University of Georgia Athletics
‘It Was A Little Different When We Started’
January 21, 2024 | The Frierson Files, Women's Swimming & Diving
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
As Sherry Spurlin sat poolside Saturday morning inside Gabrielsen Natatorium, swimmers passing by left and right, she talked about helping start the Georgia women's swimming and diving program 50 years ago. It was a very modest debut: six women, swimsuits they had to purchase themselves, and an eight-meet schedule that Spurlin managed to throw together.
"I'm very humbled by it," Spurlin said of the recognition over the weekend, which included being the honorary team captain for the Georgia women's meet against Tennessee Saturday. "It was a little different when we started, and who would have thought — you look around and there are some of the best swimmers in the country here. It's very exciting."
And above her head, hanging from the rafters, were the Georgia women's seven NCAA championship banners. From the humblest of beginnings, a future powerhouse was born. In that first season, Georgia did have some success. It qualified one relay and one swimmer, Veronica Stroup, for the AIWA National Championships.
"It's crazy, just crazy," said Spurlin, a senior in 1974 when the Georgia women competed for the first time, and later a graduate assistant under then-coach Jack Bauerle from 1989-93.
"I'm forever thankful for them having the guts to do what they did," said Bauerle, who took over coaching the women's program in 1979 (adding the men in 1983) and retired in 2022 as one of the greatest coaches in collegiate swimming history.
Georgia didn't initiate the idea to start a women's program. It was Stroup (later Veronica Stroup Holz), Spurlin and the rest of the women, all of them already competitive swimmers, combined with the Title IX legislation taking effect in 1972, "that's what sent us off on our journey," Spurlin said.
First stop, the office of women's golf coach and lead women's sports administrator Liz Murphey.
"We got six of us together who kind of loosely knew each other from AAU and whatever, and we went into Liz Murphey's office one day and said, 'We want to start a swimming team,' And she didn't hesitate. After about a minute, she said, 'OK.' It was that easy," Spurlin said. "She said as long as y'all can find a coach and pay for your own suits, we're good."
They didn't have to look far for a coach. Martha Washington was a physical education teacher at UGA, and though she didn't really know anything about swimming, certainly not competitive swimming, she was game to lead Georgia's newest program.
"She didn't know a thing about swimming, but she learned a lot," Spurlin said. "I cobbled together a meet schedule, Coach Washington showed up and we wrote workouts, and we just started swimming."
Stroup, a sophomore from Philadelphia who went on to become the program's first All-American, was already more than just a decent swimmer wanting to compete collegiately. She nearly made the 1972 U.S. Olympic team, finishing one spot out at the Trials. According to a Red and Black student newspaper article published on Jan. 24, 1974, Stroup said she had previously been asked by men's coach Pete Scholle to swim on the guys' squad, but she missed most of the season with mononucleosis.
Coincidentally, the men's team also had a good swimmer from Philly at that time, Bauerle, who five years later was named the women's head coach and went on to lead the Bulldogs to those seven NCAA team titles and dozens of individual national championships and Olympic medals.
Bauerle was a senior the year the women's program started, and he admits that he "was in that phase (of college) of not paying much attention outside of what you're doing," so his memories of the start of the women's team he would go on to lead for more than 40 years are "nebulous."
On Jan. 9, 1974, The Red and Black ran a story on the start of the newest sport at Georgia, women's swimming, which was set to make its debut a few days later against Tennessee. According to the 1974 Pandora yearbook, Georgia beat Tennessee in that meet, 79-52. The yearbook lists eight meets on the schedule for the inaugural season, and Georgia won seven of them, all quite easily. The only loss came against Florida, which had fielded a team for several years at that point.
In the May 31, 1974 edition of The Red and Black, there's a letter to the editor from an E.J. Stapler, who wrote that Washington and the women's swim team should have been selected as the coach and team of the year, respectively, ahead of the newspaper sports staff's selections: Dan Magill and the men's tennis team. Of the swim program's 7-1 debut season, Stapler wrote: "Rarely is such a record achieved in the first year of a sport."
Stroup Holz died in 2019. Three years earlier, she was a member of the 2016 Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame inductee class alongside one of the greatest Georgia and collegiate swimmers ever, Kara Lynn Joyce, who won the 50 and 100 freestyle NCAA titles all four years and was a three-time Olympian.
Georgia coach Stefanie Williams Moreno, a 28-time All-American and four-time national champion during her incredible career, is one of many, many beneficiaries of the initiative that Sprulin, Stroup and those original six women showed in wanting to start a swim team. Along with having Spurlin serve as the honorary captain, Moreno had her talk with the team.
"I think it's important to know where we come from, and to appreciate where we are," said Moreno, adding that she likes to have former swimmers talk to her team. "And the girls actually really like it, because it's similar stories, whether they swam in the '70s, '80s or '90s. Just how much this program has changed and helped them in their career or their journey, and just their love for the program."
Spurlin's love was evident Saturday as she watched the Bulldogs from the best seat in the house. Everything that came after — the championships, the elite facilities, the Olympic medals — it all started with six gutsy, talented and determined women. They pursued their dreams and made them a reality, and Georgia swimmers have been doing that ever since.
