April 27, 2010
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Siena College women's lacrosse junior Caitlin Mikel and women's golf junior Catherine Shomo have been recognized as the Leo Dufort Student Athletes of the Month, representing March. The duo has excelled both on the field of competition and in their academic endeavors.
An attacker from Rochester, N.Y., Mikel has put together one of the greatest seasons in Siena women's lacrosse history this season. Through the end of the regular season, she has accumulated team highs of 44 goals and 21 assists for 65 total points in leading the Saints back to the MAAC Tournament for the first time since 2005. Her 65 points match the program's single-season record.
Mikel has also excelled in the classroom where she has stood out as a Management major. Through the fall semester, she had posted a cumulative GPA of 3.55.
Shomo, who hails from Rutland Vt., is a tri-captain on this year's team. In her last two invitationals, Shomo has led the Saints to top-four finishes in the team's final competitions before their quest for an unprecedented 10th straight MAAC Championship. Shomo, who finished tied for third overall at the Dartmouth Invitational, tied her career best single-round score of 72 at the Roar-ee Invitational last weekend.
Academically, Shomo boasts a 3.77 GPA as an accounting major.
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.
