To blend a team with a distinctly international flavor, Hawaii water polo coach Maureen Cole had the Rainbow Wahine experience a taste of their diverse backgrounds.

Part bonding exercise and part preseason potluck, Cole divided the Wahine into small groups for a Top Chef-styled contest back in January, with each preparing a dish from one of the seven countries represented on the roster.

"We had this huge feast and it was everyone’s cultures all blended together," Cole said. "It was a good time to get to know everyone at the beginning of the season."

Since then Cole has focused on mixing the team’s talents and playing styles in the pool over 16 road matches to begin the season. The eclectic 11th-ranked Rainbow Wahine (11-5) finally open their home schedule on Friday as they begin defense of their Big West title against No. 12 Long Beach State (15-6) at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

UH will also take on No. 14 Indiana (11-3) and top-ranked and defending national champion USC (15-0) in nonconference matches on Saturday.

"It’s going to be three tough high-level games, which is awesome to be at home (for)," said Cole, now in her third year as head coach.

Half of UH’s 18-player roster, including its top five scorers, are international students, giving a young Wahine team an intriguing mix of styles and accents.

The Wahine feature two players each from Australia, Canada and New Zealand, as well as representatives from Brazil, Spain and England. Freshman Claire Nixon is the first player from England to play NCAA water polo.

"There are so many different styles of play and it’s not just nine girls who have played water polo before — it’s nine very good international players," said Amy Carlson, a senior goalie from Washington. "I know it’s tough to come to the United States to play since it’s a little more conservative rules-wise, but everyone’s done a really good job.

"I love learning new things and it’s part of the college experience and I just lucked out I get to hang out with really cool girls from around the world every day."

Cole said California continues to produce the nation’s top talent, and most of the upper-tier players gravitate to in-state powers such as USC, UCLA, Stanford and Cal.

"We haven’t really been able to break through and get one of the senior national level players in the U.S., so the only way to compete is to go abroad at this point," said Cole, a Punahou and UCLA graduate.

Cole maintained the international connections she established prior to her tenure as head coach and when a player comes in from another country "it starts to recruit itself," she said. "People go back to their home and they love Hawaii and then you’ve got girls inquiring about wanting to come."

That recipe has served UH well recently. The Wahine won the Big West tournament and reached the semifinals of last year’s NCAA tournament — where the Wahine fell to USC — led by Canadian Monika Eggens, the program’s all-time leading scorer and a first-team All-American.

With both Eggens (84 goals last season) and Amarens Genee (54) having graduated, UH has relied on balanced scoring led by Danielle Lewis, half of the team’s senior class.

Lewis leads UH with 36 goals, followed by Spain’s Paula Chillida Esforzado — whose team won the preseason cooking competition — with 31 goals. Esforzado also has a team-high 27 assists.

Carlson is averaging 7.71 saves per match with 7.83 goals-against average for a UH team with seven freshmen, five of whom play significant minutes.