Mira Costa and Palos Verdes lead CIF-SS boys water polo playoff brackets

Mira Costa and Palos Verdes entered the CIF Southern Section boys water polo playoffs as the top seeds in their respective divisions. Both Bay League teams earned home-court advantages for their first-round matches this week.

The Mustangs, who finished the regular season with a 21-10 record, hold the top seed in the Division 1 bracket. They will host San Juan Hills at 5 p.m. Friday. Palos Verdes, which finished as the league runner-up with a 19-8 record, is the top seed in Division 2. The Pumas will host Roosevelt at 4 p.m. Thursday.

The Open Division bracket includes the top eight teams from the CIF-SS rankings. The remaining five divisions each contain 16 teams. In the Division 2 first round, Redondo Union (17-11) hosts Notre Dame, while El Segundo (21-9) hosts Santiago of Corona.

South Torrance, the Pioneer League champion, travels to El Toro for its Division 4 first-round game on Thursday. The Spartans finished the season with an 18-4 record, marking the program's first boys water polo league title. West (17-11) and Peninsula (13-16), the league's second and third-place finishers, also play on the road in Division 4. West visits Carpinteria, and Peninsula travels to Foothill Tech.

Torrance received an at-large berth out of the Pioneer League. The Tartars, who finished with an 11-11 record, will host Santa Ana Valley in a Division 5 first-round game on Thursday.