MIT's Annika Naveen (Wynnewood, Pa.) has been named the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Division III Academic All-American Team Member of the Year. A Bioengineering major with a 4.00 GPA, Naveen earned her third Academic All-America® honor, being named to the first team after receiving second-team recognition the past two years. She earned the NCAA Elite Scholar-Athlete Award at the 2026 NCAA Division III Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship.
Naveen finished her career with 12 All-America honors, including three NCAA champion relays. She swam on two winning 200-yard medley relays and one 200-yard freestyle relay. She won 11 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference titles in her career in helping the Engineers run their conference championship win streak to 16 years.
She repeated her conference meet victory in the 50-yard freestyle this year and captured the 100-yard freestyle in her career to combine with being a part of eight relay championship squads.
Naveen was one of three members of the Academic All-America® Division III women’s swimming & diving teams who boast a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate work or graduate school. The eight members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.88.
Including Naveen, 10 student-athletes are repeat selections on the Academic All-America® Division III women’s swimming & diving teams, which includes MIT teammates Fiora Beretahani (San Jose, Calif.) and Sydney Smith (Atlanta, Ga.).
Beratahani won her first national championship on the 3-Meter board this year after sweeping the board at the Regional Championship. She is a six-time All-American, two-time NEWMAC Diver of the Year, and holds the program record for the 1-Meter board. She is a Mechanical Engineering major with a 3.9 GPA.
Smith, who was a Third-Team Academic All-America member last season, is a four-time National Champion and earned six All-America honors at this year's NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship to give her 17 in her career. She was the NEWMAC Swimmer of the Year after winning six events at this year's championship and holds the school record in the 100 fly. She maintains a 3.8 GPA in Mechanical Engineering.
Wellesley College's Kavita Sekhon (Los Angeles, Calif.) rounds out the NEWMAC honorees on the second team. A Biological Sciences and Political Science major with a 3.94 GPA, the senior was the NEWMAC Champion in the 100 Breaststroke. At the 2026 NCAA Division III Championships, Sekhon competed in the 100 Breaststroke, where she was a Second Team All-American, the 200 Breaststroke, and as a member of the 200 and 400 Medley Relay and 200 Free Relay. The 200 Medley Relay also earned Second Team All-America status.
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 13 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Saint Anselm College (beginning reclassification process with NCAA in 2027-28), Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with eight Associate Members: Brandeis University (Women's Lacrosse, 2026-2027), New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 21 sports.