Coach Michael Varela will lead Segerstrom into the semifinals of the Division 3 playoffs Wednesday. (Tim Burt photo)
It’s going to be a big day on Wednesday for boys water polo for Orange County squads who will be competing in the CIF semifinals with a trip to the finals Saturday on the line.
In Division 3, Segerstrom takes on Servite at 3:30 p.m. at the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” said Segerstrom Coach Michael Varela. “I believe they were number one all season. We’ve had games with Los Osos and we’ve had games with Northwood. Servite is the one we haven’t seen yet, so that’s going to be a real big test for us.
“I know they are very similar to us. I know they have a very strong center.”
Varela has been pleased with how the season has gone. The Jaguars knocked off No. 2 seed Northwood 12-8 to advance to the semifinals and are shooting for the school’s third CIF title in boys water polo.
“It’s been great,” Varela said. “Last year our issue was consistency. We have a lot of scoring power. We just been hitting the books on defense all year long and once the defense panned out, I had a good feeling about it. Things started clicking right when they are supposed to.”
In Division 6, top-seeded Tustin, shooting for its first CIF title since 1982 and second in school history, will host Hillcrest at 5 p.m. at Foothill.
In Division 2, the key match-up will be Corona del Mar facing Foothill at 6:30 p.m. in one of the semifinal match-ups.
The first three divisions will have semifinal games at the Woollett Center where there are two pools so games will be going on simultaneously.
Division 1: Newport Harbor vs. Oaks Christian, 5 p.m.; Loyola vs. Harvard Westlake, 7 p.m., Woollett Center.
Division 2: Mira Costa vs. Dana Hills, 5 p.m.; Foothill vs. Corona del Mar, 6:30 p.m., Woollett Center.
Division 3: Los Osos vs. Santa Barbara, 3:30 p.m. Servite vs. Segerstrom, 3:30 p.m., Woollett Center.
Division 4: Capistrano Valley vs. Cerritos at El Toro, 4 p.m.; Schurr vs. Santa Monica at Palisades Charter High School, 5 p.m.
Divison 5: Kennedy vs. Brentwood at Sherman Oaks High School, 4 p.m.; California vs. Beaumont at Rio Hondo College, 3:30 p.m.
Division 6: Tustin vs. Hillcrest at Foothill, 5 p.m.; Culver City vs. Valley View at Mira Costa High School 5 p.m.
Division 7: Cathedral vs. Long Beach Cabrillo at Belmont Plaza Pool, 6 p.m.; Paramount vs. Baldwin Park at Sierra Vista High School, 4 p.m.
Starting times for Saturday’s finals will be announced on Thursday.
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