Paw Prints E-Newsletter: Volume 42

Paw Prints E-Newsletter | 12/21/2017 1:05:00 PM

From the desk of the Director of Athletics…

Happy Holidays Wildcat Fans! Winter sports are in full swing. Men's and women's basketball have started their conference schedules and are competing well. Rookies Andrew Sischo and Caroline White have collected weekly honors from the East Coast Conference. Sarah Saba remains both the motor and steadying force of the women's team as she climbs up the record book in numerous statistical categories. Both teams will take a quick break for the holidays (another great point of being an NCAA Division II school is that it legislates holiday time for student-athletes) and will resume action with road trips to the New England region for games against Northeast-10 Conference opponents. The women's bowling team has also started strong and has been a tremendous addition to our winter sport offerings. Freshmen standouts Katlyn Newberry and Alex Hasiotis pace this team that is full of energy and enthusiasm. The track & field team will start their 2018 season in January, and I am looking to see what Sydney McDonough and Zach Laird can do this season. They are fierce competitors, and when you add the determined distance runners in the mix, you can't help but respect Daemen Track. If you have not done so already, please check out all the latest news at daemenwildcats.com.

Outside of the competitions, Daemen Athletics is in full transition mode as my last day as Athletics Director is January 5. As I move on to the next great project in Western New York, rest assured Daemen Athletics is in the incredibly capable hands of its three talented Senior Associate Athletics Directors - Brandi Guerinot, Mike Miranto and Mike MacDonald. Brandi will be, to use a sport analogy, playing point guard as the Interim Athletics Director. From the 17 varsity teams we sponsor to the wonderful new CAUSE programs, Daemen Athletics will continue to be a program to watch in 2018 and beyond!

When I first sat down to write my last Paw Prints letter, I had an outline of items that I wanted to address, which included the state of college sports on campus, local and national levels. My first draft also included comments on the impossibility of marrying big-time college sports with the values of higher education. That draft also laid out for you how after 20 years in the business of college sports, the NCAA Division II model of college sports seems to me to be the best model when trying to preserve academics and amateurism. Lastly, that draft explained how the next project I am going to work on (the status of youth sports in the United States) directly relates to my earlier comments on NCAA and college sports. After some reflection, as you can see from the opening of this letter, I realized that the best Paw Prints are the ones that keep the focus on our student-athletes and their (not my) experiences. So those are my parting words to college athletics and Daemen…although I have so much more to say on the value and complexity of college sports, if we keep it simple by keeping the focus on the student-athletes and their experiences, we will always have something to cheer about.

I wish you and your family a restful holiday week and a fabulous 2018. Go Wildcats!

Bridget Niland
Director of Athletics

DAEMEN ATHLETICS - UPCOMING EVENTS
Wednesday-Thursday, Dec. 27-28: Middle School Boys Volleyball Clinic
Friday, Dec. 29: High School Boys Volleyball Clinic
Wednesday Jan. 10 - Basketball Doubleheader vs. Dist. Columbia (10 AM & 12 PM)
Friday, Jan. 12 - Basketball Doubleheader vs. LIU Post (6 & 8 PM)
Saturday, Jan. 13 - M/W Track Season Opening Meet @ R.I.T. (10 AM)
Sunday, Jan. 14 - Basketball Doubleheader vs. NYIT (1 & 3 PM)
Saturday, Jan. 27 - 4th Annual Daemen Tennis Carnival

FOR A COMPREHENSIVE LISTING OF ALL DAEMEN GAMES & EVENTS, VISIT OUR COMPOSITE CALENDAT AT DAEMENWILDCATS.COM

MACDONALD FAMILY FEATURED IN USA TODAY ARTICLE
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IN THE NEWS...

NOV. 9 - FOURTH ANNUAL DAEMEN TENNIS CARNIVAL SET FOR LATE JANUARY
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NOV. 28 - INDOOR SCHEDULES SET FOR MEN'S & WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD SQUADS
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DEC. 1 - MEN'S TENNIS SPRING SCHEDULE RELEASED
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DEC. 4 - GLEASON ANNOUNCES UPCOMING BOYS VOLLEYBALL CLINICS
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DEC. 4 - SPRING SEMESTER SCHEDULE SET FOR WOMEN'S BOWLING
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DEC. 18 - WHITE NAMED ECC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
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DEC. 18 - SISCHO EARNS ECC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK HONORS FOR SECOND TIME
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DEC. 19 - GLEASON CONDUCTS VOLLEYBALL CLINIC FOR CITY OF BUFFALO YOUTHS
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Did you know there are over 123,000 men, women and children waiting for life-saving organ transplants? Did you know that 100 people in WNY need blood every day?

You can provide hope to those in need by becoming an organ, tissue or blood donor through Unyts. Visit unyts.org/checkyes to register as a donor today.

UNYTS is a proud corporate partner of Daemen College Athletics.

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