"Once we all got the idea, we were all like, 'Yeah, why not?'" Spurlin said of starting the team. "We deserve it."
Staff Writer
As Sherry Spurlin sat poolside Saturday morning inside Gabrielsen Natatorium, swimmers passing by left and right, she talked about helping start the Georgia women's swimming and diving program 50 years ago. It was a very modest debut: six women, swimsuits they had to purchase themselves, and an eight-meet schedule that Spurlin managed to throw together.
"I'm very humbled by it," Spurlin said of the recognition over the weekend, which included being the honorary team captain for the Georgia women's meet against Tennessee Saturday. "It was a little different when we started, and who would have thought — you look around and there are some of the best swimmers in the country here. It's very exciting."
And above her head, hanging from the rafters, were the Georgia women's seven NCAA championship banners. From the humblest of beginnings, a future powerhouse was born. In that first season, Georgia did have some success. It qualified one relay and one swimmer, Veronica Stroup, for the AIWA National Championships.
"It's crazy, just crazy," said Spurlin, a senior in 1974 when the Georgia women competed for the first time, and later a graduate assistant under then-coach Jack Bauerle from 1989-93.
"I'm forever thankful for them having the guts to do what they did," said Bauerle, who took over coaching the women's program in 1979 (adding the men in 1983) and retired in 2022 as one of the greatest coaches in collegiate swimming history.
Georgia didn't initiate the idea to start a women's program. It was Stroup (later Veronica Stroup Holz), Spurlin and the rest of the women, all of them already competitive swimmers, combined with the Title IX legislation taking effect in 1972, "that's what sent us off on our journey," Spurlin said.
First stop, the office of women's golf coach and lead women's sports administrator Liz Murphey.
"We got six of us together who kind of loosely knew each other from AAU and whatever, and we went into Liz Murphey's office one day and said, 'We want to start a swimming team,' And she didn't hesitate. After about a minute, she said, 'OK.' It was that easy," Spurlin said. "She said as long as y'all can find a coach and pay for your own suits, we're good."
They didn't have to look far for a coach. Martha Washington was a physical education teacher at UGA, and though she didn't really know anything about swimming, certainly not competitive swimming, she was game to lead Georgia's newest program.
"She didn't know a thing about swimming, but she learned a lot," Spurlin said. "I cobbled together a meet schedule, Coach Washington showed up and we wrote workouts, and we just started swimming."
Stroup, a sophomore from Philadelphia who went on to become the program's first All-American, was already more than just a decent swimmer wanting to compete collegiately. She nearly made the 1972 U.S. Olympic team, finishing one spot out at the Trials. According to a Red and Black student newspaper article published on Jan. 24, 1974, Stroup said she had previously been asked by men's coach Pete Scholle to swim on the guys' squad, but she missed most of the season with mononucleosis.
Coincidentally, the men's team also had a good swimmer from Philly at that time, Bauerle, who five years later was named the women's head coach and went on to lead the Bulldogs to those seven NCAA team titles and dozens of individual national championships and Olympic medals.
Bauerle was a senior the year the women's program started, and he admits that he "was in that phase (of college) of not paying much attention outside of what you're doing," so his memories of the start of the women's team he would go on to lead for more than 40 years are "nebulous."
On Jan. 9, 1974, The Red and Black ran a story on the start of the newest sport at Georgia, women's swimming, which was set to make its debut a few days later against Tennessee. According to the 1974 Pandora yearbook, Georgia beat Tennessee in that meet, 79-52. The yearbook lists eight meets on the schedule for the inaugural season, and Georgia won seven of them, all quite easily. The only loss came against Florida, which had fielded a team for several years at that point.
In the May 31, 1974 edition of The Red and Black, there's a letter to the editor from an E.J. Stapler, who wrote that Washington and the women's swim team should have been selected as the coach and team of the year, respectively, ahead of the newspaper sports staff's selections: Dan Magill and the men's tennis team. Of the swim program's 7-1 debut season, Stapler wrote: "Rarely is such a record achieved in the first year of a sport."
Stroup Holz died in 2019. Three years earlier, she was a member of the 2016 Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame inductee class alongside one of the greatest Georgia and collegiate swimmers ever, Kara Lynn Joyce, who won the 50 and 100 freestyle NCAA titles all four years and was a three-time Olympian.
Georgia coach Stefanie Williams Moreno, a 28-time All-American and four-time national champion during her incredible career, is one of many, many beneficiaries of the initiative that Sprulin, Stroup and those original six women showed in wanting to start a swim team. Along with having Spurlin serve as the honorary captain, Moreno had her talk with the team.
"I think it's important to know where we come from, and to appreciate where we are," said Moreno, adding that she likes to have former swimmers talk to her team. "And the girls actually really like it, because it's similar stories, whether they swam in the '70s, '80s or '90s. Just how much this program has changed and helped them in their career or their journey, and just their love for the program."
Spurlin's love was evident Saturday as she watched the Bulldogs from the best seat in the house. Everything that came after — the championships, the elite facilities, the Olympic medals — it all started with six gutsy, talented and determined women. They pursued their dreams and made them a reality, and Georgia swimmers have been doing that ever since.
"Once we all got the idea, we were all like, 'Yeah, why not?'" Spurlin said of starting the team. "We deserve it."
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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