Looking Ahead to CIF Playoffs
Fall sports start playoff action next week except for football, which closes out regular season play on Friday, Nov. 11. CIF’s Southern Section will announce girls volleyball brackets on Saturday, boys water polo on Sunday, and girls tennis on Monday. Web site is www.cifss.org for the schedules.
Here is a quick tutorial on playoffs. California is organized into 10 sections, most created long before urbanization. Sections range from Oakland’s six schools in a single league to our own Southern Section with nearly half the high schools in the state. Cross-county is the only fall sport organized into divisions based on enrollment. All other sports are grouped according to “league equity”, a subjective grouping based on more on geography and league competitiveness. These divisions are re-evaluated every two years with this season the second of the current two-year cycle.
Football is in division 9 of 13 divisions; cross-county in division 4 of 5; girls tennis in division 1 of 5; girls volleyball in division I A, 2 of 10; and boys water polo in division 3 of 7.
The girls’ tennis team is 4-5 in the playoffs since capturing the D-I title in 2005. This year’s team is capable of getting at least one win this year after last season’s early exit. Girls tennis is home on Thursday, Nov. 10.
Girls volleyball has reached the semifinals the past seven years and 2011 should make it eight straight. This year’s team is the strongest since the back-to-back title teams of 2006-07. Girls play at home Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. in Dugger Gym.
Boys water polo are the defending division 3 champions and have easily defeated most of the top division teams this season. Boys water polo will be home Wednesday, Nov. 9, for the opening round. Looking ahead, finals will be Saturday, Nov. 19, at 5 p.m. at the Woollett Center next to Irvine HS.
CIF Polls this week:
Boys Cross Country D-4: 1 – Don Bosco, 2 – Salesian, 3 – J Serra, 4 – Crespi, 5 – Big Bear, 6 – Fillmore, 7 – Twentynine Palms, 8 – Notre Dame Sherman Oaks, 9 – Crean Lutheran, 10 – Laguna Beach, 11 – Nordhoff, 12 – San Marino, 13 – Harvard-Westlake.
Girls Cross Country D-4: 1 – J Serra, , 2 – Mayfield, 3 – Harvard-Westlake, 4 – La Reina, 5 – Bishop Montgomery, 6 – Laguna Beach, 7 – Templeton, 8 – Notre Dame SO, 9 – Paraclete, 10 – Flintridge Sacred Heart, 11 – El Segundo, 12 – Morro Bay, 13 – Valley Christian/Cerritos.
Football – Southern Division: 1 – Corona del Mar, 2 – Beckman, 3 – Segerstrom, 4 – Estancia, 5 – Rancho Alamitos, 6 – Laguna Beach, 7 – Irvine, 8 – Los Amigos, 9 – Costa Mesa, Other: University, Woodbridge.
Girls Tennis D-I: 1 – Campbell Hall, 2 – Peninsula, 3 – Dana Hills, 4 – University, 5 – Thousand oaks, 6 – Palm Desert, 7 – Palos Verdes, 8 – Harvard-Westlake, 9 – San Clemente, 10 – Westlake, Others: Woodbridge, Tesoro, Brentwood.
Girls Volleyball D-IA: 1 – Marymount, 2 – Corona del Mar, 3 – Laguna Beach, 4 – Vista Murrieta, 5 – Saugus, 6 – Yucaipa, 7 – El Dorado, 8 – Beckman, 9 – Valencia/Valencia, 10 – San Luis Obispo Others: Canyon/Anaheim, Notre Dame Academy, Los Osos.
Boys Water Polo D-3: 1- Laguna Beach, 2 – Damien, 3 – Capistrano Valley, 4 – La Canada, 5 – Aliso Niguel, 6 – Peninsula, Palos Verdes, Mira Costa (tie), 9 – South Pasadena, 10- Santa Monica, Claremont
