Dec. 6, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Lee Kiefer, a native of Lexington, Ky., has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Notre Dame in the fall of 2012, fencing head coach Janusz Bednarski recently announced. Kiefer, who will add depth to the women’s foil unit, represents the lone fencer to join the Irish during the early signing period.
The talented prep fencer attends Paul Laurence Dunbar High School while fencing for the Bluegrass Fencers Club. Over her high school career, Kiefer has recorded a total of six podium finishes in cadet or junior tournament, including two first-place results at the 79-member Cadet World Championships last April in Baku, Azerbaijan and the Junior Team World Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland (April 2009).
In addition to the two victories, Kiefer earned three runner-up results; most recently finishing second at the Junior World Championships in Dead Sea, Jordan, that saw 90 foilists take to the strip in April. In October, Kiefer earned her most memorable finish to date as she placed third at the Senior World Championships held in Catania, Italy.
Kiefer, who ranks as the sixth-best senior women’s foilist in the world and top American according to nahouw.net, comes from a family pedigree of fencing. Her father, Steven, fenced for Duke while her sister and 2011 NCAA individual foil champion, Alex, currently fences for Harvard.
Kiefer also excels off the strip, as she was an AP Scholar With Distinction Award winner, while also serving as a member of the French Honors Society and the Beta Club.
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