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BOULDER, Colo. -

There's an air of confidence surrounding the University of Colorado women's club lacrosse team right now.

Who can blame them for being confident when they're currently the top team in the nation?

"We're undefeated, so I don't know how much better it could go," CU co-coach Kaitlin Moore said. "I'm really happy with everything."

The Buffs have sprinted out of the gate this season to a 6-0 record.

Five of those wins came at the Santa Barbara Shootout, hosted by the University of California at Santa Barbara earlier this month; the other win was a 15-3 victory over Denver's club team on Feb. 23.

Midfielder, co-captain and CU senior Katie Gargaro said the Shootout is a good barometer for how well the team will do this season.

"The top five who come from that tournament tend to do really well all season, so we're in a really good position for nationals right now," Gargaro said.

CU beat some of the top clubs in the nation in Santa Barbara: The wins -- all by two goals or less -- were over the clubs from Cal Poly, Florida, Michigan, Texas and UCLA, all of which are ranked in the top 12 right now by U.S. Lacrosse.

"I think the competition was so good there, the matchups of the teams were so accurate, that's why they were such close games," CU co-coach Jessica Tomlinson said. "And I think it will be like that with all of the top teams we play this season."

The team will be facing even more tough clubs from around the nation this weekend, as the Buffs travel to Athens, Ga., to play in another tournament, this time hosted by the University of Georgia.

Besides the host Bulldogs, CU will face top-25 competition from Central Florida, Michigan State and Virginia Tech.

Despite wearing the target that comes with being No. 1, the Buffs are reveling in the challenge.

"We're the team to beat," club co-captain and CU senior Rachel Monheit said. "Even teams that are ranked seventh or eighth right now, it'd help them tremendously so everyone wants to beat us."

How has the team gotten to this point? Tomlinson said the 2005 season was a turning point, with a strong freshman class and a new coach taking the team to its first national tournament appearance.

CU has been to nationals every year since, and Moore and Tomlinson -- who were seniors on last year's team -- want to help get the team to the next level. Adjusting to coaching has been a challenge, though.

"It's been a learning experience," Tomlinson said.

"It's been a ton of fun, though," Moore added, "but we definitely had times where we need to separate ourselves because we're close with a lot of the girls on the team."

The tight-knit nature of the team has combined with depth of talent to create a team that can compete at the highest level.

"Our sophomore year, seven of us started, and now seven of us are starting seniors," Monheit said. "We're a force. We've been playing together for four years and it shows on the field."

Gargaro agreed.

"We basically can tell what the other person's doing -- driving, passing," she said.

The coaches and players both said the team's attacking strength comes from depth -- there's no one leading scorer for the Buffs.

"If you look at our scorers across the board, there's not one, two or even three people you can pick out," Monheit said. "Our entire attack is a threat."

The expectations are high for this team -- but also within reach.

"Our goal right now is to win nationals," Moore said. "Lofty, but I think we can get there."