EagleHerald/Jody Korch </br> Menominee High School senior Avrie Stewart signs a letter of intent to swim at Eastern Michigan University. Her mother, Allison, is at left. In the back row, from left, are Maroon athletic director Jamie Schomer; Avrie's father, Gary; and M&M Stingray swim coaches Sabra Sipple and Lenny Sipple.
EagleHerald/Jody Korch
Menominee High School senior Avrie Stewart signs a letter of intent to swim at Eastern Michigan University. Her mother, Allison, is at left. In the back row, from left, are Maroon athletic director Jamie Schomer; Avrie's father, Gary; and M&M Stingray swim coaches Sabra Sipple and Lenny Sipple.
MENOMINEE — Avrie Stewart has been an exceptional swimmer ever since she dove into the pool as a 6-year-old M&M Stingray.
 
But an NCAA Division 1 swimmer?
 
"I'm not surprised," Stingrays coach Lenny Sipple said. "I expected her to go D-1."
 
Stewart Wednesday signed a letter of intent to swim at Eastern Michigan University, where she'll receive a partial scholarship.
 
"It was always a goal of mine to swim in college, for sure," Stewart said. "I liked the campus and the team, and the coach (Peter Linn) is really awesome. He's very experienced and he seemed very open. He seemed very caring."
 
It's a crowning achievement for the Stingray swim program. There's no high school swim team at Menominee, so Stewart gained her only exposure by qualifying for state and national swim meets. The Stingrays are affiliated with USA and YMCA swimming, which have data bases available to college coaches.
"It's made me the swimmer I am today," she said of the Stingrays.
 
At EMU, Stewart  hopes to swim the 100 and 200 backstroke events, and maybe the 100 butterfly or 200 individual medley. Her best 100 back time, 57.86, is just a second off EMU's all-time Top 10 list. Stewart knows what she needs to do to swim at the next level.
 
"Definitely train harder, eat healthier," she said. "Better sleeping habits probably, too."
 
Other colleges that showed interest in Stewart include Youngstown State, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Indiana State, Minnesota State-Mankato, Ashland University and Davidson.
 
Linn has guided Eastern Michigan to two Mid-American Conference titles in 12 seasons as head coach, and he has led the EMU men to 22 MAC titles in 27 seasons at the helm. Sipple believes that Linn will have Stewart swimming the 100 back in under 54 seconds within two years.
 
Stewart's goal is to swim in the MAC Championships.
 
"I think she'll do very well," Sipple said. "The dedication and desire and her reliability. She's always willing to be there and work, try new things. She listens well."
 
Stewart plans to study pre-med or education. Each Wednesday for her student leadership class, she serves as a mentor at Central Elementary School.
 
"Happy-go-lucky, fun-loving kid," Sipple said of Stewart. "Everybody on the team looks up to her — from the 5-year-olds to the 17-year-olds."