May 29, 2008

Loudonville, N.Y. - Senior softball catcher Andrea Piela and senior baseball shortstop Chris Klepps were selected as the Leo Dufort Student-Athletes for the month of May for Siena College. The duo both excelled on the field of play and in the classroom.

A native of Wallington, N.J., Piela was tabbed an All-MAAC First Team selection following a stellar senior season. In MAAC games this season, she led the Saints with a .319 batting average, scoring seven runs in the team's 16 conference games. Piela also threw out 15 would-be base stealers this season.

In the classroom, Piela was a MAAC All-Academic Team selection and an All-American Scholar as selected by the NFCA. She finished her collegiate career with a 3.45 GPA and recently earned her degree in psychology.

Klepps, who hails from Bristol, Conn., was a key member of the Siena baseball program's third winningest season in program history this past year. A MAAC Second Team selection, Klepps broke Siena's single season doubles record (23) and tied the single season record for runs scored (54). He crossed the plate nine times in just five games of action at the MAAC Championships, helping the Saints reach the title game for the first time since 1999.

As a student, Klepps was named a MAAC All-Academic Team selection on several occasions. On May 8, he joined teammate Jacob Willis in being proclaimed a CoSIDA District I Second Team selection. Klepps posted a 3.72 cumulative GPA while at Siena and earned his degree in English earlier this month.

The Leo Dufort Student-Athlete of the Month Award is presented nine times annually (September-May) throughout the academic year. The award recognizes exemplary achievements in both academics and athletics. The late Leo Dufort received a B.S. in marketing and management from Siena in August of 1977. His entire academic career was completed on a part-time basis beginning in the spring of 1961, as a married adult while at the same time raising five children. He passed away suddenly of a heart attack while cross country skiing in February of 1993. His wife Jeanine wanted to do something to immortalize his memory. The original plaque was donated to athletics and the department began the Leo Dufort Student-Athlete of the Month Award to help carry out his legacy. Dufort graduated from Catholic Central High School in 1954, was a Navy Veteran (USS Bennington) who worked for JL Hammett Co. at the time of his death.