SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Stefani Deschner (Notre Dame ‘21) has been named a top-30 honoree for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, the NCAA announced on Thursday (Sept. 23).
“One of our mantras is that ‘Excellence is a Habit’,” said Irish head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia. Stefani brings that to every facet of her life — academics, athletics, service to her community. She is one of the kindest, most compassionate people we have ever had in our program. She epitomizes everything that Notre Dame stands for and what the NCAA seeks in its Woman of the Year.”
The NCAA Woman of the Year is a national award honoring academic achievement, athletics excellence, community service and leadership. It is one of the highest awards given by the NCAA. The Woman of the Year award is unique in its holistic recognition of female student-athletes as it honors excellence in academics, stellar athletic performances and meaningful contributions to campuses and communities through leadership and service.
From the Top 30, three finalists from each NCAA division will be named. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will then select the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year from among the nine finalists.
Deschner captured the 2021 NCAA Women’s Foil National Championship after an undefeated regular season to help Notre Dame capture its 11th NCAA Fencing Nationship Championship in program history.
With the win, she claimed her first career individual championship and was the first women’s foil champion from Notre Dame since Olympic gold medalist Lee Kiefer back in 2017.
Deschner, the 2020 and 2021 ACC Fencing Scholar-Athlete of the Year, closed her Irish career with a 109-30 record and as a junior in 2020 was named the ACC’s Women’s Foil Fencer of the Year after capturing the ACC crown.
The Versailles, Kentucky, native also served as the co-executive chair of the ACC Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) mental health board, and organized additional mental health town halls, developed education modules, and created a mental health station to help direct student athletes to proper mental health professionals.
During her time in South Bend, Deschner actively served the Notre Dame community, particularly via the Fighting Irish Fight for Life program, an initiative that pairs severely ill children with the university’s sports teams.
Having recently earned her a undergraduate degree in pre-professional studies and theology, Deschner was a 2021 ACC Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, a three-time All-ACC Fencing Academic Team honoree and has made the Dean’s List seven times.
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