BERKELEY - After winning the 100-yard freestyle and swimming a leg on four winning relays to help the Cal men's swimming team win the team title at the Georgia Fall Invitational, senior Justin Lynch has been named Pac-12 Swimmer of the Month for December by the conference office.

A native of Vallejo, Calif., Lynch played a major role in leading the Bears to the team crown at the University of Georgia. Individually, he provided one of the highlights of the week by swimming to a time of 42.01 seconds that not only achieved the NCAA "A" qualifying time but also placed him second in the nation so far this season. He also made A finals in the 50 free and 100 fly, adding points to Cal's team total.

Lynch played an equally important part in Cal's relay efforts. Swimming a leg on the 200 free, 400 free, 200 medley and 400 medley relays, he helped the Bears not only win all four events but also set the nation's top time in each. 

One of the Bears' senior leaders for the 2017-18 season, Lynch built momentum for his final season in Berkeley with a strong summer of international competition. At the World University Games in Taiwan, he swam the anchor leg of Team USA's winning effort in the 400-meter freestyle relay and closed the meet by swimming a leg on the victorious 400 medley relay. 

Lynch continues a trend of Cal dominance over the last few years when it comes to Pac-12 awards. Ryan Murphy won the conference's monthly honor twice in 2016-17 en route to earning Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year honors for the third year in a row. Murphy also earned monthly honors in 2015-16, as did future Olympic silver medalist Josh Prenot.

Cal returns to action on Jan. 13-14 when it hosts the annual Cal Invitational all-comers meet at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Dual meet competition resumes on Jan. 19 and 20 when Arizona State and Arizona visit Spieker for the only home duals of the spring.