Kelley Hurley 2008-09 Fencing Roster

Hurley will be making her third consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games, having also taken part in 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London). She joined her younger sister, Courtney, on the bronze medal winning epee team at the 2012 Games, which made history as the first U.S. women’s epee team to earn an Olympic medal. At the 2008 games, Kelley was the only women’s epee fencer from the United States to qualify and she placed 20th.

Kelley is currently ranked No. 2 among U.S. fencers (women’s epee) and will head to Rio ranked 18th in the world. In addition to making a third Olympic team, Hurley has also made Team USA Senior World Championship Teams on 11 occasions (2003, 2005-11, 2013-15). She is also a four-time USA Fencing Division I Individual National Champion. 

Kelley’s Notre Dame career featured three All-America citations, including first team honors in 2007 and 2008 as well as a second team honor in 2010. A season after finishing as the runner-up (2007), she captured the NCAA epee title in 2008. During the 2008 regular-season, she posted an impressive 47-1 record before winning the NCAA title.

Twitter: @thishurleygurrl
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Fencers Kelley, Courtney Hurley make Olympics a family affair

HONORS & AWARDS

• NCAA Champion (2008)
• NCAA Runner-Up (2007)
• First Team All-American (2007, 2008)
• Second Team All-American (2010)
• Women’s Epee Team Co-Captain (2008, 2010)
• U.S. Olympian (2008, 2012, 2016)
• U.S. National Team Member
• Under-17 World Champion (2005)

World-class lefthander who represented the U.S. at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, following a dominating 2008 college season that saw her go 47-1 in the regular season and win the NCAA title bout … due to a rotating configuration, there was no team competition in women’s epee at the 2008 Olympics, meaning that each national contingent could send only two fencers in that weapon (as opposed to four entrants when there is a team event) … a highly-passionate fencer whose love for the sport was developed by her parents and youth fencing coach Paul Pesthy … has developed strong technique to go along with a strong 5’9″ frame, quick acceleration and confidence in her parry actions … a fighter on the strip who is eager to take on many challenges in all aspects of her life … able to gather information quickly during bouts and read her opponent’s actions, giving her a key advantage in the defensive-minded, slower-moving epee bouts … an excellent student who comes from a highly ambitious and competitive family … introduced into the sport by her parents Robert and Tracy Hurley, who both have experience in fencing as competitors and coaches.

RECENT INTERNATIONAL AND USFA NATIONAL RESULTS: Posted a pair of top finishes on the senior cicuit during the 2010-11 season … finished second at the PanAmerican Championships in San Jose, before placing 15th at the World Championships in Paris, earning a total of 76 points combined at the two events … ranks as the 29th best women’s senior sabreist in 2010-11 with 84 total international points … entered the 2008 Olympic Games as the 18th seed in the individual women’s epee competition … fell to 15th seed Hyo Jung of Korea in the round of 32, 15-6 … had several top finishes during 2007 Senior World Cup circuit – placing 11th in Havana, Cuba (June; field of 121), and 24th in Sydney, Australia (May; 108) – plus three Grand Prix events: 29th in Nankin, China (May; 137), 106th in Montreal (June; 149) and 120th in Rome (Feb.; 136) … also placed 46th at the 2007 Junior World Championships in Belek, Turkey (April; 102) … fenced in three team events at Sr. World Cups/Grand Prix, helping her U.S contingent place 10th in Nankin, 11th in Rome and 15th in Montreal … member of seventh-place team at the 2007 Jr. World Championships in Belek … member of the U.S. women’s epee team at the 2006 World Fencing Championships (Oct.) in Torino/Turin, Italy (she placed 59th while the U.S. women were 17th) … fenced with U.S. Junior National Team (U-20) at Jr. World Championships in Taebek City, South Korea … her future Notre Dame teammates Adi Nott (foil) and Bill Thanhouser (sabre) also were in Korea as members of their U.S. Junior National teams … her 2006-07 USFA events included winning the North American Cup in Albuquerque, N.M., and losing the title bout to Lawrence runner-up at N.A.C. in Richmond, Va. (also sixth-place finisher at N.A.C. in Columbus, Ohio) … earlier won the 2006 Summer Nationals … other career highlights include: becoming the youngest fencer (16) ever to win the U.S. women’s epee national championship (in ’04); winning the 2005 U-17 world championship.

