and she and Joseph Kapurch were presented senior student-athlete awards by the UGA Athletic Association. Georgia swimming and diving can claim an achievement that only one other collegiate sports program (Arizona swimming and diving) can – three NCAA Woman of the Year Award winners in Lisa Coole (1997), Kristy Kowal (2000) and Kim Black (2001). Conference results further evidence Bauerle's success. On the women's side, Georgia has secured top-three finishes at the SEC Championship in 19 of the last 22 years under Bauerle. In dual meet competition, the Lady Bulldogs have accumulated a 242-30-1 mark and have not lost a dual- or tri-meet competition in Gabrielsen Natatorium since the 1995-96 season, a streak of 62 entering the season. Initially arriving in Athens in 1970, Bauerle himself was once a Bulldog freshman. Over the span of the next four years, Bauerle collected four letters, three school records and team co-captain honors as a junior and senior. However, Bauerle also learned how collegiate swimming extends outside the pool. After spending seven years as a Bulldog swimmer and men's assistant coach, Bauerle first assumed women's head coaching duties in 1979. In their first two years under Bauerle, the Lady Bulldogs compiled a 16-3 record and a fifth-place finish at the inaugural women's SEC Championship. In 1982, Georgia's women not only notched their third consecutive seven-plus-wins season, but they also traveled to their first national meet, a trip that landed the Lady Bulldogs a ninth-place finish and the first of 25 consecutive national meet appearances. One of the earliest strides for the Lady Bulldogs came in 1986. Led by eight-time All-American Kathy Coffin, Bauerle's squad finished second at the SECs and won two conference events. Late that season, four swimmers earned All-America accolades as the Lady Bulldogs claimed a sixth-place showing at the NCAAs. Bauerle's strides with the newly formed Lady Bulldogs of the 1980s reflect the charisma and strength of his coaching ability. It was therefore only a matter of time before this ability took effect on the men's program. After accepting the head coaching position in 1983, Bauerle quietly built up his men's team to the point that in 1988, Georgia earned its first NCAAs trip in 32 years, finishing 41st overall. Answering the call of a Georgia team that had scored at NCAAs only once before was a good first step, and the Bulldogs responded with three more finishes in the