Finlayson Named Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete Of The Year

GOLD RIVER – Cal senior George Finlayson has been named the Pac-12 Men's Rowing Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference office announced Sunday.

The Pac-12 made the announcement at the conclusion of Sunday's Pac-12 Championships on Lake Natoma, where the Bears placed second overall.

Finlayson, who graduated Saturday with a degree in History and a minor in Creative Writing, has a 3.91 cumulative grade point average. As a sophomore in 2019, he was an IRA All-Academic and Pac-12 All-Academic First Team selection, and then was named to the Pac-12 Spring Academic Honor Roll last year.

Last week, Finlayson was awarded a $9,000 Pac-12 postgraduate scholarship. A native of Sydney, Australia, Finlayson has been admitted to the University of Cambridge's Master's of Philosophy program for the fall.

Finlayson has been a member of the Bears' varsity eight boat for almost his entire four-year career at Cal. He's helped the Bears earn three second-place finishes at the Pac-12 Championships and a bronze medal at the IRA national championships as a freshman. He also rowed in the second varsity eight that won the IRA national championship in 2019.

Finlayson becomes the third straight Cal men's rower to be named Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Natan Wegrycki-Szymzyk took the honor in 2018 and Maarten Hurkmans won it in 2019 (the award wasn't issued in 2020 because of the cancellation of the season).

To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be a senior, have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and participate in at least 50 percent of the team's scheduled competitions.