Pac-12 announces 2023 rowing annual awards & All-Conference honors

SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Conference announced today the Pac-12 men’s and women’s rowing individual honors and All-Conference teams for the 2023 season, as voted upon by the Conference coaches.

Following their impressive repeat victory in the Pac-12 Championship at Dexter Lake, the Stanford women's team swept the individual awards.  Azja Czajkowki secured the Pac-12 Women's Rowing Athlete of the Year for the second straight year while Derek Byrnes wins Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons.  Freshman Célia Dupré completed the Cardinal sweep by taking home the Pac-12 Women's Newcomer of the Year, the second straight year a Stanford rower has won the event.

California's men squad kept the momentum going from their title at the Pac-12 Championship, with Ollie Maclean winning Pac-12 Men's  Rowing Athlete of the Year and Scott Frandsen selected Pac-12 Men's Rowing Coach of the Year, both in consecutive seasons.  The Pac-12 Men's Newcomer of the Year award was shared by Stanford's Caspar Griffin and Washington's Povilas Juskevicius, the first time that honor has had a tie since its creation ahead of the 2003 season.

PAC-12 WOMEN’S ROWING ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Azja Czajkowski, 5th Year, Stanford (Chula Vista, Calif.)

Stanford's Azja Czajkowski becomes just the second female rower in Pac-12 history to win Athlete of the Year, joining Cal's Kendall Chase (2015-16).  Czajkowski led Cardinal's Varsity Eight boat that sealed Stanford's back-to-back boat and conference titles at the 2023 Pac-12 Championship at Dexter Lake.  In her fifth year, she competed in Stanford's varsity eight boat (5 seat) in all four reguIar-season races and the Pac-12 Championship. This marks the seventh time in program history that a Cardinal has been tabbed Pac-12 Women's Rowing Athlete of the Year.

PAC-12 WOMEN’S ROWING NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Célia Dupré, Fr., Stanford (Plan-les-ouates, Geneva, Switzerland)

For the fourth straight season, Stanford takes home the Pac-12 Women's Rowing Newcomer of the Year thanks to an impressive debut by Célia Dupré.  The Switzerland native was the only freshman to compete as part of Stanford's varsity eight boat for the full spring season and was part of the Cardinal's varsity eight boat that sealed Stanford's back-to-back boat and team conference titles at the 2023 Pac-12 Championships.  Dupré becomes the fifth Cardinal in program history to earn this honor.

PAC-12 WOMEN’S ROWING COACH OF THE YEAR: Derek Byrnes, Stanford 

In his seventh season on The Farm, Derek Byrnes made history as the first Stanford head coach to be named Pac-12 Women's Rowing Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons.  This comes off the strength of leading the Cardinal to back-to-back Pac-12 Championships for the first time in program history and third title all-time.  Stanford had previously won this award in consecutive seasons once before but with two separate coaches with Jocelyn McCandless winning in 1995 and Aimee Baker in 1996.  Byrnes joins Baker (1996, 2003) and Yasmin Farooq (2008, 2014) as the only coach to win this award multiple times while with the Cardinal.  This is the seventh time overall a Stanford head coach has won this award.

PAC-12 MEN’S ROWING ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Ollie Maclean, Gr., California (Auckland, New Zealand)

After helping to lead his team to a second straight Pac-12 Championship, Ollie Maclean becomes the second rower in program history and third in conference history to win Pac-12 Men's Rowing Athlete of the Year in back-to-back seasons joining fellow Golden Bear Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk (2016-18) and Stanford's Austin Hack (2013-14).  In the five seat of their varsity eight, Maclean's boat has been undefeated the last two seasons and the team enters the NCAA's as the No. 1 team in the nation.  This is the eighth time in the 14 years since this award has been created that a Cal rower has been honored.

PAC-12 MEN’S ROWING CO-NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Caspar Griffin, Fr., Stanford (London, England)

PAC-12 MEN’S ROWING CO-NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Povilas Juskevicius, Fr., Washington (Kaunas, Lithuania)

For the first time since the award was created before the 2003 season, the Pac-12 is honoring co-winners for the Pac-12 Men's Newcomer of the Year.  Stanford's Caspar Griffin rowed 7 for the Cardinal's varsity squad for most of the season and won six of seven dual races in that seat.  Griffin becomes just the third Stanford rower to earn this honor.  Washington's Povilas Juskevicius rowed on the team's varsity eight as a freshman this season.  The Lithuanian becomes the eighth Husky to win this award and the first since Chris Carlson in 2018.

PAC-12 MEN’S ROWING COACH OF THE YEAR: Scott Frandsen, California

In just his fifth season in Berkeley, Scott Frandsen joins the legendary Steve Gladstone as the only California head coach to win back-to-back Pac-12 Men's Rowing Coach of the Year.  Frandsen led the Golden Bears to back-to-back Pac-12 Championships for the first time since 2005-06.  The No. 1 ranked squad in the country now awaits the IRA Championships in Mercer, New Jersey June 2-4.  This is the 12th time a Cal head coach has taken home this honor.

By claiming the Varsity 8 competitions at the 2023 Pac-12 Championships, the Stanford women and California men headline the 2023 Pac-12 Rowing All-Conference teams, which were also announced by the Conference office on Friday. 

Members of the All-Conference rowing teams are based upon each institution’s finish in the Varsity 8 race at the Pac-12 Championships, which were held at Dexter Lake in Eugene, Ore. The Conference champion provides four members of the All-Conference team, the second-place crew provides three members, and the third-place finisher provides two. All other participating crews receive one selection each.

2023 WOMEN’S ROWING ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

2023 MEN’S ROWING ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM