Kiefer Exceeds High Expectations

High expectations often disappoint. But that wasn’t the case for Harvard freshman Alexandra Kiefer.

On Sunday, Kiefer captured the 2011 NCAA Fencing Championship in women’s individual foil, capping off an incredible season for the rookie who could have easily folded under the lofty expectations and demands that her talent had earned her.

After knocking off Princeton’s Eve Levin in the finals to win Harvard’s third-ever individual women’s fencing championship, Kiefer finally felt as if she could take a breath.

“I don’t know, I can’t even describe it,” Kiefer said. “It’s almost more of a relief, I guess, because there were such high expectations.”

Kiefer, who started fencing when she was about eight years old, has plenty of fencing blood in her family. Her father, Steven, fenced at Duke and was the one who got her interested in the sport at a young age.

But perhaps even more important for Kiefer was being able to fence with her younger sister.

“I’d say my biggest fencing inspiration is my sister,” Kiefer said. “We’ve been fencing together since we started.”

Though her father and sister are now over 700 miles away in her hometown of Lexington, Ky., Kiefer seems to have found a new fencing family in her Crimson teammates.

“The team itself is just so close, so supportive,” Kiefer said. “That’s the reason that I decided to go to Harvard.”

Kiefer attributes much of her success this year to the team environment—a new experience for the rookie who spent the majority of her career fencing without a team.

“Coming here and just being with the team all the time and having that motivation, I think that’s why I’ve been doing so well,” Kiefer said. “And it’s been so much more fun.”

But Kiefer hasn’t been the only one benefitting from her addition to the Harvard squad.

Known for having an upbeat personality both in and out of competition, Kiefer, according to her teammates, has been able to bring intangible benefits in addition to her wins.

“She’s always happy and smiling, and I think that she brings a rather positive energy to the team,” said junior co-captain Caroline Vloka, who earned the NCAA women’s sabre title in 2010. “There’s always a really big need for people like Alex to keep the morale up.”

Harvard coach Peter Brand was quick to echo Vloka’s sentiments about Kiefer’s effect on the team.

“She has a wonderful attitude,” Brand said. “She’s upbeat, positive all the time, and works without fail.”

Kiefer’s success has been clear all season long. In her first competition in a Harvard uniform—the Garret Open held at Penn State in November—Kiefer came home with gold. Certainly expectations were high, but the freshman found a way to not only maintain her success, but also improve over the course of the season.

By the end of the year, Kiefer posted an overall record of 62-7. In Brand’s eyes, Kiefer’s performance this season is a feat that rivals the rookie performance of former Harvard fencer Emily Cross ’08. Cross, who won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, also claimed the 2005 NCAA women’s foil title as a freshman.

“[Alex] started off on a high note, obviously, at Penn State,” Brand said. “She sustained that and got even better and stronger over the year…and obviously was able to maintain that focus and maintain that consistency, which is very difficult to do.”

Having achieved one of the greatest personal goals for which a college fencer can aim, Kiefer may shift her priorities as she continues to fence for the Crimson. While the freshman looks for a repeat title next year, she seems to have placed a greater emphasis on helping the team succeed.

“I want to do better as a team,” Kiefer said. “I just want to make sure that I keep enjoying it, the sport, because it makes so much of a difference if you actually enjoy it.”

Kiefer’s teammates and coaches have more than just wins to look forward to in the next three years—they get to enjoy the company of Alexandra Kiefer.

“She’s one of those people that you just have to like,” Vloka said.