Chelsea Gubbels | Contributing Writer

In recent months, Buena Vista University (BVU) has hired two new head coaches to join the athletic department. Richard Halverson has taken over men and women’s tennis, and Kristen Gay is now the head women’s soccer coach.

Richard Halverson comes to BVU from Olivet, Michigan where he was the head women’s tennis coach at Olivet College. There were a few factors that helped him with his decision to move to Storm Lake.

“I saw they had an opening for a tennis coach, and when I came to Storm Lake to interview, I instantly fell in love with the town and the university. I felt BVU presented a great opportunity where I could build off of the tennis teams’ recent successes,” Halverson said.

Halverson has stayed busy and really enjoyed his time working here at BVU so far.

“I think the people here really stand out. Everyone at BVU is very supportive, and it’s just a great community to work in,” Halverson stated.

As a new coach, he has set some high goals that he and his teams will be working towards.

“Going forward, I want both teams to improve on a yearly basis to where we are eventually challenging the top teams in the conference,” Halverson said.

The women’s team has been working hard and already has five matches under their belt. They are 2-3 overall and 1-3 in the conference. Their next match is Saturday, Sept. 14 at Dubuque. The men’s team will be having their first match of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at Central.

Kristen Gay comes to BVU from the University of North Dakota, where she was the women’s head soccer coach. Gay also says the people here are one of her favorite parts about being at BVU.

“I’ve only been here for over a month, and I’d have to say the people I have met are my favorite thing. Everyone has been really supportive,” Gay said.

Coach Gay also has some goals in mind for her time here as the head coach.

“My goal is to make an impact on the program and with each player, however that may happen. It will vary according to each individual, but I want the experience to be one that they will always remember,” Gay said.

The Beavers have been hard at work since Aug. 17th. They are currently 1-3 overall with no conference matchups yet. Their next game will be Thursday, Sept. 12 in Des Moines against AIB college of Business. The Beavers next home game takes place Tuesday, Sept. 17 against Dordt College.

Photos courtesy of Steven Phelps