The University of Northern Colorado men's tennis team will have a relatively new look in the 2004-05 season.

The Bears are in their second season of a four-year transition to Division I tennis and have jumped into the move full boar.

Under the direction of first-year head coach Jay Walsh, the Bears will be taking on a full Division I schedule that features only two matches against Division II opponents.

"I felt like if we are going to be Division I we need to see Division I team on a match-by-match basis," Walsh said. "Since we are not eligible for the postseason, I thought it would be best to play some of the best to see where we match up and where we need to be when we are eligible for the NCAA championships."

The Bears return five of their six singles' starters from last season and Walsh said that can only help in the transition.

"We have a very young squad, but they were thrown into the mix last season as a young squad," Walsh said. "The best way to improve is to get out and play the best and that is what most of our guys did last season."

Sophomore Casey Ross returns to the No. 1 singles slot which he held down last season. Ross tallied a singles mark of 7-15 as a true freshman.

Junior Jeff Hall is the leading returner in regard to singles victories. Hall went 11-11 at No. 2 singles. Junior Peter Weyhrich also returns at No. 3 singles, where he posted a mark of 9-13. Junior Chris Minihan went 10-11 last season at No. 6 singles and could move up this season. Chris Manichanh returns to the team this year after taking a year off from tennis. J.P. Kaloi will redshirt this season.

Walsh will also mix in some newcomers into the lineup and those individuals include Jeremy Behm-Meyer, Kollman Gearhart and Paul Tschetter.

Walsh said he would mix and match the doubles pairings throughout the season until he felt comfortable with how the duos were playing together.

The Bears Division I opponents this season includes: Idaho State, Montana State, Air Force, Montana, Weber State, Oral Roberts, Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, Denver, UNC-Greensboro, Davidson, Elon, Furman, UNC-Asheville, Loyola Marymount, New Mexico State, Utah and Utah State.