Sept. 7, 2011
ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia Tech head swimming and diving coach Courtney Shealy Hart, has been chosen for induction in Georgia’s Circle of Honor alongside football player Billy Payne and teammate Kristy Kowal. All of the inductees have not only starred at Georgia, but also made a significant impact on the international stage.
Payne, Kowal and Hart will be recognized at the Georgia-South Carolina football game on Saturday, Sept. 10. They will be inducted into the Circle of Honor on Friday, April 13, 2012.
“I am very honored to be inducted into the Georgia Circle of Honor,” said Hart. It is a special place with some amazing people and for me to be a part of that is a great feeling.”
The Circle of Honor is designed to recognize and pay tribute to extraordinary student-athletes and coaches who by their performance and conduct have brought honor to the university and themselves, and who by their actions have contributed to the tradition of the Georgia Bulldogs. The criteria also stipulate that each recipient has earned his or her academic degree.
Hart, a native of Columbia, S.C., was named the NCAA and the SEC Female Swimmer of the Year in 2000. She captured national titles in the 50-Free, the 100-Free and the 100-Back. Hart won NCAA crowns as a member of the 400-Free and 400-Medley relays. She finished with 19 SEC titles, including four in the 100-Free and three in the 100-Back.
Hart also was a three-year letterwinner for Georgia’s volleyball team, earning Most Valuable Player honors in 1998. She became the first NCAA Division I female student-athlete to compete in two sports on the same day, accomplishing that feat three times during her career.
She competed around the world in international meets, highlighted by her selection for Team USA in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. There, Hart earned gold medals on the 400-Medley and 400-Free relays.
Hart graduated with a degree in Sports Studies and Communications and later added a master’s degree in Sports Management. Behind Kowal and Hart, the Lady Bulldogs won national championships in 1999 and 2000 – the first two titles in school history.