2016-17 Fencing Roster

Lee Kiefer 2014-15 Fencing Roster

Foil


Height 5'4''
Class Junior
Hometown Versailles, KY
High School Paul Laurence Dunbar
Lee Kiefer - Fencing - Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Bio

HONORS AND AWARDS:

  • 2017 NCAA Team Championship
  • Junior World Championships Silver Medalist (2011)
  • Cadet World Championships Silver Medalist (2011)
  • North American Cup Gold Medalist (2012)
  • 2012, 2016 Olympic Games Participant (United States)
  • Women’s Team Foil Sixth-Place Finisher (2012 Olympics)
  • First Team Capital One Academic All-American (2015)
  • ACC Women’s Fencing Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2015)
  • ACC Women’s Foilist of the Year (2015, 2017)
  • ACC Women’s Foil Champion (2015)
  • ACC Women’s Team Champion (2015, 2017)
  • Midwest Fencing Conference Champion (2013, 2014)
  • First Team All-MFC (2013, 2014)
  • NCAA Foil Champion (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017)
  • First Team All-American (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017)
  • 2015, 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team
  • 2017 Byron V. Kanaley Award
  • 2017 ACC Women’s Fencer of the Year for Foil
  • 2017 All-ACC Academic Team
  • 2015, 2017 All-ACC Team
  • 2017 Monogram Club MVP
  • 2017 Walter M. Langford Award
  • Pan American Championships Senior Women’s Foil Gold Medalist (2009-17)
  • 2016 FIE Grand Prix (Turin, Italy) Champion
  • 2017 FIE Grand Prix Long Beach Champion
  • World No. 1 Ranked Women’s Foilist

INTERNATIONAL RESULTS:

  • Pan American Championships Senior Women’s Foil Gold Medalist (2009-17) — Won eight straight Pan American Championships, a record for the most consecutive Pan Am titles by any fencer
  • 2016 FIE Grand Prix (Turin, Italy) Champion
  • 2017 FIE Grand Prix Long Beach Champion
  • Finished in ninth place at the Gdansk Grand Prix in February of 2013
  • Went on to improve to seventh place at the St. Petersburg World Cup the following week
  • Finished in sixth place at the Marseille Grand Prix event, before cracking the top three in individual competition at the Junior World Championships
  • Was a member of the second-place silver medal women’s foil team at the Junior World Championships
  • Claimed both the team and individual gold medal at the Pan American Championships
  • Was ranked in 2013 as the top women’s foilist in the United States in both the Junior and Senior division, while checking in as the No. 4 foilist in the world on the Senior level entering the 2012 Olympic Games
  • Reached the quarterfinal round of the women’s individual foil and was a member of the sixth-place U.S. Women’s team foil squad at the 2012 Olympics
  • Earned first career Olympic Team spot after winning gold at the January 2012 North American Cup in both the Junior and Division I pools
  • Also earned top-10 finishes at both the Budapest World Cup (eighth, team) and Torino World Cup (10th)
  • Became youngest member of the 2009 Senior World Team at just 15-years-old and then won bronze at the Senior World Championships in October 2011  
  • Became only athlete in the world to earn individual podium finishes at the Senior, Junior and Cadet World Championships in 2011 after she won silver medals at both the Junior and Cadet Worlds in April of that year
  • Ranked as the top women’s foilist in the United States in both the Junior and Senior division, while checking in as the No. 4 foilist in the world on the Senior level entering the 2012 Olympic Games  
  • Reached the quarterfinal round of the women’s individual foil and was a member of the sixth-place U.S. Women’s team foil squad at the 2012 Olympics
  • Earned first career Olympic Team spot after winning gold at the January 2012 North American Cup in both the Junior and Division I pools
  • Also earned top-10 finishes at both the Budapest World Cup (eighth, team) and Torino World Cup (10th)  
  • Became youngest member of the 2009 Senior World Team at just 15-years-old and then won bronze at the Senior World Championships in October 2011
  • Became only athlete in the world to earn individual podium finishes at the Senior, Junior and Cadet World Championships in 2011 after she won silver medals at both the Junior and Cadet Worlds in April of that year

AS A SENIOR:

