LOS ALAMITOS – Some of the regulars weren’t present Sunday morning as the CIF-Southern Section boys water polo playoff pairings were released.
Orange County powers Los Alamitos and Servite were absent in the Division 1 draw because they narrowly missed claiming one of the three automatic playoff berths in their leagues.
A new rule passed by the Southern Section Council last year hit boys water polo hard, leaving the sport without at-large playoff berths in any of its seven divisions.
Even before the water polo playoff brackets were released at the section office, football handed out 35 at-large berths. The girls volleyball brackets on Friday featured several at-large berths.
Water polo’s void was a hot topic amongst coaches last week as the regular season ended with several tight league races. Los Alamitos and Servite both finished in three-way ties for second and lost in league playoffs.
“Without the at-large berths as we’ve had in the past, there are some good teams staying home from the dance, so that’s hard,” said Kristine Palle, the assistant section commissioner in charge of aquatics.
Boys water polo doesn’t have at-large berths because it features 16-team brackets that were filled with automatic qualifiers. The new rule allows water polo to use at-large berths only to fill byes in the opening round.
All of boys water polo’s seven divisions also fell short of reaching the minimum of 25 automatic qualifiers needed to expand the brackets to 32, which could create at-large berths.
The upcoming girls water polo season will encounter the same circumstance as the boys.
“In this last week, I received emails saying, ‘Are there any spots for at-large berths in polo?’ ” Palle said. “People were surprised.”
Palle said she believes travel and costs were two driving forces behind the council’s decision.
But despite the loss of a few regulars, the county earned No. 1 seeds from Foothill (Division 2) and Laguna Beach (Division 3) and three No. 2 seeds from Mater Dei (Division 1), Dana Hills (Division 2) and Segerstrom (Division 6).
Undefeated and defending champion Harvard-Westlake of Studio City (25-0) is seeded first in Division 1 and owns a 3-0 record against the Monarchs.
“We enjoy being in this position,” Mater Dei coach Chris Segesman said last week. “There’s a lot of pressure when you’re the top dog, especially … when (you) haven’t lost a game.”
The pairings Sunday also delivered an intriguing first-round match between Santa Margarita (23-6), which edged Servite in a Trinity playoff for third place, and Sunset League champion Huntington Beach (19-6) on Wednesday.
Newport Harbor (10-16), the No. 3 entry from the Sunset, plays at Marmonte League champion Agoura (15-10) looking to extend an impressive postseason streak. The Sailors have never lost in the first round of CIF.
In Division 2, Dana Hills coach Matt Rosa could face off against his brother, Coach Kevin Rosa of M.L. King of Riverside, in the quarterfinals if the teams win their first-round matches Thursday. Meanwhile, county entries El Toro (Damien of La Verne), San Clemente (San Marcos of Santa Barbara) and Villa Park (Dos Pueblos of Goleta) each drew difficult road games in Division 2 on Thursday.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
