RUGBY3/31/2022 9:09 AM | By: Cal Athletics
Golla Nominated for Rudy Scholz Award
The Team Captain Is Among 16 Nominees For The Honor Of Best Men’s Collegiate Rugby Player
BERKELEY – California rugby team captain
Sam Golla has been nominated for the 2022 Rudy Scholz Award. The award is honored to the best men's collegiate rugby player nationwide. Among the list of 16 nominees, the rugby community at large votes on three finalists. From those finalists, a panel of coaches and select members of the rugby community decide on the final recipient.
The Rudy Scholz Award is named after Olympian and USA rugby legend Rudy Scholz. The Scholz family, in conjunction with the Washington Athletic Club and with the support of the Goff Rugby Report and USA rugby, has presented this award annually since 2016.
Golla joins Cal rugby alumni Sam Cusano ('20), Nic Mirhashem ('19), Kevin Sullivan ('18), Russell Webb ('17), Anthony Salaber ('17) in the list of previous nominees for the Rudy Scholz Award.
Golla is a fifth year studying Sustainable Environmental Design. Originally from Denver, Colorado, Golla was also team captain of the East High rugby team. He attended the esteemed Cal Rugby Summer Camp in 2016 and joined the Golden Bears roster in the fall of 2017. As a freshman, Golla made his first appearance in the Blue & Gold in the spring XVs season in 2018 and has remained a consistent member of the lineup since then. He has contributed countless noteworthy performances for the Bears, including in the starting lineup at the lock position in Cal's appearance at the National Championships in 2019. A powerful force on the pitch and a voice of leadership and inspiration for the team, Cal rugby is proud to support Golla in his nomination.
"Sam has been nothing short of great," head coach Jack Clark said. "His play and leadership has been outstanding. Every bit of my experience says he will be a U.S. international."
The award ceremony will be hosted by the Washington Athletic Club on June 11, where both the Scholz award and the Sorensen award, which recognizes the best women's collegiate rugby player, will be given. Fans can cast their vote for the Rudy Scholz Award finalists
here.