June 4, 2018

By Joanne Norell

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The reigning two-time national champion Notre Dame fencing program has rounded out its incoming freshman class for the fall semester, adding 13 teammates to the quartet of National Letter of Intent signees.

In addition to their four scholarship recipients — Miriam Grady (women’s epee; Broomfield, Colo.), Kara Linder (women’s sabre; Chandler, Ariz.), Amita Berthier (women’s foil; Singapore) and Andrew Machovec (men’s foil; East Rockaway, N.Y.) — the Irish add seven other members of the incoming class who rank among the best collegiate prospects. The Irish will welcome Meg O’Reilly (women’s epee; Akron, Ohio), Solène Watson (women’s foil; Arbonne-La-Forêt, France), Logan Kanary (men’s sabre; Westminster, Colo.), Jared Smith (men’s sabre; Ladera Ranch, Calif.), Karl-Friedrich Flick (men’s sabre; Velden, Austria), Alessandro Contreras (men’s sabre; Silver Spring, Md.) and Malcolm Fields (men’s sabre; Plainfield, N.J.).

Completing the class are Giorgia Giordano (women’s epee, Brazil), Sienna Wilson (women’s sabre; Falls of Rough, Ky.) Austin Guo (men’s epee; Beijing, China), Guram Lortkipanidze (men’s sabre; Mount Kisco, N.Y.), Gustavo Rosello (men’s foil; Naples, Fla.) and Michael Siroky (men’s epee; Las Vegas, Nev.).

Read more about the incoming class below:

Meg O’Reilly | Akron, Ohio | Concord Carlisle High School | Women’s Epee

• Will graduate from Concord Carlisle High School in June 2018
• Member of Two Ravens and Olympia fencing clubs
• Has competed at nine FIE World Cup events
• Placed ninth at the 2015 Klagenfurt World Cup
• Placed 14th at 2016 Junior Olympics
• Placed 31st at 2017 Junior Olympics
• Won the Ohio State Stock Market Challenge as a high school freshman
• Accepted into the NSLC Neuroscience and Psychology summer program as a high school sophomore
• Accepted into the NSLC Pre-Med summer program as a high school junior
• Member of National Honor Society
• Daughter of Mary and Michael O’Reilly ‘69
• Has a younger sister, Aeryn
• Will enroll in the First Year of Studies program with the intent to major in pre-professional studies

Solène Watson | Arbonne-La-Forêt, France | Lycée International François 1er | Women’s Foil

• Will graduate from Lycée International François 1er in July 2018
• Member and captain of Melun Val de Seine fencing club
• Earned team gold medal at U15 French National Championship (2014-15)
• Earned individual bronze medal at U15 French National Championship (2014-15)
• Earned individual silver medal at U20 Division 2 French National Championship  (2014-15)
• Earned team gold medal at U17 French National Championship (2015-16)
• Placed 12th in the U17 World Championship (2015-16)
• Placed eighth in the U17 European Circuit in Poznan, Poland (2015-16)
• Placed sixth in the U17 European Championships (2016-17)
• Earned team gold medal in the U17 French National Championship (2016-17)
• Earned individual bronze medal at the U17 French National Championship (2016-17)
• Earned team bronze medal in the U20 French National Championship (2016-17)
• Earned gold in the Senior Division 2 French National Championship (2016-17)
• Earned team bronze medal in the U20 French National Championship (2017-18)
• Earned team silver in the senior Division 2 French National Championship (2017-18)
• Selected for french national representation in the 2018 World Cups  
• Has placed on the national Ministry of Sport’s list of national high-level athletes for five consecutive years
• Participated in the Model United Nations held in Fontainebleau, France in 2016, 2017 and 2018
• Daughter of Bill and Marie Jo Watson
• Has an older sister, Alicia, and two younger brothers, Pierre and Guillaume
• Will enroll in the First Year of Studies program with the intent to major in business

Logan Kanary | Westminster, Colo. | Jefferson Academy | Men’s Sabre

• Graduated from Jefferson Academy High School in May 2018
• Member of the Fencing Academy of Denver since 2013; previously fenced for Colorado Fencing Academy
• 2017 Cadet Men’s Sabre Pan American Champion in Havana, Cuba
• Member of the Cadet and Junior US National Teams
• Won Cadet team silver in Eislingen, Germany, 2016
• Placed in top 16 in Division 1 at 2017 Anaheim North American Cup event
• Made top eight in Junior at 2017 Kansas City North American Cup event
• Four-year academic letterwinner and top honor roll student
• Named Jefferson Academy’s 2018 Outstanding Student in Science
• Son of Tom and Tammy Kanary
• Has an older brother, Noah
• Father, Tom, was a swimmer at the Colorado School of Mines
• Will enroll in the First Year of Studies program with plans to study biological sciences

