STORM LAKE, Iowa (March 31, 2026) - The Buena Vista men's tennis team played its first home match of the spring and began American Rivers Conference play on Tuesday afternoon against Wartburg College, but the Beavers came up short, 7-0.

Despite some cool and breezy conditions early in the day, the weather held off enough for the two teams to play outdoors on the Buntrock Tennis Courts just outside of Siebens Fieldhouse. The Knights gained the early point by sweeping all three doubles matches. BVU scored multiple points in all three but was not able to finish off a few key rallies throughout which could have made things tighter down the stretch.

In singles, Wartburg won all six matches in straight sets. Ryan Smith dropped a narrow 6-3 decision in set two of his No. 4 while Jeb Bathrick was edged 6-4 in his opening set at No. 5.

“Wartburg just outplayed us today,” said BVU head coach Brett Groen. “Anything that we left short in the court, they took advantage of and finished off points well. We had opportunities in doubles to steal a few more games, but we weren't able to put away points when it mattered most. In singles, Ryan and Jeb really stepped up and battled hard in singles, and that will only continue to improve for them match-to-match. Nick is finding out he can play with the best of them at number one, it will also be a tough match, but the more he believes in himself, the more he will grow into that position.”

Buena Vista is 4-7 (0-1 A-R-C) and turns right around on Wednesday, Apr. 1, for an A-R-C match at Nebraska Wesleyan starting at 4 p.m.