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Inside this Issue

C O - N E W S

More diversity needed in Oscar nominations.

Page 4

Montage

S P ORTS Senior Erica Nunn shows she’s capable of being a power hitter.

BACK

w w w. u s fo r a c l e. co m

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U N I V E R S I T Y O F S O U T H F LO R I DA

SG elections come to an end

By Abby Rinaldi

O P I NIO N

The Index

Opinion.......................................................4 Classifieds..........................................10

E D I T O R

At 5 p.m. Thursday, the last polling station for the Student Government (SG) general elections will come down. At 11:59 p.m., online polls on SG’s website will close.

As SG election season comes to end, SG Supervisor of Elections Carson Sadro reflected positively on the turnout.

Monday’s voting had a huge turnout, she said. SG gave 1,000 shirts to students who came to the polling stations and voted. The next couple of days slowed down at the polling stations, picking up a bit during Bull Market on Wednesday.

“It was a way larger turnout than I would’ve expected because we also can’t even see the people who are just online voting at home,” Sadro said.

“To see 1,000 voters come out in person on the first day was amazing.”

During elections, voting stations gave out free donuts in the morning and free pizza in the afternoons to those who voted.

Sadro encourages student to vote and get involved with the political process at USF. “We’re electing the next student body president who’s going to have a big say in the student’s voice — representing them with the Board of Trustees, potentially, and communicating with Dr. (Judy) Genshaft,” she said. “… The senators represent the students when it comes to funding organizations, when it comes to writing legislation… and if the students want their voices heard then they need to come out and vote.”

Running for president and vice president are Chris Griffin and Alec Waid; Michael Malanga and Taylor Sanchez; and Nicole Hudson and Amanda Hill.

Senators are organized into

n See VOTE on PAGE 6

President Judy Genshaft has been with USF for 16 years.

ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

President Genshaft to receive contract renewal

By Grace Hoyte E D I T O R

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USF President Judy Genshaft is up for reappointment. The university Board of Trustees (BOT) will propose a new oneyear contract at Thursday’s Board meeting.

The contract would extend Genshaft’s tenure to 17 years and include a five percent increase in base compensation.

While the terms of the new document stipulate that Genshaft will serve an additional one year, rather than

the three previous five-year contracts, the contract stipulates “this Agreement may be extended for additional one year terms.”

As the USF System President, Genshaft has 24 contractual responsibilities, including fundraising, governing admissions, administering the university’s intercollegiate athletics and establishing agreements for student exchange programs.

If she accepts the proposal, Genshaft’s base salary will be $493,500, along with additional compensations and stipends.

Her current contract did not

n See GENSHAFT on PAGE 6

The hunt begins

This semester’s Humans vs. Zombies started Wednesday with a late-night mission that began in the Allen Building courtyard.

Chance Rohter, a senior majoring in environmental science, and Peyton Geftman, a sophomore majoring in theater, armed themselves with nerf guns to defend themselves against zombies. ORACLE PHOTO/JACKIE BENITEZ

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Kappa Sigma fraternity’s fourth annual Bachelor Auction will be held at the USF School of Music Concert Hall Thursday night with all proceeds going to the Fisher House Foundation for veterans.

ORACLE PHOTO/SEBASTIAN CONTENTO

Frat offers puppies and dates for charity

By Adam Mathieu M A N A G I N G

E D I T O R

USF’s chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity is upping the ante on its annual philanthropy. The fourth annual Kappa Sigma Bachelor Auction will be followed by a puppy run to round out Kappa Sigma Week.

The puppy run will be held Friday in Greek Village and will feature puppies brought in by both fraternity members and the Humane Society.

The puppies will be available for visitors to run or play with. The event is open to the public, with the hopes that people will donate to the Humane Society.

This year, the auction will be held in the USF School of Music Concert Hall.

The Bachelor Auction will feature an estimated 30 bachelors being auctioned off to bidders along with date packages to events such as dinner cruises and comedy shows.

During the auction, the bachelors will try to win over prospective buyers by singing, dancing and parading around the stage shirtless.

The money raised from the auction will go toward the Fisher House Foundation, which provides housing to veterans and their families. Last year the fraternity brought in nearly $3,000 for the Foundation.

Doors open for the Bachelor Auction at 7 p.m., with tickets available upon arrival for $5.

