2018-19 Fencing Roster

Axel Kiefer 2017-18 Fencing Roster

Foil

Height 5-8

Class Senior

Hometown Lexington, KY

High School Paul Laurence Dunbar

Bio

HONORS AND AWARDS:

2019 NCAA Championships Men’s Foil Second-Place Finisher
2016, 2018 NCAA Championships Men’s Foil Third-Place Finisher
2017 NCAA Championships Men’s Foil Eighth-Place Finisher
2016, 2018, 2019 First Team All-American
2017 Second Team All-American
2016 NCAA Midwest Regional Men’s Foil Champion
2018, 2019 NCAA Midwest Regional Men’s Foil Runner-Up
2017 NCAA Midwest Regional Men’s Foil Sixth Place
2016 ACC Men’s Foil Champion
2017, 2019 ACC Men’s Foil Runner-Up
2018 ACC Men’s Foil Third Place
2016 ACC Championships Most Valuable Fencer
2016, 2017, 2019 All-ACC
2016, 2017 ACC Men’s Foilist of the Year
2016 Notre Dame Monogram Club Most Valuable Player
2017 John Crikelair Award
2019 Lee Kiefer/Gerek Meinhardt Award
2019 Walt Langford Memorial Award
2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 All-ACC Academic Team
2019 ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
2019 Rockne Student-Athlete Award
2019 Byron V. Kanaley Award
2016 Team Most Valuable Foilist
2015 USA Fencing National Championships 11th Place – Division I
2015 USA Fencing National Championships Junior Gold Medalist

AS A SENIOR:

Saved his best season for last with his highest showing at the NCAA Championships, winning a career high 19 round-robin bouts and finishing as the national runner-up in men’s foil
Was named a First Team All-American for the third time and became the program’s 29th four-time All-American
Went 32-13 in dual bouts to finish with a career 127-57 record
Captured second place at the ACC Championships, earning an All-ACC nod
Also placed second at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships
All three postseason runner-up performances came behind teammate Nick Itkin
Named the ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
One of two winners of the Lee Kiefer/Gerek Meinhardt Award, “given to the fencer who gives their time selflessly and humbly in training, as judged by their teammates and coaches. This recipient goes above and beyond expectations, helping teammates prepare for tournaments while pursuing their own passion for the sport.”
Earned the team’s Walt Langford Memorial Award, “recognizing sportsmanship, leadership and teamwork.”
Recipient of the Rockne Student-Athlete Award
Earned the Byron V. Kanaley Award, Notre Dame athletics’ highest honor
Earned a monogram

AS A JUNIOR:

Capped his third straight All-American season with a second-career bronze-medal finish at the NCAA Championships
Finished the season with a 28-23 record
Opened the season at the Elite Invitational with a 6-2 record
Posted a 10-2 record at the Northwestern Duals
Finished the season with a 5-4 record during team competition at the ACC Championships
Took third place at the ACC Championships during individual competition
Fenced to a runner-up showing at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships to qualify for the national meet for a third straight year
Went 15-7 during pool play at NCAAs to take the fourth seed into direct elimination
Fell to teammate and eventual national champion Nick Itkin in the semifinal bout to take bronze
Named to the All-ACC Academic Team
Earned a monogram

AS A SOPHOMORE:

Took home second career All-America honor with a Second Team performance (eighth place) at the NCAA Championship, helping the Irish to capture the ninth team title in program history
Placed sixth at the NCAA Midwest Regional
Took runner-up honors at the ACC Championship, falling to teammate Kristjan Archer in the men’s foil title bout
Named the ACC Most Valuable Fencer
Named to the All-ACC Academic Team for the second straight year
Earned the team’s John Crikelair Award, given to the men’s foilist “who best represents his/her team and University on and off the strip.”
Posted a 37-15 dual meet mark
Went a perfect 12-0 at the St. John’s Invitational
Posted a 6-2 record during team play at the ACC Championships to help the Irish to their third straight conference title
Earned a monogram

AS A FRESHMAN:

Began Irish career in style with accolade-filled rookie season
Copped First Team All-America honors with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships
Went 15-8 during pool play at NCAAs to earn the third seed in direct elimination, but fell to Penn State’s Nobuo Bravo 15-11 in the semifinal bout
Captured the NCAA Midwest Regional men’s foil crown
Posted a marquee weekend during the ACC Championships, snagging the men’s foil title and earning ACC MVP honors
Went 4-1 during team competition to the help the Irish men to their second straight ACC title
Named the ACC Men’s Foilist of the Year following the season
Named the team’s men’s foil MVP and Monogram Club MVP
Earned All-ACC Academic Team honors
Went 29-7 during regular-season play
Started the year with a 10-2 mark at the Penn Elite Invitational
Went 3-1 on the first day of the DeCicco Duals
Wrapped the regular season with a 12-3 mark at the Duke Duals
Earned a monogram

PREP AND PERSONAL:

Graduated from Paul Laurence Dunbar in May 2015
Fenced as a member of the Bluegrass Fencing Club
During freshman year, took first place at the Cadet Summer National Championships in Reno, Nevada
Finished second at the Richmond, Virginia, North American Cup (NAC)
Clinched first at the Austin, Texas, NAC the following month at the cadet level, coming in fifth at the junior level
Won first place at the Cadet European Foil Circuit in Halle, Germany
Took first at the cadet-level Junior Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah
Finished third at the junior-level Junior Olympics as well
As a sophomore, placed third at the Anaheim, California NAC in cadet competition
Won the St. Louis, Missouri NAC (another cadet-level competition) before taking third at the Louisville, Kentucky, cadet-level NAC in January 2013
Finished third at the Cadet European Foil Circuit in Pisa, Italy
Placed third in both cadet and junior competition at the 2013 Junior Olympics
As a junior, was crowned champion in January 2014 at the Junior World Cup in Udine, Italy
Placed sixth at the Junior World Cup in Terrassa, Spain, the following month
Took first place at the Junior Olympics in Portland, Oregon
With Team USA, placed second at the World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria
In senior year so far has placed fifth at the Division I NAC in Dallas, Texa,s and won the World Cup with Team USA in juniors competition in Lezno, Poland
Maintained membership in the Beta Club, Spanish Honor Society and National Honor Society
Completed a math, science and technology center 360-hour capstone senior research project with mentor Dr. Mark Crocker at the University of Kentucky’s Center for Applied Energy Research, involving the synthesis of Layered Double Hydroxide (LDH) catalysts of varying metal compositions
Received recognition for outstanding achievement by Fayette County Board of Education in 2011
Earned All-Distinguished Award by Fayette County Public Schools in 2013 and 2014
Named an AP Scholar in 2013 and 2014
Comes from a long line of successful fencers
Father, Steve competed at Duke, while eldest sister Alex competed at Harvard and older sister Lee is a current member of Notre Dame’s women’s foil team
Hails from same area as current Notre Dame men’s foilist Hazem Khazbak
Parents are Steve and Teresa Kiefer
Full name is Axel Maudlin Kiefer
Enrolled in the First Year of Studies with plans to major in pre-professional studies