The Back Bay is front and center, once again, when it comes to the CIF Southern Section girls’ water polo playoffs.
Corona del Mar (25-1) is the No. 1 seed in Division I, while Newport Harbor (20-6) is the No. 3 seed.
Newport Harbor defeated CdM, 6-5, in the Division I section final last season.
This season, Coach Aaron Chaney’s Sea Kings have swept the three meetings with Coach Bill Barnett’s Sailors, by a combined margin of 19-9.
Since the Back Bay rivals are on opposite sides of the bracket, another title match is a possibility. If it were to happen, the date would be Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. at Irvine High.
CdM, champion of the Pacific Coast League, will play host to a first-round contest Wednesday, against the winner of the wild-card game between Long Beach Poly and Northwood, played today at Long Beach Poly.
Newport Harbor, which claimed the Sunset League crown with a victory over Los Alamitos last week, plays host to Ventura, the No. 3 representative from the Channel League, in a first-round game Wednesday at 3:15 p.m.
Also hoping to make its mark in Division II is Costa Mesa (16-13).
The Mustangs, runners-up in the Orange Coast League, will visit Tesoro, the No. 2 representative from the South Coast League, in a first-round game Thursday at 3:15 p.m.
Corona del Mar is paced by seniors Kate Baldoni, a goalie bound for Stanford, UCLA-bound Heather Van Hiel, and Victoria Kennedy, another future Stanford Cardinal.
Baldoni shared Newport-Mesa Dream Team Player of the Year honors as a junior, when she was also the Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player and a first-team All-CIF Division I honoree.
Van Hiel, a three-year starter, was a first-team All-CIF and Dream Team performer as a junior.
Kennedy earned second-team All-CIF recognition a year ago, when senior teammate Elise Molnar captured third-team All-CIF recognition.
Newport Harbor is paced by senior Nicolina McCall, who was a first-team All-CIF honoree as a junior.
CdM’s only loss this season was to No. 2-seeded Dos Pueblos, a 6-4 setback on Jan. 17. CdM, however, defeated Dos Pueblos in the season opener Dec. 5, as well as on Feb. 7.
The Division I quarterfinals are Friday, with the semifinals set for Feb. 25.
If victorious Wednesday, Newport Harbor would face the Mater Dei-El Toro first-round winner in the quarterfinals.
If successful there, the Sailors would likely square off against Dos Pueblos in the semifinals. Dos Pueblos beat the Tars, 9-7, on Feb. 7.
Should Costa Mesa get past Tesoro, Coach Tim Postiff’s Mustangs would likely face No. 3-seeded Palos Verdes in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
The Division II semifinals are Feb. 25, with the title match Feb. 29 at Irvine High at 3:45 p.m.
— From staff reports
