ITHACA, N.Y. -- Claire Mattox and Joe Rutigliano have joined the Big Red staff as assistant coaches it was announced today by Dayna Smith, the Rebecca Quinn Morgan '60 Head Coach of Women's Basketball. The two will
 
"I am extremely excited that both Claire and Joe have joined our staff," Smith said. "Claire is a bright up-and-coming young assistant. She has experience in many areas, including nationwide recruiting and extensive on-court coaching experience at all levels. Joe has worked for a successful Division I program and has had his hands in many aspects of it. Both will be great additions to our program."
 
Mattox joins the Big Red after spending three years as an assistant coach at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and two seasons at the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kan.

At Division III Vassar, Mattox had her hand in virtually every aspect of the program - from practice and player development to game planning, recruiting and fundraising. She helped head coach Candice Signor-Brown's team go from 12 to 17 to 21 wins in their three seasons together on the bench. The 21 wins in 2018-19 were the second-most in program history, with the Brewers earning the school's first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. For their collective success, the Vassar coaching group was named the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year.

In addition to her varied basketball roles, Mattox also served a role as a facilities assistant in the department.

At the University of Saint Mary, Mattox served as the recruiting coordinator, along with assisting the head coach with other areas such as planning practices, skill development and game preparation, as well as serving as the junior varsity coach. She also served in Athletic Operations Management, employing work study students that were in charge of organizing and overseeing all athletic events.

A four-year starter at Washington College in Chestertown, Md., Mattox was selected as a team captain as a senior and also earned a spot on the 2012 All-Centennial Conference Sportsmanship Team. While at Washington, she also was selected to participate in the WBCA "So You Want To Be A Coach" program in 2014. She graduated with a degree in Environmental Science and a minor in Biology and Creative Writing in 2014, then earned her MBA in Business Administration from Saint Mary in 2016.

Mattox has worked numerous camps throughout the East Coast and has presented annually at the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Convention every years since 2014.

Rutigliano spent two seasons at Saint Francis (Pa.) as a graduate assistant, focusing on operations and film exchange and breakdown for the Red Flash. Saint Francis (Pa.) posted a 40-27 record over that span, including earning a spot in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. The Red Flash set a new mark for margin of victory within the NEC, winning by an average of 17.9 points per game, highest in the last 20 seasons. The Red Flash's 24 wins that season were the most since posting 25 in the 2003-04 NEC title season. The team boasted the conference's Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

Prior to his time in Loretto, Pa., Rutigliano worked for the Aspire Marketing Group at the University of Maryland. He worked the basketball camp circuit around Buffalo, working camps at Buffalo, Canisius, Daemen and the Christian Laettner Basketball Academy while serving as an assistant coach at Oracle Charter School.

A 2015 graduate of Canisius with a degree in Communication, he served as varsity manager of the women's lacrosse team. He managed the team's social media account and filmed and edited highlight videos, as well as breaking down film. He earned his Master's degree in Human Resource Management from Saint Francis (Pa.) in 2019.

Cornell is coming off a 12-14 season, including earning the program's first-ever appearance in the Ivy League Women's Basketball Tournament. The Big Red is expected to return all five starters, including first-team All-Ivy selection Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (16.1 ppg., 7.9 rpg., 1.5 spg., 1.8 apg.) and rising senior Samantha Widmann (10.8 ppg., 6.9 rpg., 1.7 spg., 2.3 apg.), and a total of 88 percent of its scoring and 95 percent of its rebounding.