Regionals offer more action for Laguna Beach, CdM girls’ water polo

The Laguna Beach and Corona del Mar high school girls’ water polo teams each suffered upset losses in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals on Feb. 15.

In past seasons, that would have been it for the Breakers and Sea Kings. This year, their season has extended for more than two more weeks.

The Division 1 “elite eight” played out the bracket this year. Laguna Beach and CdM beat Foothill and Orange Lutheran, respectively, in fifth-place semifinal games Tuesday at Santiago Canyon College. The Breakers then beat the Sea Kings 9-4 for fifth place Thursday night at CdM.

Now, the Breakers and Sea Kings can turn their attention to the inaugural CIF Southern California Regional tournament, which will take place March 2-3 and is co-hosted by Corona del Mar and Segerstrom. The regional brackets will be released Sunday.

Laguna Beach (23-3) and CdM (22-7) could both be headed to Division II for regionals, not Division I, since both lost in the Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals. Some in the Laguna Beach camp are holding out hope that the Breakers will be in Division I, however, due to the strength of their overall season. The regionals handbook does say that teams’ overall records will be considered for seeding purposes, as well as strength of schedule and head-to-head competition.

“We’d obviously love a chance back in [to compete for the Division I regional title],” Laguna Beach coach Ethan Damato said. “We’re chomping at the bit for that. Otherwise, we’ll do what we’ve got to do in whatever division we’re in. I think the girls are in a good spot right now.”

The regional presents a second chance for Laguna Beach, especially, after the No. 2-seeded Breakers suffered an upset quarterfinal loss to Santa Barbara San Marcos, 8-7 in overtime, to end their dreams of repeating as CIF Southern Section Division 1 champion. San Marcos went on to win the title by beating top-seeded Goleta Dos Pueblos 4-3 on Saturday.

“I always have my alumni write letters to the girls during CIF,” Damato said. “A couple of our girls who lost two years ago in the [CIF Southern Section Division 1] semifinals, they talked about in their letters how much they would give to be able to play with their team again after that loss. I think it was a good reminder to our girls that this is a good opportunity.”

Semifinals and finals for both regional divisions will take place March 3 at Corona del Mar High, with the Division II final at 3:30 p.m. and the Division I final at 5 p.m.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo