STORM LAKE, Iowa (Sept. 12, 2021) - The Buena Vista University women's tennis team opened its American Rivers Conference schedule on the road on Friday afternoon at Simpson before stepping out of league play for a home match against Northwestern College (IA) on Saturday morning, but the Beavers came up short in both outings, falling 9-0 to the Storm and 7-2 against the Red Raiders.

Susie Phung dropped a tough tiebreaker in the second set of her loss at number four singles but aside from that, the Beavers just couldn't buy a point and were only able to score two other points in singles matches.  Simpson got the match started by surrendering only three points in doubles play.

"The main difference in the match really came down to footwork and patience," said BVU head coach Dan Taylor. "The Simpson players moved extremely well and just consistently kept balls in play. Our ladies played very hard and did a lot of things well, but our opponents were like backboards and we just have to give them credit for playing solid tennis."

Senior Nicole Lange had a big day against the Red Raiders (1-0).  She partnered with Alexis McGinnis and the tandem held off Wynne Vandersall and Brailey Delao, 8-6, in their number one doubles match.  Lange wasn't done there, as she rolled to a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory at number one singles over Julia Kutz.  Phung held tough during her number four match but came up short in a 6-3, 6-3 loss.

Buena Vista is now 0-5 overall (0-1 A-R-C) and will turn its focus to a conference home match against Coe College set for Friday afternoon, September 17, at 4:00 p.m.