When the UA men's tennis team got back from the Pacific 10 Championships in Ojai, Calif., two weeks ago, it had little to smile about.

All of the singles players were knocked out in the first round and the best showing from any of the doubles teams was into the second.

To top it off, senior captain Chris Jenkins severely sprained his right wrist diving for a ball.

But with the West Regional starting Friday and a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament still on the line, the team has not lost hope.

"We have been waiting for this all year long. The dates have been circled since we began," Jenkins said. "We have serious intentions - once we hit the court, whoever it is playing, we will be giving all of our effort, every last drop."

No. 20 UA (12-8 overall, 3-7 in the Pac-10) has earned the No. 2 seed at the West Regional in Las Vegas and its first-round match is against UC-Santa Barbara.

The top eight nationally ranked teams by the NCAA selection committee get an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament, in Athens, Ga., May 18-21, with the remaining spots earned at eight regionals around the country. Teams ranked ninth though sixteenth will get a No. 1 seed at one of the regionals.

"We have played all year to jockey ourselves into a good position at regionals. That is where we are at. Now we have to use it," assistant coach Tom Hagedorn said.

Arizona's record is a bit misleading. Not only does it participate in the toughest conference in the country, but 14 of the 21 opponents UA has faced this year are ranked in the top 50.

With Jenkins possibly out for the regionals and junior Henrik Wagner recovering from a broken pinkie finger on his left hand, the team needs to fill a few spots.

Getting the team healthy is crucial because of the field that will be at the regionals.

No. 8 Pepperdine has the top seed and can meet Arizona in the final.

"Every team has injuries - we just have to deal with ours and overcome them," Wright said.