Box Score 1 MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (Aug. 30, 2026) - The Buena Vista women's tennis team began its 2026-27 season on Saturday at the Cornell College Invitational. The Beavers battled against a pair of non-conference foes but would come up short in both outings, dropping a  7-0 decision against the host Rams before being edged 5-2 by Milikin University.

Against a tough Cornell College squad, the Beavers put together some solid play throughout, but in the end the Rams were just too much. Cornell won the doubles point despite a couple of tough battles from BVU. In the No. 1 match, senior Macy Weller and sophomore Hannah Higgins teamed up but were edged in a tight 6-4 contest. The Rams claimed the point following a 6-2 win at No. 2.

Moving to singles action, the Rams would go on to win each match in straight sets. Freshman Kadyn Volkert didn't go down without a fight and came out and nearly won her first collegiate singles set before falling 7-5, 6-1. Sophomore Abbey Meseck played a back-and-forth match at No. 5 despite coming up short 6-4, 6-4.

"Cornell is one of the toughest teams we will play all year, and we had some competitive sets," said BVU head coach Dan Taylor. "Hannah and Macy played a close first set at No. 1 doubles, and the two freshman we have in the top-six, Madi and Kadyn, both had competitive sets as well in singles."

BVU looked to bounce back and even its record when it took on Milikin to wrap up the day. The team came out strong and eventually captured the doubles point to take the early lead. Weller and Higgins were strong again as a No. 1 tandem and picked up a 6-3 victory. At No. 3, Meseck joined Charlie Wiener and notched a commanding  6-1 triumph. Volkert and fellow freshman Madi Peyman teammed up at No. 2 and were edged in a tight match, 6-4

A  pair of third-set tiebreakers ultimately decided the match in the end. Milikin came out victorious in straight sets in the first three slots before things tightened up down the stretch. Wiener took a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6 to secure BVU's first singles win of the day but the match came down to the No. 4 and No. 5 where Milikin rallied  for third set tiebreaker victories. Volkert and Meseck had each came out strong and won the opening set of their respective matches. Volkert would fall 6-4 in the second to force the third set while Meseck fell 6-2 in hers.

"Doubles started great with us getting wins at No. 1 and No.3," added Taylor. "Charlie played very consistent in her win at No. 6 while Macy had a tight match at No. 2 singles. "Both Kadyn and Abbey won their first sets, but the Millikin ladies played pretty steady to pull out tiebreaker wins."

Buena Vista (0-2) has some time to regroup and continue to put in the work, as the Beavers do not return to action until Saturday, Sept. 12 when it begins its home schedule by hosting Nebraska Wesleyan in what will also be the A-R-C opener. Action on the Buntrock Tennis Courts is set to begin at 2 p.m.

"I continue to be encouraged by the improvement I see in our program, not just with roster size, but with competitive level as well," said Taylor. "We will now have a couple of weeks of practice to work on things until our first conference match at home vs Nebraska Wesleyan.