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Conference trains medical student advisors

By Miki Shine C O - N E W S

E D I T O R

With the number of applicants to M.D. schools having increased by 25 percent since 2002, it has becoming more difficult for students to get accepted. The Meeting Admission Targets: Recruitment & Innovations Conference held at USF Health on March 4 plans to address this issue by examining four major themes.

The first focuses on faculty development by looking at the main admissions requirements. Medical schools look for critical thinking skills on top of scientific knowledge and reasoning.

This requires students to have exposure to social sciences and humanities, as well as the science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) classes. Moreover students must develop this ability to associate the fields.

Another session at the con-

ference will look at advising for students hoping to get into professional health schools.

Lately, schools have taken to looking not only at GPA and test scores but at the student overall.

This means the institutions look at interpersonal relationships and extracurriculars to find a well-rounded student.

The session is intended to teach advisors about guiding students to fit the new requirements.

The third will focus on “transformational leadership in the academic and student services area,” because 6,500 pre-health students at USF transferred from state and community colleges.

Recent changes to what schools are looking for is challenging the current academic curricula used by state and community schools as well as universities. The session plans to discuss those changes and how to enhance seamless transition between the three.

Finally, “Health Care in 2030: Policy, Practice and

Pedagogy” will focus on the future of training medical professionals.

Keynote speaker Tannaz Rasouli, Senior Director of the Association of American Medical Colleges, will present on her experiences with the training of health care professionals along with health care policy and practices.

There will also be a tour of the USF Center for Advanced Clinical Learning after the closing ceremonies at 3 p.m.

The facility focuses on teaching and evaluating students on their clinical skills with students acquiring more than 50 hours within it during their four years.

Registration for the conference starts at 8 a.m. on March 4 with the conference going from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The optional tour will last another hour. It is free for anyone interested in going and will be held at the Wellness, Engagement, Leadership, Learning Student Center at USF Health.

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Opinion

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#OscarsSoWhite Breanne Williams COLU M N I ST

The 88th Academy Awards were held Sunday, and due to the all-white acting nominations for the second year in a row, many across the country protested the event by refusing to tune in.

The Academy Awards is the most-watched, non-sports TV event. A Nielson survey revealed in the U.S., according to the Tampa Bay Times, over 34.3 million people tuned in Sunday to watch.

As impressive as this number may appear, it’s three million viewers shy of last year’s number. And the Academy needs to take a look at why so many homes decided not to tune in to TV’s most glamorous night.

The movement to boycott the event was led by viewers protesting with the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite on social media where they encouraged other watchers to refrain from tuning in to the show in hopes the Academy would begin to be more inclusive of its nominations.

Most notably, Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee spoke out against the show and refused to attend.

“Is it time that people of color recognize how much power, influence that we have amassed, that we no longer need to ask to be invited anywhere?” Smith said in a video posted to her Facebook page.

Chris Rock, this year’s host, began his opening monologue by welcoming everyone to the “White People’s Choice Awards.” His frustration was palpable as he joked that they will have to have separate categories for black actors so they are sure to be nominated.

Rock didn’t shy away from launching into a well-deserved reprimand of the Academy and the biased way they nominate all of their actors.

“There’s no real reason for there to be a man and a woman category in acting,” Rock stated.

“It’s not track and field … Robert De Niro’s never said, ‘I better slow

this acting down, so Meryl Streep can catch up.’”

The Academy Awards are supposed to represent the best films, acting and industry techniques the last year had to offer. They claim to exemplify the best of the industry but in reality only acknowledge the work of a select few.

Will Smith offered a phenomenal performance in “Concussion.”

Idris Elba captivated audiences in “Beasts of No Nation.” Michael B. Jordan unarguably stole the show in “Creed.” Yet, all were denied a nomination at this year’s awards.

A 2014 UCLA study found, “In 2011, out of the 172 films examined, dominant firms represented 9.2 percent of minority directors, 6.3 percent of minority writers and 7.3 percent of minority lead actors.”

If minority actors have a tough time being nominated, their fellow actresses have even larger hurdles to overcome. A Latin-American actress has not been nominated for Best Actress since 2004. An Asian actress hasn’t been nominated for Best Actress since 1935.

This is absurd. If the Academy wants to represent its public accurately, it needs to learn to appreciate actors other than Matt Damon.

The film industry needs to start offering parts based on talent rather than skin color or gender.

Of the Academy’s approximately 6,000 voting members, 94 percent are white. According to the economist.com, “throughout the 20th century, 95 percent of Oscar nominations went to white film stars.”

It’s time for this to change.

