Julia Sell, head coach of the No. 15 LSU women’s tennis team, knows Florida coach Roland Thornqvist very well.
In fact, Sell played under Thornqvist in college.
She was a player at Florida from 1999-2003 — a time during which Florida won a national title, two Southeastern Conference titles, three SEC tournament titles, was NCAA runner-up and National Team Indoor runner-up.
To say that Sell knows Thornqvist’s style is an understatement.
"(Sell’s) gonna want to try and end what we have going here," Thornqvist said.
"And they have a ball striking club there, they have players who really hit the ball, so we certainly have to be ready and perhaps defend if need be."
When LSU plays No. 6 Florida on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Ring Tennis Complex, expect a close match.
Over her three years at LSU, Sell raised the Tigers nearly 40 spots in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings.
She also turned the program around by bringing in freshman Jessica Golovin, the highest-ranked American commitment in LSU history, along with touted junior Joana Vale Costa and senior Skylar Kuykendall.
Last season, LSU reached the 20-win mark for the third time in program history.
But while the Tigers have improved drastically in Sell’s time at the helm, the Gators still hold an advantage over LSU.
All time, Florida boasts a 41-1 record against the Tigers.
The last time these two teams played, Florida swept LSU after winning the doubles point and getting singles victories with Josie Kuhlman, Kourtney Keegan and Brianna Morgan.
Players on courts four, five and six for the Gators are undefeated in SEC play this season, meaning the depth of this team contributes greatly to their success.
In addition, the Gators have won 155 consecutive dual matches at home dating back to 2005.
Florida is also the only undefeated team left in the SEC, and are one game ahead of No. 4 Georgia and No. 8 South Carolina.
Florida is led by No. 9 Belinda Woolcock and No. 10 Brooke Austin in singles and the No. 5 doubles duo of Austin and Keegan.
Meanwhile, LSU is lead by No. 19 Vale Costa and No. 48 Golovin in singles and No. 70 Vale Costa and Ryann Foster in doubles.
"We have to be the team who’s willing to take the pain of long, extended points overall in a match. That confidence you get as a player knowing you can grind people down is invaluable," Thornqvist said.
"...So that our players have the confidence and belief that the Gators will be the toughest team in long points, long games and long matches."
Contact Jake Dreilinger at jdreilinger@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DreilingerJake.
Brooke Austin hits an open-stance backhand during Florida women's tennis' 4-0 win against Elon on Jan. 24, 2015, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
