Alexis Naucler | Staff Writer

If Doug Finfrock, head coach of the women’s water polo team, has one thing on his mind as the new season approaches, it would be focusing on the first game and winning.

“At this point we are just looking forward to being able to play some games,” Finfrock said. “It’s been a long few weeks since we have started on August 15th and these girls are ready to play games and start practicing against one another.”

While it will be too earlier to know what talent the opposition will have this season, they remain focused on their own game.

“It’s a fun team so far but this early in the season were just really focused on ourselves and try to prepare,” Finfrock said.

Finfrock feels that having recruited 28 players this season will make winning games a lot easier because of the team’s depth.

“The difference was in our recruiting this year, we went out and have more girls now,” he explained. “I think we are going to have 13 or 14 girls that can seriously play compared to last year when we had 6 or 7, so our depth is going to be the biggest difference this year.”

After ending the 2013 season with a championship game loss by one goal, Finfrock doesn’t plan on doing anything different this year.

“Last year we had a great year, we made it to the state finals and we lost by one goal,” he said. “We had a chance to send it into overtime, so we are not going to do anything differently.”

Finfrock believes that past success using the RCC system speaks for itself.

“We run a system here that has been successful for the last 12 years,” said Finfrock. “As far as coaching, it’s all fundamentally based, and that’s what is going to win a championship.”

​The team will play its first game on Sept. 12 in the American River College Tournament, before hosting their first home game on Sept. 17 against the Saddleback College Gauchos in an Orange Empire Conference game at 4 p.m.