What happens when you take a college tennis player, partner them with a parent who played college tennis and put them in a top national doubles tournament? For SMU's Drew Morris and Lana Mavor it meant success.
Morris played with her mother and former SMU tennis player herself Tammy to place second in their tournament. Tammy was a standout All-American, a part of the No. 1 doubles team in the country, a member of the No. 3 team overall in the country and a team NCAA semi-finalist. Meanwhile, Mavor played with her father and former North Carolina State tennis player Brian to finish third.
Both teams played at the Grass Court Championships hosted by the UTSA in Chestnut Hill, outside of Boston at the beginning of August.
It was just a short trip from home for the Mavor family.
"I was in Maine for the summer, and usually I'm not in Maine for the summer," Lana said. "And then before we always had tournaments. This was the first summer and opportunity that I was home for the summer, so we were both there together, and Boston was close. It just worked out."
The Morrises made the trip from Houston with a chance to play some tennis while also taking in the sights.
"When we go, we're also going for a fun trip," Tammy said. "We went to Boston to play on grass and it's Boston. So, we played and went around Boston. It was a vacation, really, but tennis came first and then vacation second."
The biggest obstacle was the grass court. The surface already creates a different style of play. Then add in some rain that took away practice time on the courts and made the surface even more difficult.
"When we first started hitting on grass, we had 10 minutes to warm up. We had never played on grass before," Drew said. "They weren't letting anyone hit the day before because it had rained. So I think it was just like the moment we stepped on the grass, realizing how different it was. The balls didn't bounce. We just kind of thought that was funny. It was just kind of a shock, but it was pretty funny."
The mother-daughter duo didn't let that slow them down. They won their quarterfinal match 6-0, 6-4 and then went onto a 6-4, 6-1 victory in the semifinals. But the hometown team they faced in the finals had the home court advantage and got the win.
"I think also when we realized, OK, it's not really us, it's the fact that we're playing on a surface that's just so foreign," Tammy said. "I mean, it's like running on pavement versus running on the beach. It's just such a different game. And the team we played in the finals, they were from that club and they play on grass every day, so they had a huge advantage. We went there to play on grass, I just never realized how different it would be."
Lana and Brian won their quarterfinal match 6-1, 6-0 before dropping a close semifinal 7-5, 6-4 — also to a Massachusetts pair and the eventual champions. They did come back for a 6-1, 6-7(3), 10-4 victory in the finale to claim third.
"We're both very competitive and so we stepped out there hoping to win the whole thing," Brian said. "We ended up coming in third in that big national tournament. I think that the dynamics were there. I think we both want the highest level all the time. So I think, looking back, we wish we had more grass court experience so we could have won the whole thing, but at the end of the day we were both very, very happy to be competing at this event."
It was an adjustment for Lana who just finished her fifth season of college tennis, and third at SMU. She went undefeated at the AAC Championships and was named the championship's Most Outstanding Performer.
"When I looked around, some people were very giggly and we were very competitive and wanted to do well," Lana said. "For me personally, coming straight from college into an adult tournament, it was a different dynamic for me. Just balancing being competitive and having so much on the line with a college match and rankings and all that, to transitioning to this where it is competitive, but it's also a fun thing and a great experience to play with your dad. I think it was competitive and just enjoyed the time that we had out there."
That was a similar change for Drew. But the dynamic shift was something her mom experienced on a different level.
"Years ago, when I played with Drew, back when she was little, I was better than Drew," Tammy said. "Now Drew's way better than me. So it's different dynamics … I expect her to carry me now. So when she misses a ball, I'm like, 'No, you're not allowed to miss. I'm the one that's missing, not you. You cannot miss.' It's fun watching her grow and do this. I think she's a much better player than I ever was."
With that came a sense of control. On the court Tammy was able to have a say in the outcome of the match. That's not the case when she is sitting in the stands while Drew is competing for the Mustangs.
"I'm so proud of her," Tammy said. "SMU was where I went. Their facilities, they just have so many things that are so much better now. They have indoor courts, they have lots of courts, training rooms. I'm a little jealous, but not in a bad way. It's really a different era. I get so nervous watching because, of course, I want them to win everything in every match. … It's very nerve-wracking."
That comes with being a parent who played the sport at a high level. That also allowed them to help their children grow and develop within the sport.
"I feel like as a young tennis player it definitely helps a lot when your parents play too," Lana said. "They are obviously great parents and also great mentors on the court. They can kind of speak to their own experiences and they know the path and they can explain how hard you have to practice to get good and also just guide you and help you become successful. Growing up, having them as resources and just as helping hands to push me every day, I think that made a big difference in my development and my success to get to college and then to do well and keep trying to get better throughout college. In the family, it definitely makes a very competitive dynamic where we always compete in everything we do."
At the end of the day it was a chance to go out and have some fun playing a sport they've been able to bond over throughout the years.
"We're more so just having fun playing together and doing something that we're both pretty good at and being able to go to these fun places and do that," Drew said. "So I think you look at it, the sport, a little differently."
When it comes to the future, things look different for Drew and Lana. With Lana's collegiate career over, the approach to tennis will change.
"I definitely want to keep it up and I want to keep hitting and enjoying the sport," Lana said. "It's a lifelong sport and I definitely want to stay in it and enjoy it like I have my whole life. Tournaments wise, I don't think I will stay competitive and do it as I did, but I definitely want to keep enjoying it and play with my friends and old teammates and stay in the community."
Meanwhile, Drew is preparing for her senior season. The Mustangs are coming off back-to-back American Athletic Conference titles as they make the move into the ACC.
But at the end of the day, it's still the same sport she's grew up being around and playing.
"It's just different from the American. We didn't have to play a full conference schedule … that was just the rules for the conference," Drew said. "Whereas now we're playing most every ACC school in a regular dual match, which will be different. So I think within the ACC you have a regular season champ and then you have a tournament champ, which is kind of cool also. But I don't think anything's going to be different besides maybe some of the places we go, the teams we play, I think still going to be kind of the same way things are run."