There’s no reason extremely talented actors, like Samuel L. Jackson and Viola Davis, should not have Oscars for their incredible work. Realistically, however, until actors of all race and gender are considered equally for roles in film, the Academy will continue to reflect the biased views of Hollywood.

Breanne Williams is a junior majoring in mass communications.

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What you said

Sunday, the Academy Awards failed to recognize a single minority for an acting nomination for the second year in a row. Opinion Editor Breanne Williams asked students what their favorite films are with a minority in the lead.

“’Pulp Fiction.’ Samuel L. Jackson is the bomb.”

- Breanna Brown, a senior majoring in biomedical sciences

“’Vicki Cristina Barcelona’ because I love Penelope Cruz.”

- Alberto Gonzalez, a junior majoring in biomedical sciences

“’Maid in Manhattan’ or ‘The Help.’”

- Angela Waddill, a freshman majoring in political science

“’Enter the Dragon.’ Bruce Lee was the Asian James Bond.”

- Luis Frieri, Jr., a senior majoring in international studies

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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Wanted: writers, editors, photographers The Oracle is looking to hire writers, editors and photographers. Experience a plus, not required. Must be willing to learn. Weekly meetings Wednesdays at 5 p.m. in SVC 0002.

See our Facebook page for video directions. For more information contact the editor at oracleeditor@gmail.com.

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VOTE

Continued from PAGE 1

albums on the SG Facebook page.

As far as campaigning goes, Sadro said the style may have changed but magnitude is aligned with previous years.

She feels that presidential and vice presidential candidates really put themselves out there and interacted with the students.

She has also found the senate candidates quite active in their campaigns.

Concern over senate candidates offering food or other incentives to students in exchange for their vote has surfaced to some degree, but Sadro can’t say anything about that unless there is a grievance.

Handing out food and such

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should not be used to guarantee a vote, but it can be used to start a conversation.

“I’ve already reminded the candidates several times throughout the election process to make sure that they’re remaining in compliance with the rules,” Sadro said.

“The one thing we don’t want to see happen is we don’t want to see candidates trying to coerce the students and that’s a major violation if that happens and if the court finds that a candidate did that.”

Announcement of election results will take place on Friday at noon. Currently, the location is set for MSC 4200.

Sadro said this may be subject to change and if it does, a notification will go out on social media. The event is open to the public.

GENSHAFT

Continued from PAGE 1

include a salary increase. The contract explicitly stated that Genshaft’s salary may be augmented, but not decreased.

Genshaft has increased university system enrollment by 37 percent during her tenure. The endowment has seen an increase of 167 percent to $420 million in the same amount of time.

Additionally, she has been honored by 11 national and local organizations, and has received three international recognitions, including the first honorary degree given to a woman by Yeungnam University in South Korea.

The proposal cited these enhancements to the university as cause for the contract renewal.

Benefits in Genshaft’s current and proposed contracts are automobile insurance, a $988 monthly stipend to cover the expenses of owning a car, and annual dues and membership fees for the Tampa Palms Country Club and the University Club.

According to an evaluation of her current contract, Genshaft received a $175,000 stipend in the December of 2015.

Genshaft chose not to live in the Lifsey house, the university-owned home on

does not receive a housing allowance. Also according to the evaluation, these benefits are “relatively standard” for a university president.

The evaluation document noted “Genshaft’s base salary and her guaranteed compensation is below the market range.”

In light of this, the document raises the question “whether this competitive posture is appropriate in light of Dr. Genshaft’s tenure and performance?”

The longest-sitting president in USF’s history, Genshaft’s total compensation is in the 90th percentile of comparably sized universities across the country, according to data from the Chronicle of Higher Education compiled by UCF in October of 2015.

The new contract stipulates that upon leaving the position of president, Genshaft will have “a 12-month professional development leave with the title of President Emeritus.”

After that time, she will be able to accept a ninemonth faculty or administrative position as a tenured full profession in the College of Education.

The BOT will meet Thursday at 8 a.m. in the Marshall Student Center Ballroom to discuss her contract among other agenda items.

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Classifieds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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http://www.usforacle.com/classifieds

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Senior Erica Nunn is batting .429 with four RBIs in 21 at-bats to start the season after not hitting since her sophomore year.

ORACLE PHOTO/JACKIE BENITEZ

CIRCLE

Continued from PAGE 11

ble up the gap in center field, scoring sophomore Lauren Evans from first.

