CIF water polo pairings: Division I at a glance
November 8th, 2009, 3:23 pm · 9 Comments · posted by DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com
Here's my look at the Division I boys water polo playoff bracket:
Top seeds: No. 1 Loyola (28-0); No. 2 Newport Harbor; No. 3 CdM; No. 4 El Toro
Best first-round matchup Wednesday: Corona del Mar-Esperanza pits two top-10 teams in the county but Santa Barbara at Harvard-Westlake is the most intriguing. Santa Barbara finished third in the Channel League, which rated as the toughest league in the division. Harvard took second to Loyola in the Mission League. The teams also are ranked seventh-eighth in the final Division I coaches poll but seedings and bracket rules dictated this meeting. Harvard is led by first-year coach Robert Lynn, part of the staff for the U.S. men's silver medal team at the 2008 Olympics.
Darkhorse: Dos Pueblos. These Chargers pushed El Toro at the South Coast Tournament and also lost in double sudden-death overtime to Loyola in the finals of the Riverside Poly tournament. Dos Pueblos has only one key senior, so it could still be a year away. In the 2008 playoffs, El Toro beat Dos Pueblos, 14-12, in the quarterfinals. Dos Pueblos did struggle in its final tournament of the year - the North-South Challenge. El Toro, meanwhile, played its best water polo thus far at the N-S Challenge.
Player to watch: Nikola Vavic. The left-handed attacker is the son of USC coach Jovan Vavic and played for the U.S. junior team over the summer.
Defending champion: Foothill. The Knights didn't quality for the playoffs but the memory of the run by Jay Lovero and Co. lives on. The postseason will miss Paul Reynolds, Foothill's outstanding junior.
League rankings (provided by CIF-SS)
1. Channel
2. Sunset
3. Mission
4. Sea View
5. Pacific Coast
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I knew that El Toro would get stuck at the 4th seed and have to play the toughest schedule to win Div 1 - In the second round they could go up against the 5 seed (Dos Pueblos), then if they win would have to face Loyola the #1 seed in the semis and possibly NP in the finals, while the other 3 seeds have a much easier trip until the semis, since I believe only the top 5 seeds in this division are contenders.
CdM's road to the final is certainly on par with ET
SKs have a tougher first rounder (Espy), then Ventura (ranked 5th over No. 6 DP in the final coaches' poll) and then Newport, who they are 0-2 against
Of course, DP has defeated CdM this season, so SKs don't have to contend with that mental hurdle - which is probably a good thing
Dan - do you know why HB is in the wildcard? They had a great season and were (I thought) guaranteed a spot, being the 3rd of 6 teams in the Sea View.
Northwood could very well beat Ventura. Hartshorne could put that team on his back. Kyle Kim-E and Jack Mayers are both very strong players too. CDM might be counting its chickens a little too soon. I think Newport over Northwood and Loyola over El Toro. Loyola is just unmatched.
newport wins it all.
DIV 1 will be tough - Loyola has beaten CDM, NP and ET by close scores in the season - though to beat these 3 teams twice. Loyola is undefeated, so they have a big target on their back. CDM, ET, NP are veterans to the playoffs, Loyola is not, so watch out. ET has a habit of playing strong in the playoffs under Stoll.
ET vs. Newport -- in first meeting of season between these teams -- in the Division I final. Bet on it (but really don't, cuz you shouldn't bet on high school games).
Interesting that Sea View league is ranked 4th. There has been a Sea View league team in the Finals for the past 3 years. 2 CIF champions.
It's too bad CDM and Newport cant get away from each other in a semifinal, assuming seeds play out. Is that 3 tournaments in a row.? Maybe CDM can get over the hump this time and send NP home.They seem to be improving as the season continues,
Enough with Foothill. Whatever happened in the past is history. You can't live on history. You gotta live for the day. The coach didn't develop his team. The coach isn't a coach, he is just someone that rides the waves. The coach had some good years because he was blessed with talented players from various areas in the oc. But now is when you see what this coach can do which is nothing. No one on the team was a standout just brums pull.