Title IX Groundbreakers

Hyleas Fountain became one of collegiate track and field's most versatile talents in just two years with the Lady Bulldogs from 2003-04. The Columbus, Ga., native transferred to UGA from Barton Community College and immediately rewrote the Georgia record books while leading the Lady Bulldogs to a pair of top-seven national team finishes. After winning the 2003 NCAA heptathlon title, Fountain won national championships in the indoor long jump and pentathlon a year later before adding another long jump crown outdoors in 2004. Fountain completed her two-year stint in Athens as a seven-time All-American, which also included earning a spot as one of the nation's best in the triple jump. She became a two-time Olympian and was the 2008 Silver Medalist in the heptathlon in Beijing.

Marissa Catlin is one of only two Bulldogs to claim two doubles national titles, teaming with Vanessa Castellano to capture the 1998 national clay court and the 1999 Rolex indoor crowns. In 1998, Catlin won the Honda Award as National Player of the Year after sweeping SEC Player of the Year and SEC Tournament MVP honors. Catlin earned seven All-America certificates, the second-most in program history, and helped lead Georgia to the 2000 NCAA Championship with a 5-4 victory over Stanford. From 1997-00, Catlin totaled 216 career wins – 123 singles and 93 doubles. Catlin owns Georgia's best career doubles winning percentage (.853), single-season doubles win percentage (.929) in 1999 and doubles team win percentage (.893) with Castellano from 1998-99.

From team and individual standpoints, Alisa Goler is one of Georgia Softball's most successful players ever. Goler was a member of squads that reached the 2009 and 2010 Women's College World Series Final Four teams. She holds the distinction of being one of four three-time All-Americans in the program's history, while also earning first-team All-SEC recognition from 2009-11. Twice she was named a top-25 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. Goler's name remains scattered in the Georgia record brooks. Her 58 home runs and 236 RBI held as the Bulldogs' career records until 2019. Goler still ranks in the top-10 in the SEC in career RBI, home runs and walks.

Katarina Jokic anchored Georgia's lineup at No. 1 singles for some of the Bulldogs' most successful teams ever. From 2017-21, Jokic totaled 172 career victories – 95 Singles and 77 doubles – in an accolade-filled career that included winning 2018 SEC Freshman of the Year, 2019 National Player of the Year and 2021 SEC Player of the Year. She also was a six-time All-American and a three-time All-SEC team honoree. As a freshman, Jokic won the 2017 ITA Southeast Regional. The following fall, she captured the 2018 ITA National Fall Championship. Jokic was a critical member of Georgia teams that won the 2019 ITA Indoor National Championship, reached the finals of the 2019 NCAA Championships and swept the 2021 SEC regular-season and tournament titles.

Cindy Schreyer became the first golfer to secure both individual national and SEC titles for Georgia. Schreyer captured medalist honors at the 1984 NCAA Championships in dramatic fashion, winning a three-player, three-hole playoff. The following spring, she led Georgia to a sweep of the team and individual crowns at the 1985 SECs. The 1984 Honda Broderick Cup National Golfer of the Year and a two-time, first-team All-American, Schreyer went on to a long and influential career on the LPGA Tour. From 1989-2004, she earned nearly $1.5 million on the Tour and won the 1993 Sun-Times Challenge. Schreyer also served on the LPGA Tour Player Executive Committee, including serving as the organization's President in 1999-2000.

Kim Wendland was one of the first great players in Georgia Softball history. Wendland won All-America honors in each of her last three years from 2003-05 and is just one of just four Bulldogs to earn three All-America certificates. Wendland is also the only player in program history be named SEC Player of the Year and selected first-team All-SEC four consecutive years. Eighteen years after her UGA career ended, Wendland's 313 career hits, 233 RBI and school-record 64 doubles still rank among the top-5 in Georgia history. Defensively, her 1,403 putouts at first base rank second in program history. Wendland helped lead Georgia to its first-ever NCAA Regional appearance as a freshman in 2002 and the Bulldogs' first SEC Championship in 2003.

Lisa Spain cemented her legendary status in Georgia athletics long ago when she captured the NCAA singles title in 1984. She remains one of only two Bulldogs to claim the NCAA women's singles crown. Nearly four decades are completing her career, Spain still owns Georgia's record for best career winning percentage at .852 (123-21) from 1981-84. As a senior, she established program records for single-season and career victories with tallies of 39 and 123, respectively. Those efforts still rank among the Bulldogs' top-10 ever. A four-time All-American and four-time All-SEC honoree, Spain also won the 1984 SEC Championship at No. 1 Singles and the 1984 Honda Award given to the best collegiate female athlete in their sport.

Alex Hugo slugged her way to being one of Georgia's greatest softball players ever. An infielder from 2014-16, Hugo was a two-time NFCA All-American, a three-time All-SEC performer and a finalist for USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year. She appears in seven single-season top-10 lists at Georgia, including twice in home runs, RBI, slugging percentage and walks, which were often intentional. In her three-year career, Hugo cracked nine of the Bulldogs' career top-10 lists, including home runs, RBI and a program-record .779 slugging percentage. Hugo helped lead Georgia to the 2016 Women's College World Series and was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NPF Draft. In 2019, Hugo won a Gold Medal representing the U.S. at the Pan-American Championships.

Lauren Haygood was a founding member of the Georgia Equestrian intercollegiate program from 2001-04 and was a key letterwinner on teams that won the first two of the Bulldogs' seven national titles in 2003 and 2004. She rode and placed with multiple ribbons in Intermediate Horsemanship when UGA competed in the Intercollegiate Horseshow Association (IHSA). Haygood excelled in the classroom as well and was named to the SEC Honor Roll in 2004, but competed for Georgia prior to the initial NCEA and SEC awards. She is now a teacher and was named an NCEA Distinguished Alumni for Education in 2023.

Veronica Walker, the older sister to Bulldog legend Herschel Walker, made a name for herself in Athens on the Spec Towns Track in the sprints. Walker became one the first Lady Bulldogs to earn individual All-American honors at the 1982 AIAW Outdoor Championships by finishing sixth in the 100-meter dash. She earned a second All-America honor by helping Georgia's 400-meter relay team to a third-place finish at the 1982 nationals. Walker eventually married fellow Georgia All-American Bill Richard following their Bulldog careers. However, Veronica will forever be one of the groundbreakers for a Lady Bulldog program that went on to win the 2018 NCAA indoor crown and today owns 28 top-10 national team finishes, including four runner-up showings at the NCAA indoor and outdoor meets.

Although the history of golf program stretches back as far as any women's sport at Georgia, Shauna Estes delivered numerous firsts during her stellar career from 1997-2000. The Orangeburg, S.C., native became the first golfer in SEC history to earn the league's triple crown, sweeping 1997 SEC Player and Freshman of the Year honors and winning medalist honors at the SEC Championships that spring. Four years later, Estes graduated as the first four-time, first-team All-American in the Lady Bulldogs' history who had tied the school record for individual wins with seven titles. Estes was the anchor for several of Georgia's greatest teams, which won 18 tournaments during her career, including three consecutive SEC Championships and two NCAA East Regionals.

Lucy Wener helped push Georgia's Gym Dogs to the forefront of the college gymnastics universe, capping her career by dominating the 1989 NCAAs in Athens. She claimed Georgia's first individual national championship on the uneven bars as a freshman in 1986 and won additional bars titles in 1987 and 1989. She also helped Georgia to its first two team national titles in 1987 and 1989. Wener scored the first perfect 10.0 in NCAA Championships history in 1989 and earned All-America honors in the all-around and floor at that meet. One of the most celebrated signees in the program's history, Wener a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team and Gold Medalist on bars at the 1983 Pan American Games before coming to UGA.

Linda Detlefsen became the Georgia track and field program's first female national champion after finishing with a 4:21.32 – a second and a half ahead of the nearest competitor – in the 1500 meters at the 1984 NCAA Indoor Championships. The three-time All-American also captured a pair of middle-distance Southeastern Conference titles during the early years for the Lady Bulldogs. Forty years since Detlefsen took the track for Georgia, she remains in three separate spots on the school's all-time top-10 lists. The New York state native remains No. 2 in the Lady Bulldog record books in the 1500 meters with her 4:15.25 from the 1984 SEC Championships.

Kelly and Coco Miller starred for the Lady Bulldogs from 1997-2001 and helped Georgia advance to the 1999 Final Four, capture the 2000 SEC Championship and win the 2001 SEC Tournament. Kelly (2,177 points) and Coco (2,131 points) are two of only five Lady Bulldogs to score more than 2,000 points. They were both four-time All-SEC honorees, and Kelly was named 2000 and 2001 SEC Player of the Year. The Millers were co-recipients of the 1999 James E. Sullivan Memorial Award as the nation's top amateur athletes in all sports, and both earned All-America and Academic All-America accolades while at Georgia. They graduated with degrees in Biology and then were top-10 picks in the 2001 WNBA Draft before playing a dozen years in the league.

In her short tenure at Georgia, Kim Black turned in one of the most accomplished careers in program history. After joining the team in 1999, Black earned five All-America citations and helped the Bulldogs win back-to-back NCAA team championships and was a member of the title-winning 800-yard freestyle relay in 2001. Outside of Athens, she won a Gold Medal for Team USA in Sydney as a member of the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, swimming the third leg in prelims. In addition to her athletic exploits, Black became Georgia's third NCAA Woman of the Year recipient in 2001, along with receiving the NCAA Today's VIII Award and the Walter Byers Award as the nation's top female scholar-athlete.

Donna Noonan's impact on women's intercollegiate athletics began as a two-sport standout on Georgia's golf and basketball teams between 1975-78, which sparked a long and distinguished career at the NCAA. As a senior, Noonan placed 25th individually to lead Georgia to a 12th place team finish at the AIAW Golf Championships. In basketball, Noonan helped the Lady Bulldogs to their first winning season ever in 1975-76. After graduating, Noonan assisted with the coordination of two national championships at the UGA Golf Course – the 1981 AIAWs and the 1983 NCAAs. In 1987, Noonan joined the NCAA's championships division and during her 16 years on staff ascended to the role of vice president for the Division I Women's Basketball Championships from 1999-2003.

Nicole Barber not only ranks among Georgia's all-time greats in softball, she remains a prominent name in NCAA and SEC record books. From 2001-04, Barber's speed on the basepaths gave her an NCAA-best 257 career stolen bases. In the SEC records, Barber is first in career stolen bases as well as hits with 379, and she ranks in the league's career top 10 in triples, runs scored and fielding percentage as an outfielder. Barber was a three-time NFCA All-American and four-time All-SEC honoree. She played and started in all 278 games of her career, going 204-74 as a Bulldog with 70 SEC wins. Barber led Georgia to its first NCAA Regional in 2002 and first SEC Championship in 2003 with a 23-6 league record.

In college and on the international stage, Allison Schmitt produced one of the most prolific careers in swimming history. With the Bulldogs, Schmitt led her team to the 2013 NCAA Championship, along with winning 11 individual national titles in her career. A 21-time All-American, she received the 2013 Honda Award for the nation's best collegiate swimmer and was thrice named the university's top female student-athlete. Beyond Athens, she was a four-time Olympian, earning 10 overall medals, the most of any UGA product and fourth-most of any American swimmer. In 2012, Schmitt became Georgia's first individual Gold medalist by winning the 200-meter freestyle with an Olympic record-time of 1:53.61 and eventually won five medals in London.

Sherill Baker was dubbed the "Queen of Thieves" en route to earning 2006 National Defensive Player of the Year honors. As a senior, she led the nation with 149 steals, breaking a 25-year-old SEC season record. In the process, Baker shattered the league's career record with 426 takeaways – 50 more than the old mark. She also owns Georgia's single-game steals record and three of the Lady Bulldogs' top-10 season tallies. Baker, who ranks No. 10 among UGA's career scoring leaders with 1,665 points, helped the Lady Bulldogs reach the 2004 "Elite Eight" and three "Sweet 16s." She was a first-round draft pick of the New York Liberty and played four seasons in the WNBA, as well as overseas in Israel, Italy and Greece.

Tina Price was a two-sport star on Georgia's basketball and tennis teams during the infancy of women's intercollegiate athletics. Price scored a school-record 1,486 points between 1975-78, a mark which still remains among the Lady Bulldogs' top-20 career leaders nearly 50 years later. The Dublin, Ga., native's averages of 24.1 points in 1977-78 and 22.1 points in 1976-77 are the second- and fourth-best single-season efforts in program history, respectively, and her career average of 18.3 points is second only to four-time All-American Janet Harris. On the tennis court, Price anchored teams that combined to post a 47-12 record over three seasons between 1975-77, including the program's only undefeated season ever in 1975 when Georgia finished 14-0.

