Army West Point Athletics
MISSION FIRST: A Cut Above The Rest
November 03, 2015 | Women's Tennis, Athletics
Life is made up of many challenges; some embrace it and become leaders. Dr. Rebecca (Marier) McGuigan, a 1995 United States Military Academy graduate, embraced it and became the type of leader and pioneer for which West Point is known.
When McGuigan received her diploma on June 3, 1995 from United States Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, she wrote her name into the West Point annals as the first woman to graduate at the top of her class. She had many accomplishments throughout her West Point career, but her No. 1 ranking was the first of its kind since the Academy was founded 193 years prior.
Accepted to Harvard her senior year at Metairie Park Country Day School in New Orleans, La., McGuigan surprised her family and friends when she chose West Point over the oldest institution of higher education in the United States.
The summer of her junior year of high school set in motion the path McGuigan would take when she attended an Academic Workshop at West Point as part of a group of rising high school seniors who had shown attributes as future candidates. The introductory workshop remains in place, known as the Summer Leaders Seminar.
The week-long workshop offered McGuigan an opportunity to find out what life was like for a West Point cadet, and what it took to become a leader of character. McGuigan didn't need a week to decide West Point was for her.
"We lived in the barracks and I fell in love with the place and everything it stood for," remembers McGuigan, "and I wanted nothing more than to be a part of that.
"I never regretted my decision. I knew it was going to be a challenge, so I never considered leaving. I was up for the challenge. My parents, teachers and friends were supportive, but it was my decision and I was determined to see it through."
It started with the challenge of "Beast Barracks" when a few times she thought, "What have I gotten myself into?" But there was no turning back as McGuigan found herself ushering in a new era before picking up her degree four years later.
She was well-suited for West Point, considered by many as the premier leader development institution in the nation. McGuigan accepted the array of responsibilities that cadets take on from the first day. The National Merit Scholar had plenty of multi-tasking experience in high school. She was a three-sport letterwinner in soccer, volleyball and tennis; was president of her senior class and participated in many extracurricular activities.
"I felt blessed that I was well-prepared for West Point from the high school I attended and the household I grew up in," notes McGuigan. "I was used to multi-tasking and utilizing time-management skills; it was something I did for myself as a teenager.
"Having those skills helped me succeed in sports, academics and military training during that challenging Plebe year. I was able to do more as a cadet."
Sports provided an outlet for McGuigan from the rigors of cadet life and academics, even though she was an excellent student who made the Dean's List every semester.
"I was able to get a break from the barracks, from academics and from some of the psychological mental stress that Plebe year can present," says McGuigan.
Being a member of the tennis team helped shape the Plebe to academy life. Not only did it provide her with a home away from the barracks, but the camaraderie enabled her to focus on academics.
McGuigan, who played for three different head coaches during her time at the Academy, compiled a 55-36 mark in singles and 34-19 showing in doubles during her playing career. She helped fashion a combined singles record of 234-140 with classmates Allyson Toce, Hannah Chang and Kristen Argus. The group also registered a 196-107-1 mark in doubles play en route to compiling a four-year team dual-match mark of 70-40. That included a 17-3 showing her junior year. At the time, the 17 wins were the most in school history along with an Academy-record 15 straight match victories.
The fall of her junior year, the last under head coach Jim Hawkins, McGuigan helped guide Army to its first-ever Patriot League Championship. In the spring, Dr. Todd Ryska served as head coach for the program. Paul Peck, a captain in the U.S. Army at the time, succeeded Ryska and continues in that role today.
"I am grateful to Coach Hawkins for recruiting me," adds McGuigan. "I knew I wanted to go to West Point, but it made it easier knowing that I was going to be on the tennis team, and that I was going to have that team to bond with in the beginning."
With Hawkins and Ryska leaving within a few months of each other, Peck took over the coaching reins and was able to move into the role successfully with the help of McGuigan.
"I was the volunteer assistant coach," explains Peck, "and was asked to become the head coach in January 1995 when Todd left.
"My impression of Rebecca was everything you would expect of a cadet and more," says the Army West Point coach. "I was an officer, and she was respectful, on time and always giving 110 percent. Having Rebecca as the team captain my first year made life a lot easier. I only coached her for a year, but she made a good impression and is someone to point out to the team when considering what she accomplished," adds Peck, who has compiled 375 wins while leading Army West Point to 13 Patriot League championship titles and NCAA appearances. That is the best record in West Point history.
