Casas, Walton rally to earn All-American honors
By MIKE CONNOLLY
Sports Writer
KENOSHA, Wisc.
Thursday was unkind to Brian Casas and Forest Walton. Both Casas and Walton finished the first day of competition at the 2001 NCAA Fencing Championships in 17th place with just six wins each.
But on Friday, Casas and Walton both turned their fortunes around and rallied for All-American finishes. Casas won eight out of nine bouts on Friday while Walton won seven.
"I'd say the first day I was still a little nervous," Walton said. The second day you get a feel for the competition and get all your jitters out. I'd say that's why I had a better second day."
Walton's second day rally boosted him into ninth place and earned him his first All-American honors. His desire to make the All-American team helped him overcome his first day struggles.
"I regretted not getting All-American status last year," Walton said. "I kind of channeled that and used it to my advantage. It gave me the drive and pushed me to fence my best this year."
Casas' turnaround was even more dramatic than Walton's. After the first three rounds of competition Casas won only three out of 11 bouts to place him 21st out of 24 fencers. Casas seemed destined for another poor showing at the NCAAs. In 2000, Casas finished 18th after winning only nine bouts.
But then the junior, who was named a second team All-American as a freshman in 1999, returned to his top form. He won all three bouts in round four, including one against eventual champion Soren Thompson of Prince.
He carried this momentum into the Friday where he lost only one bout and rallied for a seventh place finish — one spot better than 1999.
"I guess you get tired of screwing up the first day," Casas said. "You get mad. You just felt that you know you can do better. Something happens to you."
While Walton's Friday rally was aided by an easier schedule, Casas second day heroics were nearly impossible to predict.
Before the fourth round, two of Casas' first three victories came against some of the top fencers in the pool. He opened the tournament with a win against teammate Jan Viviani who eventually finished third overall and also defeated Penn State's Adam Wiercioch, who finished second. He dropped most of his bouts to the lesser fencers in his pool.
On the second day, he not only defeated top fencers like Seth Kelsey of Air Force but he also picked up the easier wins against lesser opponents.
Irish coach Yves Auriol believes Casas' style makes it easier to defeat highly skilled fencers rather than fencers who rely more on talent than technique.
"It's amazing," Auriol said. "Throughout the season you could sense that he likes the style of guys who have a little more clean, classical style. Brian is not good fencing a fighter — someone who is going to rush into him. He is better against someone who is cleaner because his technique is better."
All the Irish agreed that the biggest change from the first day to the second day is mental.
Although an easier second day schedule can sometimes help an fencer turn his tournament around, a more relax attitude is the key to improvement.
"On the second day of the tournament, you relax a little bit," Auriol said. "You realize what you have to do. I think it is a psychological thing. Even women's foil [which won only 12 total bouts]. They didn't do great but they fenced better the second day."
All Sports Stories for Monday, March 26, 2001
