CdM, Tars begin title quests

Barry Faulkner

The Corona del Mar High girls water polo team opens the CIF Southern

Section Division II Playoffs Thursday as the No. 1 seed, while

Newport Harbor is the No. 2 seed in Division I, behind the

thus-far-insurmountable Foothill.

Costa Mesa High, which earned one-third of the Golden West League

championship, is a member of the Divison VI field, as pairings were

announced Monday at the Southern Section office.

CdM (22-5), which won the CIF Division IV title last season, will

embark on its Division II quest Thursday at home against Loara (9-8).

Newport Harbor (22-5), knocked off by Foothill in the Division I

semifinals a year ago, hosts Sunset League runner-up Esperanza

(11-15), Thursday.

Costa Mesa (14-8), the No. 3 representative from its league after

a coin-flip tiebreaker, opens Thursday at Culver City (12-7), the

champion of the Ocean League.

CdM’s five losses include three to Foothill (26-0), one to Newport

Harbor and one to Santa Margarita, the No. 4 seed in Division I.

Newport Harbor’s losses include four to Sea View League rival

Foothill and one to CdM.

Costa Mesa defeated Saddleback Friday to force a three-way tie for

the league crown. Should the Mustangs advance Thursday, they would

likely face top-seeded Jurupa Valley (24-3) in Saturday’s

quarterfinals.

The quarterfinals in Divisions I and II are also scheduled

Saturday. If victorious Thursday, CdM would meet the Santa Ana

Valley-El Segundo winner, while Newport would play the

Montebello-Capistrano Valley winner.

Newport Harbor won the Division I crown in 1999, before Foothill

began its string of three straight Division I titles.

Laguna Beach (21-6), Villa Park (18-5) and University (16-11),

respectively, round out the top four seeds in Division II.

Finals in all divisions are scheduled March 1 at Belmont Plaza.