STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford's 2025-26 season gets underway this weekend, with the Card heading to Fort Worth, Texas for the November North American Cup.
The Cardinal is coming off a strong 2024-25 season that featured two top-three individual finishes at the ACC Championships, three USFCA All-Americans, and an NCAA Individual Championship for Arianna Cao.
At last season's NCAA Championships, Stanford finished ninth in the coutnry for the program's best finish since 2014.
RETURNING CHAMPION » Cao took home a National Championship in Women's Foil, the Cardinal's 15th individual champion in program history and first since 2015.
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.
ALL-AMERICANS ARE BACK » The Cardinal saw three fencers earn All-America honors in 2025, led by Cao's First Team Selection. Freshman Renzo Fukuda earned Second Team honors with an 8th-place finish in men's foil, while Crystal Qian picked up an Honorable Mention with and 11th-place finish in Women's Foil.
STUDENT, OLYMPIAN, COACH » Massialas is back on The Farm for his second season as head coach of his alma mater. 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), and a three-time Olympic medalist in four trips to the Olympic Games.