Jan. 11, 2008

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook University's Department of Athletics has added Maryrose Blank as the newest member of the department's Student-Athlete Development office and Arturo "Roy" Flores, Jr. as the newest member of the department's Sports Medicine staff.

In her role as an academic advisor, Blank's main responsibility will be coordinating student-athlete services for the football program. In addition to advising and mentoring student-athletes, Maryrose will also take an active role in the CHAMPS/Lifeskills curriculum as well as coordinate tutor services for Stony Brook's student-athletes.

"I am excited to welcome Maryrose Blank to Stony Brook University as the newest member of our Student-Athlete Development staff", said Courtney Sanfelippo, Assistant Director of Athletics for Student-Athlete Development. "Her passion for working with student-athletes and her strong background in assisting them in reaching their academic, athletic, and professional goals makes her a great fit for our staff here at Stony Brook."

Blank comes to the Seawolf program from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina where she was the Coordinator of Student-Athlete Development. While there, Maryrose monitored academic progress for all student-athletes, conducted performance enhancement consultations, oversaw the Academic Enrichment Program, and assisted with CHAMPS/Life Skills programming. Blank also brings field work experience from SUNY Geneseo where she worked in a number of areas in the student-athlete development programs at the school.

A 2005 graduate of St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York, Blank received a B.S. in psychology. She then went on to earn a Master's degree in education, psychology and counseling with a concentration in athletic counseling from Springfield College in 2007.

In his position as Assistant Athletic Trainer, Roy will be responsible for working with the Seawolf Baseball program this spring as well as supporting all 425 Stony Brook student-athletes with their athletic training needs. Prior to joining the Seawolf staff, Flores was a member of the athletic training staff at Fairleigh Dickinson University for the past three years, working primarily with the women's soccer, volleyball and baseball teams. He also worked with staff first aid and CPR certification as well as implementing a student-athlete injury tracking system.

"The Sports Medicine Staff is excited to have Stony Brook alumnus Roy Flores return in a professional capacity as a certified athletic trainer", stated Kathy Koshansky, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine. "He has gathered vast experience and will no doubt be an integral member of the staff providing quality health care to SB student-athletes. We are happy to welcome Roy back to the Stony Brook family."

Flores also has experience at Long Island University where he was a teaching fellow in the athletic training educational program. While there he taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in athletic training and coordinated the daily maintenance of the athletics training lab.

No stranger to Stony Brook, Flores earned his B.A. in multidisciplinary studies in 2000 at the school where he was a member of the Seawolf swimming & diving team. In 2004, he earned a Master's degree in athletic training and sports sciences from Long Island University.