CIF-SS girls water polo playoffs
Division 5 breakdown
1st round starts: Feb. 15
Top 4 seeds: 1. Pasadena Poly; 2. Tesoro; 3. Xavier Prep; 4. Santa Ana Valley
Number of teams: 23 entries (16-team bracket); two entries shy meeting criteria for 32-team bracket
League champions: Five. Pasadena Poly, Malibu, Santa Ana Valley, Jurupa Valley, Beaumont.
Where are last year’s finalists? Palm Desert captured Division 5 last season and leaped three divisions to Division 2. The Aztecs drew No. 2 seed Riverside Poly in the first round. Runner-up Temple City moved to Division 3.
O.C. best hope: Tesoro. The Titans, who tied with Capo Valley for third in the tough Sea View League, are seeded second. The top seeds received a major break when top-ranked Oaks Christian didn’t quality for the playoffs because of no available at-large berths.
Fun facts: Tesoro is seeking to reach its first section final. … Fulerton finished second in the competitive Freeway League and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2009. … Santa Ana Valley is a two-time CIF-SS Division 7 champion.
Final poll: 1. Pasadena Poly; 2. Tesoro; 3. Xavier Prep; 4. Santa Ana Valley; 5. Malibu; 6. LB Millikan; 7. Alemany; 8. Fullerton; 9. JW North; 10. El Segundo
