The Oracle Bedbug A bigger, better boat treatment in The Index
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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
Inside this Issue
The Florida Institute of Oceanography is adding a new boat to its fleet to replace the outdated R/V Bellows.
LI F E STYLE
Adventure trips get students out of the classroom. Page 4
Montage
S PORTS Tampa community helps USF track standout rise to dominance. BACK
The R/V Bellows is a research vessel for the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) and is currently in and out of the shipyard for repair. The boat will be replaced by a new research vessel for which the FIO has recently achieved funding via the state and other donors. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE By Abby Rinaldi C O - N E W S
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The almost 50-year-old boat visits the shipyard nearly every six months to have sections of its hull replaced. The vessel isn’t up to modern standards in terms of technology, facilities or building materials, and its 71-foot, worn exterior reveals decades of fatigue. In essence, the R/V Bellows, an education and research vessel for the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO), has more than the FIO’s share of problems and is in need of replacement, according to FIO Director William Hogarth. Now, after a nearly fouryear battle for funding, the FIO will get its new 78-foot boat. “Really, the vessel had served its purpose,” Hogarth said. “We couldn’t keep up with the maintenance. We were concerned about safety
“We were concerned about safety and we just wanted to make sure that our researchers and students had the best technology that we could afford to be doing research and teaching.” William Hogarth Director of the Florida Institute of Oceanography
and we just wanted to make sure that our researchers and students had the best technology that we could afford to be doing research and teaching.” The R/V Bellows and its replacement are platforms
for key research, according to Hogarth, which is important in understanding the waters surrounding Florida and our impact on it. These waters, Hogarth said, are a vital piece of the Florida economy. Research done using the R/V Bellows includes that into red tide and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Continuation of this research, as well as other projects, is planned for the new vessel. One of these other projects involves mapping the Gulf of Mexico over the next three to five years to gain insight into gulf habitats to ensure their protection. That project brings in roughly $3 million a year. The R/V Bellows also served as a classroom for programs such as the annual USF College of Marine Science Oceanography Camp, which is designed for middle schoolage girls. The new vessel is expected to continue in that
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BSN finishes By Miki Shine C O - N E W S
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Treatments for bedbugs in the new portion of the Business Administrative building (BSN) concluded this week. Two weeks ago, a student report led to the discovery of bedbugs in seven classrooms and some open-seating areas within the newer portion of the BSN building including classrooms BSN 111, 120, 123, 124, 201 and 230. Muma College of Business Dean Moez Limayem said that the Summer A classes would be moved to different rooms within the BSN building with the infected rooms remaining empty. According to the most recent update from Limayem on Tuesday afternoon, USF Facilities Management reexamined all classrooms, office areas and common areas in the building last week, after treatments had been performed. Inspections were focused on the high traffic areas of BSN 1100 and Undergraduate Advising. Over the three-day weekend, inspections and precautionary treatments were done in the atrium and common areas, the Collier Student Success Center, Graduate Studies and Undergraduate Advising. After final inspections on Tuesday, it was determined that no further treatments are required at this time, according to USF Media Affairs Manager Adam Freeman. The building will continue to receive regular inspections along with all other facilities on campus.
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have access to the new vessel in order to conduct classes and research. FIO receives between $3 million and $5 million a year through the state for this research. FIO was set by the Board of Governors to serve as a central body for oceanography to support and provide the platform for efficient marine research in Florida. It has 30 members and is hosted by USF, meaning that USF provides facilities and administrative assistance. Hogarth said USF System President Judy Genshaft and Provost Ralph Wilcox helped the FIO organize to get the help it needed to match funding from the Legislature. The design for the new vessel to replace the R/V Bellows was done by Boska Marine Design in Lithia, The boat was designed by Florida. William Hogarth, director of the Florida Institute for Oceanography, said he was glad the jobs Boksa Marine Design, a naval architecture and engineering associated with the design and construction of the new vessel stayed in Florida. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE firm out of Lithia, Florida that worked with those who had unnamed vessel was made universities in FIO. used the boat over the past possible through a number of These members include 7 years to gain insight about Continued from PAGE 1 venues. UF, USF, FAU, FGCU, Eckerd what they needed in the new These include $3 million College, FAMU, UCF and vessel. in funding from the state FSU in order to match the purpose. The new boat will feature “It’s really a teaching vessel, combined with $1 million Legislature. Gov. Rick Scott new facilities such as separate I’d say — not a research from FIO’s own budget, approved the funding during wet and dry labs for on-board $250,000 from the City of St. the 2016 Legislative Session. vessel,” Hogarth said. research. Construction of the All member universities as The new $6 million, custom- Petersburg, and a collection of new vessel will take about 12 designed and currently other pledges from member well as state agencies will
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to 14 months and will be done at Duckworth Steel Boats shipyard in Tarpon Springs. “We’re fortunate that we can keep the money and jobs in our own (Florida) economy,” Hogarth said. FIO plans to celebrate the new vessel’s construction with a keel laying ceremony at 10 a.m. today at the shipyard. The center structure of the R/V Bellows’ replacement will be available for viewing. “We’re very thankful that the Legislature and the Governor approved (the new vessel) and that the City of St. Petersburg and the universities and members contributed to make it come true,” Hogarth said. “We think we’re going to get an excellent vessel, and it’s something we feel like (is) extremely important for the researchers and students and even the people who have businesses in Florida so we can follow what goes on in the Gulf of Mexico — and hopefully protect a valuable resource for the economy. We’re just extremely happy that this is taking place.”
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Notebook
Cid wraps up historic USF career in Tulsa
USF senior Roberto Cid ended his collegiate career as the most decorated men’s tennis player in school history. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/GOUSFBULLS.COM
By Vinnie Portell S P O R T S
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The most successful college tennis career in USF history ended Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma when USF senior Roberto Cid fell in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championships to UCLA’s Mackenzie McDonald, the eventual national champion. Despite going up 2-0 in the opening set against McDonald, Cid would eventually fall 6-3 and then 6-2 in the final set of the match. Cid, the No. 2 seed heading into the tournament, had his most impressive season in 2016, finishing the season with a 25-3 record including three victories against opponents ranked in the top-five in the nation. Senior Dominic Cotrone, who was eliminated in the round of 16 in three sets (6-4, 2-6, 6-2) by fifth-seeded Cameron Norrie of TCU, became the second AllAmerican in school history this season. USF baseball falls in AAC Tournament Following a season marred by injuries to key players and a roster comprised of over 20 newcomers, USF baseball overcame the odds in its win against second-seeded ECU before eventually falling in the AAC tourna-
ment this weekend. Tied at two entering the ninth, the Bulls (24-33) rallied for two runs with the help of five walks to overtake the Pirates on Wednesday and begin the conference tournament in the winner’s bracket. Despite the conference-opening upset, USF pitching had difficulty limiting the opposition over the remainder of the tournament as the Bulls fell to thirdseeded UConn 9-1 on Thursday and sixth-seeded Memphis 7-5 on Friday. Aside from players who could be selected in the upcoming MLB draft, USF is set to lose only three players from this year’s roster. USF football receives national recognition Coming off its best and only winning season under coach Willie Taggart, the Bulls are gaining steam nationally as a contender for this season’s AAC championship. Both Athlon Sports and Lindy’s Sports, two of the most popular magazine prognosticators in the nation, picked USF to win the AAC East division this season. USF, which won seven of its final nine games to advance to the Miami Beach Bowl, has never previously been picked to win the division under Taggart.