McGuigan continued to be busy throughout the next three years. Then, during her First Class year, she was selected as a Regimental Commander for Fourth Regiment, the third-highest position a cadet can hold. She also was captain of the women's tennis team and continued her strong academic performance.
"I had great support in helping balance classes, homework, tennis practice, company and staff meetings," reflects McGuigan, "and I can't stress how much that helped. I will always be grateful to all the people I had around me from friends on the team, Coach Peck, and our team sponsor, Lt. Col. Jim Armstrong. I spent a lot of time with him and his family, and they were wonderful to me as well as everyone on the team."
The challenges in the classroom, on the court, and leadership in the United States Corps of Cadets came full circle graduation day, taking McGuigan to an even loftier role. She etched her name into the history books as the first female to graduate No. 1 in academic, military and physical programs in a class of 988.
McGuigan earned a plethora of honors to include the Maj. Gen. Francis Vinton Greene Memorial Award, the Peruvian Army Award and the Gen. Robert E. Wood Distinguished Cadet Award.
McGuigan blazed another path as the second West Point graduate to attend Harvard Medical School as a recipient of the Mason Award.
"I found out at graduation practice that I would not be sitting with my company, but up front as part of the top 50 cadets," recalls McGuigan. "I didn't know that I was the first female to be No. 1, and I think it was news to everyone.
"My parents were excited and proud. At one point they had their doubts about it being the right decision, but they had come around long before that and were happy with how things turned out."
There would be four more years of schooling for McGuigan, who deferred her military commitment until after medical school, giving up an active commission for the U.S. Army Reserves. Capt. McGuigan returned to military service obligations after earning her medical degree, serving as a general surgeon. Medical school proved to be very rigorous, but McGuigan had personal knowledge since her father is a physician.
"I was well-prepared by West Point and I was able to do more in medical school. There were not as many distractions."
In 1999, McGuigan picked up her medical degree and a new commitment of nine years, which suited her just fine. As a general surgeon, she faces a different range of challenges and the trauma unit was the one she felt was her calling.
"Trauma was one of the main reasons I wanted to be a doctor in the Army and care for soldiers," explains McGuigan. "It turned out we went to war and I was happy to have the skills to contribute during wartime to the troops on the battlefield. I wound up with three deployments to Afghanistan during my active duty time."
Following medical school, McGuigan attended the Basic Medical Course at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, where the newly minted doctors trained in their field of specialty. It was then McGuigan met her future husband, Don McGuigan, who earned his way through college and into medical school through the Health Professions Scholarship Program. They married in 2001 and that took McGuigan on another road in life.
The couple drew a six-year residency at Ft. Lewis, Wash., that included three deployments, the births of four children and her final tour of duty at Ft. Benning, Ga., where McGuigan closed out an Army career that spanned three decades, including four as a West Point cadet. She retired from the Army last July.
McGuigan entered another stage of her life as a stay-at-home mother after retiring from the Army. The family is currently living in Alabama, where her husband is finishing his fellowship as a specialized orthopedic surgeon at the University of Alabama.
The timing was perfect as McGuigan became a full-time stay-at-home mom after being away almost a year-and-a-half of her children's lives following a trio of six-month deployments when they were young.
"It has been a challenge and I have new-found respect for mothers who choose to stay home full-time during the duration of their kids' childhood," notes McGuigan. "Moms everywhere are raising the next generation. They provide for the future security of our nation, and I don't think anyone will underestimate the importance of what moms are doing.
"For me, it was a challenge being a wife, a mom, an Army officer and being a surgeon all at the same time," relays McGuigan. "I am fortunate as I have a very supportive husband, and a good support system in my family to help out with the children."
Life has so many stages and McGuigan has embraced each one during that point in her life.
"I loved being a cadet, and as challenging as it was, I made the most of my time there and would do it over again. I fully enjoyed being at medical school, then being a surgical resident as challenging as that can be. There were weeks I worked 100-120 hours. It was exhausting and I was sleep-deprived, yet I enjoyed it.
"If I had to take a favorite time of my life not looking back and not knowing what the future holds, I would have to say my favorite job so far is that I love being a mom.
"I was very 'gung-ho' about my career and I believe in living for the moment. As important as it is to keep an eye on the future, you have to make the most of the present. Otherwise, you will wake up and life will have passed you by."
That certainly won't be a problem for McGuigan, who has been blazing new trails throughout her life, and will be forever remembered as the first female to graduate from West Point ranked No. 1 in her class. She has set lofty standards in every phase of her life and is looking forward to what the future holds.
When McGuigan received her diploma on June 3, 1995 from United States Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, she wrote her name into the West Point annals as the first woman to graduate at the top of her class. She had many accomplishments throughout her West Point career, but her No. 1 ranking was the first of its kind since the Academy was founded 193 years prior.
Accepted to Harvard her senior year at Metairie Park Country Day School in New Orleans, La., McGuigan surprised her family and friends when she chose West Point over the oldest institution of higher education in the United States.
The summer of her junior year of high school set in motion the path McGuigan would take when she attended an Academic Workshop at West Point as part of a group of rising high school seniors who had shown attributes as future candidates. The introductory workshop remains in place, known as the Summer Leaders Seminar.
The week-long workshop offered McGuigan an opportunity to find out what life was like for a West Point cadet, and what it took to become a leader of character. McGuigan didn't need a week to decide West Point was for her.
"We lived in the barracks and I fell in love with the place and everything it stood for," remembers McGuigan, "and I wanted nothing more than to be a part of that.
"I never regretted my decision. I knew it was going to be a challenge, so I never considered leaving. I was up for the challenge. My parents, teachers and friends were supportive, but it was my decision and I was determined to see it through."
It started with the challenge of "Beast Barracks" when a few times she thought, "What have I gotten myself into?" But there was no turning back as McGuigan found herself ushering in a new era before picking up her degree four years later.
She was well-suited for West Point, considered by many as the premier leader development institution in the nation. McGuigan accepted the array of responsibilities that cadets take on from the first day. The National Merit Scholar had plenty of multi-tasking experience in high school. She was a three-sport letterwinner in soccer, volleyball and tennis; was president of her senior class and participated in many extracurricular activities.
"I felt blessed that I was well-prepared for West Point from the high school I attended and the household I grew up in," notes McGuigan. "I was used to multi-tasking and utilizing time-management skills; it was something I did for myself as a teenager.
"Having those skills helped me succeed in sports, academics and military training during that challenging Plebe year. I was able to do more as a cadet."
Sports provided an outlet for McGuigan from the rigors of cadet life and academics, even though she was an excellent student who made the Dean's List every semester.
"I was able to get a break from the barracks, from academics and from some of the psychological mental stress that Plebe year can present," says McGuigan.
Being a member of the tennis team helped shape the Plebe to academy life. Not only did it provide her with a home away from the barracks, but the camaraderie enabled her to focus on academics.
McGuigan, who played for three different head coaches during her time at the Academy, compiled a 55-36 mark in singles and 34-19 showing in doubles during her playing career. She helped fashion a combined singles record of 234-140 with classmates Allyson Toce, Hannah Chang and Kristen Argus. The group also registered a 196-107-1 mark in doubles play en route to compiling a four-year team dual-match mark of 70-40. That included a 17-3 showing her junior year. At the time, the 17 wins were the most in school history along with an Academy-record 15 straight match victories.
The fall of her junior year, the last under head coach Jim Hawkins, McGuigan helped guide Army to its first-ever Patriot League Championship. In the spring, Dr. Todd Ryska served as head coach for the program. Paul Peck, a captain in the U.S. Army at the time, succeeded Ryska and continues in that role today.
"I am grateful to Coach Hawkins for recruiting me," adds McGuigan. "I knew I wanted to go to West Point, but it made it easier knowing that I was going to be on the tennis team, and that I was going to have that team to bond with in the beginning."
With Hawkins and Ryska leaving within a few months of each other, Peck took over the coaching reins and was able to move into the role successfully with the help of McGuigan.
"I was the volunteer assistant coach," explains Peck, "and was asked to become the head coach in January 1995 when Todd left.
"My impression of Rebecca was everything you would expect of a cadet and more," says the Army West Point coach. "I was an officer, and she was respectful, on time and always giving 110 percent. Having Rebecca as the team captain my first year made life a lot easier. I only coached her for a year, but she made a good impression and is someone to point out to the team when considering what she accomplished," adds Peck, who has compiled 375 wins while leading Army West Point to 13 Patriot League championship titles and NCAA appearances. That is the best record in West Point history.
McGuigan continued to be busy throughout the next three years. Then, during her First Class year, she was selected as a Regimental Commander for Fourth Regiment, the third-highest position a cadet can hold. She also was captain of the women's tennis team and continued her strong academic performance.
