LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Men's Tennis and Volleyball programs each saw members receive honors as the Leo Dufort Student Athletes of the Month for November 2019. Juniors Sagar Bains and Jessica Eblin each took home the award for their respective sports, with both displaying excellence in the classroom and on the field of play.
A native of Chandigarh, India, Bains participated in the number one singles and number three doubles spot for the Saints during the Fall 2019 season, posting a 2-4 overall singles mark and 5-2 doubles record, including 3-0 in dual action. The junior lead the team in its 7-0 win over MAAC foe Rider to conclude the fall slate, and also picked up a singles win in the squad's loss to Saint Francis Brooklyn.
A finance major with a 3.8 cumulative GPA, Bains has been placed on the MAAC All-Academic Team and the MAAC Academic Honor Roll during his collegiate career. He was recognized as one of six Saints to be named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sport Scholar following the conclusion of the 2018-19 academic year.
A junior who will graduate early in the spring, Eblin saw action in 16 matches for the Saints during the 2019 campaign, recording 90 assists and 20 digs during that time. The setter registered double-digit assists twice, including a season high 31 along with three digs in the Saints win over Saint Peter's on Sept. 29. Eblin played in 65 matches curing her collegiate career, collection 1398 assists and 333 total digs.
A 2019 MAAC All-Academic Team selection and two-time member of the MAAC Academic Honor Roll, Eblin currently holds a 3.26 cumulative GPA, and will graduate in the spring with a degree in psychology.
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 and was a Navy Veteran (USS Bennington) who worked for JL Hammett Co. at the time of his death.