USF had to settle with an early exit in this year’s NCAA Men’s Golf Championship after advancing to match play in last year’s championship. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/GOUSFBULLS.COM
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had a pretty solid game plan, we just didn’t execute.” The Bulls got off to an average start, sitting in 19th place Friday after Round 1. But below average second and third rounds quickly began to snowball as the hole USF dug became too deep to emerge from. USF finished 26th out of 30 teams, nine strokes off the cut line, which advanced the top 15 teams to the next stage. Hoping to ride the play of their No. 1 golfer, USF was instead forced to play catchup. “Aksel (Olsen) kind of struggled in New Mexico and we got away with it because the course where we were didn’t really reward good play in the regional,” Bradley said. “And Rigel (Fernandes) struggled as well. To compete at the national championship level, you need your one and two players to play pretty solid. Chase (Koepka) played solid, but Aksel didn’t really take care of that.” Both Olsen — who was playing in the No. 1 spot for USF after earning the AAC Player of the Year honor this season — and Fernandes contin-
ued to regress as the rounds progressed, shooting 77 and 80, respectively, at the par-70 Eugene Country Club. “When you have the best field in amateur golf, you just can’t afford to not be on it,” Bradley said. For the Bulls, there wasn’t one thing they could point to. In Bradley’s eyes, there were a handful of things that caused the team to lose confidence and slide to the back of the pack. “The challenge of the course leads to the mental aspect of it,” Bradley said. “It wasn’t a golf course that was very forgiving … The course didn’t intimidate us, it’s just when you don’t hit the ball where you want to hit it or you don’t feel like you can control the golf ball, then you start seeing trouble. “We just didn’t get the team effort that we had all year.” After question marks surfaced following an average fall season, by Bradley’s standard, along with the departure of freshman Oskar Bergqvist, who left the school after playing in every fall tournament, USF rebounded with three wins in the spring, defending its AAC championship. Still the season has ended in
disappointment for the team, including senior Chase Koepka who ends his USF career with the defeat. “I know they felt like they tried hard enough, it just wasn’t good enough this week,” Bradley said of the mood of the team following the early exit. “Sometimes you win without your best stuff and sometimes you lose with your best stuff. This week we just didn’t have our best stuff.” Koepka, who shot 5-overpar for the tournament, is expected to be selected as an All-American for the third time in his career. After two losses in what USF believed were winnable championship rounds, the Bulls begin the long road back, hoping to put those last three rounds in the back of their minds without forgetting what they accomplished during the season. “We didn’t know how good we were going to be,” Bradley said. “For us to finish inside the top-20 in the country, to win four times, to have four individual wins for the second consecutive year, back-to-back conference championships, back-to-back national championship appearances, there’s a lot of positives.”
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Campus Rec gives rare chance for adventure By Jacob Hoag E D I T O R
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As the kayak glides over the Atlantic water under the night’s sky, a unique spectacle occurs beneath the boat: a lingering gleam of blue fills the surrounding water. It’s a phenomenon called bioluminescence — the emission of light emitted by a living organism. Through USF’s Outdoor Recreation adventure trips, students get a rare opportunity to see the event firsthand. “It’s a fascinating experience,” said Stefano Alvernia, a nationally certified adventure trip leader with Campus Recreation who will help guide groups of 13 students to Merritt Island National Wildlife Reserve on June 3 and 4 and July 2 and 3. “It’s like you have those neon light glow sticks, only the ocean is one big glow stick. Every time you put your hand in the ocean or cause a wake, it causes the light to flicker.” According to Alvernia, this is caused, in this case, by plankton either wanting to
draw in predators to attack the predators that want to eat the plankton or alert other organisms that predators are in the area. “When you’re with us and you’re kayaking, you can see it happening consistently against your boat so it’s really beautiful,” Alvernia said. “There have also been times — they call it ‘mullet runway’ — that you’ll see them dash away from your boat and it causes the bioluminescence to light up underwater.” During the roughly twohour excursion on Florida’s east coast, attendees travel a short kayak route before getting a closer look by plunging into the water to directly interact with the phenomenon. “If they get in the water and wave their hands around, it’s really cool, their whole body lights up,” said Alvernia, who has lead the trip twice before. It is one of the organization’s most popular excursions with a wait list exceeding 100 last summer. The trip costs $45 for USF students, $50 for faculty and $60 for
non-USF attendees. There are still spots open, but availability will dwindle as the date nears. The trip, put together by Campus Recreation, is part of a series of getaways and events throughout the year that allows students a chance to leave the confines of classrooms and campus life in search of new experiences. Other upcoming adventures include midnight canoeing at USF’s Riverfront Park, tubing down the Ichetucknee River as well as a Withlacoochee caving and day hike. Registration can be done at USF.edu/CampusRec. “It gives (students) a chance to get outside what their degree is,” Alvernia said. “As a business student, I’d imagine that being outside and doing recreational activities isn’t part of the curriculum. “Having a location where they can join other students with different degrees and other backgrounds, it gives them a chance to engage in different activities outside the classroom.”