"I had great support in helping balance classes, homework, tennis practice, company and staff meetings," reflects McGuigan, "and I can't stress how much that helped. I will always be grateful to all the people I had around me from friends on the team, Coach Peck, and our team sponsor, Lt. Col. Jim Armstrong. I spent a lot of time with him and his family, and they were wonderful to me as well as everyone on the team."
The challenges in the classroom, on the court, and leadership in the United States Corps of Cadets came full circle graduation day, taking McGuigan to an even loftier role. She etched her name into the history books as the first female to graduate No. 1 in academic, military and physical programs in a class of 988.
McGuigan earned a plethora of honors to include the Maj. Gen. Francis Vinton Greene Memorial Award, the Peruvian Army Award and the Gen. Robert E. Wood Distinguished Cadet Award.
McGuigan blazed another path as the second West Point graduate to attend Harvard Medical School as a recipient of the Mason Award.
"I found out at graduation practice that I would not be sitting with my company, but up front as part of the top 50 cadets," recalls McGuigan. "I didn't know that I was the first female to be No. 1, and I think it was news to everyone.
"My parents were excited and proud. At one point they had their doubts about it being the right decision, but they had come around long before that and were happy with how things turned out."
There would be four more years of schooling for McGuigan, who deferred her military commitment until after medical school, giving up an active commission for the U.S. Army Reserves. Capt. McGuigan returned to military service obligations after earning her medical degree, serving as a general surgeon. Medical school proved to be very rigorous, but McGuigan had personal knowledge since her father is a physician.
"I was well-prepared by West Point and I was able to do more in medical school. There were not as many distractions."
In 1999, McGuigan picked up her medical degree and a new commitment of nine years, which suited her just fine. As a general surgeon, she faces a different range of challenges and the trauma unit was the one she felt was her calling.
"Trauma was one of the main reasons I wanted to be a doctor in the Army and care for soldiers," explains McGuigan. "It turned out we went to war and I was happy to have the skills to contribute during wartime to the troops on the battlefield. I wound up with three deployments to Afghanistan during my active duty time."
Following medical school, McGuigan attended the Basic Medical Course at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, where the newly minted doctors trained in their field of specialty. It was then McGuigan met her future husband, Don McGuigan, who earned his way through college and into medical school through the Health Professions Scholarship Program. They married in 2001 and that took McGuigan on another road in life.
The couple drew a six-year residency at Ft. Lewis, Wash., that included three deployments, the births of four children and her final tour of duty at Ft. Benning, Ga., where McGuigan closed out an Army career that spanned three decades, including four as a West Point cadet. She retired from the Army last July.
McGuigan entered another stage of her life as a stay-at-home mother after retiring from the Army. The family is currently living in Alabama, where her husband is finishing his fellowship as a specialized orthopedic surgeon at the University of Alabama.
The timing was perfect as McGuigan became a full-time stay-at-home mom after being away almost a year-and-a-half of her children's lives following a trio of six-month deployments when they were young.
"It has been a challenge and I have new-found respect for mothers who choose to stay home full-time during the duration of their kids' childhood," notes McGuigan. "Moms everywhere are raising the next generation. They provide for the future security of our nation, and I don't think anyone will underestimate the importance of what moms are doing.
"For me, it was a challenge being a wife, a mom, an Army officer and being a surgeon all at the same time," relays McGuigan. "I am fortunate as I have a very supportive husband, and a good support system in my family to help out with the children."
Life has so many stages and McGuigan has embraced each one during that point in her life.
"I loved being a cadet, and as challenging as it was, I made the most of my time there and would do it over again. I fully enjoyed being at medical school, then being a surgical resident as challenging as that can be. There were weeks I worked 100-120 hours. It was exhausting and I was sleep-deprived, yet I enjoyed it.
"If I had to take a favorite time of my life not looking back and not knowing what the future holds, I would have to say my favorite job so far is that I love being a mom.
"I was very 'gung-ho' about my career and I believe in living for the moment. As important as it is to keep an eye on the future, you have to make the most of the present. Otherwise, you will wake up and life will have passed you by."
That certainly won't be a problem for McGuigan, who has been blazing new trails throughout her life, and will be forever remembered as the first female to graduate from West Point ranked No. 1 in her class. She has set lofty standards in every phase of her life and is looking forward to what the future holds.
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