GOLD RIVER, Calif. – STANFORD senior Brendan Larkin and WASHINGTON STATE’s Mihaela-Teodora Berindei has been named the 2017 Pac-12 Men’s and Women’s Rowing Scholar-Athletes of the Year, announced by the Pac-12 Conference. These awards have been established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.

Brendan Larkin of Marrietta, Ga., owns a 3.97 cumulative grade point average as an Electrical Engineering Major with a concentration in software and signal processing. Larkin competes with the second varsity eight for the Cardinal. He guided Cardinal to a third-place finish in the Pac-12 Championships last season. He also owns one of the highest grade-point averages of any Stanford student-athlete. He was First Team Pac-12 All-Academic selection last season and First Team Intercollegiate Rowing Association All-Academic pick in 2016. He also received the Stanford President’s Award for Academic Excellence, finishing in the top three percent of their class, his freshman year

Mihaela-Teodora Berindei of Cimpeni, Romania, owns a 3.93 cumulative grade point average majoring in Accounting. She has competed with the varsity eight boat all four years at Washington State. She has helped lead the Cougs to three-straight NCAA Champions and looks to assist her team for her fourth and final time. Berindei was awarded the Cougar Pride Award for exceptional academic, athletic, and outstanding personal qualities at the 2017 Washington State Senior Awards Luncheon. She was a member of the WSU Athletic All-Academic Team all fours years and was Pac-12 All-Academic First Team in 2015 and 2016. She was also a member of the WSU President’s Honor Roll for seven semesters. She was also the CRCA National Scholar-Athlete in 2015 and 2016.

In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50% of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season.  The athletic accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in the voting for the award.

A Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be named in each of the Pac-12’s 23 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s beach volleyball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling.

The Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards were established during the 2007-08 academic year.

Also nominated for Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Justin Murphy, CAL; Spencer Smith, OSU; Stuart Sim, WASH.

Also nominated for Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Rowan McKellar, CAL; Tess O’Leary, OSU; Ruth Narode, STAN; Marie Lacquet, UCLA; Kaelyn Ibold, USC, Anouschka Fenley, WASH.