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USF Suffers Heartbreaking Loss at Marquette, 66-64
Despite beating Marquette in most of the statistical categories on the night, a three-point play by Todd Townsend with five seconds left handed the USF men's basketball team its second conference loss of the season as the Bulls fell to the Golden Eagles, 66-64, on Saturday at the Bradley Center. The loss marked the second-straight C-USA loss for the Bulls in the final 10 seconds of the game.

Senior Terrence Leather recorded 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting to lead all players in scoring on the night. The contest marked the seventh 20-point game for the Tampa native this season.

Senior guard Brian Swift registered a career-high 10 assists while scoring eight points versus the Golden Eagles. The Warrensville, Ohio, native also tied his career best for rebounds with seven on the night.

Senior Marlyn Bryant was a key factor for the Bulls, registering 12 points and five rebounds versus the Golden Eagles.

USF enters a three-game homestand when it faces the Memphis Tigers on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Bulls Handed Two Losses In Lone Star State
The USF women's basketball team dropped two games last weekend during the Lone Star State swing of its Conference USA schedule.

The Bulls dropped their first game against TCU on Jan. 14, 67-55. Anedra Gilmore led the way with 12 points while Sharon Cambridge added a season-high 10 points in the loss. Ezria Parsons grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds on the night.

Jessica Dickson scored a team-high 15 points on Jan. 16 in a 65-45 loss to Houston. Gilmore paced the way for USF on the glass grabbing seven rebounds.

USF returns home this weekend to face Saint Louis at 7 p.m. on Jan. 21 and Memphis at 2 p.m. on Jan. 23. The SLU game can be seen on tape delay at 9 p.m. on Catch 47 (formerly Brighthouse 47).

Indoor Track & Field Opens 2005 Season at Florida Invitational
The USF women's indoor track and field team opened up its 2005 season on Saturday at the Florida Intercollegiate at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.

The Bulls started out their 2005 season with solid performances, tallying eight top-10 finishes in individual events - five of those finishes coming from freshmen.

Senior Chandra Brewer led the way for USF, placing second in the shot put with a throw of 51'6?” and eighth in the weight throw with a toss of 53'2?”.

Freshman Misty Barber started off her season with a strong performance in the shot put, finishing seventh in a field of 22 with her toss of 42'3?”.

In the high jump, the Bulls took three-top 10 finishes. Sophomore Trendesha Gillyard and freshman Katie Sandmeyer took fifth and sixth place, respectively, each with a jump of 5'4?”, and freshman Courtney La Croix finished tied for ninth with her jump of 5'2?”.

Rounding out the individual events for the Bulls was freshman Karla Savery, who took a ninth-place finish in the pole vault with a vault of 11'1?”, and freshman Rosalynn Woodberry, who finished tenth with a 34'4?” jump in the triple jump.

In the 4x400 meter relay, USF notched a fourth-place and eighth-place finish.

The Bulls will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 22, when they take part in the prestigious Red Simmons Invitational held at the University of Michigan.

Hall, Nicholas Sweep Major Honors at USF Football Banquet
Running back Andre Hall and linebacker Stephen Nicholas were honored at USF's Football Banquet at Busch Gardens as the 2004 Offensive and Defensive Most Valuable Players respectively. The duo will also receive the Offensive and Defensive Playmaker of the Year awards, marking the first such sweep in USF's first eight seasons of football. Hall and Nicholas both return in 2005 for USF's debut in the Big East Conference.

Hall, a junior from St. Petersburg, Fla., set a new single-season rushing record with 1,357 yards in 2004, becoming just the second 1,000-yard runner in school history. He joins Dyral McMillan, who accomplished the feat in 1999. Hall also set a single-game rushing record with 275 yards in a win over UAB, which was his second 200-yard game of the year, having run for an even 200 against Army. His 11 rushing touchdowns and 12 total touchdowns were also USF records.

Nicholas, a sophomore from Jacksonville, entered the season on the Butkus Award Watch List and did not disappoint. He had 98 tackles, including 11 for losses. Nicholas had double digit tackles in four games this season, including a high of 16 against Memphis.

Former Bull Selected to Play for USA Softball National Team
Former University of South Florida softball player Leigh Ann Ellis has been selected to compete with the United States Softball National Team in the 2005 Pacific Rim Sports Summit in Seattle this June, marking the first time in USF softball history that a former Bull has ever been selected to play with the national team. Ellis will be reunited with her former coach, USF head coach and 2004 Olympic gold medal assistant coach Ken Eriksen, who will return as the assistant coach for the national team at this event.

The Barboursville, W.V., native is one of three newcomers selected to the national team after a three-day tryout camp at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., at the beginning of January. The 15-player squad that will compete in Seattle is made up of 12 players who won gold at the Summer Olympics in 2004.

Although Ellis played for USF for only two years (2003 and 2004), she was one of the most prolific pitchers in Bulls history, rewriting the single-season record book in victories (43 in 2004), innings pitched (315.2 in 2003), strikeouts (320 in 2003), shutouts (15 in 2004) and saves (four in 2004). She is also ranked in the top five all-time in the following categories: earned run average (1.13-fourth), strikeouts (633-second), victories (77-second) and innings pitched (610-third).

Last season, the former Bull pitched 294.1 innings without giving up a home run. She also had a stellar performance in an exhibition game against the USA Softball Team, getting the starting nod and holding the Olympic Team scoreless for 5 1/3 innings – the longest Team USA has been held scoreless by a United States pitcher. A force on the mound, she helped lead USF to back-to-back NCAA Regional Appearances in 2003 and 2004 while receiving numerous national and conference accolades.

Ellis, along with the other 14 players, have been selected for this event only and must go through another team camp in mid-June to earn a spot on the 2005 National Team or Elite Team.

Kareem Smith Selected to Trinidad and Tobago Under 20 National Team
University of South Florida men's soccer standout Kareem Smith was selected to be a part of the Trinidad and Tobago Under 20 National Team as it competes in the final round of CONCACACF qualifying matches on Jan. 12-14 to qualify for the 2005 World Youth Championship.

Smith, a dual citizen of the United States and Trinidad and Tobago, made the 18-man squad after accepting an invitation to train with the team the first week of January 2005. The USF defender has been a member of the U-14, U-16 and U-18 National Teams of the United States.

The Hyde Park, Mass., native anchored the Bulls' defense this year, helping USF not allow a goal in 418 minutes while tallying six shutouts – four consecutive – on the season. He has been honored for his defensive play during the season as he was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week twice and was named to the all-conference first team at the end of the season.

Trinidad and Tobago will face the United States on Jan. 12, Costa Rica on Jan. 14 and Panama on Jan. 16. The top two teams from CONCACACF will advance to the 2005 World Youth Championship in the Netherlands.

Men's Tennis Ranked No. 52 by ITA
The USF men's tennis team will enter the spring portion of its 2004-05 season ranked No. 52 in the nation according to the International Tennis Association (ITA). The Bulls are one of four C-USA teams to receive an early ranking.

TCU is ranked 17th, while defending conference champion Tulane is No. 19. Louisville joins the ranks at No. 39.

“It's always good to be ranked in the beginning of the season, but rankings count for last year,” said head coach Don Barr. “We need to go out and prove to ourselves that we are better then our ranking of 52.”

USF gets underway Jan. 28-30 as it hosts the USF Spring Invitational. The Bulls were plagued with injuries late last season and look to rebound to postseason form with the return of senior Uli Kiendl (Geiselhoering, Germany), a two-time All-Conference first team honoree and junior Federico Barton (Acapulco, Mexico), who was named All-Conference last season.