Mater Dei Wants to Move Up to 5-AA Division for Playoffs

Four-time defending Southern Section 5-A division champion Mater Dei High School has requested a move to the 5-AA division for the 1989 boys’ basketball playoffs.

Mater Dei (15-2) had been grouped in the 5-A division but Coach Gary McKnight made a written request to Southern Section administrators last Friday.

Under the system approved by the Southern Section general council, teams are ranked in divisions for the playoffs according to enrollment only. The top three finishers in each league are guaranteed playoff berths, then teams with at least a .500 record will be considered for additional spots. Teams could elect to move up in division. Deadline for requests was Jan. 6.

Two other Orange County schools also requested changes for their boys’ teams. Servite will move from the 3-A division to the 4-AA division and Laguna Beach will move from 2-A to 2-AA.

Only four schools--Crespi, Servite, St. Bernard and St. Paul--requested a move from the 3-A division, which has 66 possible playoff entries for a 32-team bracket.

Laguna Beach moved from a 2-A division with 31 boys’ teams to the 2-AA division with 19 boys’ teams. Aquinas, Bellarmine-Jefferson, Cathedral, El Segundo and Murphy also requested to be moved from 2-A to 2-AA.

In the girls’ basketball, El Toro was the only county school to request a move, from the 5-A to 5-AA division.

The playoff groupings, with a schools’ new listings:

2-A Division: Aquinas (to 2-AA), Bellermine-Jefferson (2-AA), Cathedral (2-AA), El Segundo (2-AA), Laguna Beach (2-AA), Murphy (2-AA), Pius X (5-AA) and St. Monica (5-AA).

3-A Division: Crespi (4-AA), St. Bernard (5-AA), St. Paul (4-A) and Servite (4-AA).

5-A Division: Loyola (5-AA), Mater Dei (5-AA) and Santa Barbara (5-AA).

Girls’ teams:

2-A Division: Bellermine-Jefferson (2-AA), Louisville (2-AA) and St. Joseph (2-AA).

3-A Division: Morningside (5-AA).

5-A Division: El Toro (5-AA).