March 11, 2010

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Men's Lacrosse captain Mike Whalen and women's tennis player Dinka Keric have been named Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month for February 2010. These two seniors have excelled both athletically and academically.

A senior from Utica, N.Y., Keric played five matches in 2008-2009 and has had a good start to the 2009-2019 season. She was an integral part in a doubles match against Hartford this fall.

Keric has been outstanding in academics, where she posted a stellar 3.58 GPA last semester and is excelling within her major, finance.

Whalen, who joined the roster from Putnam Valley, N.Y., played in all 18 games last season. He scored four points on two goals. He had an assist to put Siena in lead over No. 4 John Hopkins in last season's opener. A senior captain, he has played in three of their four games this season.

Academically, Whalen had a 3.45 GPA for the fall semester while majoring in Marketing and Management, as well as being a MAAC All-Academic Team selection in 2009.

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.