Freshmen Spotlight: Cameron Linder & Maeve O'Driscoll

QUICK SPRINTS

Cameron Linder

Expected Major: Undecided
Favorite Animal: Penguin
Favorite Place You've Visited: Paris, France
French Toast, Pancakes, or Waffles: French Toast
Favorite Video Game: Fortnite
Favorite Book: Harry Potter Series
Favorite TV Series: How I Met Your Mother
Favorite Race to Swim: 400 IM
Game Show you'd be Best at: Family Feud
Favorite Restaurant: Panchero's
Dogs or Cats: Dogs
Netflix or Hulu: Netflix
Ideal Superpower: Shape Shifting

Maeve O'Driscoll

Expected Major: Undecided - Business Related
Favorite Book: Where the Crawdad's Sing by Delia Owens
French Toast, Pancakes, or Waffles: French Toast
Favorite Place You've Visited: Rocky Mountain National Park
Netflix or Hulu: Netflix
Favorite Race to Swim: 50 Free
Favorite TV Series: Grey's Anatomy
Favorite Music Artist: Kid Kudi
Favorite Dinkytown Restaurant: JJ's Poke
Favorite Animal: Dolphin
Qdoba or Chipotle: Chipotle
Favorite Superhero: Ironman
Ideal Superpower: Flying

With 26 incoming swimmers and divers eagerly awaiting their collegiate debuts, there are plenty of new faces to Minnesota's historic program. In an effort to better get to know these incoming student-athletes, Gopher Sports sat down with each to learn more about them prior to and throughout the 2020-21 season.

This week's spotlight focuses on Midwestern newcomers Cameron Linder and Maeve O'Driscoll. Linder, a West Des Moines, Iowa native, was a four-time 2020 NISCA All-American before joining the Gophers at Minnesota, receiving the nod in the 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 200 medley relay and 400 free relay. The multi-time IHSAA State Champion has wasted no time here at the 'U' either, having already set three lifetime bests in his first two collegiate dual meets. As Linder continues to grow, he's got his sights set on great things during his time as a Gopher.

O'Driscoll joined the Maroon and Gold after coming off a remarkable senior season, where the Madison, Wis. product was crowned champion in three separate races at the 2020 WIAA Division II State Championships. Along with winning the 50 free individually, O'Driscoll's relay teams set the State Championship Record in both the 200 medley and free relays with their outstanding performances. Since joining the Gophers, O'Driscoll has already recorded some impressive swims, but the freshman has her eyes set on even greater things in her future.

GopherSports: Why did you choose Minnesota?
Linder: "I had a checklist when I was going through my college search. It had things like, stay close to home, great academics, great swim team, great coaches and great comradery on the team, and Minnesota was able to check all of those off for me while accomplishing my goal of becoming a Division I swimmer."

O'Driscoll: "This is just the best place for me, both academically and in the pool. I really wanted to be somewhere where I felt like I could improve a lot, and I think this is the perfect place for me to do that. It's also a really great school academically. I wanted to go to business school and Carlson's a great school for that. I also wanted to be close to home, and Minnesota isn't too far away. So, I think it's just the perfect place for me."

GS: When did you first start swimming, and how did you get started?
Linder: "I started swimming when I was four at a country club where my family were members. That was my first swim team and as I progressed through the levels there, I moved onto my first YMCA team. After that I joined my first club team at Central Iowa Aquatics, and that's where I stayed ever since."

O'Driscoll: "I started swimming when I was six in swim lessons. Then, I joined the swim team and I ended up really liking it and sticking with it. It wasn't until the end of my junior year though that I realized this was something I could do in college. I had improved a lot in my sophomore year, but my junior year was a little rocky. Then, I took my visit here and everything went really well, but it wasn't until I committed that I think it fully hit me that this was something I could do at the next level."

GS: Who has been your biggest influence/inspiration throughout your career?
Linder: "Definitely my dad. He was actually a swimmer in college at the University of Nebraska, and I wouldn't say he pressured me into swimming, but I could definitely tell it was leaning towards that. With it being passed down through the family, he was always there to support me. He's never missed a meet, so that was something where I could tell he was proud of me and I wanted to make him proud."

O'Driscoll: "Definitely my parents. Growing up they both taught me the importance of hard work, they'd always encourage me to do my best, they'd drive me to early practices and just everything like that. Just growing up with the value of hard work definitely influenced my swimming."

GS: What is your most memorable moment of your swimming career?
Linder: "Probably at the end of my senior year high school state meet. I had just gotten done with the 400 free relay, and when I finished, I just sat on the edge of the pool and thought, "Wow, this is the end." I was moving on from a whole chapter of swimming in my life, but I knew I was about to start a brand new one here as well."

O'Driscoll: "I think that would have to be senior year when my team won the 200 medley relay and set the state record. It was actually a record that my team had held beforehand on a relay team I was a part of with three other girls who all went to D1 schools, so I had never thought we were going to break that record again. We came in with a freshman, two sophomores and myself on the relay, and I remember looking up at the board and it was flashing. It was just really exciting to look up, and see them all jumping up and down. It was great."

GS: What is something you are looking forward to in your time as a Gopher?
Linder: "My goal is to make it to the National Championships, but I'm really just looking forward to Big Tens, becoming a finalist, scoring for the team and just helping the team out in any way I can."

O'Driscoll: "I'm really excited to just get closer with people from my class and to be able to improve a lot. I'm not someone coming in with the fastest times, but I think I have a lot of potential to improve, work hard and get to where I want to be."

GS: Out of the pool, what do you do for fun?
Linder: "I like to just hang out with friends. We'll play video games, other just board games and stuff like that. I try to say as active as possible as well, but that's been kind of hard to do during these COVID times. Back home I played basketball a lot, so that's always fun."

O'Driscoll: "Well, the freshman class has been playing a lot of poker lately, so that's been a lot of fun. There isn't a whole lot to do during the week because we're all tired all of the time, but mostly just hanging out with friends, playing poker, napping. I really like going thrifting too."

GS: Now that you have experienced a collegiate meet, how did it vary from what you were expecting?
Linder: "With my experience at Junior Nationals and TYR Pro Series meets, I was expecting there to be a lot of fast swims and good competition, so coming into the meet, my nerves weren't as high as they would normally be. It was still my first college meet though, so it was a bit nerve racking, but I just went out there and did it for the team rather than myself like you do in USA Swimming. I really liked the team aspect, for sure. The team cheers we do, the team warm-up, it's all team orientated. That's one of the things I love about Minnesota. We really put an emphasis on that."

O'Driscoll: "It was just a bit of a different atmosphere and a lot more high intensity than what I was used to for dual meets. Everyone was super supportive and after every race, everyone was hyping each other up. Especially at Wisconsin, I didn't swim my best, but everyone was hyping me up and making sure I was ready for my next race, and I thought that was really awesome."

GS: In what ways have you noticed that swimming has shaped your life?
Linder: "Swimming has been my whole life. It's become such a big part of my identity and who I am that my friends would understand when I couldn't hang out with them because I had to go to swim practice, or if I had to miss basketball or football games in high school. It just became who I was, and when my friends noticed that is when I really realized that swimming is me."

O'Driscoll: "I think that it's really just taught me about hard work and patience. Swimming definitely takes a lot of time and there are times where you aren't going to be improving or getting better. That's just something you need to be okay with. You learn not to get down on yourself, keep pushing through, not let your disappointment get the better of you and come back and use that as further motivation."

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Linder

Maeve O'Driscoll