STANFORD, Calif. – The Cardinal men's and women's fencing teams head to the ACC Championships this weekend, hosted by North Carolina. The men's squad enters at 17-6 overall, the women sitting at 12-10.
Stanford enters the first postseason in the ACC, after winning the last three MPSF Championships. Sophomores Arianna Cao and Jared Hammerstrom enter the ACC competition as reigning conference champions, winning last season's MPSF women's foil and men's saber, respectively.
FOIL LEADING THE WAY » The Cardinal men's and women's foil squads have been leading the way to start the season. The men's side went 18-2 on the season, while the women went 20-4.
ACC HONORS FOR FUKUDA » Two weeks ago, freshman Renzo Fukuda earned ACC Fencer of the Week honors after a near-perfect 24-2 weekend. Fukuda became the Cardinal's first fencer to earn ACC honors.
LAST TIME OUT » Stanford dominated at the Schiller Duals, combining to go 17-3. The men finished 9-1, while the women's squad finished 8-2 including a win over No. 10 Ohio State.
KEY RETURNERS » The Cardinal returns four athletes that qualified for last season's NCAA Championships – Arianna Cao, Sanjay Kasi, Jared Hammerstrom and Second Team All-America selection Crystal Qian. The group started strong before the new year, led by Cao's 26-9.
STUDENT, OLYMPIAN, COACH » Massialas is back on The Farm in a new position as first-year head coach. Massialas boasts one of the most successful fencing careers in Cardinal history, as a two time individual NCAA Champion in the men's foil (2013, 2015) at Stanford, and a three-time Olympic medalist in four trips to the Olympic Games.