PREP TENNIS / SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFF DRAW : Edison Again Finds Itself in a Difficult Spot

Still on a high from a Sunset League championship and a 15-4 season, Edison High boys’ tennis Coach Tim Ball answered his office phone Tuesday with a cheery, “Hello, this is Tim.” But when Ball heard that his first-round opponent next Tuesday in the Southern Section Division I team playoffs would be Woodbridge, his spirits quickly sank.

“Oh, no,” Ball said, “we played them in the second round last year. How in the heck could that happen?”

Just bad luck, apparently. Woodbridge is a third-place team, but the Warriors are 15-5 and play in the Sea View League, one of the section’s more powerful leagues. They are ranked seventh in Orange County, Edison is ninth.

Last year, Edison was beaten by Woodbridge in the second round, 14-4.

“I was hoping to do better than the second round this year, but it’s going to be tough,” Ball said. “We do have a lot better team and more depth this year, but I don’t know how we’re going to do against Woodbridge.”

If the Chargers upset Woodbridge, they would play third-seeded Dana Hills, which is undefeated in 19 matches, and ranked second in the county.

“We’re going to do our best,” Ball said. “My goodness, there’s no breaks, is there? That’ll teach us for winning our league.”

University, the second-seeded Sea View team and fifth-ranked team in the county, didn’t get a great draw either. The Trojans will play Century League-champion Foothill (19-1), ranked fourth in the county.

Corona del Mar, the Sea View League champion, is seeded fourth and opens by playing host to Lakewood (12-7), the third-seeded team from the Moore League.

Sunny Hills (17-1), the county’s top-ranked team, was given the top seeding in Division II and will play the West Torrance-Downey Warren winner on Tuesday.

The pairings:

Wild-card round

Friday

(Matches 3:15 p.m.)

Division II--Downey Warren at West Torrance, Troy at Loara, Riverside Arlington at Central Union, Claremont at Apple Valley, Temecula Valley at Riverside J.W. North, Calexico at Palm Springs, Glendale at North Torrance, Los Amigos at Laguna Beach, Esperanza at La Quinta, Encino Crespi at Montebello Schurr.

Division III--Burbank Burroughs at Santa Maria, Whittier La Serna at Cerritos Whitney, Pacific at Alta Loma, Rosemead at Palos Verdes Chadwick, Ontario Chaffey at Mira Loma Jurupa Valley, Western at Walnut.

First round

Tuesday

(Matches 3:15 p.m.)

Division I--Westlake at Santa Barbara, Goleta San Marcos at Thousand Oaks, Long Beach Poly at La Puente Nogales, West Covina at San Marino, South Pasadena at Beverly Hills, San Clemente at Ocean View, Villa Park at Mission Viejo, Lakewood at Corona del Mar, Anaheim Canyon at Dana Hills, Woodbridge at Edison, El Toro at Foothill, Fountain Valley at University, Temple City at Palos Verdes Peninsula, Agoura at Goleta Dos Pueblos, Manhattan Beach Mira Costa at Long Beach Wilson, Santa Margarita at Diamond Bar.

Division II--Downey Warren-West Torrance winner at Sunny Hills, Los Angeles Loyola at South Torrance, Troy-Loara winner at Cerritos, Crescenta Valley at Alhambra Keppel, Laguna Hills at Garden Grove, Riverside Arlington-Central Union winner at Moreno Valley Valley View, Victor Valley at La Verne Damien, Apple Valley-Claremont winner at Riverside Poly, Temecula Valley-Riverside J.W. North winner at Palm Desert, Palm Springs-Calexico winner at Upland, North Torrance-Glendale winner at North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, San Gabriel at Arcadia, Los Amigos-Laguna Beach winner at Los Alamitos, Fullerton at Trabuco Hills, La Quinta-Esperanza winner at Downey, Montebello Schurr-Encino Crespi winner at Redlands.

Division III--Santa Maria-Burbank Burroughs winner at Carpinteria Cate, San Luis Obispo at Newhall Hart, Hacienda Heights Los Altos at Pico Rivera El Rancho, El Monte at Etiwanda, Brea-Olinda at Corona, Riverside Burroughs at San Gorgonio, Bellflower St. John Bosco at North Hollywood Campbell Hall, Cerritos Whitney-Whittier La Serna winner at Pasadena Poly Prep, Whittier at Los Angeles Brentwood, La Canada St. Francis at Santa Maria Righetti, Colton at Hacienda Heights Wilson, Alta Loma-Pacific winner at Claremont Webb, Palos Verdes Chadwick-Rosemead winner at Quartz Hill, Jurupa Valley-Chaffey winner at Arroyo, Corona Centennial at Valencia, Western-Walnut winner at Burbank.

Division IV--Calabasas (first-round bye), Paso Robles at Ventura St. Bonaventure, San Dimas at La Puente, Pasadena Marshall at Lakewood Mayfair, La Puente Bassett at Cerritos Valley Christian, San Jacinto at Banning, Moreno Valley Rancho Verde at Yucaipa, Norwalk Glenn at West Covina South Hills, La Mirada (first round bye), Riverside Norte Vista at Beaumont, Covina Gladstone at Riverside La Sierra, Riverside Woodcrest at Covina, Sierra Vista at Whittier Christian, Santa Maria St. Joseph at Agoura Oak Park, Carpinteria at Moorpark, Santa Ynez (first-round bye).