The CIF-Southern Section released its brackets for the upcoming boys tennis playoffs on Monday, and in Divisions 1 through 4, Orange County teams were awarded one of the top two seeds.
Top-ranked University was named the No. 2 overall seed behind San Marino in Division 1. The Trojans finished the regular season with a 17-1 record, with its lone loss coming against San Marino, 8-10, back on February 23. University will host Campbell Hall in Wednesday’s first round, with potential matchups with Los Alamitos and Peninsula looming in the quarters and semifinals.
Corona del Mar (15-4) is the No. 6 seed in the bracket and is likely to run into Mira Costa in the quarters, a team it lost to, 8-10, on March 10.
Reigning Division 2 champ, Santa Margarita, again received the division’s top seed after posting a 21-2 regular season campaign. San Clemente (13-2) joins the Eagles on the top half of the bracket as the No. 4 seed, setting up a potential all-Orange County semifinal next week.
Empire League co-champs, Cypress and Valencia, were named the top two seeds in Division 3 and appear to be on a crash course for a rematch of the 2015 CIF final. The Centurions (19-1) and Tigers (14-3) are about as evenly matched as two teams could possibly be. Two of their last three meetings have produced 9-9 score lines, and both those matches were ultimately decided by a single game. Valencia edged out Cypress, 83 games to 82, in last season’s memorable championship finale.
In Division 4, Laguna Beach (16-2) enters the postseason as the No. 2 seed in its bracket.
First round play for all divisions begins Wednesday and is followed by second round action on Friday afternoon. Quarterfinal play is scheduled for next Monday, semifinals on Wednesday, and championship matches will be held at the Claremont Club next Friday, May 20.