AS A SENIOR: Concluded her final season with the Irish with a 79-9 record, helping her eclipse the 200-win mark for her career (213-23) … named the team’s Most Valuable Epeeist for the third time in her career … also named winner of the Walter M. Langford Award, recognizing sportsmanship, leadership and teamwork … opened the season with a 12-6 ledger at the NYU Invitational … clinched the victory for the Irish against NYU with a victory over Victoria Sheng, 5-1 … posted an 8-3 mark at the St. John’s Challenge, including a perfect 3-0 ledger against Columbia in the final bout … registered an impressive 32-0 record at the Northwestern Duals, posting 3-0 marks against Duke, Princeton, Temple, Wayne State, Detroit, Cleveland State and Ohio State … also clinched three matches for the Irish at the event, including against Ohio State, defeating Tasha Domashovetz, 5-1, to preserve a 16-11 victory … continued her unbeaten stretch, going 27-0 at the Notre Dame Duals … participated in nine matches at the Duals, going a perfect 3-0 in each … clinched the victory over Michigan with a 5-1 victory over Lindsay Balfour … won her second Midwest Fencing Conference epee championship, defeating sister Courtney in the finals, 15-11 … recorded two bout victories in the women’s epee team finals against Northwestern at the Midwest Fencing Championships, helping the Irish squad to a 5-1 victory … placed fifth at the NCAA Midwest Regionals, falling to Kayley French of Northwestern, 15-14, in the quarterfinals before defeating Julia Tikhonova of Ohio State (15-12) and Katie Cavanaugh of Northwestern (15-6) to finish fifth … earned sixth at the NCAA Championships, completing round robin play with a mark of 17-6 to go along with a +30 indicator … earned second-team All-America honors as a result.

AS A JUNIOR: Went 36-9 during the regular season … opened her season with a 4-1 showing at the St. John’s Duals … earned her 100th career win at the St. John’s Duals against Columbia’s Martyna Urbanowicz (5-3) … went 8-4 at the NYU Invitational … posted a 14-4 record at the Northwestern Duals, including 3-0 against Johns Hopkins and 2-0 vs. both North Carolina and Northwestern … went undefeated at the Notre Dame Duals, finishing 10-0 … took ninth place at the Midwest Conference Championships to earn honorable-mention all-conference honors … in the first round of the championships, knocked off Notre Dame teammate Stephanie Myers, 15-4 … beat Michigan State’s Erin vonKronenberger, 15-12, in the round of 32 before falling 1-0 in sudden-death overtime to Ohio State’s Julia Tihonova … took home the bronze medal at the NCAA Midwest Regionals … in the final eight, defeated Northwestern’s Kayley French, 15-9, before falling to sister and Notre Dame teammate Courtney Hurley, 15-9, in the semifinals … beat Ohio State’s Tikonova, 15-8, in the bronze medal bout at the regional.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Returned to dominant form as a sophomore, capturing the NCAA epee title on her way to garnering first team All-American honors … the epee team captain became the 11th national champion in the history of the women’s fencing program (Sarah Borrmann then became the 12th) … posted an overall record of 47-1 (.979) on the year … her .979 winning-percentage ranks tied for the fifth highest in program history and the best single-season mark in epee … finished third at the NCAA Midwest Regionals … posted a 15-0 record at the Western Invite, leading Notre Dame to a 5-0 record at the event including wins over Stanford and Air Force … won all 15 of her bouts at the Western Invite by a 75-15 margin … five of her wins came by 5-0 scores, plus six at 5-1 and three at 5-2 … Stanford’s Katherine Lynch (5-3) was the only opponent to manage more than two points versus Hurley at the Western Invite … at the Northwestern Duals, went 32-1 … helped ND to a 5-0 record at the event … in her bronze medal performace at the Midwest Regionals, went 5-0 in first-round pool play … earned the top seed in the direct elimination play … advanced to finals with wins over Lawrence’s Elize Pfaltzgraff (15-5) and Wayne State’s Justyna Konczalska (15-10) … defeated Ohio State’s Leslie Lampman (15-8) in the quarterfinals … lost a close semifinal bout (10-9) to eventual champion Alexandra Obrazcova of Ohio State … to claim the gold at NCAAs, Hurley advanced to direct elimination as the fourth seed … in the semifinals, she defeated top-seeded Alexandra Obrazcova of Ohio Sate … won the gold with an 11-10 defeat of Reka Szele.

