March 6, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Three University of Notre Dame fencers who competed for the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games in London posted a number of strong finishes during international events in the past month, in advance of the NCAA Championships Feb. 21-24 in San Antonio, Texas.
Freshman Lee Kiefer placed seventh at the St. Petersburg Foil World Cup March 2 in Russia. Kiefer, the fourth overall seed in the table of 64, won her first three bouts of the competition, including a 15-9 win over six-time Senior World medalist Aida Mohamed of Hungary (table of 16). Kiefer battled valiantly before falling to eventual gold medalist Inna Deriglazova of Russia, 15-13, in the quarterfinal round.
Senior Gerek Meinhardt earned a silver medal in the team foil and a bronze medal in the individual foil divisions Feb. 24 at the La Coruna World Cup in Spain. The U.S. Men’s Foil Team moved into the number two position in the world rankings, the highest ranking in team history. The U.S. squad logged victories over Hungary (45-40), France (45-41) and Germany (45-32) to clinch the runner-up finish. Meinhardt added a seventh-place finish of his own at the St. Petersburg World Cup March 2.
Senior Courtney Hurley, a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist with Team USA in the women’s epee, secured seventh place at the Leipzig Epee World Cup in Germany Feb. 9. The 14th-overall seed in the tournament, Hurley was victorious in her first three bouts of the event, including a 15-14 thriller over Erika Kirpu of Estonia in the table of 16. Two-time Senior World medalist Irina Embrich (Estonia) ultimately downed Hurley in the quarterfinals 15-11.
All three Olympians will be in action this weekend at the NCAA Midwest Regional, to be held inside the Castellan Family Fencing Center. The women’s weapon squads will fence on Saturday, with the men’s tournament draws being held Sunday.
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