The UA men's golf team has played above its already lofty expectations this spring, and looks to improve on that in Las Vegas this weekend at the Toyota Men's Collegiate Championship.

The team will travel to the city of sin as one of the hottest teams in the nation after winning its first two starts of the spring.

Junior Chris Nallen finished second at the John Burns Intercollegiate two weeks ago, good for his second consecutive runner-up finish, and has moved up to 15th on the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.

Nallen has continued to be a set name near the top of leader boards all year, posting five top-10 finishes already and shooting in red figures in seven of his last 11 tournaments.

Ricky Barnes, the reigning U.S. Amateur Champion, posted his fourth top-ten finish at the John Burns, but the achievement that really stood out was his play last week at the Chrysler Classic of Tucson.

Barnes got a sponsor's exemption into the tournament and took total advantage of it, finishing in a tie for 18th place after four straight rounds under par.

The senior didn't seem to be the least bit intimidated by the professional field, and looked to show the rest of the golfing community that he is ready for pro golf.

Barnes' real test comes in April, when he takes his U.S. Amateur crown to Augusta National where he will tee it up with Tiger at the Masters.

Head coach Rick LaRose has nothing but high expectations for his team as they get set to tee it up this morning at the Southern Highlands Golf Course.

"We're hoping to play pretty well," LaRose said. "It's a good tournament with the top 15 teams. This tournament has everybody."

The field not only is the strongest of the year, but it also includes No. 1 ranked Clemson and No. 2 ranked Augusta State, who has been on a tear as of late.

With No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 5 UNLV rounding out the top five, the tournament is bringing the top guns to Las Vegas, proving this could be a troublesome test for the eighth-ranked Wildcats.

"It should be a great time," LaRose said. "We're really looking forward to this weekend."

The first round begins this morning with 8:00 tee times, and will conclude Sunday afternoon.