Jump To Top of Page

Walker, Diaz, Wallace Inducted into Georgia’s Circle of Honor

Herschel Walker —1982 Heisman Trophy winner and member of the College Football Hall of Fame — along with legendary tennis coaches Manuel Diaz and Jeff Wallace were inducted into the UGA Athletic Association Circle of Honor at a ceremony Friday night.

Longtime Georgia Bulldogs and Athens radio host Jeff Dantzler served as the event’s emcee. Held at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall, Friday’s ceremony included introductions by J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks and UGA president Jere W. Morehead.

In addition to this year’s Circle of Honor selections, Judge William T. Moore was honored with the Bill Hartman Award.

This year’s class of Walker, Diaz and Wallace won an astounding 70 SEC Championships and 16 total national championships during their playing and coaching careers. Below is more information on each inductee.

Herschel Walker

One of the greatest players in college football history, Wrightsville, Georgia, native Herschel Walker was a unanimous All-America selection in each of his three seasons at Georgia. At the conclusion of his college career, Walker owned 41 school records, 16 Southeastern Conference records and 11 NCAA records. 

As a freshman in 1980, Walker led Georgia to a perfect 12-0 record and the national championship. That season, he rushed for a NCAA freshman record 1,616 yards — a mark that stood until 1996.

Walker finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1980, second in 1981 and first in 1982 and was the first three-time All-American in program history. Over his career, he amassed 5,259 total rushing yards, an average of 159.4 yards per game — both still Georgia records to this day. Walker’s No. 34 is one of four retired jerseys for the Bulldog football program.

Manuel Diaz 

Manuel Diaz — the SEC’s all-time leader among men’s tennis coaches with 781 career victories — retired in 2024 following a 46-year association with the Georgia men’s tennis program. He was a two-time All-American during his playing days from 1972-75, and then served on Coach Dan Magill’s staff as an assistant/associate head coach from 1982-88 before taking over as head coach.

During his tenure as head coach, Diaz’s teams captured six national team championships and 29 Southeastern Conference crowns. Georgia reached the NCAA tournament in all 36 seasons under his leadership, while players captured a total of eight individual NCAA championships. Diaz was awarded seven conference Coach of the Year trophies, eight ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year recognitions and three ITA National Coach of the Year awards. 

Jeff Wallace

Jeff Wallace arrived to the University of Georgia as a student-athlete and became a legendary women’s tennis coach, contributing more than 40 years to the Bulldog athletic program. He played for and learned from the legendary Dan Magill. Georgia’s women’s tennis program’s rose to national prominence under his leadership and included more than 800 victories, six national championships and countless successful graduates.

He is one of a select few Division I collegiate coaches across all sports whose teams played for a national championship in five different decades. Under his leadership, the Bulldogs made 36 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances including 13 Final Fours. His student-athletes earned nine national individual titles, five in singles and four in doubles. He coached two Honda Award winners, two National Players of the Year and three National Seniors of the Year.  His 818 career victories rank second in all of women’s tennis. The 14-time Coach of the Year selection is the only collegiate women’s tennis coach to be named National Coach of the Year four times.

WTEN: UGA Welcomes Five Newcomers

The Georgia women’s tennis program welcomed five newcomers for the 2025-2026 season, head coach Drake Bernstein announced on Friday. The newest Bulldogs are freshmen Emily Deming, Deniz Dilek, Emma Dong, Anastasiia Gureva, and Patricija Paukstyte.

Emily Deming
Deming, from Fallbrook, Calif., joins the Bulldogs as a blue-chip recruit and is ranked No. 17 nationally and No. 4 in California by the Tennis Recruiting Network. She is the daughter of Tim and Julie Deming. Her sister is Julia Deming, a former collegiate tennis player at the University of Kansas and is now a women’s tennis assistant coach at Fresno State. Deming reached the round of 16 of the 2025 Level 1 UTSA National Spring Championship: Fila Easter Bowl girls singles 18 & under and is a 2025 doubles finalist. Additionally, in 2023, Deming was a L1 USTA winter nationals doubles champion.

Deniz Dilek
Dilek, a native of Ankara, Turkey, achieved a career-high International Tennis Federation junior ranking of No. 30 and has won 19 ITF junior singles and doubles titles. Before arriving at Georgia, she competed in the Billie Jean King Cup twice, reaching the finals in 2022. She is a national champion at both the under-16 and under-18 levels in Turkey and has competed in all four junior Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Emma Dong
Dong, originally from Vancouver, Canada, achieved a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 58 and No. 2 in Canada’s under-18 division. She is a three-time Canadian national singles champion and a two-time doubles champion.

Anastasiia Gureva
Gureva, a native of Samara, Russia, joins the Bulldogs with an impressive list of accomplishments. She achieved a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 11 and her best WTA singles ranking of No. 342. In 2023, she reached the semifinals of the Roland Garros Junior Championships in singles and won the doubles title at the U.S. Open Junior Championships. Most recently, she claimed the title at the 2024 ITF W50 tournament in Trnava.

Patricija Paukstyte
Paukstyte, a Kaunas, Lithuania native has tallied two ITF singles titles and 10 ITF doubles titles in her career. She achieved a career-high WTA ranking of No. 484 and competed in BJKC for Lithuania five times.

Jump To Today’s Discussion Thread