2018 All-America leads All-ACC Academic Team
Greensboro, N.C. (theACC.com) — Notre Dame junior Amanda Sirico, who led the Irish to the 2018 fencing national championship, has been named the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Fencing Scholar-Athlete of the Year and heads up the sport’s All-ACC Academic Team, the league announced Friday.
Sirico, from Bowie, Maryland, is a junior majoring in Design. She finished third in the NCAA Championship in epee as Notre Dame won its second consecutive NCAA team title. She also captured the ACC individual title and was the NCAA Midwest Regional champion in the epee, posting a 52-9 record for the year.
She was named the ACC Fencer of the Year in epee and also earned her second selection to the All-ACC Academic Women’s Fencing Team.
The All-ACC Academic Fencing teams began in 2015, when the ACC added the sport.
“At Notre Dame, we strive to excel on the strip and in the classroom,” head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia said. “As such, when our students are recognized by the ACC for their academic accomplishments, it is a great honor — especially when you consider the caliber of our fellow conference schools.”
“I am so happy that Amanda has been named ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Part of the joy of being a college coach is that you come to learn that your students are extraordinary outside of sport. Nina's creativity, talent, and work ethic are an inspiration to me, and I can't wait to see the things she will accomplish in the future, both on and off the strip. No one deserves this award more than she does.”
The ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were established in September 2007 to be awarded annually to the top junior or senior student-athlete in their respective sports. Candidates for the awards must have maintained a 3.0 grade point average for their career as well as a 3.0 for each of the last two semesters. To be eligible for All-ACC Academic Team consideration, a student-athlete must have earned a minimum 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a minimum 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career.
A total of five members of this year’s All-ACC Academic Fencing Team, all from Notre Dame, are All-Americans. Sirico, Elyssa Kleiner, Sabrina Massialas and Francesca Russo were all first-team All-Americans, while Tara Hassett was a second-team All-American.
Kleiner (foil) and Russo (sabre) joined Sirico (epee) as ACC individual champions.
Rhiannon Harvey of Duke was chosen as the ACC Fencer of the Year in foil and Jackie Litynski of North Carolina was named ACC Fencer of the Year in sabre.
Both Notre Dame’s Tara Hassett and Duke’s Haley Fisher made their third appearance on the team, while Harvey, Sirico, Massialas and Russo were chosen for a second time.
Notre Dame led all schools with five student-athletes, followed by Duke with four and Boston College and North Carolina with one each.
The ACC Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes with a grade point average of 3.0 for the current academic year, will be released in July.
2018 All-ACC Academic Women’s Fencing Team
| Name |
School |
Year |
Weapon |
Major |
Hometown |
| ***Haley Fisher |
Duke |
Sr. |
Sabre |
Political Science |
Kennesaw, Ga. |
| Julia Gianneschi |
Duke |
Fr. |
Foil |
Undeclared |
Atlanta, Ga. |
| **Rhiannon Harvey |
Duke |
Jr. |
Foil |
Biology |
Norfolk, Va. |
| ***Tara Hassett |
Notre Dame |
Jr. |
Sabre |
Marketing |
Portland, Ore. |
| Elyssa Kleiner |
Notre Dame |
Jr. |
Foil |
Science Pre-Professional |
San Francisco, Calif. |
| **Jackie Litynski |
North Carolina |
So. |
Sabre |
Public Policy/Environmental Science |
Niskayuna, N.Y. |
| **Sabrina Massialas |
Notre Dame |
Jr. |
Foil |
Environ. Sci. |
San Francisco, Calif. |
| Ella Morgan |
Boston College |
Sr. |
Epee |
International Studies & Psychology |
Highlands Ranch, Colo. |
| **Francesca Russo |
Notre Dame |
Sr. |
Sabre |
Marketing |
Wayne, N.J. |
| **Amanda Sirico |
Notre Dame |
Jr. |
Epee |
Design |
Bowe, Md. |
| Claudia Wrampelmeier |
Duke |
Jr. |
Epee |
Evol. Anth. |
Amarillo, Texas |
** - Two-time honoree
*** - Three-time honoree
ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Amanda Sirico, Notre Dame
ACC Fencing Scholar-Athletes
2014-15—Ariel DeSmet, Notre Dame
2015-16—Garrett McGrath, Notre Dame
2016-17—Lee Kiefer, Notre Dame
2017-18—Amanda Sirico, Notre Dame