In the Panther Spotlight: Riley Damerell Heads to New Paltz
Recent Purchase graduate and two-sport athlete Riley Damerell ’17 is still repping the blue, white, and orange—the SUNY New Paltz blue, white, and orange that is.
In an earlier release, New Paltz introduced the former PC men’s volleyball and tennis standout as the new Hawk Assistant Sports Information Director.
“And we couldn’t be prouder,” Purchase Assistant SID Stephanie Janasiewicz added. “Not only was Riley a tremendous athlete throughout his four years here, he was our top student-assistant in the sports information office. Talented, reliable, hard-working…and FUNNY – he was everything you could ask for in a worker. So, of course we are ecstatic to see him continue to excel post-graduation, especially in a career of sports information.”
Damerell graduated from Purchase this past May with a BA in journalism. He was an All-Skyline selection all four years for men’s tennis, finishing with an overall record of 27-23 at 1st singles and 37-17 at 1st doubles. He capped off his collegiate career with a Skyline Conference Championship appearance, the program’s first look in five years.
In addition to tennis, Damerell also shined on the volleyball court for Purchase. He was a jack of all trades, playing almost every position during his four years, but finally landed on setter under the helm of Panther head coach and New Paltz ’16 graduate Christopher Husmann. Damerell and Husmann helped lead the team to the most wins in program history during the 2017 season, finishing with a record of 14-9.
Damerell wanted to stay involved with sports information post-graduation and jumped all over the idea of working at New Paltz after being referenced to the job from Husmann.
“I got started with sports information my freshman year at Purchase,” Damerell explained. “The SID, Bobby Ciafardini, really took me under his wing and I eventually got more involved with stat keeping and working on the website.
Damerell joins the Hawk athletic staff along with two other newcomers: Monica D’ippolito and R.J. Rosa.
D’ippolito, a 2014 graduate of SUNY Plattsburgh, is the new Athletic Communications Director, while Rosa, a 2016 graduate of New Paltz, takes on the role of Athletic Communications Assistant.
New Paltz Director of Athletics, Wellness & Recreation, Stuart Robinson, is excited for what the new staff has to offer.
“Given the rapidly changing world of communication and the platforms to tell a story, I am extremely excited about the staff that we have assembled,” said Robinson. “Creative, talented and insightful, these three SUNY graduates, will help our department meet the constantly changing platforms of communication which clearly benefit the accomplishments of our students. I look forward to working with each of them.”
Periodically, the Sports Information Department at Purchase will select a new student-athlete, coach/staff, or event to highlight in our “In the Panther Spotlight” feature.