LOS ALAMITOS – The expected obstacles emerged Sunday for girls water polo, but none stopped the CIF-SS from releasing an intriguing playoff draw, especially in Division 1.
The section revealed playoff pairings for seven divisions, and, as expected, there were no at-large entries in a field of 133 teams.
The section’s own bracketing formula, which could be replaced by a new power-rankings model in the fall of 2016, again made the draw a puzzle at spots.
But the section still offered three marquee-worthy first-round matches in Division 1 on Wednesday.
There’s Dos Pueblos of Goleta (16-9) playing host to Los Alamitos (20-8) in a pairing of second-place teams and the No. 7 and No. 8 squads in the Division 1 rankings. Dos Pueblos edged Los Alamitos, 9-8, in the first round of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions last month.
There’s Santa Barbara (13-15), the third-place team from the Channel League, at Trinity League champion Orange Lutheran (23-3) in a duel of teams from the top-two ranked leagues in Division 1.
Rosary (19-9) plays at sixth-seeded San Marcos (21-7) in another Trinity-Channel showdown, and both teams are ranked in Division 1.
“(The Orange) Lutheran (game) is going to be great. The San Marcos game is going to be great, and the Dos Pueblos game is going to be great,” said Kristine Palle, the section’s assistant commissioner in charge of girls water polo.
Defending champion and top-ranked Laguna Beach (27-0) earned the top seed in Division 1 followed by No. 2 Foothill (23-4), No. 3 Newport Harbor (21-6) and No. 4 Corona del Mar (21-6).
The Breakers, winners of 48 straight matches, can tie the county record for most consecutive victories with a first-round triumph against visiting Villa Park on Wednesday.
“Laguna Beach is way above anybody,” Mater Dei coach Chris Segesman said recently.
Orange Lutheran is the only Trinity League team in the upper bracket in Division 1, but it drew Santa Barbara – ranked 11th in the final Division 1 poll – after the Dons and fellow Channel team Dos Pueblos were separated into different quarter brackets, according to section rules.
In a striking contrast, Trinity League runner-up Mater Dei drew Orange Coast League runner-up Saddleback, ranked toward the bottom of the Division 1 poll.
“Sometimes it works out that way, that it’s almost better to be a second-place team,” Palle said. “There’s so much I would love to get rid of in terms of some of these (bracket) guidelines.”
South Coast League champion El Toro (19-9) was the only other county team to earn a No. 1 seed, taking the top spot in Division 2. South Coast League runner-up San Clemente (16-7) grabbed the No. 3 seed, one spot ahead of Agoura.
Other county teams with top-four seeds: Mission Viejo in Division 4 (third), Ocean View in Division 6 (second to Pasadena Poly), Segerstrom in Division 6 (fourth), Los Amigos in Division 7 (third) and Santa Ana Valley in Division 7 (fourth).
The girls water polo draw didn’t feature at-large entries because none of the divisions featured the minimum number of playoff entries (25) needed to expand from a 16 to a 32-team bracket.
Among the strong teams left out was Santa Margarita (12-14), the fourth-place team from the Trinity and winner of the past two CIF Division 2 titles.
Palle said there’s talk of trimming the number of divisions to five and creating 32-team brackets based on power-rankings or even an Open Division. Discussions have included separating league teams into different divisions, which is done in basketball. Some of these changes could come in the fall of 2016.
“It’s rough for now, but I think it’s going to be much better two years from now,” Palle said of the playoff format.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