Upcoming adventure trips Friday, June 3 Bioluminescent Kayaking Saturday, June 4 Bioluminescent Kayaking Friday, June 17 Moonlight Canoeing, 7:00 p.m. Saturday, June 18 Ichetucknee River Tubing Saturday, July 2 Bioluminescent Kayaking Sunday, July 3 Bioluminescent Kayaking Friday, July 8 Glow in the Park, 7:00 p.m. Saturday, July 16 Withlacoochee Caving and Day Hiking Friday, July 22 Moonlight Canoeing, 7:00 p.m. Saturday, July 30 Bioluminescent Kayaking
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men’s soccer team for three years, but gave the sport up this year to devote himself completely to track and field. “The coaching staff, the athletes that I’ve lived with, I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything,” O’Neal said. “I’m thankful I was able to be a part of the teams here at USF, it really got me to be involved with athletics and with my coaches and helped me build relationships with people.” While O’Neal’s time on the soccer team eased the transition to Tampa, his time spent off the field is where he found another family. Raised in a strongly religious family, O’Neal was referred to New Life Tabernacle in Seffner, Florida from a friend back home who was familiar with the area. “I came down and it was maybe my second week here when I decided to go down to New Life Tabernacle,” O’Neal said. “I went out there and had a great time, got a lot of encouraging words and it was
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really what I needed, so I stuck there for the rest of my time here. They’ve really helped me to grow into who I am today.” Like everything else he does, when O’Neal joined New Life Tabernacle, he went all-in. In his four years at the church, he’s served as a member of the youth choir, the youth praise team, led home bible studies, helped with baptisms and participated in several weekend community outreaches that include feeding the homeless and extending invitations to the community to attend the church. Aside from his commitment to the church, he’s devoted himself to the Tampa community through volunteer work such as the Paralympic Center and the Boys & Girls Club. This ever-growing family has helped O’Neal remain humble in the face of consistent athletic dominance over his four-year athletic career. O’Neal’s ability to maintain a positive spirit is what coach Warren Bye said has allowed him to excel at the national level. “Obviously, he’s talented and he’s taken his talent to the next
level, but he’s just so happy-golucky,” Bye said. “He goes out and he has fun, he enjoys it, it doesn’t seem like he’s worrying about it. He’s just going out there and having fun and letting whatever comes out, come out.” Already a five-time NCAA AllAmerican and six-time conference champion with another chance to add to the trophy case when the NCAA Championships begin in Eugene, Oregon on June 10, O’Neal has avoided letting his success affect his attitude on and off the track. “I think it’s his approach, his demeanor,” assistant coach Kiamesha Otey said. “The faith that he has is huge, and the humility that he has as well. He never takes any credit for it, he never puts anything on himself. He’s not going to be the athlete who’s going to say, ‘Oh, I’m good, I can do this and I can do that.’ “He’s just very, very humble. He doesn’t let any of this stuff go to his head and I think that’s important. Confident? Yes. Cocky? Not at all.” O’Neal, who is always looking for a chance to talk about his faith, has inspired not only
his teammates, but coaches as well. “Being in college, all this stuff is going on around you and for him to be that grounded and centered in his faith is just unbelievable,” Otey said. “I honestly and truthfully started getting more active in my spiritual life just by watching him. I grew up in the church and did all those things as well, but it wasn’t until I got here that I really started getting serious about it. “He’s definitely inspiring as far as that’s concerned. He’s just a great kid and I would want any of my athletes to be like him. He has that spirit about him that doesn’t come naturally to a lot of us.” Through the support of his family and a little help from natural athletic talent, O’Neal is poised to wrap up one of the most historically dominant careers in school history. Through three years of playing multiple sports along with earning his degree in management information systems, O’Neal has broken the school record for the triple jump each year since his sophomore season.
“He’s probably the best athlete I’ve had the honor to coach,” Otey said. “I’ve only been coaching for six years, so I’m still very young in my coaching career. Some people coach a lifetime and never work with an athlete like him. “Who knows when the next one will come for me, but this is … this is amazing. I never thought that this early, working with this type of athlete would be in my career path, but I’ve been so excited for it.” Injury-free and coming off his best season yet, O’Neal is in prime position to leave his mark on USF athletics one last time at the NCAA Championships before gearing up for the Olympic trials in July. “Matt’s in the top one percent of athletes I’ve coached, if that makes any sense,” Bye said. “Not because of his greatness on the track, but who he is as a young man and to me that explains it all right there. “I’ll just say this: it’s there for the taking. Anything can happen and it only takes one jump, but yeah I think he’s got a great opportunity and if he puts everything together, I think he can do something special.”
