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Water Polo

Santa Barbara to Host Mater Dei in CIF Water Polo Opener

San Marcos gets rematch with Orange Lutheran; Dos Pueblos receives at-large berth

By Barry Punzal, Noozhawk Sports Editor | @NoozhawkSports | November 5, 2016 | 10:52 a.m.

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Santa Barbara High and San Marcos will take on teams from the Trinity League in the opening round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 boys water polo playoffs. The pairings were released Saturday morning.

The Channel League-champion Dons (19-8) host perennial power Mater Dei (21-6) on Wednesday at 4 p.m., while the runner-up Royals (22-7) travel to fourth-seeded Orange Lutheran (23-3). Orange Lutheran is the Trinity League champion and Mater Dei the runner-up.

Dos Pueblos (15-14), which finished fourth in the Channel League, received an at-large berth in Division 2. The Chargers open on the road at Pacific League-champion Glendale-Hoover (10-1) on Wednesday.

Carpinteria, the Tri-Valley League runner-up, earned a playoff berth in Division 5 and will play at JW North in Riverside in the first round.

From the North County, Righetti heads to powerhouse and No. 2 seed Harvard Westlake in Division 1; Santa Ynez hosts California while Cabrillo plays at Chadwick in Division 5 and Santa Maria hits the road to La Puente in Division 7.

San Marcos gets a rematch with Orange Lutheran. The Royals lost by one goal to the Lancers in the quarterfinals of the Santa Barbara Invitational back in early September.

Santa Barbara will have its hands full with defending Division 1 champion Mater Dei. The Monarchs, coached by former Dos Pueblos star and 2004 U.S. Olympian Chris Segesman, have been a Division 1 finalist for nine straight years, winning six titles.

Dos Pueblos makes the playoffs in coach Connor Levoff’s first year at the helm. If the Chargers can get past Hoover, they would host No. 1 Laguna Beach in the quarterfinals, provided the Breakers can beat Santa Monica in the first round.

The quarterfinals are Saturday, Nov. 12, the semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 16 and the championships on Saturday, Nov. 19.

— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

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