MOSCOW, Idaho - The University of Idaho men's tennis team has released its schedule for the 2009-10 season.

The schedule features five fall tournaments and 29 spring matches that should prove challenging for the Vandals. Idaho faces three teams that ended the 2008-09 season ranked in the national polls and 12 ranked in various regional polls.

Idaho Director of Tennis Jeff Beaman is excited about the schedule and hopes the strong competition will be a chance for his team to prove its merit.

"The men's schedule this year has a good balance of regional competition and opponents that should be nationally ranked this spring," Beaman said. "Our goal is to be ranked this spring and we have the players to do it. This schedule is strong enough to allow us to make our move."

The fall season is a chance for individuals and doubles teams to break into the regional and national ranks and includes hearty tournaments at Spokane, Wash., Boise, Las Vegas, and Seattle. The fall season begins at the Gonzaga/Eastern Washington Fall Tournament at Spokane Oct. 2-4.

The spring season will showcase the Vandals taking a team approach to defeat some of the top squads from their region. Idaho will begin the spring vs. Whitman and Lewis-Clark State Jan. 16 at Lewiston, Idaho and will face square off with nationally-ranked Fresno State, UC Irvine and Boise State in the following months.

The spring season also will feature Western Athletic Conference matches, which always prove tough.

"The WAC on the men's side was one of the top tennis conferences in the country last year with five teams spending time in the rankings and two teams putting in very strong performances at the NCAA championships. We expect to challenge for the top of the conference," Beaman said.

For a complete look at the schedule, click here.