Opinion
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the Oracle Editor in Chief Jacob Hoag oracleeditor@gmail.com
Sports Editor Vinnie Portell oraclesportseditor@gmail.com Opinion Editor Breanne Williams oracleopinion@gmail.com Lifestyle Editor oraclelifestyleeditor@gmail.com Multimedia Editor Jackie Benitez Copy Editor Grace Hoyte Graphic Artist Jessica Thomas Advertising Sales Alyssa Alexander Lauren Alford Destiny Moore Dylan Ritchey
The Oracle is published Monday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, and once weekly, Wednesday, 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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T H E O R AC L E
New rule will prevent fraud in university hiring process
the University of South Florida’s student newspaper since 1966
News Editors Miki Shine Abby Rinaldi oraclenewsteam@gmail.com
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Breanne Williams COLU M N I ST
Despite threats, students should study abroad Breanne Williams COLU M N I ST
As students begin their study abroad programs and journey across the globe, many are questioning whether the threats to safety should result in the cancelling of the programs. Despite the increasing threats of terror, students should still have the opportunity to take part in education abroad. After the Paris attacks, a travel warning was released by the U.S. Department of State warning to be on guard while traveling through Europe: “Terrorist groups continue to plan near-term attacks throughout Europe … This Travel Alert expires on June 20, 2016.” Many students began to worry their study abroad trips would be cancelled and had to begin evaluating whether they would still travel if the university chose to continue the program. Parents who were already anxious over their children leaving the country faced escalating fear. The downing of EgyptAir flight 804 on May 19 has once again shot those fears to the surface. Officials speculate that it was likely a terrorist attack. The pilots never sent a distress signal and moments before the plane disappeared from the radar it made a sudden turn 90 degrees to the left and then made a 360-degree turn to the right before diving 37,000 feet into the Mediterranean. This implies that someone interfered with the controls in the flight deck rather than the original theory of a bomb downing the aircraft. Either way, it is unlikely the
carrier crashed from an accidental cause, and all of Europe is on alert for future attacks. Months ago USF rightly chose to continue with their programs. Though the recent attack will stir up fear it is important to not allow that fear to impede students’ lives. If a student truly feels uncomfortable traveling abroad they will back out of their trip. However, for the rest of those about to begin their summer courses, the risk is worth the experience. USF has a fantastic safety while abroad plan and will undoubtedly do everything it can to keep students safe. Obviously terrorism is a real threat, especially abroad, but if a student is comfortable risking his or her safety to study in a foreign atmosphere, they should be able to do so without any hassle. The sad reality is the world is not improving. If universities wait for things to be “safe” students will never study abroad again. The fact that terror attacks are increasing in frequency is unsettling and many have adopted protective and isolated lifestyles in their effort to adapt to our violent society. Others, however, have accepted this is the new reality and simply implement more caution while they continue to live their lives. The benefits of studying abroad are immense and to deny a student that opportunity would be a grievous error. Breanne Williams is a junior majoring in mass communications.
Despite claiming to be focused on providing students with the best possible education, many public universities have instead become a playing field for those with political aims to further their agendas. Over the last few years, the search for leaders at many major universities in Florida has led to scandal and outrage as political parties increasingly have the upper hand in deciding who is granted the position, regardless of qualification to actually improve the university. The Board of Governors (BOG) in charge of supervising the 12 public universities in Florida has proposed a new statewide rule that will promote ethical and unbiased search efforts for future leaders. The Board will be voting on the new rule in June and if passed universities will soon have a chance at having people who are actually qualified be chosen to lead them. The simple yet essential proposal essentially states the search committees must have a maximum of 15 members including a member of the BOG, a minimum of three trustees, faculty members and students. Those on the committee can’t report directly to the president, so the current head can’t build a committee full of people who will choose whomever the president prefers. The proposal also mandates search committees be entirely open during their process so students and anyone interested can see who is being considered and what the committee has been up to recently by simply clicking on links on the university’s website. Florida has had major issues with biased search committees. In 2014, Florida State University (FSU) faced major student and faculty protests after the search for a new president quickly turned into a scandal.
