BY RICH PALZEWIC
SPORTS EDITOR
Emily Baynes is a senior at Bay Port High School on the girls’ swimming team.
She hopes to major in exercise science and become a physical therapist someday, with Carroll University being a likely destination.
Besides swimming, Baynes also likes to run, sing, play the piano, guitar, ukulele and snowboard in the winter.
Name: Emily Baynes
Nickname: Em
School: Bay Port
Sport: Swimming
Events: 100 butterfly, 200 IM
Parents: Sam and Stacy
Twitter: baynes_emily
Tell me about your family.
“I have a younger sister named Madison who is a sophomore at Bay Port, and a foreign exchange student sister from Germany named Maral. It’s nice to have someone else in the family for the year.”
Do you come from a swimming/sports family?
“My younger sister swims, and Maral has talked about doing sports, but I’m not sure she will. I think my dad wrestled his freshman year and maybe my mom played basketball at some point, but she’s really short – it probably didn’t work out too well.”
When did you start swimming?
“I started swimming competitively when I was 7 years old and continued mostly all the way through except when I had an injury.”
What injury was that?
“In the seventh grade, I had a Nonossifying Fibroma in my left femur, which was basically a hole in my bone. I broke my leg during track because it was weakened, and then they had to fill it with cadaver bone so it wouldn’t keep breaking. It’s fine now. My doctor told me that 20-40 percent of kids are actually born with it, but most kids never even know it’s there or ever need surgery.”
What other things are you involved in at Bay Port?
“I’m currently the co-president of the Sting Cancer Club, in National Honor Society and in two orchestras.”
What instrument do you play?
“The viola – it’s bigger than a violin but has lower strings and smaller than a cello.”
How about a high school sport you wish you would have done?
“I have a lot of friends in tennis, but I have no eye-hand coordination.”
How many FRCC titles can the Bay Port girls’ swimming team legitimately win in a row? It’s four consecutive right now.
“I think it can keep going for a while because we have a great feeder program. The younger club teams practice after we do, and there’s like 10 swimmers in each of the eight lanes – there are so many great kids. Even this year, we have a great group of freshmen. I think we can keep it going for a while.”
Do you have a most memorable swimming moment?
“When I was like 10 or 11 years old, I missed club state by one-tenth of a second in the 50 butterfly, but the next year I made it to state by one-tenth of a second.”
An embarrassing one?
“I am very unbalanced, so one time I was standing on the blocks at practice, and a friend pushed me off and I went into the water. The whole team saw it happen.”
What is the hardest swimming stroke in your mind?
“The butterfly is hard, but I can’t backstroke very well because I can’t float.”
Is there one you wish you could do better?
“Besides the backstroke, probably the breaststroke. I really enjoy that doing that one.”
What would you score in a dive?
“I dove for a couple of weeks my freshman year, but I was scared of hitting my head. I could still probably do a better approach and dive than most people.”
Which teammate should have her own reality TV show?
“Probably Liz Ely – she’s pretty funny and keeps the team lively.”
What teammate would you go on a long trip with?
“Kaiti Blumreich and I are going to Hawaii this next year, so it would be her.”
What three words best describe you?
“Empathetic, reserved, easy-going.”
How will Emily Baynes be remembered at Bay Port?
“Just as someone who went with the flow of things, was always happy and enjoyed being at Bay Port.”
Vacuum or do the dishes?
“Do the dishes.”
Spring or fall?
“Spring.”
Tiny house or tree house?
“Tree house.”
Booth or table?
“Booth.”
Board games or video games?
“Board games.”
Favorites
Food: Hamburgers
Athlete: Swimmer Matt Grevers
Phone app: Snapchat
Ice cream: Butter pecan
Holiday: Easter
Notes: Suggestions for the Bay Port senior spotlight can be submitted to Rich via email, [email protected], or Twitter @richpalzewic. All spotlights can be found online at thepress.media. Check out last week’s spotlight on Bay Port’s Natalie Shulstad.