NOTRE DAME, Ind. — For the second year in a row, the University of Notre Dame fencing program can boast both men’s and women’s Atlantic Coast Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year, as seniors Axel Kiefer and Amanda Sirico headlined the 2019 ACC All-Academic Teams.
The Irish totaled two men and seven women among those honored by the conference for their academic achievements. Joining Kiefer on the men’s roster was freshman Alessandro Contreras, while Stefani Deschner, Natalie Disher, Miriam Grady, Tara Hassett, Molly Hudson and Elyssa Kleiner rounded out the women’s squad with Sirico.
Sirico earned the Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor for the second consecutive season. She is a three-time First Team All-American in women’s epee, earning national runner-up accolades at the 2019 National Collegiate Fencing Championships. She is a two-time ACC women’s epee champion and helped lead the women’s team to the 2019 conference title while competing only during the team event. She is working toward her degree in Design from the College of Arts and Letters.
A four-time All-American and three-time All-ACC honoree, Kiefer led the Irish to the third ACC team championship of his career before recording a career-best national runner-up finish at the National Collegiate Fencing Championships. Kiefer is a four-time All-ACC team member and is Notre Dame’s third men’s fencing Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He will graduate in May with a degree in preprofessional studies from the College of Science.
Hassett joins Kiefer as a four-time All-Academic Team pick, while Kleiner earned the honor for the second time.
Men’s ACC All-Academic Team
Alessandro Contreras, Fr., First Year of Studies
****Axel Kiefer, Sr., Preprofessional Studies
Women’s ACC All-Academic Team
Stefani Deschner, So., Science Pre-Professional
Natalie Disher, Jr., Psychology/Theology
Miriam Grady, Fr., First Year of Studies
****Tara Hassett, Sr., Marketing/Design
Molly Hudson, Sr., Design
**Elyssa Kleiner, Sr., Preprofessional Studies
***Amanda Sirico, Sr, Design
ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
**** Four-time honoree
*** Three-time honoree
** Two-time honoree