“On May 21 … (the Presidential Search Advisory Committee) passed a motion to fast-track Florida state Senator John Thrasher as the sole candidate for consideration without so much as an application,” doctoral candidates Lakey and Ralph Wilson say. “Thrasher has no real academic credentials, is anti-tenure, is a two-time ethics violator while serving in the Florida House of Representatives, is currently serving as Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election campaign chair and was named American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Legislator of the Year in 1998,” stated Lakey. Students and faculty both backed a motion to stop considering Thrasher as a candidate; however, their opinion was overlooked due to a majority of “corporate/ political interests.” According to the Tampa Bay Times, this biased selection process has taken place at many other locations, including the University of Florida and Florida Atlantic University. Forcing universities to be transparent during their hiring process is essential for a functioning and prospering environment. USF’s student government was recently accused of failing to live up to promises of transparency, which resulted in promises of better records, promises that have yet to be fulfilled. A lack of trust leads to suspicion and outrage. How can students or faculty trust their school if they feel their interests are being overlooked in the name of politics or money? Later this month, the BOG will hopefully vote in favor of a proposal ensuring universities across the state are only helmed by leaders who will actually benefit the school. If students can trust the university leadership, they can spend their time focused on studying rather than ensuring their school doesn’t fall prey to a political agenda.
Classifieds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
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http://www.usforacle.com/classifieds
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
The Rundown
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Men’s Track & Field
Men’s Golf
It takes a village
Bulls stumble in NCAA finals
USF senior athlete Matthew O’Neal will have one more opportunity to add to his already historic collegiate career when the NCAA Outdoor Championships begin June 10.
Senior golfer Chase Koepka finished in a tie for 64th out of 156 golfers with 5-over for the NCAA Championship. SPECIAL TO
Outside USF
NFL Pro Bowl moves to Orlando After being held in Honolulu, Hawaii for all but two years since 1979, the NFL Pro Bowl announced Orlando as its new home Tuesday afternoon. Other cities bidding to host the Pro Bowl were Honolulu, Houston and Sydney, Australia. The game will be played at the Citrus Bowl, which underwent $200 million worth of renovations two years ago.
Quote of the day “This is the wild, wild West at its best. There have been no specific guidelines relative to how we’re managing control of this stuff. It’s happening outside the normal evaluation window, which means we’re taking time away from our players. — University of Ala-
bama football coach Nick Saban when asked about his thoughts on the national satellite camp debate in college football.
What you missed Tickets for USF’s most anticipated home game of the year, a matchup against Florida State, went on sale to the general public Monday. Single game tickets may only be purchased in the 300 level of Raymond James Stadium and will start at $85, with the potential to rise based on demand. To sit in one of the two lower bowls, fans must purchase either a season ticket or multi-game flex plan.
SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/GOUSFBULLS.COM
USF track star Matthew O’Neal credits growth and success to family, Tampa community
By Vinnie Portell S P O R T S
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Since his time growing up in his hometown of Jackson, Mississippi, being part of a family has been something Matthew O’Neal has treasured. From his various sporting endeavors to his devotion in church and everything in between, O’Neal has had his family’s unwavering support along each step of his journey from high school state champion to potential Olympian. Saturday, O’Neal’s family made the 13-hour trip from Mississippi to Jacksonville for the NCAA preliminary rounds to watch him compete in one of his final collegiate events. He finished the competition with a personal-best triple jump
of 55 feet, 9 3/4 inches, beating out his previous best jump by 10 1/4 inches, winning the
“He doesn’t let any of this stuff go to his head and I think that’s important. Confident? Yes. Cocky? Not at all.” Kiamesha Otey Assistant men’s track and field coach
competition and shattering the previous school record. “I’m excited when my family’s there,” O’Neal said. “Even
this past weekend, it showed where I was able to do the first jump and (my coach) said ‘Well you know that should be good enough, it’s kind of up to you if you want to do another jump.’ I told her since my family came all this way down to Jacksonville that I did want to do another jump, and then I came down after my jump and that was all I needed.” However, when O’Neal joined USF in 2012 he was away from his support system for the first time in his life. To adjust to this new void, he fully invested himself in the USF soccer team and the Tampa community. O’Neal played as a defender for coach George Kiefer and the
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THE ORACLE/GOUSFBULLS.COM
By Jacob Hoag E D I T O R
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The weekend started with more hype than ever before with No. 15 USF standing firmly as a title contender in its second-consecutive NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship appearance in Eugene, Oregon. That hype, that had been building since winning the season-opener at the Gator Invitational in February, quickly faded into disappointment — a feeling much like a year ago when the Bulls fell to eventual-champion LSU in the final round of the 2015 championships. “We just didn’t play very well, to be honest with you,” coach Steve Bradley said. “We
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