AS A FRESHMAN: Turned in an impressive debut on the college fencing scene that included a 51-4 record in the regular season and winning both the Midwest Conference and NCAA Midwest Regionals title, before losing the NCAA final to three-time champion Anna Garina of Wayne State … her .927 win percentage in the 2007 regular season is third-best ever by a Notre Dame women’s epeeist … she and sophomore foilist Adi Nott were named co-MVPs of the 2007 Notre Dame women’s fencing team (she also was named the women’s epee team MVP) … opened her college career by going 17-2 at the ND Duals, with her sweep of Ohio State (5-2 vs. Alexandra Obrazcova and Elyse Gurnowski; 5-4 vs. Leslie Lampman) leading the Irish women to a thrilling 14-13 win … also had top wins over WSU’s Garina (5-3) and UC San Diego’s Chelsea Ambort (5-2) at that home meet … had an even more impressive day at the NYU Duals (17-1), with another sweep helping deliver a 14-13 win over Northwestern (5-3 vs. Christa French; 5-4 Kayley French; 5-2 vs. Courtney DuBois) … her other key wins at the NCAAs came against St. John’s All-American Joanna Guy (5-4), Columbia’s Rachel Rowe (5-1) and NYU’s Lauren Willock (5-2), plus another sweep of Ohio State (5-2 vs. Obrazcova and Elyse Gurnowski; 5-1 vs. Lampman; Ohio State won 14-13) … won all five of her bouts at the Midwest Duals (at Notre Dame) and did not fence at the Duke Duals (due to a World Cup in Rome) before closing regular season 12-1 at the Northwestern Duals … had top wins at that tournament versus Penn State’s Anastasia Ferdman and Keri Byerts (both 5-2), and NU’s Christa French (5-1) … became seventh Notre Dame freshman ever to win a conference title, after topping her teammate Amy Orlando in the MFC final (15-11) … held the #1 seed after the MFC pool bouts, with a later 15-11 win over NU’s Kayley French in the quarterfinal before edging WSU’s Garina in the semifinal … returned the next day to lead women’s epee squad that won MFC team title, with her key win over Obrazcova giving Irish 4-3 lead (Notre Dame won that title matchup, 5-3) … also maintained her top seed at the Regional (held at Notre Dame), followed by wins over NU’s Christa French in the round-of-8 (15-7), WSU’s Garina in another semifinal (15-14) and OSU’s Lampman in a dominating 15-5 final … joined Nott as two of five Notre Dame fencers (two men, three women) during the current decade who have won an MFC and Regional title in the same season … had a chance to pull off the postseason trifecta at the NCAAs (in Madison, N.J.), after finishing second in the round robin (18-5; four 1-touch losses) and then reaching the title bout … nearly went unbeaten (9-1) versus fencers from the other top contending teams … opened NCAAs 11-3, with sweeps of Columbia (5-3 vs. both Tess Finkel and Alexie Rubin), Harvard (5-2 vs. both Maria Larsson and Jasmine McGlade) and Ohio State (5-1 vs. both Lampman and Obrazcova) … each of her day-one losses came in 4-5 bouts (vs. NU’s Christa French and the WSU duo of Garina and Justyna Konczalska) … closed on day two with a 7-2 mark that included a sweep of St. John’s (5-0 vs. both Reka Szele and Tanya Novakovska), a 5-1 victory over PSU’s Case Szarwark and 5-3 wins over Princeton’s Erin McGarry and UNC’s Courtney Krolokowski … her other losses were to PSU’s Ferdman (4-5) and Danielle Henderson of Rutgers (3-5) … opened medal round with 15-10 semifinal victory over SJU’s Szele (trailed 3-6, scored final six touches) before dropping 13-15 final to the 6’1″ Ukranian standout Garina … her +42 in total-point indicators was fifth-best among the entire women’s field (72 fencers) … became 12th Notre Dame freshman fencer ever to reach an NCAA title bout … the six previous ND women’s freshman fencers to reach an NCAA final include epeeist Magda Krol (’97 champion), foilists Sara Walsh (’96 runner-up), Alicja Kryczalo (’02 champ) and Andrea Ament (’02 runner-up), and sabreists Valerie Providenza (204 champ) and Zagunis (’05 runner-up) … placed second at Penn State Open (fall ’06), her first college fencing event … was top seed going into PSU Open, with key early wins over Yale’s Rebecca Moss (5-0), Temple’s Brianna Ferrara (5-3) and PSU’s Szarwark (5-0), later beating OSU’s Obrazcova in round of 16 (5-4), NU’s Kayley French in quarters and WSU’s Justyna Konczalska in semi’s (15-8) before losing 13-15 final to Garina.

PREP & PERSONAL: Graduated from Earl Warren High School while being coached in fencing by her mother, Tracy Hurley, and coach Paul Pesthy at the family’s Team Hurley Fencing Club in San Antonio … her events during the 2006 spring semester included placing 15th at both the Sr. World Cup in Prague and the Jr. World Cup in Osnabruck while also fencing at the Sr. World Cup in Saint-Maur, France … her 2005-06 N.A.C. events included placing 11th in Houston (overall women’s epee) and third in both Pittsburgh (overall) and Albuquerque (for u-20), with her sister Courtney winning both of those events … her top 2005 events included: winning the cadet/u-17 world title in Linz, Austria; winning junior/u-19 national championship (in Sacramento) and the u-16 title (none of her opponents had double-digit points in the 15-touch bouts); taking third at senior nationals; representing the U.S. at the Sr. World Championships in Germany; and winning a Jr. World Cup in Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe … her 2004 included: winning all three U.S. titles (overall, u-19 and u-16); helping the U.S. win silver at the Pan-Am Games in the Dominican Republic; fencing with the U.S. at the Sr. World Championships (in Cuba); posting top-16 finishes at Sr. World Cups in London and Saint-Maur, France; and posting top Jr. World Cup finishes in Bratislava, Slovakia (5th) and Pont de Sor, Portugal (9th) … first became member of Senior World Championship team at age 14 (in ’03), also winning u-16 national title (Austin, Texas) and fencing on silver-medal team at 2003 Pan-Am Games … won 2002 junior national title (Greenville, S.C.) and was youth-14 national champ, after winning 2001 youth-12 national epee and foil titles … entered 2007 already having fenced with 10 different U.S. national teams (senior teams in ’03, ’05, ’06; cadet and junior teams from ’03-’05; ’06 junior team) … daughter of Robert and Tracy Hurley … full name is Kelley Anne Hurley … born April 4, 1988, in Houston … graduated from the College of Arts and Letters with a degree in design.

Hurley’s Career Record