Bauerle back at helm for Georgia swimmers

Anticipation isn’t keeping Jack Bauerle up all night.

Instead, a shoulder on the mend has the legendary Georgia swim coach in constant search of a comfortable place to rest his head.

“Sleeping in a recliner doesn’t work real well,” said Bauerle, who had surgery in December to correct “about three things” in his right shoulder.

Wearing a bulky sling and showing no signs of sleep deprivation, Bauerle was his usual upbeat self while discussing the upcoming competitions with Texas prior to practice on Monday.

For as much as he tried to deflect the significance — Bauerle kept circling back to the elite challenge the Longhorns present — this weekend’s competitions mean a great deal, for both Bauerle and the program he’s been in charge of for more than three decades.

Bauerle will lead his squads Saturday for the first time since NCAA violations pushed him off the deck last spring.

“A lot of people had a lot of different thoughts on what would happen,” senior Maddie Locus said of the wait for Bauerle’s return. “I honestly had no idea.”

Now — Jack is back.

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