Feb. 15, 2002
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - The Siena College athletic department has released its January and February recipients of the Leo Dufort Student Athletes of the Month Award. Freshman basketball player Tommy Mitchell (Tyler,Texas / John A. Tyler) and junior Erica Anderson (North Easton, Mass. / Oliver Ames) from the women's basketball team were the January recipients. The honorees for the month of February are sophomore Nathalie Marchino (Geneva, Switzerland/ Dewitt Clinton) and freshman diver Leah Serbalik (Saratoga, N.Y./ Saratoga).
Mitchell, a freshman on the men's basketball team is an accounting major with a 2.85 GPA. This season he is averaging 2.5 rebounds per game and 4.6 points per game and has started 18 games at point guard.
Anderson, a junior tri-captain on the women's basketball team is an art major with an excellent 3.12 GPA. Anderson is third on the team in points averaging 10.3 points per game. She also leads the team with 4.2 assists per game serving as the catalyst for the Saints current 19-game winning streak and perfect 14-0 record in the conference.
Marchino is excelling in the classroom with a 3.54 GPA majoring in business. The sophomore has played in 17 games this season averaging just over 10 minutes per contest. She is shooting 46% from three-point range and 86% from the free-throw line.
Serbalik, a freshman standout not only in diving but also in the classroom has earned a 3.66 GPA as an undecided arts major. The freshman is the first diver in school history to qualify for the NCAA Eastern Regional. She scored a 257.25, which surpassed the NCAA benchmark of 255-automatically qualifying for the regional held in mid-March in Anapolis, Md.
The Leo Dufort student-athlete of the month award is presented nine times annually to Siena athletes who excel on the playing fields and in the classroom. Past recipients this year were: November- Shane McMahon (golfer), Michelle and Kim Milton (cross country) and for December-Mary McKissack (basketball) and Andy Cavo basketball.
