McGaffagan gets an early start

The USF men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams travel to Tallahassee today to compete in the FSU Relays Friday and Saturday.

However, one Bull arrived a day early to compete in the lone event that started Wednesday and concludes today.

The seven-event heptathlon is divided into two days of competition, so Alexis McGaffagan left ahead of her teammates to compete in the first day of competition.

She managed to qualify for the NCAA Regional Competition in the high jump Wednesday, joining teammate Jonathan Miller, who qualified in the pole vault at the UCF Invitational.

USF coach Greg Thiel said McGaffagan also is on pace to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Championships in the heptathlon if her performance today matches Wednesday’s.

The rest of the Bulls hope to continue the good performances they put up in Orlando during spring break.

Thiel said he expects three or four more Bulls to obtain regional qualifying marks this weekend, most likely from the women’s distance runners and the men’s and women’s throwers.

Bulls shoot 294, finish 12th

The USF men’s golf team shot 294 on the second day of the Cleveland Golf Collegiate in Aiken, S.C., finishing 12th in the 15-team field.

The Bulls’ 593 two-day total was 24 strokes behind first-place College of Charleston.

USF’s top finisher was Oscar Fraustro, who finished in a tie for 20th with 145.

Host USF’s 294 good for 2nd

The USF’s women’s golf team shot a final-round 294, the lowest round of the day, to secure second place in the 14-team field at the Waterlefe Invitational in Bradenton.

The Bulls’ three-round total of 907 was nine shots behind TCU.

USF’s Fany Schaeffer finished sixth with 222, five shots back of TCU’s D’Rae Ward. Kelly Martin finished eighth, two shots back from Schaeffer, rounding out the Bulls in the top 10.

Wisconsin warm-up

The USF volleyball team will host a four-team tournament and a single game against Wisconsin as part of its spring schedule this year.

The Bulls host the Badgers in an exhibition match today from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in the Rec Center.

UCF, Northwestern and Miami, all NCAA Tournament teams last season, will compete in a round-robin tournament against the Bulls March 29.

Of the three teams in the tournament, USF only faced UCF last season, earning a 3-2 victory.

Late Addition

With three rainouts so far this season, the USF baseball team was looking to add some games, and Columbia came to the rescue.

The Bulls (14-6) added a game with the Lions today at 5 at Red McEwen Field. Columbia (4-7) comes to Tampa fresh off losses to UCF and Florida Tuesday. USF staved off Army for a 4-3 victory in its last outing.

In that contest on Tuesday, senior David Austen struck out a career-high 11 batters, while pitching seven innings for the victory.

Adam Adkins