Linnelli picks Notre Dame

The two-time performer of the year chose the Irish over St. Bonaventure.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANFIELD -- As soon as Canfield High senior Meghan Linnelli made her second visit to St. Bonaventure, she knew where she wanted to go to college.
It wasn't St. Bonaventure. It was Notre Dame.
"When we picked her up, she said she had made her decision," said Andrea Linnelli, her mother and coach. "When she said Notre Dame, my husband was thrilled. We both were. But I was like, 'Are you sure?' "
She was sure.
"I just decided that nothing compared to Notre Dame," Meghan said.
Meghan, a two-time Vindicator girls swimmer of the year, is the first Cardinals swimmer to go to Notre Dame since Tom Blank in the late 1980s.
A three-time state qualifier, Linnelli earned All-Ohio honors in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle as a junior.
In awe
"I had never been to [Notre Dame] before I took my visit and I was just in awe," she said. "I mean, there's 'Touchdown Jesus' and the campus is so beautiful and well kept and the pool is so nice."
There's even an underwater radio. Could she hear it?
"Not really," she said with a laugh. "But I could when I wasn't moving too fast."
Linnelli, a 4.0 student in National Honor Society, will major in psychology. She said she liked the team, the coaches and the facilities.
Her mother liked a few other things.
"I like that it's a religious school and that there's no co-ed dorms," Andrea said with a laugh. "I'm probably any kid's worst nightmare."
Meghan earned a university scholarship, which allows her to also get outside scholarships to defray some of the tuition costs.
Just not all of it. But her parents will do what they can to help.
"I'll be eating hot dogs and beans for the next four years," Andrea said with a laugh.
scalzo@vindy.com