ORLANDO, FL- For USTA junior players, Winter Nationals is the pinnacle of the holiday season. It is also a rare opportunity for top New England players to travel down to Florida and escape the grueling Northeast winter while competing at an elite level.

Yarmouth, ME’s Lana Mavor and Needham, MA’s Daniel Milavsky each had successful years both in New England and nationally, and they used Winter Nationals as a momentum builder to grow as players and strive towards 2018 goals.

“Moving forward, this result is a huge confidence booster. It proves to myself that I can not only battle with, but also come out on top against some of the topnotch players, Milavsky said.”

Mavor took home a Bronze Ball with partner Ava Catanzarite (Pittsburgh, PA) in Girls’ 16s doubles, while Milavsky was a quarterfinalist in the Boys’ 16s singles field.

“Winning the bronze ball was exciting. I am happy with the work that I put in this year and pleased with the result, however winning a Gold Ball in singles and doubles is my ultimate goal,” said Mavor, who also won the New England Girls’ 18s Sectionals in June.

Boys’ and Girls’ 18s and 16s Winter Nationals took place at the USTA Nationals Campus in Orlando. Singles draws featured 128 players and doubles had 64 teams. Boys’ matches were played on hard courts and the girls competed on clay.

Mavor and Catanzarite were seeded 12th in the tournament, and although they reached the semifinals, the road wasn’t easy for the duo who met while competing in Wisconsin just months prior. 

They were taken to a third-set super tiebreak in both the round of 32 and quarterfinals and won their round of 16 match in a second-set tiebreak. Mavor and Catanzarite fell just short in the semis, falling 4-6 in the third set.
“Being at the National Tennis campus was an amazing experience.  The tournament had the best players in the country and I am honored to be a part of such a high level tournament,” Mavor said.

Mavor, along with 10 other New England juniors and two coaches, were selected to train at the National Campus leading up to the tournament. USTA New England paid for accommodations, travel and food for players and coaches.

“It was a great idea to train at the National Campus. It helped us get used to the weather as well as the clay courts,” Mavor said.
Milavsky was also selected to train in Florida but did not participate.

Still, he reached the quarterfinals in his most impressive Nationals run to date. The No. 17 seeded Milavsky did not drop a set through his first four rounds, including winning big against No. 15 Daniel Sharygin (Newburgh, IN) in the third round.

“This tournament was a huge learning experience for me,” said Milavsky, who was this year’s New England Boys’ 16s Sectionals finalist. “Battling with some of the best kids in the country helped me figure out my game more in depth. These kinds of players really push you to your limits.”

In the quarterfinals, Milavsky dropped both his first set and match of the tournament, losing to No. 9 seeded Logan Zapp, of Fleming Island, FL, 1-6, 1-6.  

“I played pretty well throughout the tournament. I had a few bumps along the road but I can’t expect to come out every day being able to hit winner after winner,” he said. “This result is definitely my best singles result so far and I’m going to try to build off of it. In the future, I will strive to win some Nationals and earn a ball.”

In the Boys’ 18s division, No. 9 seeded Will Peters (Duxbury, MA) won three rounds to reach the round of 16. He dropped just six total games in that stretch before losing to No. 17 Siem Woldeab, of La Mesa, CA, 6-4; 3-6; 3-6.

New England players will next compete in the January L3 Super Six Doubles (January 13-14) and Singles Championships (January 27-28).