SAN FRANCISCO - The 2016 Pac-12 and IRA National Champions Cal men's crew capped off a historic season by sweeping the conference post-season awards. Head coach Mike Teti was named coach of the year, senior Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk was named athlete of the year and freshman Joachim Sutton was named newcomer of the year the conference announced today. Along with Wegrzycki-Szymczyk, seniors Niki van Sprang, Morgan Hellen, and Julian Venonsky joined the list of Bears honored by the Pac-12 as all-conference team selections.

Teti, in his eighth year as head coach, lead the Bears to a historical season capturing team titles at the Pac-12 Conference Championships and the IRA National Championships. Teti also guided the varsity eight to an IRA national championship for the 17th time in program history. During the regular season, Teti coached the Bears to victory over Washington and Stanford before capturing the freshmen, second varsity, and varsity eights over the Huskies, securing the Pac-12 team title. This is the first Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor for Teti and the 10th in Golden Bear history. A fixture on the U.S. rowing national team as a coach and as a competitor, U.S. national crews have produced 28 total medals under Teti's guidance.

As stroke of Cal's top boat, sophomore Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk has played an integral role in the team's success this year and has seen success both on the collegiate and international stage. The sociology major led Cal's varsity eight to a Pac-12 Championship title this season while maintaining a 3.5 GPA, and will represent Poland in the single scull this summer at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Freshman Joachim Sutton has quietly become a major part of Cal's Varsity eight during his first year in Berkeley. After overcoming two significant injuries, the Roskilde, Denmark native was a member of the varsity eight for every race this spring and became a vital contributor to Cal crew's team culture of hard work and resiliency.

The Athlete of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards are voted on and nominated by the Conference's coaches. Candidates for Athlete of the Year must have participated in the varsity eight race at the Pac-12 Championships. Members of the All-Conference rowing teams are based upon each institution's finish in the varsity eight race at the Pac-12 Championships, which were held May 15 on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. 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.

MEN'S ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk, California

Niki van Sprang, California

Morgan Hellen, California

Julian Venonsky, California

Josh West, Oregon State

Ryan Hails, Stanford

Ryan O'Rourke, Stanford

Finn Schröder, Washington

Ezra Carlson, Washington

Jake Zier, Washington