When Corrinne Wright left Athens, she had firmly established herself as one of Georgia's top athletes in any sport. From 1987-90, Wright's individual accomplishments also helped propel the Gym Dogs to new heights as a team. She became Georgia's first national champion in the All-Around in 1989 and also claimed top honors on the floor exercise that season. All told, Wright and was a nine-time All-American and won a combined four SEC individual titles on the bars, floor (twice) and vault. Wright also helped the Gym Dogs clinch their first NCAA team title in 1987 and capture another national championship in Athens in 1989. She also was integral in Georgia winning an SEC crown in 1987. Wright was inducted into the Circle of Honor in 2005.

Perhaps no gymnast played a bigger role in the emergence of Georgia Gymnastics as a national powerhouse than Kathy McMinn. From 1981-84, the Anniston, Ala., native set a standard for Gym Dogs to emulate, combining to earn nine All-American certificates and win seven SEC individual titles. As a senior, she set four of the possible five school records in individual events. McMinn was equally impressive in the classroom. She won the Marilyn Vincent Award as UGA's graduating female student-athlete with the highest GPA and was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. After graduating Cum Laude with a degree in Biochemistry, she attended medical school at UAB. McMinn was chosen as the 2008 UGA Bill Hartman Award winner and received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in 2019.

Hope Spivey tallied 12 first-team All-America awards and four individual national titles during her stellar career. She was just the fifth gymnast in college history to record a perfect 10.0 and finished her career with 24 perfect scores. In 1991, Spivey won the Honda Award after becoming the first Georgia freshman to win the NCAA all-around title, as well as the first to earn All-America honors on all four events. Spivey scored her first two of four SEC individual titles as a sophomore. She led the Gym Dogs to the 1993 national title and a perfect 32-0 record as a junior. In 1994, Spivey won her second NCAA floor exercise crown with the only 10.0 scored at that year's NCAAs.

Janet Harris helped bring Georgia Lady Bulldog Basketball to national prominence in the early-1980s and was one of the first truly great players in the "modern era" of women's basketball. Harris arrived in Athens in the fall of 1981, the same season that intercollegiate women's athletics moved from being governed by AIAW to the NCAA. She led Georgia to the 1983 and 1985 NCAA Final Fours and 1983 and 1984 SEC Championships. Harris was a four-time All-American and the first women's basketball player in NCAA history to record 2,500 points and 1,250 rebounds. She finished her career with 2,641 points and 1,398 rebounds, which are still the Lady Bulldogs' all-time records by a wide margin nearly four decades later.

Chelsey Gullickson is Georgia women's tennis' only eight-time All-American and four-time All-SEC honoree. From 2009-12, the Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., native totaled what was then a school-record 230 wins – 124 singles, 106 doubles. Gullickson also owned the Georgia record for single-season combined wins, posting 69 victories as both a freshman and a senior. In 2009, Gullickson was named National and SEC Freshman of the Year after helping Georgia sweep the SEC regular-season and tournament titles and reach the NCAA Tournament semifinals. The following spring, she captured the NCAA singles title at the Dan Magill Tennis Center. Gullickson still ranks third all-time in singles-season singles wins (43 in 2009) and holds the school record for most career doubles wins as a team (64 with Nadja Gilchrist).

One of the greatest swimmers in Georgia history, Lisa Coole helped Georgia reach new heights and established a lasting individual legacy. Coole won two NCAA Championships for the Bulldogs, a 100-yard butterfly title in 1996 and the program's first-ever relay title in 1995, while earning 26 All-America citations during her career. She also garnered 10 SEC individual titles and led the team to its first conference team championship in 1997. Following graduation, she became the program's first NCAA Woman of the Year recipient, along with earning an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and Academic All-America honors. Coole tragically passed in a car accident in May 1998 and is remembered by the UGA Foundation Fellows each year with an award in her name.