Two innings later, Nunn followed up with single up the first base line to again bring Evans home, before entering the circle in the seventh to close out the game.

Her versatility was an invaluable trait that Eriksen saw early on.

“She was great hitter in high school and travel ball,” Eriksen said. “One of the better ones I’ve seen” Despite playing four years in high school with accolades, such as being selected an ESPN All-American, piling up, the road leading up to her success started in a much different manner.

Nunn started in the sport tucked away in left field — the position she said they put the kids that “aren’t really that good.”

In the early years, her repertoire consisted exclusively of bunts. It wasn’t until she was about 11-years-old — after years of hitting lessons — that she started to develop the power seen today.

“She’s done such a great job at evolving as a player,” senior catcher Lee Ann Spivey said of her teammate. “She’s just relaxing and having confidence, that’s all it really takes to be good at softball.”

Spivey, who sits 10 home runs shy of the program’s alltime record, knows what it takes

to become a good hitter and said Nunn has everything it takes on both sides of the diamond.

“Your pitchers are already doing so much for the team,” Spivey said. “So when they can come back out, they are willing to work hard on both angles — understanding what it’s like to be a hitter and what it’s like to be in the field— it’s a good opportunity for them to step up as a leader.”

Nunn adds another dimension to an already dynamic set of hitters for USF, which tallied six or more runs in each of its five games this past weekend.

The added strength is something Eriksen expects to pose problems for opposing pitchers.

“If she can swing it the way she’s doing, she gives us someone behind Spivey,” he said. “Then if you put (Mia) Fung behind her and then Sammy Worrell, you get a little bit of a Murderer’s Row there.

“And being a power-hitting lefty, that really helps out. They can’t pitch around us.”

With only 16 games played this season, Eriksen plans to keep plugging her in lineups.

With her production so far, it’s hard to argue.

“There’s a big difference between 18-years-old and 22-years-old,” Eriksen said.

“You’re a bit more confident in yourself and you realize that you can do these type of things.

“It’s player development and maturation and she’s really one that you can see her personal game come into fruition.”

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LIMELIGHT

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the field for yet another season, bringing questions of his future in the sport to the forefront of his mind. During recovery, he began to play slow-pitch softball, where he rediscovered his passion for baseball.

“I kind of started to realize I’m not going to be able to run a 4.75-4.80 40 (yard dash) and go play wide receiver in the NFL,” Eveld said. “They’re just not going to take that.

“Whereas I can work on building velocity and getting better command of pitches and have a chance to play pro baseball. So it wasn’t until about the spring football game I missed when I decided I was just going to stick with baseball.”

But even though the 6-foot5, 195-pound Eveld had the throwing power to play for USF, the last time he played organized baseball was before he could drive, as a Little League player in Citrus Park.

Fortunately for Eveld, his sports-centric family had prepared him for doing the near-impossible: playing a D-I college sport with no high school experience.

“We aren’t a very big video game family just because my dad would come home from work and we knew that at that time all the TVs needed to be off,” Eveld said.

“We would go outside and play so we didn’t get in trouble.

My dad did a really good job growing up when he was coaching my teams of pounding the fundamentals of the game into my brain.”

Regardless of his time away from the sport, Eveld asked USF football coach Willie Taggart for permission to try out for the baseball team.

Taggart happily complied and the redshirt junior pitched three bullpen sessions over the course of roughly a week, making a good enough impression on the coaching staff to earn a walk-on position.

Junior Tommy Eveld briefly started for USF at quarterback before switching to pitch for USF baseball. ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

“Tommy literally went straight from football to baseball after not having played in six years,” pitching coach Billy Mohl said. “I was surprised, I mean not playing for six years and coming out and throwing 86-88 mph in your first bullpen, you don’t see that every day.”

Senior pitcher Ryan Valdes, who played with Eveld in Little League, said he had to watch when he heard Eveld would be trying out for the team after taking such an extended hiatus from the sport.

“From playing with him, I always knew he had the baseball skills,” Valdes said. “He’s an athlete, you can just tell. When he was doing his walk-on tryout we actually got to see some of his stuff out there and see him throwing, so I definitely saw he had some talent.

“We were skeptical because of the lack of work capacity,

but we knew he had the stuff.

Once you get the mentality that you’re better than these hitters, and he is, all the skepticism goes away.”

Eveld said he was unsure of his chances of making the team until he pitched his third bullpen session, hitting 89 mph on the radar gun.

Not only did Eveld make the team, but he was immediately thrust into duty because of the lack of bullpen depth in the 2015 season.

