Le Moyne’s Lesher and Saint Rose’s Dagostino
Named NE-10 Scholar-Athletes of the Year

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

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South Easton, Mass. – Le Moyne College senior swimmer Alison Lesher (Sherrill, N.Y.) and the College of Saint Rose senior men’s basketball player Steve Dagostino (Schenectady, N.Y.) were named the 2007-2008 Northeast-10 Scholar-Athletes of the Year as selected by the Northeast-10 Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) Council. Both will be recognized at the 2008 Northeast-10 Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony on Monday, June 2 at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston, Mass.

Lesher and Dagostino will also be in the running for the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association National Scholar-Athlete of the Year award sponsored by Disney Sports Attractions.

Lesher, a biology major, has been named to the Le Moyne College Dean’s list for seven semesters and has been a Presidential Scholar recipient all four years while at the college. To be named to the Dean’s list at Le Moyne, students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.50. In addition to her institutional academic achievements, Lesher has also garnered Northeast-10 academic awards as well. She is a three-time Northeast-10 All Academic selection and has been named to the Commissioners Honor Roll three times as well (2005, 2006, and 2007). The 2007-2008 Commissioners Honor Roll will be released later next month.

“Alison Lesher represents all that is good, all that is right, about intercollegiate athletics,” said Le Moyne Athletic Director Matt Bassett. “Although we are very fortunate here at Le Moyne to be surrounded by so many talented caring young people each and every day, Alison has distinguished herself as a champion in the classroom, as a leader on our campus and in the community, and obviously as a national champion in the pool.”

Lesher’s accomplishments in the classroom have carried over to the pool. In March, she became one of only two Northeast-10 student-athletes to ever win a national championship in the sport of swimming. Lesher earned All-American status as she finished first in the 200-yard butterfly event to cap off her final year of collegiate competition. Among her athletic accomplishments, Lesher is a five-time All American, was named the Most Valuable Swimmer of the 2006 and 2007 Northeast-10 Championship and won 10 conference championships in her collegiate career. She currently holds eight different school records.

Dagostino has been named to the Saint Rose Dean’s list every semester since enrolling at the college. His 3.88 grade point average is the fifth highest among Golden Knight male student athletes and is second among senior male athletes. Over his four-year collegiate career, Dagostino has garnered a number of academic honors including being named ESPN The Magazine District I Academic All American three times and ESPN The Magazine First-Team Academic All American twice. He is a three-time Northeast-10 Commissioner’s Gold Honor Roll recipient and was named to the Northeast-10 All Academic team this past season.

“The College of Saint Rose community is proud of the athletic and academic accomplishments of our student-athletes,” said Saint Rose Athletic Director Cathy Haker. “It is especially significant that this honor has been bestowed on Steve Dagostino, since the Northeast-10 Conference is renowned for the academic excellence of its student-athletes. Steve is the epitome of what a student-athlete should be and he has represented Saint Rose and the NE10 well throughout his four years as a Golden Knight.”

In 2008, Dagostino became the fifth player in Northeast-10 men’s basketball history to be named the Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. He was also named the ECAC Division II Player of the Year and the Daktronics Northeast Regional Player of the Year for the second straight season. He was also selected for the NABC All-Star game, which took place in Springfield during the Elite Eight. In his collegiate career, Dagostino has led the Golden Knights to three NCAA Tournament appearances with a four-year record of 85-37. He ranks fourth all-time in school history in assists (559), and steals (242) and is ranked sixth all-time in scoring (1,629). Dagostino is the only player in Saint Rose history to amass 1,500 points, 500 assists and 200 steals.

Sponsoring 23 championship sports and 15 full-time members, the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation and sponsors the most championships of any Division II conference.

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