Kim Arnold is the only GymDog ever to win back-to-back Honda Awards as the nation's premier collegiate gymnast. Arnold was the NCAA all-around champion and Honda honoree in both 1997 and 1998. In 1997, she won all-around titles at the SEC, Southeast Region and NCAA meets, the first Georgia gymnast to win all three postseason meets in the same season. The Portland, Oregon native also won the 1998 NCAA balance beam title and helped lead Georgia to the national championship that season. A 12-time All-American and member of three SEC Championship teams, Arnold was a two-time Presidential Scholar and was inducted to the UGA Athletic Association's Circle of Honor in 2009.

Becky Birchmore was a decade ahead of Title IX. The Athens native played for the Georgia men's tennis team in 1963, her senior year. After the SEC ruled that women could compete in its sports programs the previous winter, Birchmore was persuaded to join the men's team. She posted a 3-0 record in doubles and a 1-0 mark in singles; however, her success caused opponents to default rather than play her. Birchmore earned undergraduate and law degrees from UGA and Medical College of Georgia before spending 30 years on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. In 2000, she received the Bill Hartman Award, which is given annually to a former UGA student-athlete that has demonstrated excellence in their profession or in service to others.

Priscilla Pacheco is arguably Georgia volleyball's most decorated player. She became the first Georgia volleyball player to be named First Team All-America, earning the status in both 1993 and 1994 when she also finished as the NCAA kills leader (754, 785). She was recognized as AVCA All-Region all four seasons and All-SEC three times. Pacheco had the honor of playing for the U.S. National Team in 1994 and participated in the World University Games in 1995. Nicknamed the "Spike Doctor," Pacheco holds Georgia's record for career points (3,018) and kills (2,675) and is one of only 14 members of Georgia's Double-Grand Club with 2,675 kills and 1,134 digs. In 2006, she was inducted into Georgia's Circle of Honor, the first and only volleyball student-athlete enshrined.

Tasha Humphrey became just the third women's basketball player in SEC history to be named a four-time consensus first-team All-SEC honoree by both the league coaches and Associated Press. Still the second-leading scorer and fourth-leading rebounder in Georgia history, Humphrey was a four-time All-American, including a spot on the prestigious WBCA Kodak All-America team in 2006. She was named the National Freshman of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year in 2005. Humphrey led Georgia in scoring in each of her four seasons in Athens, one of only two players in program history to accomplish that feat. The Gainesville, Ga., native was the 11th overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft and played for Detroit, Washington and Minnesota.

With a legendary final season in Athens, Mollie Belisle became just the third All-American in Georgia soccer history in 2021. During her fifth-year season, Belisle scored 15 goals and accumulated 33 points, finishing the regular season as the nation's No. 5 scorer and earning SEC Forward of the Year honors. Her many goals included an overtime winner at No. 5 LSU, a game-winner against Florida and two in an upset victory over No. 15 Clemson. Belisle left the program ranked in the top 10 in points, goals, game winners and shots. In addition to her success on the field, she was named to the SEC Community Service Team twice and the SEC Academic Honor Roll four times.

Carly Veldman was a top Horsemanship rider and helped lead the Bulldogs to their first three national titles during stellar career from 2003-06. A native of Granger, Ind., she was the team's Western MVP after the 2005 campaign, when she won her Horsemanship class at the Varsity Equestrian National Championship meet. That year she also won a World Championship at the American Paint Horse Association competition. She earned a career-high Horsemanship score of 80.5 against South Carolina during her senior year. Veldman graduated from Georgia with a degree in Business in 2006. She was then named the Western Assistant Coach, primarily in charge of Georgia's Western contingent of riders, and coached for three seasons.

Alexandra Oquendo became the third Georgia volleyball player to earn AVCA All-America honors, securing such status as a junior in 2004. She was a three-time All-SEC player for the Bulldogs and twice earned AVCA All-Region recognition. Oquendo owns both Georgia's career and season hitting percentage records. She compiled 1,531 career kills at a highly respectable .361 clip. In Oquendo's All-America season, she led the SEC with a school-record .410 hitting percentage and concluded the campaign averaging 4.72 kills and 1.10 blocks per set. Oquendo represented her home country of Puerto Rico in the 2016 Rio Olympics, only the second Bulldog to reach the Olympic stage in indoor volleyball.

