STANFORD, Calif. – Two Stanford spring student-athletes – tennis' Caroline Doyle and water polo's Maggie Steffens – were awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships for their academic and athletic achievements.
NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners receive a one-time grant of $7,500. To qualify, they must be in their final year of eligibility and plan to pursue graduate studies within the next three years. In addition to maintaining at least a 3.2 grade-point average, they must perform with distinction in their sport and be nominated by their institution's faculty athletics representative.
Stanford student-athletes have now earned a nation-leading 161 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, dating back to 1965 when football player Joe Neal became the first.
A two-time ITA All-American in doubles, Caroline Doyle compiled a 103-43 overall singles record during her time on The Farm, leading Stanford to the 2016 NCAA championship and two Pac-12 titles.
Doyle enjoyed an equal amount of success in the classroom, most notably during her senior campaign. Doyle was named to the 2016-17 CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's At-Large second team, two weeks after being tabbed the Pac-12 Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
An international relations major carrying a 3.87 cumulative GPA, Doyle was a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection, named to the first team for the second straight year after earning second-team honors as a sophomore. A two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete recipient, Doyle will remain in the Bay Area following graduation, pursuing a career in investment management.
Doyle was also named the ITA Northwest Region Senior of the Year and received the Block "S" Honors Award at the annual Stanford Athletic Board Awards ceremony.
Doyle joins Krista Hardebeck (2015-16), Ellen Tsay (2014-15), Alice Barnes (2005-06), Amber Liu (2005-06), Julie Scott (1997-98) and Kim Shasby (1995-96) as recipients from women's tennis.
It was a banner senior year for Steffens. In addition to being named ACWPC and MPSF Player of the Year, she also was named a Pac-12 Tom Hansen Conference Medal winner, nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year award and became the first Stanford women's water polo player to receive academic All-America recognition from CoSIDA when she was named to the Academic All-America At-Large second team.
She earned her bachelor's from Stanford in science, technology and society with a concentration in innovations and organizations and will be on campus next year to pursue her master's in management science and engineering.
Steffens has twice been recognized as the world's best, winning FINA Women's Water Polo Athlete of the Year honors in 2012 and 2014 in addition to being named Olympic MVP in 2012 and 2016 after gold-medal winning performances with the United States.
She collected her second ACWPC Player of the Year award this season after leading Stanford to its sixth NCAA championship in Indianapolis in mid-May. In the final against UCLA Steffens forced a Bruin turnover with 14 seconds left and scored the game winner with nine seconds remaining to power the Cardinal to its crown.
Also a two-time MPSF Player of the Year and two-time NCAA Tournament MVP, Steffens led Stanford with a career-high 65 goals this season, tied for the fifth-most in Stanford single-season history, and was third in the MPSF in goals per game (2.50).
Steffens, who is Stanford's only four-time, first-team All-American, finished her career third in program history and 20th in MPSF history in goals scored (229). In four seasons on The Farm, Steffens and the Cardinal went 102-9 overall, 23-1 in conference play and won three national championships.
Steffens is the sixth winner from women's water polo, joining Ashley Grossman (2014-15), Monica Coughlan (2011-12), Scotti Shafer (2005-06), Jackie Frank (2002-03) and Kate Pettit (2001-02).