Georgia women’s swimming and diving head coach Jack Bauerle never thought he would see his team set a school record for consecutive home wins.

The Georgia women's swimming and diving team broke the men's tennis team's record for consectutive home victories. The Lady Bulldogs have won 77 straight home meets dating back to 1995. ALLISON LOVE/Staff

But that’s exactly what the Lady Bulldogs on Friday as they won their 77th consecutive home meet in Gabrielsen Natatorium, beating South Carolina 177-112.

The school record was previously held by the men’s tennis team, which won 76 straight home matches from 1968 to 1972 under head coach Dan Magill.

“Imagine that — 77 — would’ve never thought that it in a million years,” Lady Bulldogs head coach Jack Bauerle said.

“It means an awful lot to me,” he added. “It means a lot to share it with Coach [Magill. It also means a lot to these swimmers."

It was especially sweet for the seniors who have been adding to a win streak that dates back to 1995.

"We were talking about it earlier yesterday — 16 years, four different generations of four different teams have completely gone through here," senior Michelle McKeehan said. "Just to know that girls from 16 years ago were texting Jack saying, ‘Congratulations’ — that’s just amazing to me to be a part of that history."

The Lady Bulldogs continue to give credit to the classes that have passed before them and appreciate the tradition that they carry on.

"I just want to make the Bulldogs that have graduated — the past swimmers — proud that their hard work and success kind of rubbed off on us and made us want to keep it going,” sophomore Jessica Graber said.

Freshman Sommers Creed was humbled by it all as she contributed to the effort, winning her first two events as a Lady Bulldog in the 200 butterfly and 500 freestyle.

“Being a part of this legend just means a lot and the fact that I can be on this team and continue with this tradition is really cool,” Creed said.

The team as a whole won in dominating fashion, finishing 1-2-3 in 25 out of 32 events.

“I think we swam great. We had several girls go season-best times,” McKeehan said. “I think this is a great preview coming off Christmas training – some of our hardest training – and I think it’s just a great preview for what the team can do at SEC’s and NC’s.”

Coach Bauerle added to his seniors' thoughts on the record-setting performance.

“I think we raced great today,” he said. “I always tell ‘em, 'Look, we’ll control the scoring. You control the effort.’”

The celebration will be short lived, though as the team gets back it as they host a strong Tennessee team tomorrow at 2 p.m.

“It’s going to be a really big challenge,” Graber said. “They’re always ready for us and we want to show them that this is our house.”

Bauerle, who had a somewhat subdued reaction to breaking the record after the meet ended, knows the importance of making sure the team stays focused for the Volunteers.

“Our biggest challenge will be not to have to restart [the streak] tomorrow,” he said.