Her eyes have always been on a national championship, but LSU women’s tennis co-head coach Julia Sell had to finish cleaning up first.
Over the past four years, Sell has transformed the LSU women’s tennis program from an aimless greenhorn to a top-20 championship contender. By now, records are breaking, the team is climbing national rankings and America’s best recruits stand in line.
Before Sell was hired in June 2012, the women’s tennis team, under former coach Tony Minnis, finished its last three seasons with losing records. The team was flailing, but Sell was up for the challenge and ready to carry a collegiate head coaching title for the first time in her career.
“I had six open scholarships,” Sell said. “On a team of eight, that’s insanity, and I’ve never ever seen that before. Nothing was getting done with recruiting.”
Without wasting any time, Sell signed now-juniors Joana Vale Costa, Abigail Owens and Skylar Holloway, serving as symbols of where the program was headed.
However, Sell’s first year as a head coach carried many challenges and crucial injuries. Year one proved to be a tough transition with disappointing results and the Tigers finishing SEC play with a 1-12 record . Freshmen, who made up Minnis’ last LSU recruiting class, were overwhelmed, as they were forced to play on higher-ranked courts than anticipated.
“I came in as a freshman thinking if I play at 5 or 6, get a few games in, that’s good. But I ended up playing at 2 most of the year,” said senior Ella Taylor. “There were times where I considered if I came to the right place, but I always trusted in Julia, Michael, the other coaches and my teammates.”
As the years went on, increasing success seemed inevitable with the progression of Sell’s recruiting classes and the valuable transfers that followed. 
The new additions contributed to a 14-14 record in Sell’s second year, but showed real results of Sell’s practice mentality in the following year, as the team finished last season 20-11, marking the program’s first winning record since 2009.
With the winning record, the members of her recruiting classes saw tremendous individual success, as well. Then-junior transfer Skylar Kuykendall finished singles with a 30-8 record and was named to the 2015 All-SEC Second Team. Vale Costa was selected to the All-SEC First Team and became the first LSU player in six years to participate in the NCAA singles championships.
“Since I got here, she has always been protecting me as a player,” Vale Costa said. “She knew that I wanted to play professionally, so she’s just taking care of my career and making me play better and be a better person on and off the court. She has been really important to me.”
Prior to the 2015 season, Sell’s recruiting reached a breakout-point with the commitment of Jessica Golovin. The blue chip recruit marked the highest-ranked commitment in LSU history and boosted the Lady Tigers’ 2016 recruiting class to a No. 13 national ranking, along with University of Texas transfer Ryann Foster.
“We are getting higher and higher ranked recruits, therefore the level and quality of tennis is getting higher,” said LSU women’s tennis co-head coach Michael Sell. “Not only that, they are buying into her system of coaching and teaching that’s giving a positive and improving impact on all the players. Now, they are feeling the success, so they believe in her even more and work even harder.”
Though challenges remain in doubles play, the 2016 season has been one for the books. LSU’s 6-0 start tied the fourth-best start in school history, while their participation in the ITA Indoor Championships proved their place as a national championship contender.
“Since my freshman year, we’ve been working on chemistry and building the new program,” Vale Costa said. “Although we weren’t as good as we wanted to be the past few years, we were still working in the right direction. Now, it’s time for us to live the dream. We deserve it.”
With a steadily improving roster, a No. 21 preseason ranking and a brand new tennis complex, Julia broke ground as she secured the No. 1 recruiting class in February 2016.
“This is the place you envision your program,” Julia said. “Positive things are surrounding it. There’s positive chatter in the recruiting world and players are starting to come to us instead of the other way around. I always knew that if I worked hard enough that we would get here at some point. I’m still pinching myself and trying to get my head around it.”