April 22, 2004
Kerry on her brother…
1. Full name: Forest Erik Walton
2. Age: He is 23.
3. Hometown: Londonderry, NH
4. Major: He is an architect major.
5. What are your brother’s strengths as a fencer? Forest has an incredibly fast hand and reaction time that makes it hard for any opponent to get through his parries. He also has his “signature” behind-the-back move that he is excellent at – most people just don’t see it coming and are hit before they know what happened.
6. Did you come to Notre Dame because your brother would be here? No, though that was a plus. The fencing at Notre Dame is excellent and you cannot get a better coaching staff. When the family dropped off Forest his freshman year and I got to see the campus firsthand, THAT is when I knew I wanted to join him.
7. What is the best thing about having your brother at Notre Dame and also on the fencing team with you? Driving home to NH for school breaks would take a lot longer without him there to share the drive. For fencing, though, Forest knows how to calm me down if I am nervous, knows what to tell me while I am on the strip, and has been a huge help all four years.
8. What were your feelings on defending Notre Dame’s national championship? We had an excellent 2004 season and ended strong with a very young team. Losing Forest next year will be a hindrance for the foil team, but all of the freshmen will have a year under their belts and will be even more strong next year.
9. As you finish your senior season at Notre Dame, comment on your career: Being able to train under Yves (Auriol) and Zoltan (Dudas) has been a wonderful experience that can only help my future plans. I am very happy with the entire Notre Dame system. If I could change anything I would wish for four more years of fencing for the team. I plan on coming back for a fifth year and am excited for 2005.
10. If your brother was stranded on an island for the rest of his life, and could only have one meal, only listen to one song and be with only one person for the rest of his life, what would those entail? Taco Bell and some good wine would make him happy I am sure. He could pine away while listening to Dave Mathews happily as long as his fianc? Becca was with him.
Forest on his sister…
11. Full name: Kerry Erica Walton
12. Age: Kerry is 22.
13. Hometown: Londonderry, NH
14. Major: She is an anthropology major.
15. What are your sister’s strengths as a fencer: Her experience fencing at a World level (i.e. world cups and world championships). Also her speed and accuracy.
16. What is the best thing about having your sister at Notre Dame and also on the fencing teams with you? Having her there for support when I fence.
17. What were your feelings on defending Notre Dame’s National Championship? That’s the kind of pressure I love…. Although for the first time in my life, I think it affected my fencing. The hardest thing in collegiate athletics isn’t winning a national championship, it’s defending it the next year and repeating.
18. As you finish your last season at Notre Dame comment on your career I have no regrets regarding my fencing career, I made All-American, monogrammed four times, posted record-setting results and helped to win a national championship. I could not ask for anything more.
19. What will you miss most about Notre Dame when you graduate and what are your future plans? The friendships that are made are what I’ll miss most. My immediate future plans are to get married, move back home, work, and start my life with my wonderful wife.
20. If your sister was stranded on an island for the rest of her life, and could only have one meal, only listen to one song and be with only one person for the rest of her life, what would those entail? Lobster, The Toothbrush Song on the Smurfs sing-along tape, and her boyfriend Mike.