Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics
On National Signing Day last month, JMU’s women’s tennis program signed four-star recruit Hope Moulin. Hope — who’s ranked No. 1 in her division in Florida — is the sister of Kylie Moulin, a redshirt sophomore on the team.
“[JMU] has a great tennis team,” Hope said. “I love all the girls on the team, and it’s just a bonus that my sister’s on the team as well.”
Hope said she knew she wanted to leave Florida and go to school somewhere farther north where she could experience different seasons. The fact that her sister attends JMU helped Hope learn more about the school than just the tennis program.
“I could get more of an honest opinion from her,” Hope said. “It was definitely a benefit.”
Kylie transferred to JMU in 2019 after two years at the University of Alabama, where she redshirted after a season-ending injury. It was at Alabama where she met head coach Shelley Jaudon, who was an assistant coach her freshman year before becoming JMU’s head coach.
“I loved having her as my coach so much,” Kylie said. “We had a great relationship my freshman year, and then coming here it just made it even better.”
Jaudon met Hope while working with Kylie at Alabama. Jaudon said she knew she wanted to recruit Hope, but that the process wasn’t an easy task to complete.
“We didn’t have any scholarships for her class,” Jaudon said. “With [COVID-19] and how it worked out with the girls getting an extra year, some taking it and some not, it ended up opening up a scholarship for next fall.”
This is the first time Jaudon has a set of sisters on her roster. However, she recognizes that although they’re sisters, they’re not twins, and each will bring something different to the team dynamic.
“In terms of being teammates and how I see them as their coach, they’re two very different people,” Jaudon said. “They have two very different personalities.”
When Hope comes to JMU, she’ll have her sister by her side to help her transition to college life both as a student and an athlete. Although they’re a few years apart, Kylie said she’s excited to share this experience with her sister.
“Being the older sibling, I’ve been able to see her grow up and become a better tennis player,” Kylie said. “I think it’s gonna be fun to see all of her hard work culminate into something that both of us have dreamed about since we were little kids.”
Jaudon said all of the girls on the team have a close bond with each other and have a family-like connection. With the Moulin sisters on the same team, Jaudon said she wanted Hope to be confident that she’ll have her own experience on the team that’s independent from her sister’s.
“Kylie’s relationships won’t be [Hope’s],” Jaudon said. “They’re their own people, and they’ll get their own experiences.”
Hope said JMU stood out in the recruiting process despite COVID-19 making it more challenging. She said Jaudon’s willingness to go above and beyond to answer Hope’s questions and give her all the information she needed put JMU above the other schools she was considering.
“Even if [Jaudon] didn’t have an answer, she’d always try to find the answer for me,” Hope said. “It really showed [Jaudon’s] caringness towards me and who she was as a person.”
Despite the fact that Hope won’t arrive at JMU until next fall, she’s already made a positive impression on the team. Kylie said she thinks the addition of her sister will have immediate benefits.
“I think she’s someone that can really push the team to get to that next level,” Kylie said. “Even though she will be a freshman, I think she’s someone that my other teammates can look at and be like, ‘Oh, she’s working hard. I want to work that hard too.’”
Jaudon said she knows Hope will be a great contribution to the team from watching her play and mature over the last five years. She also said that working with Kylie and seeing her work ethic immediately attracted her to recruiting Hope.
“One thing I know about the Moulin girls is they have extremely high character and they’re very hard workers,” Jaudon said. “Kylie does nothing but bring our team up, and I know that Hope will do the same.”
Story originally published by The Breeze.
Comments