SAN DIEGO – Cardinal fencing opened the 2024-25 season with a strong showing at the Western Invitational, as the women’s team went 6-2 and the men’s team finished 4-2. Both teams upset No. 1 Harvard, and the women’s team added an upset of No. 5 Northwestern.
On day one, the foil teams led the way with both the men’s and women’s squads both going a perfect 4-0. Both foil teams upset Ohio State, with the Buckeyes’ men’s side ranked No. 6 and the women ranked No. 10. Freshman Renzo Fukuda and sophomore Arianna Cao each went 11-1. Sanjay Kasi went 10-2 and Crystal Qian went 6-2 in the weekend’s opening day.
Senior Zhiyin Lin and junior Meghana Paturu went 5-1 and 7-5, respectively, in their first competitions after injuries last season.
The men finished the day 3-1, while the women went 2-2.
Day two was dominant all around for the Cardinal, combining to go a perfect 6-0. Both teams topped No. 1 Harvard, with the women winning 14-13 and the men winning 15-12. The women’s team added another top-five win, defeating No. 5 Northwestern 17-10.
Freshman Ishani Sood won the match-clinching bout against Northwestern, finishing 2-0 in her first-ever bouts fencing epee after entering as a substitute.
Lin went 2-0 to bring her weekend total to 7-1, part of a Stanford women’s saber team that went 7-1 on the weekend.
The men’s and women’s foil teams both were perfect across the two days of competition, going 6-0 and 8-0, respectively.
The Card is back in action at the Elite Invitational on November 17, the team’s final competition of 2024.