June 25, 2007

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Junior baseball player Jake Willis and women's lacrosse co-captain Christina Pampalone were proclaimed the May Leo Dufort Student-Athletes of the Month. The duo helped their respective teams significantly on the playing field, while achieving great success in the classroom.

Willis, a Niantic, Conn. native, started all 45 games for the Saints this season and harbored a team high .339 batting average. Willis's 19 RBIs also ranked second best on the squad. The junior third baseman carries a 3.49 grade point average (GPA) in Finance. Willis was named to both the MAAC All-Academic team and MAAC Honor Roll for his excellence in the classroom. This marked the second straight season he earned All-Academic honors.

Pampalone, a senior attacker, started all 14 games for the Saints and finished third on the team in scoring with 31 points. On March 22, she became the program's all-time leading goal scorer when she notched the record setting goal against Holy Cross. Pampalone finished her playing career with 110 career goals. Pampalone graduated with a 3.46 cumulative GPA majoring in Political Science. She was named to the MAAC All-Academic team for the third consecutive year.

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.