LOUDONVILLE, NY – A pair of graduating Siena basketball players have been recognized as the latest Leo Dufort Student Athletes of the Month. Men's Basketball's Michael Baer and Women's Basketball's Sevval Istanbulluoglu were honored for the month of December.
A member of the team's Leadership Council in his second season with the Saints after spending his undergraduate career at the University of Iowa, Baer has appeared in 45 contests with seven starts, averaging 3.1 points and 5.0 rebounds this season. The graduate student has turned in a pair of double-digit scoring performances so far this season, with ten points in home wins over Canisius on Dec. 2 and Rider on Jan. 8. Baer also contributed a career-best 13 rebounds in the team's home win over Saint Peter's on Jan. 6.
A three-time member of the NABC Honors Court during his collegiate career and a MAAC Academic Honor Roll selection last season, Baer holds a 3.66 cumulative GPA while pursuing his MBA with a concentration in Finance from Siena.
The Saints' lone senior this season as a four-year member of the program, Istanbulluoglu has made 28 appearances with her first-ever start coming this season at Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 19. The product of Istanbul, Turkey has made four appearances this season, with Siena holding a 3-1 record when she has entered a game this year to-date. Set to graduate with a degree in business in the spring, she holds a 3.11 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.
