BOSTON, MASS. - Recent Saint Joseph's College 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 Ill, and the 2008 NCAA Woman of
the Year.