LOUDONVILLE, NY – A pair of Siena captains took home the latest edition of the Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month, the department announced Thursday. Men's Golf junior Pudge Williams & Water Polo senior Diana Fernandez each earned the award for the month of March.
One of two junior co-captains for the Saints, Williams competed in six tournaments for the team during its abbreviated 2019-20 season. His low score of the year came in the form of a 75 in the first round of the Dartmouth Invitational, which saw the team card it's second-best 18-hole score in program history. Earlier in his career, Williams was named the MAAC Golfer of the Week back in the Spring of 2018.
A business major, Williams holds a 3.33 cumulative GPA and has been on the MAAC Academic Honor Roll each of the last two seasons. He was a member of the MAAC All-Academic Team in 2019 and currently serves on Siena's Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).
One of the most decorated Saints in the history of her program, Fernandez is Siena Water Polo's all-time leader in ejections drawn and wrapped the 2020 season inside the program's top-10 in seven different offensive categories. The Chicago, IL native led the team in scoring as it's only senior this season, netting 37 goals and adding 19 assists for 56 total points. She is one of only two Saints in program history with 200 career goals scored and was a Preseason All-MAAC selection for the second straight year.
A health science major, Fernandez holds a 3.54 cumulative GPA and has been on both the MAAC All-Academic Team & MAAC Academic Honor Roll in each of the last two seasons. She took home ACWPC All-Academic Accolades with a "Superior" distinction in 2019.
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.
