UNIVERSITY PARK, Penn. – For the first time since 2015, a Stanford fencer is an NCAA Champion. Sophomore Arianna Cao took the women’s foil crown to become the program’s 15th individual champion, leading a Cardinal team that posted a ninth-place finish for the first time since 2014.
Cao went 17-6 in pool play, earning the last spot in the four-person elimination round. The San Jose, Calif. native took down both fencers in her path, winning 15-13 and 15-14 to take the hardware in dramatic fashion.
Cao is the Cardinal’s fourth women’s foil champion in program history, and first since Iris Zimmerman in 2001. The last member of the Cardinal women’s team to take home an NCAA Championship was Vivian Kong, winning epee in 2014.
The last Stanford fencer to win an individual championship was the first to celebrate with Cao after the final touch – 2015 men’s foil champ and first-year head coach Alexander Massialas.
Massialas guided the team to a ninth-place finish overall with 73 points, the program’s best finish since 2014.
The strong overall showing featured freshman Renzo Fukuda and junior Crystal Qian joining Cao as All-America selections.
Fukuda secured a Second Team All-American selection in his first season on The Farm after an eighth-place finish in men’s foil. Fukuda went 7-1 on day two of the NCAA Championships to finish 13-10 .
Fukuda became the first Cardinal men’s fencer to earn an All-America selection since Donghwan Park in 2022.
Qian, a junior, was named an All-American for the second straight season. The Cupertino, Calif. product went 13-10 to finish 11th in women’s foil and earn an Honorable Mention selection.
Junior Sanjay Kasi finished not far behind Fukuda in the foil competition, going 11-12 to finish 18th.
In the men’s saber competition, sophomore Jared Hammerstrom went 8-14 to finish 17th. Hammerstrom went 4-11 in day one of the competition, but rallied with a 4-3 record on day two.
Sophia Chin and Zhiyin Lin represented the Card in the women’s saber competition, finishing 16th and 24th, respectively.
Individual results
Women’s foil
Arianna Cao » 17-6 (1st / NCAA Champion, First Team All-American)
Crystal Qian » 13-10 (11th / Honorable Mention All-American)
Women’s saber
Sophia Chin » 9-13 (16th)
Zhiyin Lin » 2-20 (24th)
Men’s foil
Renzo Fukuda » 13-10 (8th / Second Team All-American)
Sanjay Kasi » 11-12 (18th)
Men’s saber
Jared Hammerstrom » 8-14 (17th)