CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The fourth-ranked Harvard women's fencing team will travel to Jamaica, N.Y., for the St. John's Invitational, this Saturday, Jan. 22.
 
The Crimson will be competing against some of the top teams in the country with all five opponents ranking in the top 15 nationally, according to the United States Fencing Coaches Association. 
 
At 10 a.m., Harvard will start off the day with a rematch from the Sacred Heart Invitational in December, against seventh-ranked Penn State. The Crimson edged out a 14-12 win over the Nittany Lions in the previous meeting.
 
Harvard will then face Ivy League foe and No. 2 Columbia at 11:15 a.m., in the second match of the day. The Crimson and the Lions have met 49 times since 1980 with Harvard's last win coming in January of 2019.
 
Top-ranked Notre Dame is next on the schedule, slated for a 12:30 p.m. start. The Crimson were narrowly edged by the Fighting Irish in their last meeting, 15-12. Harvard will be looking for its first series victory since 2014.
 
Next for the Crimson after a midway-point break at 2:15 p.m., are the fifth-ranked Buckeyes of Ohio State. The two schools first competed in 2009 and Harvard has won two of the last three contests to close the all-time gap at 3-10.
 
At the end of the day, Harvard will play the hosts, St John's, which sit at No. 11 in the USFCA rankings. The Crimson trail the all-time series by a record of 7-8-1 with the tie coming in 2015. Harvard, however, has won three of the last four meetings. 
 
What to Know

• The Crimson come into the weekend with an 8-0 record.
• Harvard returns to the St. John's Invitational along with the other participants after a year off due to the cancellation as a result of COVID-19. 
• Elizabeth Tartakovsky comes into the weekend after a standout performance in the Sacred Heart Invitational, posting a 14-0 record in her bouts and outscoring her opponents 70-17 for a +53-touch differential.
• Emily Vermeule will be looking to do more of the same from her last time out, posting a 14-1 record throughout her bouts, good for a +38-touch differential

At the Helm
 
Daria Schneider is in her third year as head coach of the Harvard men's and women's fencing programs in 2021-22. In her first season as head coach, Schneider led the men's team to a program-record 20 dual wins and an outright Ivy League Championship. She led the women's team to the NCAA regionals where four fencers placed in the top 10.
 
Up Next
 
The Crimson will return home to play host to New York University on Jan. 29, at 3 p.m., inside Malkin Athletic Center.