The women's foil showdown between Penn State and Ohio State left the team standings unchanged, with the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes splitting the four bouts. All four fencers in this tense battled have finished sixth or higher at previous NCAA Championships.
OSU sophomore Oksana Dmytruk (the '08 NCAA runner-up) won both of her bouts, highlighted by a 5-1 victory over 2007 NCAA champion (and '08 U.S. Olympian) Doris Willette. Dmytruk also posted a 5-2 win over Allison Glasser, the 5th-place finisher at the '08 NCAAs. The PSU fencers countered by sweeping Lindsay Knauer (6th at '08 NCAAs), with Willette winning 5-1 and Glasser 5-2.
Here's an updated look at Saturday's key matchups between the top-three contending teams (still to come: ND-PSU foil and PSU-OSU sabre).
KEY SATURDAY MATCHUPS
Women's Foil: Penn State vs. Ohio State (PSU 2, OSU 2) ... Penn State vs. Notre Dame (round-3)
Women's Epee: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame (ND 4, OSU 0)
Women's Sabre: Penn State vs. Notre Dame (ND 2, PSU 2) ... Penn State vs. Ohio State (round-4)