SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFF PAIRINGS : WATER POLO : County Teams Receive Three of Four Top Playoff Berths

Reaffirming Orange County’s water polo preeminence, the Southern Section awarded the top playoff berths to county teams in three of the four divisions Monday.

El Toro (26-1), the top-ranked team in the county, is top-seeded in Division I; No. 9 Costa Mesa (19-8) is top-seeded in Division III and Garden Grove League champion Los Amigos (18-8) is seeded No. 1 in Division IV.

Only Division II, in which Whittier La Serna is top-seeded over No. 2 Esperanza (24-3), doesn’t have a county team at the top of the draw sheet.

Esperanza, which won its first outright Empire League title in school history, will play host to Moreno Valley Canyon Springs in a first-round match Wednesday.

Fountain Valley (20-7), ranked 10th in the county and seeded fourth in Division II, will play host to Cypress Wednesday. In another Division II match, Sunny Hills, which won its 23rd consecutive Freeway League title, will play host to Edison, the third-place team from the Sunset League.

In Division I, El Toro and No. 2-seeded Capistrano Valley appear to be strong favorites. Capistrano Valley (25-2), the only team to beat El Toro this season, has lost only to El Toro.

El Toro returns to the playoffs after a one-year absence.

This time, the Chargers open Friday with a home match against Long Beach Millikan. Capistrano Valley will play host to Long Beach Poly.

The section will hold championship matches in all four divisions Nov. 25 at the Long Beach Belmont Plaza.

The first-round schedule for county teams: (Matches start at 3:15 p.m.) Division I Friday Long Beach Millikan at El Toro, Loyola at Newport Harbor, San Clemente at Santa Ana Valley, Tustin at North Hollywood Harvard Westlake, Dana Hills at Foothill, Villa Park at Corona del Mar, Long Beach Poly at Capistrano Valley Division II Wednesday Los Alamitos at Pasadena Muir, Servite at Montebello, Glendale at La Habra, Cypress at Fountain Valley, Sonora at Crescenta Valley, Chino Ayala at Marina, Edison at Sunny Hills, Moreno Valley Canyon Springs at Esperanza Division III Thursday Covina Charter Oak at Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach at Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, La Canada at Magnolia, Brea-Olinda at Trabuco Hills, Hemet at Valencia Division IV Friday Palos Verdes Chadwick at Los Amigos, Santiago at San Bernardino, San Dimas at Kennedy, Pacifica at La Verne Bonita