Carly Anthony became first NCEA rider with over 100 career wins during her illustrious career at Georgia. From 2010-13, Anthony compiled records of 51-12 in Flat and 51-15 in Fences and helped lead Georgia to one team national championship. She earned more than 30 Most Outstanding Performer honors and ranks second in both Flat and Fences for most in NCEA history. Anthony earned five NCEA All-America nods – three on Flat and two on Fences – and was named the 2013 SEC Flat Rider of the Year in the first year the conference sponsored the sport. After graduating from Georgia, Anthony turned professional and has worked for Olympians in Europe. She has since started Carly Anthony Showjumping Inc. and won numerous Grand Prixs.

Maria Taylor excelled on both the volleyball and basketball courts at Georgia. A two-time All-SEC honoree in volleyball, Taylor is one of four members in Georgia's 2,000-point club and ranks fourth in career kills. She also earned a spot on a U.S. National Team in 2007. Taylor was a member of UGA's basketball team that reached the "Sweet 16" of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Taylor served as the female student-athlete representative on the UGA Athletic Board and was named a member of the Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholars Team. In 2011, she was awarded an NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women's Enhancement Postgraduate Scholarship for Careers in Athletics and became a "Double Dog" with UGA degrees in both Journalism and Business.

Carrie Patterson compiled one of the greatest careers in Georgia soccer history, becoming one of only five Bulldogs ever named first-team All-SEC in all four seasons. Patterson became the program's second All-American in 2007, helping the Bulldogs earn a record 18 wins and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. During her career, she led her teams to three NCAA bids and two SEC Tournament finals, amassing 54 victories in her tenure. In 2006, she became the first Bulldog to be named SEC Freshman of the Year as she led the league in both goals (12) and points (31). Patterson remains the all-time program leader in starts, points, goals and shots, along with ranking second in assists.

Marta Silva Zamora enjoyed one of the most consistent and productive careers in the history of Georgia Golf. The native of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, won six individual titles – including the 2009 SEC crown – and finished in the top-10 individually at 26 of 44 tournaments during her career at UGA. Silva Zamora is one of only two Bulldog golfers to be a four-time All-American and one of just three four-time first-team All-SEC golfers ever for Georgia. She was tabbed 2011 National Player of the Year after in notching six top-5 individual efforts in 10 tournaments, including a fourth-place showing at the NCAA Championships. In the process, Silva Zamora also shattered Georgia's season stroke average record by more than a full shot per round.

Hailing from Durham, Conn., Jessica and Samantha Drop arrived on the Georgia campus and immediately put the collegiate distance running world on alert. The sisters led the cross country team during all six of its meets in 2016, including Jessica earning second-team All-SEC honors and Samantha securing All-Region honors at the NCAA South Regional. Both Drops finished their careers with many of Georgia's top distance times on the track, both indoors and outdoors. Equally impressive, the duo earned an array of SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, spots on SEC Community Service Teams, Academic All-America accolades, first-team All-America certificates on both the track and in cross country and being a part of the UGA's only women's indoor track and field national championship in 2018.

Nikki Nicholson was an All-American both on and off the court at Georgia, earning AVCA All-America honors in 1993 and 1994 as well as CoSIDA Academic All-America status in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Nicholson was named the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for volleyball in both 1994 and 1995. She was a four-time All-SEC performer and earned All-Region accolades three years for the Red and Black. Nicholson is in elite company as one of only four members of Georgia's 2,000-Point Club (2,157 points) having registered 1,850 kills, 91 aces and 373 total blocks. She finished third all-time in career kills and ninth in career digs (1,205), making Nicholson one of only 14 Bulldogs in the Double Grand Club.

Nicole Williams set the standard for goalkeeping at Georgia, playing nearly every minute of her career from 1997-2000. Williams was twice named to All-Southeast Region and All-SEC, including first-team honors as a senior. She still holds the program records for career saves (373) and shutouts (30), along with the single-match mark for saves with 15 against Washington in 1999. In that same year, Williams posted a program-record 12 shutouts, including eight straight to open the season. She led Georgia to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 1998 and the SEC Tournament final in 2000. Williams later became Georgia Soccer's first professionally drafted player, going to the New York Power in the third round of the 2001 WUSA Draft.

