CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard fencing head coach Daria Schneider has announced her incoming class of 2026, which will arrive on campus in the fall in preparation for the 2022-23 campaign. The group consists of five standouts hailing from five different states.
 
The quintet features three women in Zoe Kim (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Faith Park (Lorton, Va.) and Chloe Williams (Atlanta, Ga.), and two men in Matthew Linsky (New York, N.Y.) and Ark Ma (Houston, Texas).
 
The class is set to join a program that finished in second place at the 2022 NCAA Championships, marking its second-best finish in school history, trailing only the national championship team in 2006. On the way to its runner-up performance last season, Harvard had two fencers claim national titles in rising seniors Elizabeth Tartakovsky (women's saber) and Filip Dolegiewicz (men's saber). Rising sophomores Emily Vermeule (women's epee) and James Chen (men's foil), meanwhile, finished in second and tied-for-third place at nationals, respectively.
 
Harvard, which had all 11 of its fencers who advanced to NCAAs earn 2022 All-America honors, also had its men's program earn USFCA Team of the Year accolades.

Below is a look at the Crimson's Class of 2026.
 
Women's Fencing
 
Zoe Kim
Basking Ridge, N.J. (Ridge High)
Saber
 
Before Harvard
Earned three varsity letters at Ridge High… Competed for Forward Fencing Academy and Nellya Fencers Club from 2014-22… Earned a spot on the USA Cadet National Team in 2020 and 2021… Part of the USA Junior National Team in 2021… Collected 2021 All-America and All-Academic accolades… Crowned the Y14 national champion in women's saber in 2018… Won gold at the 2018 Cadet July Challenge and 2019 Cadet World Cup Sofia… Was the 2020 cadet national champion at the Junior Olympics in women's saber… Was a bronze cadet at the 2021 World Championships in women's saber… Took home silver at the Team Junior World Championships and Junior Olympics in 2021… Was crowned senior champion in women's saber in 2022… Recipient of the National Merit Scholarship… Landed on the High Honor Roll all four years at Ridge.
 
Faith Park
Lorton, Va. (South County High)
Epee
 
Before Harvard
Earned varsity letters in epee at South County… Competed for DC Fencers Club… Member of the Cadet and Junior World Team in 2020, 2021 and 2022… Part of a team that secured a bronze medal at the 2022 Junior World Championships (Dubai, UAE), while finishing in 11^th place at the Senior Grand Prix in Doha, Qatar… Posted second-, third- and 10^th-place efforts at the 2021 Junior World Cup (Burgos, Spain), Junior July Challenge (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Cadet World Championships (Cairo, Egypt), respectively… Won gold (junior) and silver (cadet) at the 2020 USA Fencing Junior Olympic Championships… Captured gold (team, individual) at the 2019 Cadet World Cup in Grenoble, France… Came in sixth place at the 2019 Division I July Challenge… Recipient of the 2020 Absolute Fencing Gear Scholarship… Was a National Latin Exam medalist three from 2018-20… Earned AP Scholar with Distinction honors and National Merit Commended Scholar accolades in 2021.
 
Chloe Williams (She/Her/Hers)
Atlanta, Ga. (Atlanta Classical Academy)
Saber
 
Before Harvard
Competed for Nellya Fencers Club from 2012-22… Earned USA Fencing All-America First-Team honors from 2018-21… Landed on the USA Fencing All-Academic Team… Member of the U17 USA International Traveling Team… Was a three-time Pan-American Games champion (Y14 individual, cadet individual, and junior team)… Posted a top-8 finish at the 2019 Cadet World Cup (Mödling, Austria) and a top-16 finish at the 2019 Cadet World Cup (Eislingen, Germany)…  Captured gold in the team event at the 2019 Cadet World Cup (Sofia, Bulgaria)… Logged top-3 international cadet team finishes (Budapest, Hungary; Eislingen, Germany)… Was fifth in cadet at the Junior Olympic Championships (2020) and 18th in Division I at the December North American Cup (2020)… Formally recognized as the 21st alternate for the 2020 Olympic Games at age 16 and was the second alternate for the 2021 Cadet World Team… Secured a team silver medal at the Junior Olympic Championships (2022)… Recorded multiple national junior top-8 finishes, including the Junior Olympic Championships… Also competed for the varsity track and field team... Was a four-year High Honor Roll/Principal's List student… Earned Summa Cum Laude (Gold) on the National Latin Exam three years in a row (9^th-11^th grade)… Member of the National Honor Society… Co-founded a girls troop in the Boy Scouts of America (2019)… Earned Eagle Scout rank (2022) and was the first African-American woman to earn Eagle Scout rank in the Southern Crescent District… Served as Room Leader volunteer at a local church (2018-22)… Recipient of the World Conservation Award (2022)… Enjoys cooking curated gourmet meals, nature walks, biking and listening to music.
 
Men's Fencing
 
Matthew Linsky
New York, N.Y. (High School for Math, Science, and Engineering)
Saber
 
Before Harvard
Competed for Manhattan Fencing Center… Captured gold in cadet men's saber at the Riposta Cup Cadet Saber World Cup… Finished in first place in cadet at the North American Cup in June 2021… Posted a top-8 finish, while also earning a team gold, at Cadet World Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria… Pocketed a junior team gold at the Junior Olympics in 2021… Earned a team bronze at the July NAC 2021… Logged a top-16 effort in Division I at October NAC 2021… Was a three-time first-team All-American and All-Academic honoree (2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21)… Worked for a student-led non-profit tutoring organization… Served as a lead rescuer for Leftover Rescue Cuisine, logging more than 300 hours… Volunteer for Key Club… Ballroom danced for 11 years… Other interests include soccer, basketball, traveling and video games.
 
Ark Ma
Houston, Texas (Memorial High)
Epee
 
Before Harvard
Finished in first place in junior men's epee at the North American Cup in May 2021… Posted a runner-up effort in cadet men's epee at the 2021 Summer Nationals… Secured a bronze medal in cadet epee at the 2020 Junior Olympics…Has competed over the last nine years in fencing competitions around the world, including elite events in France and Slovakia…Member of the National Honor Society…Plays the cello.