When the Idaho men’s tennis team entered the offseason last year, the Vandals were the reigning Big Sky Conference champions and had qualified for the NCCA Tournament.
However, the Vandals faced a challenge when former head coach Jeff Beaman left the program and signed on as the head coach of West Alabama last July.
Beaman coached the Vandals for eight years, earning national recognition for both the men’s and women’s tennis programs. In his last year with Idaho, Beaman won Big Sky Coach of the Year.
Former Vandal Abid Akbar was hired to replace Beaman. The newly signed head coach did not waste any time in letting his team know that he had the goal of winning the conference title and advancing deeper into the NCAA Tournament.