Dr. Clifford Lewis enjoyed a 42-year association with the University of Georgia, first as an exceptional student and then as a distinguished faculty member. She graduated from UGA in 1944 and returned to Athens in 1946, ascending from professor to chair of the Department of Physical Education and associate dean of the College of Education before retiring in 1985. Lewis played a major role in the merging of the university's men's and women's physical education programs and served as the first woman on the UGA Athletic Board after women's athletics moved from club to intercollegiate status. Since 1989, the Athletic Association has given the Clifford Lewis Leadership Award annually to the UGA female student-athlete who demonstrates a commitment to the group above personal gain.

Katrina McClain, a member of both the Naismith and Women's Basketball Halls of Fame, became Georgia Basketball's first-ever National Player of the Year in 1987. As a three-time U.S. Olympian, her resume is as distinguished as virtually any player in women's basketball history. While at Georgia, McClain helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to NCAA runner-up finish in 1985 and SEC Championships in 1984 and 1986. She then enjoyed a successful professional career, playing in Japan, Italy, Spain and Turkey before joining the ABL's Atlanta Glory. McClain was the leading scorer for Gold medal-winning 1988 U.S. Olympic team, captured a Bronze medal in 1992 and then capped her international career with a Gold medal at the 1996 Centennial Games in Atlanta.

Georgia swimmer Sheila Taormina made history for the Bulldogs both in Athens and on the international stage. Taormina reached the NCAA Championships in all four seasons, earning 13 All-America citations along with the 1991 SEC title in the 400-yard IM. She was also a two-time Academic All-American and received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. In 1996, Taormina became the first Georgia swimmer to earn an Olympic medal, winning gold for Team USA as part of the 4x200-meter freestyle relay in Atlanta. She later competed in the Olympic triathlon in 2000 and 2004, finishing sixth in Sydney, before closing her career in the modern pentathlon in 2008. In the process, Taormina became the first woman to qualify for the Olympics in three different sports.

In a sport striving for perfection, Karin Lichey is still the only gymnast in NCAA history to record a Perfect 40 – 10s in each exercise during a meet. She also helped lead the GymDogs to NCAA Championships in 1998 and 1999 and four consecutive SEC Championships. Individually, Lichey won a national title on floor and was the first Georgia gymnast to earn the maximum five first-team All-America honors in more than one season. She was the 1999 SEC all-around champion and captured six SEC individual titles during her career, two each on vault and bars and one each on beam and floor. Lichey capped an illustrious career by being named SEC Gymnast of the Year and Honda Award winner for gymnastics in 1999.

NCAA Woman of the Year, Bowerman Award winner, four-time USTFCCCA National Women's Field Athlete of the Year and the list goes on and on. Mount Olive, N.J., native Keturah Orji signed with Georgia prior in 2014 and finished her career in 2018 as one of the most decorated Lady Bulldogs in history. Setting collegiate and American records in the triple jump, Orji finished 31-1 in her featured event. She was a 15-time All-American and eight-time NCAA champion while leading the Georgia women to their first national team championship in 2018 indoors. The two-time Olympian established nine of the all-time top-10 collegiate indoor/outdoor marks in the triple and was also exceptional in the classroom, becoming a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American.

Bernadette Locke Mattox was much more than a standout basketball player – she was, and is, a standard bearer for generations of women. In many respects, Mattox was the first. She was the first-ever UGA female student-athlete to earn both All-America and Academic All-America honors. After serving as a graduate assistant, academic counselor and assistant coach for the Lady Bulldogs, Mattox made NCAA history in 1990 when she joined the University of Kentucky men's program and became the first female to serve as an assistant for a Division I men's team. In 1995, she became the first African American women's basketball head coach in the SEC at Kentucky. Without a doubt, Mattox has opened doors for a multitude of women that have followed.

Liz Murphey arrived in Athens in 1967 as an assistant professor of physical education and women's golf coach. By the time Title IX was enacted, Murphey had laid the groundwork for Georgia to be a national power in golf. In fact, UGA hosted and finished 10th in the 1971 DGWS Intercollegiate Championships, the year before the watershed law in women's athletics was signed. Murphey led Georgia to five consecutive top-10 finishes from 1979-83, including a runner-up effort in 1981. Concurrently, her responsibilities expanded to Senior Women's Administrator for UGA Athletics. In that role, she hired many of the Georgia's greatest coaches ever, a group that has combined to capture 19 NCAA Championships and 66 SEC titles.

Feature Video of Title IX Groundbreaker - Liz Murphey