2012 was one of the most competitive seasons in men's water polo history for the Sunbirds who nearly upended nationally ranked opponents on multiple occasions. With a deep list of returners and a loaded recruiting class, head coach Bryan Suhovy and the rest of the team look to make this FPU's first winning season since 2009.

This year's team will have to rely on a litany of young players with one or two seasons under their belt, or none at all as FPU returns just three seniors who played minutes last season.

Leading the list of returners is sophomore Daniel Seymour. In his freshman season the 6-foot-1 driver finished second on the team in goals with 62, eight behind All-American Glenn Lyon. As a primary scoring option from the outside, Suhovy thinks this is the year Seymour becomes a more dynamic threat.

"Seymour coming back with a year of experience under his belt is huge," said Suhovy. "He made his mark last year as a shooter. Teams are going to be aware of him this year and that will allow him to set people up to score more this year."

The Sunbirds' third-leading scorer, Zlatko Vlasic, also returns for his second season with FPU. The junior from Croatia scored 52 goals and handed out 26 assists to lead the team. FPU will look to Vlasic as the main distributer once again in 2013.

In the cage the Sunbirds return their most experienced player, senior Jake Finney. The goalkeeper put up big numbers in his junior season as the team's only shot-stopper. Finney was voted as a co-captain this season and is primed to have one of the best seasons of any goalkeeper in Sunbird history.

One of the toughest tasks for FPU this season will be replacing All-American Glenn Lyon. Lyon led the team in goals last year with 70 and became the Sunbirds' first ever All-American in men's water polo. The task of replacing Lyon will fall to redshirt senior and co-captain Stephen Chafi. Chafi is coming off an injury that forced him to miss all of last season and will have to readjust to a position he is unaccustomed to.

"Stephen is going to have to step up with Glenn being gone this year as our two-meter man," said Suhovy. "He has to relearn some things since he hasn't played the position in a while, but he is coming along nicely."

Other returners include sophomore Daniel Schunichev, sophomore Ross Cochran, senior Justin-Lopez Lamb, senior Matt Boogaard. Coach Suhovy will also welcome back Kyle Mauriello and Miles Shepard who both redshirted last season.

Newcomers will play a big role for the Sunbirds who brought in one of the most heralded recruiting classes in program history. Leading the way is freshman utility Connor Cookingham. The 2012 Fresno Bee Player of the Year has a well-rounded game and the talent to make in impact right away. Joining Cookingham are three of his teammates from high school in Steven Kaufman, Joe Graveley and goalkeeper Dillon Robinson. Freshmen Kyle Madel and John Samson should also provide valuable minutes off the bench for FPU.

The Sunbirds are confident this year's added depth in combination with so many returners will push them over the .500 mark. In order to get there the team will need to find a way to win close games against top-ranked opponents. Five times last year FPU lost to nationally-ranked teams by five points or less, including a two-point loss to No. 13 Air Force.

"It was really important for us last year to set a tone as an NCAA school," said Suhovy. "It gave our guys who are returning a taste of what they are capable of and they hungry to get back into it and beat those teams this year."

This team will certainly get their shots as they take on four teams receiving votes in the preseason Top-20 opponents including California Baptist, a team the Sunbirds have never beaten, during the 2013 season.

"We really want to get them this season," said Suhovy. "Last year we came really close at the end of the season and that is one of the goals this year."

FPU starts the season this Saturday in the Whittier Mini-Invitational. They face Whittier at 10:30 a.m. and close out their opening weekend against Chapman at 2:00 p.m.