Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate Margaret Guo was named the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year at a ceremony in Indianapolis on Sunday evening, becoming the first MIT student and just the fourth Division 3 athlete to win the award in its 26-year history.
Guo competed for the MIT swim team, racing in the 200 and 400-yard freestyle relays and the 200-yard and 400-yard medley relays. She was a five-time All-American and helped MIT’s relay teams set NEWMAC records in three events.
The San Diego native also excelled in the classroom, graduating with a perfect grade point average. She earned dual degrees in electrical engineering and computer science and biological engineering. During her senior year, Guo was the president of the MIT Society of Women Engineers.
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She is now working on earning her doctor of medicine and doctor of philosophy at Stanford University.
“I’m still kind of in disbelief,” Guo said in an NCAA release.
“It’s just such an honor to be able to say that I am the NCAA Woman of the Year. It just reflects the amount of support I’ve had and the people around me who have pushed me to become better than I could have been by myself, and I’m just blown away.”
Julie Soriero, director of athletics at MIT, said that Guo’s accomplishments in and out of the pool while at MIT “were unparalleled as she excelled athletically, as well as in the classroom with a perfect 5.0 GPA. “
Emily McCarthy can be reached at emily.mccarthy@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @emilymccahthy.