LOS ALAMITOS – A new playoff model and a clerical error caught in the nick of time made for a fascinating release of the CIF-SS girls water polo playoff pairings Saturday.
The seven divisions, grouped for the first time by competitive equity, produced mostly 16-team brackets loaded with challenging first-round matches.
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In Division 1, longtime rivals Newport Harbor (13-11) and Corona del Mar (19-8) were paired for a first-round game Wednesday, a noteworthy twist considering the schools have played in the division finals three times.
“That’s going to be a great one,” said Kristine Palle, the section’s assistant commissioner in charge of girls water polo. “Big crowd for that game.”
Defending Division 1 champion Orange Lutheran (21-6) plays in the first round at Murrieta Valley (22-7), which won Division 2 last season. Los Alamitos (20-8) and Santa Margarita (19-9), two evenly matched teams ranked in the county Top 10, also square off Wednesday.
Divisions 1, 2 and 3 are so loaded with top teams, only a combined six third-place teams stand amongst the league champions and runner-ups.
But for all the balance, Laguna Beach (27-0) is a dominant top seed in Division 1. The Breakers are seeded first for the fourth consecutive year after winning the top three tournaments.
“Everyone under Laguna is going to be in one-goal games,” Mater Dei coach Chris Segesman said recently of Division 1. “It’s going to be a crazy playoffs.”
Mater Dei is seeded second in Division 1. The Monarchs, who are 0-4 against Laguna Beach, are followed by San Marcos, Dos Pueblos of Goleta and Orange Lutheran.
In a shining example of competitive equity, Laguna Beach’s league foes Costa Mesa (Division 6), Estancia (Division 7) and Saddleback (Division 7) found spots in lower divisions.
Villa Park (20-9) claimed the top seed in Division 3. The Spartans were followed by Redondo, Santiago of Corona and Righetti.
North Hills champion Canyon (19-8) earned the top seed in Division 4, which was re-bracketed after its release because of a clerical error by the Bay League.
Canyon was first in the final Division 4 committee rankings. But No. 3 Peninsula wasn’t originally placed in the draw because its Bay League submitted the Panthers (15-7) as an at-large entry from a four-team league (two automatic entries), Palle said.
The Bay League, however, features five teams. Peninsula placed third and qualified automatically but the at-large designation left it out of the draw because there were no at-large berths in Division 4.
But the section scrambled and seeded Peninsula third. Canyon remained No. 1.
“One of our committee members caught it and called us to correct,” Palle said. “Good for Peninsula.”
There was no escape route for Oaks Christian (15-14) in Division 5. The Lions, ranked No. 1 most of the winter, finished fourth in the tough Marmonte League and weren’t an automatic qualifier. Division 5 didn’t feature enough automatic qualifiers to expand the brackets and allow at-large berths.
Only Division 7 featured a 32-team bracket and at-large entries, so Oaks Christian would have faced a similar fate even in the old playoff system.
Tesoro (12-16), which clinched third in the Sea View League on a coin flip with Capistrano Valley, jumped to the No. 2 seed in Division 5 behind Pasadena Poly.
The new playoff model has produced late causalities such Oaks Christian in other sports. Palle believes an adjustment could be proposed to the CIF Council.
“We’re seeing the good by-products of this (new system) and then we’re seeing the ones that are a little bit more challenging,” she said. “Overall, I think there’s a lot more good. … We may need to look at some by-law adjustments. (For example) if you’re in the top-four in the final (rankings), you get an automatic bid regardless of your league placing.”
Contact the writer: dalbano@scng.com
