Hall of Honor
Earning the Pioneer Award, Finney (née Wetter) joined the Men's Swim & Dive team in 1972-1973 along with fellow female swimmer Patty Perigo. While neither earned enough points to letter that year, Finney did win a Varsity letter in 1973-74, the first for a woman participating on a men's team at Caltech. She was also honored with the Most Improved honors her senior year in 1976, finishing in seventh place in the 200 Fly at the 1976 SCIAC Championships while also competing in the 100 Fly. Due to her leadership and efforts, four women participated on the men's team in 1976, making up over 25% of the roster of 15 swimmers. Finney has continued to break barriers. As a physical therapist specializing in treating clients with Neurodegenerative diseases (ALS, etc.) she cared for her late husband Hal Finney from 2009-2014 as he battled ALS. Hal developed coding for Bitcoin during its inception and was one of the earliest miners on the network. Francine continues to serve others in Santa Barbara county looking to improving their life experience and works with the Golden West Chapter of ALS, dedicating her life's work to the memory of her late husband.