“Coming into baseball, the second game of the season against Louisville, I got to play and I had spent three years on the sideline for football,” Eveld said. “So that was a huge relief just being able to put a uniform on and step between the lines.”

But Eveld once again encountered knee problems in the 2015 season, pitching through the pain all year long.

“Preseason I did a pick-off

move and I felt something in my knee tweak very similar to the first time when I tore it. I was just really hoping it was breaking scar tissue. So I pitched the whole season and then against UCF, the last time we faced them, I threw a slider and my knee just buckled and gave out.

“The coaches came out to check on me and the umpire kept telling me to leave, but I wasn’t about to leave against UCF. So I actually got back up, threw another pitch and ended the inning.”

Eveld had surgery in the offseason and now that he’s back to full strength, he’s shown the coaching staff enough to earn the closer role, which was vacated when former pitcher Tommy Peterson was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the offseason.

“There’s always debate (on who will be the closer), but in

terms of profile, Tommy Eveld fit that profile the best,” Mohl said. “We’ve always had guys at the back-end of the bullpen with good breaking balls and Tommy’s got one of the best breaking balls on this pitching staff, so it’s a role that suits him well.”

The 22-year-old pitcher said he doesn’t have regrets about playing football and he would do it all again, but his sights are now set on a new goal: playing professional baseball.

“At the start of last year, I wasn’t concerned with getting drafted or going to the MLB, it was more just I can’t believe I’m on the team,” Eveld said.

“At the end of last year, coach Mohl and some scouts told me, ‘If you keep working, you have potential.’ That was kind of when it settled in, I am pretty good at this game. It took me a while to realize it though.”

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percent from the free-throw line and just 6.7 percent from beyond the arc.

USF’s 39 total points were the third fewest in the program’s 45-year history.

“Defense was good enough for us,” Antigua said. “Just offensively, obviously, we didn’t take advantage of the extra opportunities.”

Despite going 3-for-10 from the charity stripe, Cousins was USF’s only consistent offense.

He scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting even though he sat for solid chunk of the second half.

Defensively, USF was able to inhibit much scoring from the Pirates who shot 36 percent.

But woeful shooting from the Bulls’ kept them from taking any charge.

“I’m disappointed for the seniors,” Antigua said. “Their last home game, for them to have that kind of an outing.”

Despite the agony of yet another lopsided loss for USF, let alone on senior night, Cousins

tried to stay focused rather than let the game get to him.

“I had to just mentally lock in because there was a lot of frustrating moments and I was frustrated in myself for how I was shooting free throws and some of my shot selections,” Cousins said. “You can’t get caught up in it because that’s when you just shut down and I’ve had problems in the past with shutting down.

“I just tried to keep playing and help my team in some way.”

The one sliver of a silver lining came before the frustration set in when walk-on senior Tre Bryant got his first start. The pregame hype and festivities may have played a role in the lack of focus.

“When we started, we had a bunch of energy, but I don’t fell that energy wasn’t put towards the game,” Cousins said. “Like everyone was happy and it was senior night, but it wasn’t like, I’m happy and I’m going to go ahead and just play.”

With this loss already out of his head, Antigua has 72 hours to recoup before the Bulls’ travel to Tulsa for their regular season finale on Saturday at 5 p.m.

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Men’s golf

Olsen takes individual title in Los Cabos

Senior Aksel Olsen beat out teammate Chase Koepka by two strokes at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate in Los Cabos, Mexico on Sunday for the individual win. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE PHOTO

By Jacob Hoag S P O R T S

E D I T O R

USF men’s golf senior Aksel Olsen was named AAC Player of the Week following a firstplace finish at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate in Los Cabos, Mexico on Sunday.

USF finished second in the team standings at 8-under, 10 strokes behind tournament winner Georgia at the par-71 Querencia Golf Club.

This was Olsen’s first division-I win of his career and second top-10 finish of the spring season — he finished tied for eighth at the Gator Invitational on Feb. 21.

“To win in that field with that many good individual players was pretty impressive,” coach Steve Bradley said.

Olsen was able to birdie the par-4 17th hole to get a oneshot lead heading into the final hole where he would make par for the win.

The Norwegian native shot a tournament-best 9-under on par 4 holes.

“Where he’s grown probably the most is his course management,” Bradley said. “He’s typically been the kind of kid that likes to hit a driver regardless if it’s the correct play or not. At this course in particular, it kind of takes that out of play.