  • Became the first Notre Dame student-athlete to win four national titles in the same event by capturing the 2017 NCAA Championship in women’s foil
  • Defeated Alanna Goldie (Ohio State) 15-9 in the championship bout to claim title in Indianapolis
  • Was just the third collegiate fencer to win four national titles and 18th collegiate athlete to have won four titles in the same event
  • Clinched Notre Dame’s ninth team national championship during pool play at the NCAA Championships, defeating Cornell’s Lyubov Kiriakidi 5-1
  • Finished pool play at NCAAs with a 20-3 mark with a +70 indicator for the top seed
  • Won the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship title to qualify for NCAAs
  • Runner-up at the ACC Championships, falling to teammate Sabrina Massialas in the final
  • Earned All-ACC recognition
  • Put together a perfect 33-0 record during dual competition
  • Went 12-0 at the St. John’s Invitational and 8-0 at the NYU Invitational
  • Was 7-0 at the DeCicco Duals
  • Went 6-0 during team competition at the ACC Championships to help the Irish to their third straight conference title
  • Named ACC Fencer of the Week for Jan. 28, 2017
  • Finished Irish career with a 136-17 mark
  • Named to the All-ACC Academic Team
  • Became a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American with a first-team commendation
  • Named the Monogram Club’s Most Valuable Player for women’s fencing
  • Named the team’s most valuable women’s fencer, as well as the ACC Women’s Fencer of the Year for Foil
  • Claimed the team’s Walter M. Langford Memorial Award “given to the Notre Dame fencer who epitomizes the very best in sportsmanship, leadership and teamwork — the true Notre Dame student-athlete.”
  • Won Notre Dame’s prestigious Byron V. Kanaley Award

2015-16:

  • Did not compete on the collegiate level while training for the 2016 Rio Olympics

AS A JUNIOR:

  • Won NCAA Women’s Foil title for third consecutive year and had a monstrous season, winning 51 bouts, merely dropping six .
  • Was a crucial player in helping the women’s team capture the first ever ACC Women’s Team Championship trophy, also became the first ACC Women’s Foil Champion
  • Named ACC Women’s Fencing Scholar-Athlete of the Year, ACC Women’s Foilist of the Year, and was honored as a First Team Capital One Academic All-American …
  • Went 11-4 at the Ohio State Elite Cup, 11-1 at St. John’s, 11-2 at NYU and 9-0 at Northwestern  
  • At ACC Championship, posted perfect 15-0 record in pool play to advance into semifinals of women’s foil competition
  • Beat teammate Sarah Followill 15-5 in the semis, and Nicole McKee 15-4 in the title bout
  • Earned the No. 1 automatic qualifying seed at NCAA Midwest Regional with a perfect 16-0 record
  • At NCAA Championship, finished pool play with 21-2 record and earned No. 1 seed, losing only to Goldie (Ohio State) 5-1 and Luminet (Penn State) 5-3
  • Beat Hausman (St. John’s) 15-7 in semifinal bout and faced Lu (Columbia) in the title bout, winning 15-13
  • Earned a monogram

AS A SOPHOMORE:

  • Repeated as NCAA Women’s Foil Champion and earned First Team All-American honors in the process
  • Competed sparingly with the Irish, balancing international competitions with NCAA events
  • Earned 9-2 record at the NYU Invitational and followed with 10-1 mark the next day at St. John’s, earning a 19-3 record for the year
  • Fenced in the team’s final Midwest Fencing Conference Championship, winning women’s foil title and helping the women’s team finish second
  • At NCAA Midwest Regional, earned the No. 1 seed and won the women’s foil bracket, beating teammate Madison Zeiss 15-7 in the semifinal and out-dueling Mona Shaito of Ohio State 15-9 in the final bout
  • At NCAA Championship, finished pool play with 19-4 record and earned the No. 1 seed
  • In the semifinals beat Ohio State’s Goldie 15-11 and squared off with Zeiss in the title bout
  • Beat Zeiss 13-10 to claim second title
  • Earned a monogram

AS A FRESHMAN:

  • Was crowned the 2013 NCAA Women’s Foil Champion, earning First Team All-American accolades in her first season with the Irish  
  • Was one of the most successful foilists with a 32-6 mark
  • Posted matching 9-3 records at the St. John’s and NYU Invitationals  
  • Was undefeated at Duke and Notre Dame Duals
  • At the Notre Dame Duals earned several lopsided wins over MFC opponents
  • At NCAA Midwest Regional finished 18-1 with a +65 indicator, good for first place, losing only to familiar Buckeye foe Mona Shaito 5-3
  • At NCAAs in San Antonio, finished first day of competition 14-1, losing only to older sister Alexandria of Harvard, 5-4
  • Advancing into the semifinals, bested Mona Shaito 15-5 to move into the finals
  • Squaring off against Jackie Dubrovich of Columbia, quickly went up in score and never looked back, decisively winning the title with a score of 15-8

PREP & PERSONAL:

  • Graduated from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
  • Was a member of the French Honors Society and the Beta Club
  • Named an AP Scholar with Distinction
  • Daughter of Steven and Teresa Kiefer
  • Has one sister, Alex, and one brother, Axel
  • Father, Steven, was a team captain for the men’s fencing team at Duke University
  • Sister, Alex, fenced at Harvard University, while brother, Axel, completed his rookie season at Notre Dame in 2015-16 as a first-team All-American and ACC Men’s Foilist of the Year
  • Graduated with a degree in pre-professional studies and is attending medical school at the University of Kentucky