Jared Smith | Ladera Ranch, Calif. | Tesoro High School | Men’s Sabre

• Will graduate from Tesoro High School in June 2018
• Member of the Avant Garde Fencers Club
• Team took bronze in senior team men’s sabre at the 2016 Summer National Championships
• Placed in the top 8 at the November 2016 Cadet NAC
• Finished top 16 at the Cadet World Cup in Konin, Poland
• Placed second in team at the 2016 Cadet World Cup in Eislingen, Germany
• Finished third in Division 1A at the 2017 Summer National Championships
• Placed third in the junior division at Virginia Beach NAC 2018
• Son of Jay and Sandra Smith
• Has an older sister, Jasmin, and two older brothers, Joshua and Jayson
• Will enroll in the First Year of Studies program with the intent to major in engineering

Alessandro Contreras | Silver Spring, Md. | Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School | Men’s Sabre

• Will graduate from Bethesda-Chevy Chase this spring
• Member of Capital Fencing Academy
• Placed third at 2014 Y14 NAC
• Placed sixth at 2014 Cadet NAC
• Placed fifth at 2017 Cadet Junior Olympics
• Team took gold at 2017 Junior Olympics
• Placed third in the junior division at the 2018 January NAC
• Placed sixth at the 2018 Division I Championships
• Coaches and offers youth lessons through his fencing club
• Son of Felix Contreras and Barbara DeLollis
• Has a younger brother, Joaquin
• Will enroll in the First Year of Studies program with the intent to study business

Karl-Friedrich Flick | Velden, Austria | Europagymnasium Klagenfurt | Men’s Sabre

• Graduated from Europagymnasium Klagenfurt in 2017
• Fenced with Fencing Club Villach from 2005-17 and is a current member of Steiermaerkischer Landesfechtklub Graz
• U14 Austrian Champion — individual and team
• U17 Austrian Champion — individual and team
• Became member of the Austrian U20 National Team during his third year of high school
• Accepted to the Austrian Military Sport Division during fourth year of high school
• Participated at the Military World Championships (R32)
• Became member of the Austrian Senior National Team
• Club team accomplishments:
  • U14 Austrian Champions 2013, 2014
  • U17 Austrian Champions 2015
  • U20 Austrian Champions 2016, 2017
  • Senior Austrian Championships, third place, 2017
• Named “Mentor-Athlete” of U20 Austrian National Team
• Earned the Austrian Athletic Badge of Excellence in 2017
• Also played soccer in high school and was captain of the team
• Son of Ingrid Flick
• Has a sister, Victoria-Katharina Flick
• Will enroll in the First Year of Studies program with plans to study finance

Malcolm Fields | Plainfield, N.J. | The Pingry School | Men’s Sabre

• Will graduate from the Pingry School in June 2018
• Fenced varsity all four years of high school and served as captain junior and senior year
• 2017 New Jersey Interscholastic Fencing Association Somerset County Champion
• 2018 New Jersey Interscholastic Fencing Association Somerset County Champion
• 2018 New Jersey Interscholastic Fencing Association District 3 Champion
• 2018 New Jersey Interscholastic Fencing Association State Champion
• Member of Advance Fencing and Fitness Academy, owned by Irish sabre assistant coach Aleks Ochocki
• Bronze Medal at Division I NAC (earned A rating), December 2016
• Fourth-place team finish with Team USA at Phoenix Junior World Cup, January 2017
• Fifth-place team finish with Team USA at Dourdan, France, Junior World Cup, February 2017
• Top-eight finish at Junior NAC, January 2018
• Top-16 finish at Division I National Championships, April 2018
• Founded the Malcolm Fields Fencing Foundation, which introduced fencing to youth in the city of Plainfield
• 2017 USA Fencing High School First-Team All American
• Son of Holly and Davey Fields
• Father Davey played basketball at Columbia University
• Has a younger brother, Martin
• Will enroll in the First Year of Studies program with plans to study marketing

— ND —

Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame men’s tennis and fencing programs, in addition to assisting with football communications and overseeing production of the football Gameday Magazine. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.