MOSCOW ? University of Idaho Director of Tennis Jeff Beaman has announced the signing of talented men's player Abid Akbar for the 2009 season.

Akbar will join the Vandal program after a successful junior career in Pakistan that featured 24 titles in both junior's and men's national events in his home country.

“I look for Abid to make an immediate impact in our line-up in both singles and doubles,” Beaman said. “I see him as one of the pieces of the puzzle that takes us into the national rankings next spring and moves us toward competing for the WAC title.”

Akbar advanced to the semifinal rounds of the National Clay Court Championship, The Governor's Cup and the Rahim Yar Khan National Tennis Championship in 2009. He has spent most of his career ranked among the top of Pakistan's national circuit. He currently holds a No. 5 national ranking among Pakistani men.

“Abid is a strong student and a physically strong player with a great work ethic,” Beaman said. “He is tall at six-foot, three-inches and generates a lot of power with his shots.”

Tennis is nothing new to Akbar and his family. His father, Ali Akbar, played collegiate tennis at Clemson and represented Pakistan as captain of its Davis Cup team, while his brother, Babar, played tennis for Charleston Southern.