LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Men's Tennis and Siena Volleyball both saw student athletes recognized as the latest recipients of the Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month award. Volleyball graduate student Emily Wunder and Men's Tennis senior Agustin Suarez earned the awards for the month of November.
A transfer who entered Siena prior to last season, Suarez tied for the most singles wins on the team during the 2021-22 season with a 12-8 record from the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. The Quito, Ecuador native was twice honored as the MAAC Player of the Week last season, and helped secure the first ITA Main Draw victory in program history while going 12-10 in doubles action. Suarez holds a 3.23 cumulative GPA in computer science.
Wunder also came to Siena prior to last season and made an immediate impact, serving as a team captain for each of the last two seasons. The Penn Yan, New York product took home Second Team All-MAAC honors this past season while compiling 311 kills, and led Siena to a berth in the MAAC Championship Semifinals while earning a spot on the MAAC all-Championship Team. A member of the MAAC All-Academic Team, she holds a 3.48 cumulative mark while studying for her MBA with a concentration in strategic management.
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.
