Saint Joseph's Leger Named 2008 GNAC Woman Of The Year
Boston, Mass. - Recent Saint Joseph’s College (Maine)
graduate Jillian Leger (Westminster, Mass.)
has been named the 2008 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Woman
of the Year.
As the GNAC winner, Leger will also be nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, one of the most prestigious honors the NCAA bestows. The award recognizes senior student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
Leger was a four-year starting defender and two-year captain for
Head Women's Soccer Coach
Michael Bolanz. During her time as a player for St. Joe's, the team
amassed a 50-24-4 (.676) record including a 16-2-3 season in her
senior year, the best in the program's history. As a senior, Leger
was named as a GNAC First Team All Conference Defender and Saint
Joseph’s College Female Athlete of the Year. At the
conclusion of her junior year, she earned nominations to the
All-Independent Women's Soccer First Team and the D3 Kicks All-New
England Second Team. As a sophomore, Leger was named to the
All-Independent Women's Soccer team.
In the classroom, Leger graduated magna cum laude with a 3.86
grade point average in business
management. She was a member of the Beta Omicron of Delta Epsilon
Sigma National Honor Society.
Leger’s presence on campus was felt far beyond her success on
the soccer field and in the classroom. She was a member of the
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee all four years, while chairing
the committee her junior year. Leger worked as an admissions office
tour guide and an event staff member at athletic events. She filled
the rest of her spare time with volunteer efforts. A volunteer for
Partners In Development, where she spent 9 days in Guatemala, Walk
for Cancer participant, director of the student-athlete food drive,
and director of the student-athlete clothing drive.
The NCAA will announce the top ten honorees per division in
August, and the top three per division in September. At a dinner in
Indianapolis on October 19, 2008 the NCAA will honor the top
three
honorees from Divisions I, II and III, and the 2008 NCAA Woman of
the Year.
