LOUDONVILLE, NY – A pair of seniors from Siena's Women's Tennis and Women's Swimming & Diving programs were honored as the latest recipients of the Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month. Women's Tennis senior Kylie Mullaney and Swimming & Diving senior Sydney Lautenslager each took home the award for the month of January.
A four-year member of the Saints, Mullaney appeared in three singles and six doubles matches during her junior season in 2019-20. The Edina, Minnesota product won a pair of singles matched at the no. 3 position and was one half of the team's no. 1 doubles group that took home a trio of doubles wins. Mullaney also captured a team-high 13 doubles wins from the leading spot during her sophomore campaign.
A biology major, Mullaney is set to graduate in the spring, and holds a 3.62 cumulative GPA. She has been named to both the MAAC All-Academic Team and the MAAC Academic Honor Roll during her collegiate career, and serves as one of Siena's Student Athlete Mentors (SAM).
A co-captain on the swimming & diving squad during the 2020-21 season, Lautenslager specializes in distance freestyle, as well as the butterfly, backstroke, and the individual medley. The Victor, New York native set four personal bests during the 2019-20 season, including in the 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM and 1000 free. A MAAC Championship Final Qualifier in the 400 IM in 2019, Lautenslager is on the program's all-time top-10 performers list in both the 1650 free and the 400 IM.
A business major who is set to graduate in the spring, Lautenslager holds a 3.47 cumulative GPA, with an impressive 3.92 mark coming during the Fall 2020 semester. A member of the Siena President's List, she has also been named to the MAAC All-Academic Team and the MAAC Academic Honor Roll during her time on the team.
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.
