive woes continued Tuesday night, as they fell 6-2 to FGCU at the USF Baseball Stadium.

The Bulls (4-3-1) lead the AAC with 18 errors after committing three within the first five innings of Tuesday’s game.

“Our defense needs to get back to where I thought it would be before the season started,” coach Mark Kingston said. “Our defense is not playing at a level that any of us expected. The only way to get us back to where we were before the season started is to

work hard.”

The Bulls escaped the first inning without surrendering a run after the Eagles loaded the bases on an error and two walks. Starter Ryan Valdes got out of the inning with a strikeout and a fly out.

But USF couldn’t prevent damage in the second, as FGCU (4-4-1) posted two runs. Backto-back RBI singles scored shortstop Brian Pruett, who had reached on an error, and center fielder Adam Eggnatz, who had singled.

The Bulls answered in the bottom frame with right fielder Luke Maglich’s RBI single, which scored catcher Levi

Borders, who had singled.

Borders, who is batting .310, went 2-for-4.

Valdes (0-1) pitched three innings in his first start and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits. The junior transfer from State College of Florida walked and struck out two before Tommy Eveld, Jordan Strittmatter and Tommy Peterson relieved him.

FGCU tacked on another run in the fifth before shortstop Kyle Teaf’s RBI single scored left fielder Kevin Merrell in the bottom frame.

For every inning FGCU scored, USF responded until

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W R I T E R

After a 27-point blowout win against Temple on Sunday, USF rode that momentum into Cincinnati, Ohio, to take on the Bearcats. After only being tied for several possessions at the start of the contest, the Bulls crushed Cincinnati 74-44.

Junior forward Alisia Jenkins stole the show Tuesday, collecting a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds by halftime and finishing with 16 points and 17 rebounds in 32 minutes of play.

The Bulls (23-5, 14-2) outrebounded the Bearcats 48-26, and showed resilience in the paint. Even with its dominance, USF could not quite run away with the game by halftime, leading by only 13 points.

Unfortunately for Cincinnati (6-21, 3-13), this would be the closest they would get to matching the Bulls’ effort for the remainder of the game.

USF scored 37 points in both halves and closed out the game shooting lights out, converting 47 percent of shot attempts.

The Bearcats’ offense struggled to find decent offensive looks and began settling on poor shot attempts early on.

The poor shooting effort translated into just 31 shooting from the field, with just four 3-pointers falling on the night.

Junior guard Courtney Williams stepped up her game once again, coming away with 22 points and six rebounds off 10-for-21 shots made. The

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