LOUDONVILLE, NY – Recipient of the Leo and Jeannine Dufort Student-Athlete of the Month Award was awarded to Siena Softball standout Alissa Eimont for the month of May.
 
Eimont, a redshirt junior from Aberdeen, NJ, completed her undergraduate degree with a 3.94 spring GPA (President's List) with a 3.71 cumulative GPA as a communications/marketing major.  
 
Named to the College Sports Communicators Academic (CSC) All-District Team just a day earlier, Eimont was a member of the MAAC All-Championship Team and MAAC All-Academic Team.
 
The product of Matawan Regional High School became the seventh player in program history to record 300 strikeouts, attaining a 4-2 record on the mound during the month of May, allowing just six total earned runs across 21 innings pitched to lower her season ERA to 3.22.  
 
Notably, Eimont allowed no runs and just two hits over two outings and seven innings at Saint Peter's on May 1-2 and struck out eight batters. Against Marist, Eimont allowed just two runs on four hits and struck out four in six innings of work on May 8.  On May 10, she came on to retire a batter and picked up a save versus Fairfield in the MAAC Tournament. Later that day, Eimont tossed a shutout, scattering seven hits versus Rider in another victory. 
 
For the season, Eimont won a team-best 16 games in 38 appearances including 28 starts and pitched 18 complete games. In 178 innings pitched, Eimont struck out 129 and allowed just 171 hits. 
 
The Leo and Jeannine 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 six children. He passed away suddenly in 1993. His wife Jeannine wanted to do something to immortalize his memory. The original plaque was donated to athletics and the school 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 which is where he met his high school sweetheart, Jeannine Snyder. Among his many accomplishments, Leo was extremely active in youth sports throughout his life and was a Navy Veteran stationed on the USS Bennington. The name of the award was updated in December 2024 to also honor Leo's wife, Jeannine Dufort, and her many years of dedicated and loving service to Siena College. It was often said that Jeannine was one the most knowledgeable people on campus during her years of service. Jeannine served as the secretary to presidents Rev. Hugh Hines, Rev. William McConville, and Rev. Kevin Mackin. Her love for the students was endless. A short time after Jeannine retired, she was awarded the title of Honorary Franciscan (complete with her Franciscan robe). Jeannine resides at Shaker Pointe in Latham.