LOUDONVILLE, NY – Men's golf's Jack Downey and water polo's Nichol Feldtz became the latest Siena student athletes to earn Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month honors, the department announced Friday morning. Both competitors have supported their teams on the field of play and in the classroom throughout their time in the Green and Gold.  

A co-captain of the men's golf team, Downey has competed in three tournaments during the 2018-19 season, holding a 78.43 average score though seven rounds of play. Competing as an individual at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate in Pinehurst, North Carolina March 7-10, the Troy, NY native shot his best 54-hole total in two years, leading the team with +20, 233 on the event to finish in a tie for 54th place. He tied his 18-hole collegiate best, carding +2, 74 on the second round, and later earned MAAC Men's Golfer of the Week for his efforts. Downey will graduate in may with a bachelor's degree in finance.

Making 11 starts and 15 appearances overall for the Saints in-goal, Feldtz has notched 85 saves on the season, with a 10.70 goals-against-average and a .379 saves percentage. A four-year member of the water polo squad, she earned MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on April 4, 2018 and finished the 2018 campaign ranked sixth in the conference in GAA. With six career victories in-between-the-pipes, the Chino Hills, CA native currently sits seventh-all time in program history in victories among goalkeepers.

A member of last year's MAAC Academic Honor Roll, Feldtz is set to graduate in May with a degree in english and currently holds a 3.27 cumulative GPA.

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.