LOUDONVILLE, NY – A pair of senior student athletes were honored by Siena Athletics Tuesday, as the department announced its selections for the Leo Dufort Student Athletes of the Month in January 2020. Women's Tennis co-captain Juliana Goehner and Swimming & Diving co-captain Rachel Brown each took home the award.
Leading the Saints to their sixth straight record of 4-1 or better to begin a dual match season, Goehner currently holds an 8-2 singles record, including 5-2 in tournament play. The Germany native has also recorded a 6-3 mark in doubles play this season competing as part of the team's no. 2 doubles regime.
A member of Siena's Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) Goehner currently holds a 3.37 cumulative GPA and is set to graduate in the spring with a degree in marketing.
Specializing in freestyle and backstroke, Brown is a three-time MAAC Championship Qualifier who did so last season in the 50, 100 and 200-yard freestyle events. Brown competed in all nine meets this season and set a new personal mark in the 100-yard butterfly (1:01.61) at the 2019 ECAC Winter Championships.
A member of Siena's Student Athlete Mentors (SAM) Brown will graduate in the spring with a degree in biology and holds a 3.46 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.