“Between his course management and his putting, that’s a large reason why he his golf game has improved so much.”

With the win in Mexico, USF moved to No. 18 in the Golfstat.com rankings.

Olsen had to stave off teammate Chase Koepka, who, with a birdie on the 16th hole, tied Olsen with two holes remaining. A bogey for senior Koepka and a birdie for Olsen gave Olsen the win.

The Bulls play their next tournament at Mission Inn Golf Course in Howey-in-theHills, Fl. On Mar. 12.

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Cousins, Bulls angered in loss

Cousins scored a team-high 13 points against East Carolina despite shooting 30 percent from the free-throw line.

ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

By Jacob Hoag S P O R T S

Sports

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

E D I T O R

With 12:10 left in the second half, senior Jaleel cousins trudged off the court after picking up his fourth foul, sending an aggressive hand slap coach Orlando Antigua’s way as he passed.

Nothing went right in USF men’s basketball’s senior-day finale at home on Wednesday night. The Bulls’ season to forget is nearing its end, but after falling to East Carolina 52-39 in front of an announced crowd of 2,957, the frustration remains.

“I don’t really know where everyone’s heads were at,” senior Jaleel cousins said following his final game in the Sun Dome.

The stats speak for themselves: 27.8 percent from the field on 54 shot attempts, 44

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Softball

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Stepping out of the circle Senior Erica Nunn proves she’s more than just a pitcher

By Jacob Hoag S P O R T S

E D I T O R

W

eeks before the softball season commenced, Erica Nunn sat in her coach’s office petitioning for a spot in the batting order. With little resistance, coach Ken Eriksen gave her a shot, knowing very well what she was capable of.

This was a much different conversation than the two had had two years prior.

“She came to me after her sophomore year telling me she didn’t want to hit,” Eriksen said. “I was like, ‘What the heck was that about? You’re one heck of a hitter.’”

Eriksen said it was one of the key reasons he recruited the North-Carolina native.

Pitchers who’ve had the ability to pound home strikes while also packing the power to get extra base hits have been a staple on Eriksen’s rosters — from Monica “Big Mo” Triner (723

strikeouts, 20 home runs) in the 90s to Karla Claudio (114 strikeouts, 6 home runs) the last two seasons.

Since regaining a spot in the lineup on occasion, Nunn has proved her worth. The senior has provided a spark for the Bulls’ offense in the first month of play, batting .429 with four RBIs in 21 at-bats.

The stark contrast between the .093 average she posted in 54 at-bats in her first two seasons and her current average was a matter of simply extinguishing the strain she put on herself to produce hits.

“My freshman year, I came in and put so much pressure on myself,” Nunn said. “Now, it’s just, ‘Go up there and hit the ball.’

“When I got to college, it was a whole different ball game, and now I’ve finally grown up and, like I said, (taken) the pressure off.”

In the third inning of last week’s 9-4 win over Jacksonville, Nunn blasted a dou-

n See CIRCLE on PAGE 11

Baseball

From the sidelines to the limelight Tommy Eveld finds his niche in baseball after playing three seasons of football

By Vinnie Portell C O R R E S P O N D E N T

Tommy Eveld was playing catch in the front yard with his older brother Bobby when he started to think about playing baseball again.

“I started realizing, ‘Hey, I can throw a round ball just as hard as I can throw a football, so that’s what motivated me to get back into baseball,’” Eveld said.

Eveld’s heart was dedicated to football, but a slew of leg injuries in practices over his three seasons on the team forced

him to consider other options. tiently on the sidelines for his Following Bobby, who brieffirst two years at USF, ly started at quarterback redshirting his first for USF in 2013, year and playing Eveld commiton scout team the ted to play for next — winning the the Bulls after 2013 USF Scout winning a 5A Team Offense District Champiaward. onship at Jesuit High But just School as the starting when quarterback, connectEveld ing on 65 percent of was his passes his senior reaching season for 2,326 the cusp yards. of meaningful He waited pa- ORACLE FILE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU playing time, his

football dreams would be dealt a fatal blow.

“It was on the turf field, running down on a punt,” Eveld said. “My cleat just got caught up in the ground when I was trying to make a tackle. I knew right away something wasn’t right. I could feel the bones slide on each other and my knee was unstable.”

The result was a torn ACL, partially torn LCL, damage to meniscus cartilage and a contusion on his femur.

The injuries kept Eveld off

n See LIMELIGHT on PAGE 13