Sailors No. 2 seed, CdM No. 3

Going into the CIF Southern Section playoffs, it was clear-cut to Coach Jason Lynch where his Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo team stood: second.

“We lost to Loyola [of Los Angeles],” Lynch said. “We beat Corona del Mar [twice].”

The Sailors are sandwiched between the two, receiving the No. 2 seed in Division I during the playoff pairings process Sunday. Corona del Mar is No. 3.

In Division III, Sage Hill and Estancia qualified for the postseason.

Newport Harbor (23-4), CdM (22-5) and Sage Hill (7-7) play host to their respective first-round matches on Wednesday.

The Pacific Coast League champion Sea Kings play Esperanza (8-11), the third-place team out of the Sunset League.

Sage Hill, the runner-up in the Orange Coast League, faces Schurr of Montebello (11-2) at CdM. Schurr finished second in the Almont League.

Estancia (18-8) is in wild-card action today at home against Fontana (11-11) at 3:15 p.m. The Eagles have to beat the at-large entry from the Citrus Belt League to reach the first round.

Estancia has come a long way.

“Four years ago was the last time we made the playoffs,” Estancia Coach John Carpenter said. “We had three wins last year.”

Carpenter said the Eagles’ turnaround has a lot do with three juniors. Estancia finished third in league due to the play of goalie Conner Graham, Charlie Umansky and Preston Schow.

Schow, a transfer from Mater Dei, has given the Eagles a one-two scoring punch.

“Just the maturity of the team” has been great, Carpenter said.

If Estancia wins today, it next plays at defending champion Montebello. The Oilers, the No. 2 seed, are expected to contend for the title again.

So is Newport Harbor in the top division after winning the crown in 2007.

The Sailors are loaded with seniors Blake Kelly, Matt Russell, Zach Lucas and Jack Yeager.

At the start of this season, Newport Harbor was the No. 1-ranked team in the Division I coaches’ poll. The Sailors lost the spot after losing to Loyola, 8-6, in the semifinals of the South Coast Tournament on Sept. 26.

Newport Harbor went on to place third in the tournament.

Beside two forfeit losses at the S&R; Sport Cup, Lynch said the Sailors have only really dropped two matches, against Loyola and Mater Dei. The one to Mater Dei was an 11-10 loss in the final of the Memorial Cup in San Jose on Oct. 31.

“It was disappointing,” said Lynch, whose team bounced back in the regular-season finale by beating The Bishop’s School of La Jolla, 16-9, on Saturday.

The Sailors first-round opponent will be the winner of today’s game between Beckman and host Huntington Beach.

Newport Harbor should easily get by either team, most likely setting up a quarterfinal date with Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood. During the tournament in San Jose, Newport Harbor defeated Harvard-Westlake, 10-4, in the quarterfinals.

“It’s a good or bad thing,” Lynch said of seeing a team again. “It’s hard to beat a team more than once during a season.”

Newport Harbor might have to get past its Back Bay rival, CdM, for a third time to advance to the championship game.

The two schools could meet in the semifinals, creating another challenge for the Sailors.

“They want to get a little revenge,” Lynch said of the Sea Kings. “We beat them four out of five times last year and twice this year.

“We want revenge, too. I’d love to get another shot [at Loyola].”