San Marcos was named one of the eight teams to play in the Open Division of the CIF-SS girls water polo playoffs.
The Channel League champions (12-5) are seeded fifth and open the single-elimination competition at fourth-seeded Laguna Beach (18-8, Surf League No.2) on Thursday.
The Royals went 1-2 against the Breakers this season. The latest meeting was an 8-7 loss in the third-place game of the Newport Elite Eight Tournament last weekend. Their win was a a 13-12 decision in the semifinals of the Newport Holiday Cup. Laguna Beach held off a furious San Marcos comeback for a 10-9 win in Santa Barbara back on Dec. 2.
The winner of San Marcos-Laguna Beach battle will play the winner between No. 1 seed Foothill (21-4) and No. 8 Corona del Mar in the semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
The other two first-round games in the division are No. 6 Newport Harbor (20-7) at No. 3 Los Alamitos and No. 7 Mater Dei (16-11) at second seed Orange Lutheran (22-2).
The division final is Feb. 18 at the William Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine.
Dos Pueblos and Santa Barbara are both competing in the 16-team Division 1 playoffs.
The Chargers (15-10 Channel No. 2) travel to Pioneer League-champion El Segundo (20-4) on Wednesday, while the Dons (14-17) face familiar foe Oaks Christian (15-11) in Westlake Village. Santa Barbara lost three times to Oaks Christian during the season, a 7-6 decision on Jan. 24, a 9-6 game on Jan.7 and an 11-7 tournament game on Jan. 29.
The quarterfinals in Division 1 are Saturday, Feb. 11 and the semifinals and final are Feb. 15 and 18.
Carpinteria is in the 32-team Division 4 playoffs. The Citrus Coast League champions (16-6) open Tuesday with a home game against Buena (15-14, Channel League at-large). The Warriors lost to Buena, 12-4, back in early December.
The second round of play is on Thursday and the quarterfinals on Saturday. The semifinals and final are Feb. 15 and 18.